Parmesan-Garlic Mushroom Chicken

5 from 42 votes

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This chicken dish is simple, lush and total comfort food at its best. Even better: dinner in 30 minutes!

Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Oh, this chicken. Simple and lush and weeknight-friendly and company-friendly and — in my experience — kid-friendly. Pair this chicken with Perfect Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Carrots. Or, if you’ve jumped on the keto bandwagon, this is right up your alley. Make a full keto menu with some delicious Creamed Kale or Braised Cauliflower.

Plate with spinach, rice, Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken, and vegetables.

Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken: Simple and lush and weeknight friendly and company friendly – also you call pull it off in about 30 minutes!

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Ingredients

Raw chicken, fresh mushrooms and herbs, Parmesan, and other pasta ingredients on white marble.
  • All-purpose flour – The chicken breasts are dredged in flour before being cooked, which then helps thicken the sauce.
  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts – Buy the thin-cut breasts, or ask your butcher to slice them extra thin. Or, horizontally slice them at home into cutlets about ½-inch thick.
  • Olive oil – Pan-frying the chicken in olive oil makes them crispy and flavorful.
  • Mushrooms – I would recommend using cremini mushrooms or morel mushrooms if they are in season and you get your hands on them (very company-worthy!).
  • Onion – Dicing the onion finely will help it melt into the sauce.
  • Garlic – Make sure to mince your garlic — again so it blends nicely into the sauce, providing that inimitable garlicky flavor.
  • Chicken broth – Lightens up the creamy sauce. Use less-sodium broth to control the saltiness of the dish.
  • Heavy cream – Makes the sauce creamy, thick, and delicious.
  • Thyme – Use either 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, as the dried version is much more potent.
  • Parmesan cheese – Adds a beautiful cheesy flavor and creaminess to the sauce. Reserve some extra to sprinkle on top when you serve the dish.
  • Parsley – Use fresh parsley rather than dried for that beautiful pop of fresh green.
  • Pasta or rice (optional) – Serving this over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice allows everyone to enjoy every last bit of the delicious sauce.
Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken in a skillet.

Substitutions

  • If you don’t have morels or don’t feel like making this a pricy dish, just stick with any old sliced mushrooms, even button or cremini.
  • If you use dried morels, 1 ounce of dried morels would be equal to ½ pound of fresh morels. Dried morels should be reconstituted in warm water to cover for about 30 minutes, then drained. Use the strained mushroom soaking water to add flavor to the dish as well. You can add it instead of the broth, if you like, for a more pronounced mushroom flavor.

How to Make Parmesan-Garlic Mushroom Chicken

  1. Dredge the chicken: Combine the flour, salt, and pepper, and turn the cutlets in the mixture to coat.
  2. Cook the chicken: Cook the chicken cutlets for 3 minutes on each side just until golden brown on the outside. Transfer to a plate.
  3. Cook the mushrooms: In the same pan on medium heat, sauté the mushrooms, onions, and garlic until tender and lightly browned.
  4. Make the sauce: Add the chicken broth and stir to release any browned bits in the pan. Stir in the cream, thyme, and Parmesan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens.
  5. Add the chicken: Tuck the chicken back in the pan with any juices that have collected on the plate. Cook for 2 more minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
  6. Serve: Serve the chicken over hot pasta or rice. Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan.
Plate of Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken over a bed of rice.

FAQs

How long do I cook thin chicken breasts?

Thin chicken breasts are typically about half an inch thick. Cooking them for 3 minutes on each side will cook them most of the way through, and they can finish cooking in a sauce. Without a second step, 4 minutes on each side will do the job.

What are the best mushrooms to cook with chicken?

Crimini or button mushrooms are delicious, but delicate morels are a real treat (and a bit of a splurge). They have a haunting smoky, nutty, earthy flavor, so mucking around with them too much would be a shame. They will really shine in this dish. They can be found in the wild and are in season in the spring in certain areas of the country. They are also available dried.

How do you prepare chicken and mushrooms?

First, sauté the chicken and then the mushrooms separately. Make sure the chicken has a nice crust and the mushrooms have become soft and started to brown. Use the mushrooms as the base of the creamy sauce, and add the chicken back at the last minute. Preparing the two elements separately will ensure that both are perfectly cooked, and that they brown instead of steaming.

What to Serve With Parmesan-Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Woman placing a Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken breast onto a bed of rice.

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5 from 42 votes

Parmesan-Garlic Mushroom Chicken

This chicken dish is simple, lush and total comfort food at its best. Even better: dinner in 30 minutes!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 People

Ingredients 

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt (plus more to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper (plus more to taste)
  • 1 ½ pounds thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts (about ½-inch thick)
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound mushrooms (such as cremini, or other mushrooms, thinly sliced — if you use morels, leave them whole)
  • 1 onion (diced)
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
  • ½ cup less-sodium chicken broth
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more to serve)
  • Hot cooked pasta (or rice to serve; optional)
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions 

  • Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl.
  • Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour mixture. Once the oil is hot, cook the cutlets in the pan for about 3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and almost but not quite cooked through (a bit pink in the center). Transfer the cutlets to a large plate as they are cooked.
  • Turn the heat down to medium and add the mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes, until any liquid that the mushrooms have released has evaporated and they are tender and lightly browned. Add the chicken broth and stir so that any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan are released into the liquid. Stir in the cream, thyme and Parmesan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens, about 4 minutes.
  • Tuck the chicken back in the pan, with any juices that may have collected on the plate, making sure the chicken is at least mostly covered by the sauce. Cook for 2 more minutes until the chicken is hot and cooked through.
  • Either serve the chicken over the hot pasta or rice or transfer it to its own serving dish. Sprinkle with the parsley, and serve hot with extra Parmesan passed on the side.

Notes

Morels are delicate, they are expensive, and they have such a haunting smoky, nutty, earthy flavor that mucking around with them too much would be a shame. They can be cultivated but most often found in the wild, and they are also available dried.
Dried morels are awesome because they are available year-round. They store for months and months. If you don’t have morels or don’t feel like making this a pricy dish, just stick with any old sliced mushrooms, even button or cremini. I did a 50/50 morel/cremini thing because ½ pound is what I had on hand. 

Nutrition

Calories: 565kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 47g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 181mg, Sodium: 1695mg, Potassium: 1275mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1214IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 219mg, Iron: 3mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Katie Workman

Katie Workman is a cook, a writer, a mother of two, an activist in hunger issues, and an enthusiastic advocate for family meals, which is the inspiration behind her two beloved cookbooks, Dinner Solved! and The Mom 100 Cookbook.

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4 Comments

  1. What a delicious-looking dish. From the looks of the ingredients, I am sure it’s loaded with flavor. I can see myself serving your parmesan garlic mushroom chicken over my sweet potato mash. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

  2. I used a combination of cremini and baby portabellos and it was lovely. May have taken more than 30 minutes but it was worth it. It made a nice Valentine’s dinner

  3. The perfect cozy meal! Forgot to pick up heavy cream so subbed in 1/2c whole milk + 1/4c butter and it worked perfectly. Used my air fryer for the chicken instead of the skillet; to make up for it, I dropped in a bouillon cube to get more of the chicken flavor.