Creamy Bacon Chicken
This Creamy Bacon Chicken is an easy skillet dinner with flavorful sauce that you can serve with mashed potatoes and roasted green beans. The roux for the sauce is made with bacon drippings, ensuring that there is a presence of bacon with every bite!
Be sure to try my Bacon Ranch Chicken recipe next!
Creamy Bacon Chicken
Anytime I have an opportunity to make a roux with bacon drippings, I take full advantage. It ensures that there is the perfect touch of flavorful bacon with every bite! This sauce is so good over some creamy mashed potatoes or even baked potatoes with roasted vegetables.
See how easy this is to make and be sure to check out my PRO TIPS below!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Cut the bacon into thirds and cook it low and slow in a skillet until crispy. Reserve 3 tablespoons bacon drippings and roughly chop the bacon once cooled.
Slice the chicken into 3 thinner slices. Season with salt/pepper and Italian seasonings. Sprinkle and rub with flour. Sear in olive oil for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside.
Add the garlic and bacon drippings to the skillet that you cooked the chicken in. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pan. Add the flour and stir continuously for 2 minutes. Add the sauce mixture in splashes, stirring continuously.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer until it’s near your desired thickness. Reduce heat to low and stir in the Parmesan cheese if desired.
Add chicken back and spoon sauce on top. Heat through for 5 minutes or so, top with chopped bacon and fresh parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes and roasted green beans.
Pro Tips
- Shred the cheese from a block instead of using packaged cheese as it will melt creamier and taste better.
- If using smaller chicken breasts, consider using 3-4 instead of 2 large.
- Consider using low sodium chicken broth to control the sodium content. You can also omit the chicken bouillon but it does add a nice depth of flavor.
- Greens and Beans make a great side dish with this, along with homemade mashed potatoes!
Tips For Searing the Chicken
- Adjust the heat up and down slightly throughout the cooking process for a nice even sear and golden color.
- We want brown (not black) remnants left in the pot. The “fond” left in the skillet gives a lot of flavor to the sauce.
- I would rather cook chicken at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period of time than at a super high temperature that can cause burning and oil splatter. Start at medium -high and decrease heat slightly as needed. You can always increase it again later.
- If the chicken is sticking to the pan, it’s not ready to be moved and is still developing a crispy crust. Allow it to release on it’s own to avoid tearing the surface of the chicken.
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- This is the Le Creuset skillet I used in this recipe, (and in 90% of my recipes). It’s pricey, but it conducts heat really well and is oven safe. The size is perfect and the quality is great.
- Kitchen Tongs– makes it easy to handle the chicken when searing and even easier to flip individual mushroom slices as they cook.
- My Favorite Chef Knife
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Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Creamy Bacon Chicken
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- ½ chicken bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup heavy cream
Chicken
- 6 strips thick cut bacon, high quality
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- Salt/Pepper
- 6 tablespoons flour, divided in half
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
Prep Work:
- Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Prepare the Bacon:
- Cut bacon into thirds and cook in a large skillet over low heat until crispy on each side. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Reserve 3 Tablespoons clear drippings to make the roux. Roughly chop the bacon once cooled.
Prepare the Chicken:
- While the bacon cooks, slice the chicken in half lengthwise to create 2-3 thinner slices. Cover with saran wrap and use the textured side of a meat mallet to pound it to ½ inch thick. Pat it dry.
- Season each side with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of flour and rub it over the surface of each side.
- Heat olive oil in a large, high-walled skillet over medium-high heat. Sear 2-3 pieces of chicken at a time for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside. Wipe any black residue from the pan but leave the brown remnants as this will add flavor to the sauce.
Make the Sauce:
- Add the garlic and reserved bacon drippings to the same skillet that you cooked the chicken in. (Note: 3 tablespoons of butter can be used instead, or a combination of both if you don’t have enough drippings.) Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pot over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
- Add the sauce mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. (If you add it too quickly, the roux will “break” and the sauce will be thin.)
- Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer until it’s near your desired level of thickness.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the parmesan cheese until smooth.
- Add the chicken back and spoon the sauce on top. Let it simmer for 5 minutes or so, uncovered.
- Top with chopped bacon and fresh parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes and roasted green beans.
Notes
- Gruyere cheese can be used instead of Parmesan for a little gourmet flair. The cheese can also be left out completely if preferred.
- Consider using low sodium chicken broth to control the sodium content. You can also omit the bouillon but it does add a nice depth of flavor.
- If using smaller chicken breasts, consider using 3-4 instead of 2 large.
- Greens and Beans make a great side dish with this, along with homemade mashed potatoes!
Tips For Searing the Chicken
- Adjust the heat up and down slightly throughout the cooking process for a nice even sear and golden color.
- I would rather cook chicken at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period of time than at a super high temperature that can cause burning and oil splatter.
