Smothered Chicken

5 from 4 votes

Smothered Chicken is made with browned chicken breast cutlets and covered with creamy gravy and crispy bacon. Classic southern comfort food to feed the soul!

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 625kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

4 slices bacon diced into ½ inch pieces
4 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets Approximately 1½ pounds
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons season salt divided into ½ teaspoon and 1 teaspoon
3 tablespoons canola oil
¾ cup diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
21 ounces (2 10.5-ounce) cans of cream chicken soup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley *optional garnish*

Instructions

Add the diced bacon to a large 12-inch skillet on medium-low heat. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the fat has rendered out and the bacon pieces are crispy.
While the bacon is cooking, you can prepare your chicken cutlets by adding the all-purpose flour and ½ teaspoon season salt to a medium-sized, shallow dish. Stir to combine. Coat all four chicken cutlets on both sides with the seasoned flour. Set them aside on a plate until the bacon is done cooking.
Once the bacon has cooked and crisped, using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate. Set the bacon aside. Be sure to leave about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the skillet.
Add the canola oil to the skillet with the bacon grease and turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the flour-coated chicken cutlets and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. You will need to note that depending on the size of your chicken cutlets, you may need to cook your chicken in two batches to avoid overcrowding the skillet. This will ensure that your chicken browns and cooks evenly. Once the chicken is cooked, and browned, remove it from the skillet and place it on a plate to rest while the sauce is made.
Turn the heat of the skillet down to medium and add to the skillet the diced yellow onion, chicken bouillon seasoning, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, black pepper, and the remaining 1 teaspoon of season salt. Saute the onions for 1-2 minutes or until the onions have softened.
Add the low-sodium chicken broth, whole milk, and cream of chicken soup to the skillet, whisking constantly until no lumps remain from the soup.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the unsalted butter until fully incorporated.
Place the cooked and browned chicken cutlets back into the skillet along with any chicken juices from the plate.
Spoon some of the warm gravy over the top of the chicken. Sprinkle the reserved crispy bacon pieces over the entire surface of the chicken and sauce. Garnish with the fresh chopped parsley.

Notes

Storage:

To Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
To Freeze: I do not recommend freezing this dish.
To Reheat: Reheat slowly over low heat in a covered saucepan for best results and to avoid the gravy from separating. You can add a splash of chicken broth to the sauce as it warms back up to loosen it a bit if it has thickened up too much with refrigeration.

Tips:

Your boneless skinless chicken cutlets should be about ¾-1 inch thick. Sometimes I find that when I buy chicken cutlets from the store that they are not always uniform in size and thickness. If this is the case, you can cut the cutlets in half or pound them out to a uniform thickness.
Be sure to use low-sodium chicken broth to minimize the added salt in the gravy. If you use a standard chicken broth, you may want to reduce the amount of season salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon. You can always taste your sauce once it has simmered and add more salt as needed.
If you find that your bacon rendered more than 2 tablespoons of fat, you will want to pour out the excess. If you leave too much bacon grease in the pan, your gravy will be too greasy and not as tasty.
This smothered chicken should be served while the gravy is warm.

Nutrition