This southern-style Smothered Chicken recipe is made with tender pieces of pan-fried chicken covered in a thick and creamy sauce and topped with crispy bacon.
Southern Smothered Chicken
Our easy Smothered Chicken dish is simple to make in one pot with chicken breast cutlets dredged through seasoned flour, pan-seared in bacon grease until golden brown, and then doused in gravy and sprinkled with bits of bacon.
While some southern smothered chicken gravy recipes rely on heavy cream for its consistency, I prefer using cream of chicken soup to make my sauce extra thick and creamy.
Smothered chicken with gravy is one of those soul food recipes that makes a restaurant-worthy meal right at home; serve it with creamy mashed potatoes or white rice and a side of steamed veggies for a complete delicious dinner full of authentic soul food flavor.
Why We Love Smothered Chicken Recipes
- Quick and easy to prepare using a single skillet.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Smothered chicken and gravy dishes define flavorful comfort food!
- Rich, perfectly seasoned sauce pairs perfectly with smothered chicken breasts, smothered chicken thighs, smothered chicken wings, or even smothered pork chops.
- Delicious weekday dinner the whole family will love.
Smothered Chicken Ingredients
- Bacon
- Boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets
- All purpose flour
- Season salt
- Canola oil
- Yellow onion
- Chicken bouillon seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Poultry seasoning
- Black pepper
- Low sodium chicken broth
- Whole milk
- Cream chicken soup
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh chopped parsley (optional garnish)
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Choose Your Chicken: I used boneless chicken breast cutlets for this recipe, but chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half and about ¾-1 inch thick will also work well.
- Swap The Seasoning: Feel free to use whatever seasonings or spice you love and leave out what you don’t like. Some other seasonings that taste great with smothered chicken breast in gravy are red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper for a bit of heat, cajun or creole seasoning for a more southern flavor, or smoked paprika.
How to Make Smothered Chicken
- Cook The Bacon: Cook the bacon for 12-15 minutes or until the fat has rendered out and the bacon pieces are crispy. Place the cooked bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Pro Tip: Be sure to leave about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the skillet. - Prepare The Poultry: Combine the flour and season salt. Coat the chicken cutlets on both sides with the flour mixture. Set them aside.
- Cook The Cutlets: Add the canola oil to the skillet with the bacon grease and cook the coated chicken cutlets for 5-7 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the cooked cutlets and place them on a plate to rest.
Pro Tip: 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. - Saute The Onions: Add the onion, chicken bouillon seasoning, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, pepper, and season salt to the skillet. Saute the onions until they have softened.
- Simmer The Sauce: Whisk the chicken broth, milk, and soup into the skillet, mixing until no lumps remain. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
- Cover The Cutlets: Place the cooked chicken cutlets and any juices back into the skillet. Cover each cutlet with warm gravy and sprinkle with bacon pieces.
- Serve: Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy!
What To Serve With Smothered Chicken
Serve your smothered chicken over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles with a side of garlic green beans, steamed vegetables, or a side salad. My Little Caesars Crazy Bread and Cauliflower Breadsticks also pair well and are perfect for sopping up the sauce.
Tips For the Best Smothered Chicken
- Your boneless skinless chicken cutlets should be about ¾-1 inch thick. Sometimes, I find that when I buy chicken cutlets from the store, they are not always uniform in size and thickness. If so, 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.
- 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.
How to Store Smothered Chicken
- 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.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Other Easy Dinner Recipes
- Chicken Fajitas (Sheet Pan Recipe)
- Slow Cooker Beef Tips
- Creamy Bacon Pasta
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- Chicken Alfredo Bake
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Spicy Chicken Pasta
- Taco Potatoes
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Smothered Chicken
Serves — 4
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 Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
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.
Jenn’s 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.
- 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 Info
Calories: 625kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 2260mg | Potassium: 803mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 679IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 3mg
I made this for New Years – had to feed 18 people. I used chicken tenders instead and used more chicken stock in place of the milk. Other wise I followed the recipe. It was DELICIOUS! Everyone ate 2nds. At first they were complaining because we usually have fried chicken for New Years – I think we have found a great substitute!