- If the chicken is sticking to the pan, it's not ready to be moved and is still developing a crispy crust. Allow it to release on it's own to avoid tearing the surface of the chicken.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- This meal does freeze well. I reheat from frozen in the microwave, you can also thaw overnight and reheat leftovers in a lightly greased, covered casserole dish at 350 ° for 20-25 minutes.
Another awesome recipe from you. As a family of 6, it’s hard to find a dish that everyone one agrees on. This one was a winner. I made it with mashed potatoes and even my husband decided to put the gravy on the potatoes. He’s not a gravy person. Yeah, I don’t get that either. Thank you for sharing this.
lol, that’s funny your husband isn’t a gravy person, I’ve actually heard of those type of people existing🤣 I’m so happy this one was a hit Kimberly, thanks so much for the great review!💗
Tried this recipe and it turned out great and was delicious.
By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen Cozy Cook recipes, but based on this one I’ll be looking for others. I took home economics in 9 grade and liked cooking. Between that and the years watching my mom , I wouldn’t go hungry. My fiancé does most of the cooking, most of the time, she takes really good care of me/us.
I am sooo happy that you loved this recipe Dennis, I think you’re going to find a lot of recipe that you like and I can’t wait for you to try more! I love that you learned about cooking from school and from your mom! Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie
I needed to use up some bacon and stumbled upon this recipe for which I had all the ingredients. It turned out SO delicious. Ate it with a steamed yukon gold potato and a side of green beans because that’s what we had on hand and it was such a cozy and tasty meal. Also used “better than bouillon” because I didn’t have cubes and it worked wonderfully. I also read through the recipe too quickly and missed the part where I needed to dredge the chicken in flour. It turned out delicious even though I missed this step (I did still season the chicken with the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper so definitely don’t skip that!). Enjoyed my leftovers over egg noodles today for lunch. I can’t wait to make this again!
Definitely sounds like such a cozy meal Sarah, nice work! I’m so happy you got to enjoy leftovers for lunch too, yummm! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such great comments!💗
I didn’t have heavy cream so I used cream cheese. Everyone loved this dish. They already signed up for next Saturday night dinner, to have this dish again.
I’m so happy everyone loved it Paul, nice work!🙌 Sounds like you’ve got some cooking to do next week! Thanks so much for the great review💗
Made tonight…I used pre-cooked bacon so I had to use the butter alternative. In addition, I didn’t include the parmesan cheese because I was afraid of grittiness. I think both of those were a mistake for me. Dinner was still good and it will be repeated. Next time, I will fry the bacon to be able to use the bacon grease AND will grate some fresh parmesan.
Hi Lynn! I agree, if you follow the recipe as outlined, it’ll be much better. Parmesan cheese will get gritty if it’s not grated from a block and if it’s added to a base that’s too hot. It is added at the end over low heat here so that the dairy doesn’t separate and create a grainy consistency. I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it as written! 🙂
Terrific chicken! My sauce thickened nicely and was so delicious. Tender, flavorful chicken. Served with mashed taters (microwave) and steamed Brussels sprouts. Took me about 30 minutes. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a great meal Mitzi, nice work! Thanks so much for the great comments!💗
I plan on making this week. Can I use almond flour instead? Is there some sort of conversion with white flour vs almond flour? Thank you
Hi Yanira! I haven’t tested it myself to be able to vouch for successful results, I know that people have successfully done so in some of my other recipes that are similar. I’m not sure that it would thicken the sauce quite the same way and I worry about a gritty consistency but I’m not sure, it could work out just fine! I apologize that I can’t confirm for sure!
Bacon and chicken smothered in a delicious sauce, what more could you possibly want? This was another great recipe to add to my growing favorites from you Stephanie. You are my go-to site for any recipe now. My kids and hubby loved this one. Thanks for sharing your amazingness !
It’s my pleasure Jessica, I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!😃 This is a favorite of mine, I love the smokiness that the bacon creates in this one😋 Thanks so much for your support, it’s much appreciated!
It is delicious, but quite a bit more work than stated. It took me two hours to prepare. Also I would have liked my sauce a bit thicker, but that meant even more time to reduce. May be a bit of extra flour would help. Neede a whisk to get rid of the lumps.
But the taste was very very good.
Omg HOOOLY SH‼️T THAT WAS F🔥RE!! 🚒🔥🔥😄 it took me a bit longer than I was planning, I kept getting interrupted but even my husband said it was well worth the wait!;) he said he’d eat it for lunch and dinner again & to not throw out what the little one didn’t finish on her plate, lol.😆 the Italian seasoning on the chicken & the $$SAUCE$$ hands down made it the best meal I’VE ever cooked 🙂 it was so good we didn’t want to stop eating it but had to or we were about to pass out cold in a food coma 🤣🤣🤣
Bless you for sharing this amazing meal with us!!🙌🏼 much thanks from the Rakestraw’s in FL 😋😋😋
Thanks so much for the great comments Stephanie, I love hearing such awesomeness! I totally know what you mean about food comas lol, I’ve been there! Thanks so again for taking the time to leave such a great review!❤️