Creamy Bacon Chicken

This creamy bacon chicken recipe is a decadent and delicious dinner that's easy enough for a weeknight and tasty enough for company. It's ready in about 30 minutes!

I probably don't have to sell you too hard, but chicken with bacon and cream is a great combo! The chicken is pan-fried to a golden brown on the outside and when you bite into it, it melts in your mouth. And the bacon... well it makes everything even better. 😉

When you want comfort food, this is your dish. 

My sister (the vegetarian) actually came up with the idea for this recipe. She's like "Is it true that I can't find a creamy bacon chicken recipe on your site?" And I was like "hmmm.... there's a creamy chicken bacon gnocchi recipe on my site, but you're right". And so this was born. This recipe is straight out of the Salt & Lavender playbook... I have a lot of creamy chicken recipes. I list them at the bottom of the post if you want to take a look. 

How to make chicken with a creamy bacon sauce

1. Fry the bacon pieces until crispy then take them out of the pan;
2. Cook your flour-coated chicken cutlets in the remaining bacon fat until they're golden on the outside;
3. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and butter to the pan and let it cook until it's noticeably reduced;
4. Pour the cream into the pan, add the chicken and bacon back in, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. I like to add a sprinkling of fresh parsley, but that's totally optional. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

In order to prevent the bacon cream sauce from tasting too cloying and one-dimensional, I added a touch of lemon juice. The garlic powder added to the chicken at the beginning of the recipe also gives the sauce more depth of flavor. And browning the chicken in the bacon grease makes it extra tasty. Of course. 

What kind of chicken to use? 

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I butterflied and then cut in half. I find that cutting the chicken this way helps it stay tender and it also cooks faster. You could try chicken thighs or bone-in chicken breasts, but you will have to adjust the cooking time as needed.

Can I substitute the cream for something else?

I always get this question on my cream-based recipes, and the answer really depends on your goals for the dish. I always recommend using heavy cream because the taste, richness, and texture just can't be substituted in my opinion, and it's also less likely to curdle/separate. Half-and-half or milk will make the sauce end up thinner/more watery, and you may need to make some tweaks like adding more flour or reducing the sauce for longer. Coconut milk/cream will give it a coconutty flavor, and other potential substitutes (sour cream, Greek yogurt, dairy-free options, etc.) could work for you if you've tried similar tweaks before, but the taste will definitely be different from the original recipe. 

What to serve with creamy bacon chicken?

This dish is quite rich, so I definitely recommend some veggies (try my Easy Roasted Green Beans) or a salad on the side. The sauce is scrumptious over potatoes (try these roasted red potatoes or mashed potatoes), rice, or pasta. 

Other creamy chicken breast recipes you may like:

• Creamy Chicken in White Wine Sauce   
• Creamy Mushroom Chicken
• Creamy Garlic Chicken
• Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken
• Creamy Tuscan Chicken
• Easy Creamy Lemon Chicken
• Easy Chicken Lazone

Will you make this chicken with a bacon cream sauce?

Questions? Drop me a comment below.

Creamy Bacon Chicken

This creamy bacon chicken recipe is a decadent and delicious dinner that's easy enough for a weeknight and tasty enough for company. It's ready in about 30 minutes!

4.91 from 143 votes

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 506 kcal

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Ingredients

 

• ▢ 6 strips bacon cut into small pieces
• ▢ 2 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
• ▢ Flour for dredging
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ Pepper to taste
• ▢ 1/2 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 1 cup heavy/whipping cream

Instructions

 

• Cut the bacon up and add it to a skillet (I use kitchen shears to make this job quick). Fry it over medium-high heat until crispy (about 10 mins). Once the bacon is done, take it out of the pan and set it aside. Leave about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan.
• Meanwhile, prep your chicken (cut it in half lengthwise so you have 4 smaller cutlets). Sprinkle them with the garlic powder and pepper and then coat them in the flour. 
• Add the chicken to the skillet and cook it in the remaining bacon fat over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes/side or until it's golden. If it starts to splatter a lot, reduce the heat. Once the chicken is browned, take it out of the pan and set it aside.
• Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and butter to the pan. Let it bubble until it's reduced by half (about 3-4 minutes).
• Stir in the cream and once it starts to bubble, add the chicken and bacon back into the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes or so until the chicken is fully cooked through and the sauce has reduced to your liking.

Notes

• I used my 10-1/4" Lodge cast iron skillet to make this recipe. Any skillet would work, though!
• I suggest using fairly large boneless/skinless chicken breasts for this recipe since we're cutting them in half lengthwise. If you have smaller chicken breasts, use 4 of them and leave them intact. Chicken is safe to eat at 165F (use an instant read meat thermometer to get perfectly cooked chicken every time).
• Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 506kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 30gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 183mgSodium: 505mgPotassium: 552mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 996IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 1mg

Keyword creamy bacon chicken

Author Natasha Bull