The most tender chicken breast in mushroom sauce is sure to satisfy your comfort food craving. It’s a light dish overall, without the use of cream so you can feel good about getting seconds.
This chicken breast in mushroom sauce is unbelievably tender, flavourful and easy to make. There are few simple ingredients and minimal chopping.
If you’re worried about the effort, I recommend you make extra that way you can have dinner ready for the whole week. This dish keeps very well un the fridge, in an air-tight container for up to a week.
To keep the rest of dinner low-key, serve this dish with buckwheat or rice which can cook in the microwave without intervention. A simple side like a pickle will be a perfect pairing. Once again, keeping it simple.
Get your ingredients ready and prepped and it will be smooth sailing.
Preparing the Most Tender Chicken Breast in Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken breasts: Chicken breasts are considered the white meat of a chicken. They are thick and tender when cooked just right. When overcooked, however, they become dry and tough to eat.
Olive oil: I use olive oil for this recipe because of its mild flavour. Olive oil is the fat extracted from olives. The least processed is extra virgin olive oil, which I use in this recipe.
Cremini mushrooms: Cremini, or crimini, mushrooms are the same as white mushrooms and portobello mushrooms. They are all picked at different maturities. Cremini mushrooms are slightly more mature than white mushrooms and therefore have darker skin and a more prominent flavour.
Yellow onion: Onion is a very common vegetable that is used both raw and cooked in food preparation. It has a sharp flavour raw that often sweetens once cooked. There are many varieties of onions, some that are milder than others. We use the common onion or yellow onion in this recipe.
Garlic: Garlic is a bulb that is edible and is grown in soil. Though the green shoots it sprouts, called garlic scapes, are also edible, we are referring to the actual bulb that the scapes grow from. Garlic bulbs are made up of multiple cloves and depending on the variety you may have anywhere from 4 to 10 cloves, if not more. This is important to know because recipes will often call for a specific number of cloves which can vary in size greatly.
Chicken stock:
Stock adds the base for this delicious sauce so the flavour is brings is very important. Make sure you don’t have one that’s too salty. If it is, reduce the amount of sauce you add to the recipe.All-purpose flour: All-purpose white flour is all you need for this recipe. It’s the key component to thickening the cheese sauce.
Milk: I use full-fat (3.25%) or partly skimmed (2%) milk for this recipe. Adding milk and reducing the cream makes the sauce feel lighter. It also cuts the fat quite a bit if that’s something you look for.
How to Make Chicken Breast in Mushroom Sauce
Prep the ingredients
Prep the onion and garlic first. Peel the onion and dice it into small pieces. Peel that garlic and set it aside. You will press it into the sauce later. If you don’t have a garlic press, chop it finely now before setting it aside.
Now it’s time to make sure the chicken is moist and tender. We are essentially creating small cutlets of chicken in this process.
Cut the chicken breasts in half as if you are butterflying them. Your knife will be parallel to the cutting board. Cut starting from the thickest part to eh thinnest. The goal is to get two even pieces. Next, cut each of these thinner pieces in half width-wise. This time your knife is perpendicular to the cutting board. Repeat the process for the other chicken breast.
Though this next step is optional, I highly recommend it. To tenderize the meat further, you pound the chicken with a meat tenderizer. If you don’t have a tenderizer, you can use another heavy object like a heavy pan or a rolling pin. Add the chicken cutlets to a large Ziploc bag, seal and pound them a few times. You don’t want to overdo it since the pieces are already quite thin. Feel with your hands to ensure the pieces are relatively the same thickness.
Before you cook the chicken make sure to season it. This is the best time to add flavour to the chicken breast. Simple salt and pepper will be enough in this dish to give the chicken the perfect flavour. Season on both sides.
Time to Cook
Add a tablespoon of oil to a large skillet and heat on medium-high. Once hot sear each piece of chicken for 1 minute on each side. Set aside once done and repeat until you have cooked all the chicken cutlets.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat it up again. Add the onions and sauté for a minute until translucent.
Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Now, add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant.
Next, add the chicken stock, ¼ tsp salt ad ¼ tsp pepper. Return the chicken back to the pot and bring everything to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.
We don’t use cream in this recipe as the sauce is light and creamy without it. Once the time is up, make a slurry with milk and flour and whisk it into the sauce. To incorporate the slurry correctly into the sauce, you will likely first need to move the chicken cutlets out of the way to make sure you can evenly distribute the slurry. Cook for another few minutes until the sauce thickens.
TIP: If you want to avoid dairy, replace the milk with more stock. Alternatively, if you want the sauce to taste creamier you can also use half and half instead.
Substitutions
Chicken Breast: You can use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. If you do, skip step 2 and just go to the tenderizing. Assume two chicken thighs per person.
Cremini mushrooms: You can use any type of mushroom that you have on hand. The flavour will change accordingly so make sure you pick a variety you like. When prepping be sure to slice the mushrooms thinly or you will need to add some cooking time when sautéing them in step 7.
Chicken stock: Chicken stock is best for this recipe to bring out that poultry flavour. If you’re all out vegetable stock will be a good substitute. If you can find it, mushroom stock would also be great. Avoid using beef stock as it will overpower the chicken and mushroom flavours.
Serving Chicken Breast in Mushroom Sauce
Chicken in the mushroom sauce is so delicious it can be a meal on its own. That may seem off but when you think about it you have everything you need. Protein, veggies and a delicious sauce.
Since we all know that I like sauce on potatoes, this chicken breast in mushroom sauce is to die for over mashed potatoes. The creaminess of the potatoes with the sauce is just out of this world.
With that said, barley, rice, quinoa or couscous are also delicious alternatives to mashed potatoes.
But honestly, you can serve this dish with any side. Over rice, quinoa, barley or couscous. With a side of spinach salad, carrot and apple slaw, or green beans with onion topping.
It also stores well in the fridge so you can make extra and switch out your sides each day.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
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Chicken Breast in Mushroom Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Knife and cutting board
- Meat tenderizer (optional)
Ingredients
Slurry:
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup 2% milk (or stock to eliminate dairy)
Instructions
- Dice the onions and peel the garlic. Wash and slice the mushrooms. Set aside.1/2 cup small onion, 1 tsp garlic, 227 g cremini mushrooms
- Cut your chicken in half as if you are butterflying it. Your knife will be parallel to the cutting board. Then cut each of those pieces in half width-wise. This time your knife is perpendicular to the cutting board. Repeat the process for the other chicken breast.2 chicken breast
- Optional: To tenderize the meat a little you can pound the chicken pieces. Add them to a large Ziploc bag, seal and pound them a few times. You don’t want to overdo it since the pieces are already quite thin.
- Generously season each side of the chicken with salt and pepper.½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper
- Add a tablespoon of oil to a large skillet. Once hot sear each piece of chicken for 1 minute on each side. Set aside once done. I had two batches.2 tbsp olive oil
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat up. Add the onions and sauté for a minute.2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 cup small onion
- Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.227 g cremini mushrooms
- Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant.1 tsp garlic
- Next, add the chicken stock, ¼ tsp salt ad ¼ tsp pepper. Return the chicken back to the pot and bring everything to a boil. Then simmer for 10 minutes.2 cups chicken stock, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper
- Make a slurry with milk and flour and whisk it into the sauce. You will need to move the chicken pieces out of the way to make sure you can evenly distribute the slurry. Cook for another few minutes until the sauce thickens.¼ cup 2% milk, 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Serve with potatoes, barley or rice and your favourite vegetable.
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