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
- Fry the bacon pieces until crispy then take them out of the pan;
- Cook your flour-coated chicken cutlets in the remaining bacon fat until they're golden on the outside;
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and butter to the pan and let it cook until it's noticeably reduced;
- 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
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.
Paulette says
Had to try this for supper tonight and it was a hit! Great recipe!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Thank you very much, Paulette!! 🙂
Marc Vickers says
This looks delicious and can't wait to try it
Natasha says
Hope you love it! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Jeanne says
Delicious! Made it tonight and loved it. The flavors are awesome and it is definitely comfort food! Yum!
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that!! Thanks for your review!
Shirley M Gordon says
So easy to make with ingredients that I had already available! This was delicious and my family loved it!!
Natasha says
Excellent! Glad it was a hit!
Katie says
I followed the recipe exactly as written. Sauce was perfect! My family loved it. Will definitely make again
Natasha says
Yay!! Glad you liked it, Katie!
Lisa says
Can I use 1/2 and 1/2 instead of heavy whipping cream?
Natasha says
I don't recommend it. There's a chance it may curdle. If you do, I'd definitely cook it on a lower heat than suggested. The sauce may not thicken as well either.
Karlie says
If I were to add pasta to it would I need to make more sauce too?
Natasha says
If you want the pasta totally coated in the sauce with extra then yes, you may want to double it. There's enough in the recipe as written to have a little sauce spooned over mashed potatoes, for example (if you serve 4 people).
Priscila says
It is an easy to make recipe. It came out delicious. I had to change the lemon for lime because i ran out of lemons and I added shredded parmesan cheese when the cream was bubbling so it can thicken the sauce more. Love the recipe. I will try adding mushrooms next time. Adding parsley on top makes it so delicious.Thank you
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
You're welcome, Priscila! We're so pleased you liked it.
Peggy says
Making for a group of 50
Could I put in oven to cook rest of way
After I brown the chicken.
Natasha says
Hi! I would be very careful doing this (do a test run first with a smaller quantity) to ensure it works out timing-wise and that the sauce thickens properly without separating and the chicken doesn't dry out.
Ellie says
So yummy and easy!! I added a little flour to the sauce to thicken it quicker and served with mashed potatoes and veggies.
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Fantastic to hear, Ellie! Thanks!
Julie Jones says
I love this recipe. Made it several times and enjoyed it every time. The sauce is so creamy.😋
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
That's so nice to hear, Julie! Thanks!!
Theresa says
This was delicious, great flavor. Followed recipe as written, just added some portobello mushrooms after chicken was cooked. Great taste, easy instructions. Thank you! Definitely will make again, leftovers will be over rice.
Natasha says
So happy you enjoyed it, Theresa! 😀 Thanks for your kind review!
Nicole says
Made last night. Doubled the chicken with tenderloins added some onion power and peparika.Trippled the sauce. Added some Dijon mustard. Made early so put cooked chicken in a baking pan then.poured gravy over the top and out in a 225° oven till the onion chive mashed potatoes and broccoli were done and family arrived. Was AMAZINGl!! thank you. Even the kids loved it .. have pic but will not let me add it
Natasha says
Fabulous!! You can always tag me on Instagram and I will see it (and repost it on there if it's in a story). Thanks for your comment, Nicole!
Ann says
very tasty! I served it over rice. Noodles would be really good, too. Definitely making this again
Natasha says
Excellent!! 🙂
Lyndsay says
Really delicious! Instead of the cream, I used half cup oat milk and half cup coconut yogurt to make it dairy free. I also added nutritional yeast to help thicken the sauce a bit. Turned out great!
Natasha says
I'm so pleased you were able to make it dairy-free, Lyndsay! Thanks for your review.
Dawn says
I made this tonight. It was delicious! I too would add more liquids and maybe a little extra lemon. But fabulous!!
Natasha says
Glad you enjoyed it! Yup, you can definitely tweak it to your preferences next time. 🙂