Smothered Chicken

4.94 from 48 votes

This smothered chicken recipe has juicy pan-fried chicken in the ultimate gravy! It's rich, perfectly seasoned, and made from scratch with pantry staples.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: smothered chicken recipe

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper see note
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium-to-large onion sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup heavy/whipping cream

Instructions

Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have 4 thinner cutlets. Season each piece with salt & pepper on both sides.
Add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper to a bowl and give it a good stir. Measure out 2 tablespoons of this seasoned flour and put it in a small bowl - you will use it later to thicken the gravy.
Add the oil to a skillet over medium-high heat.
While the pan heats up, add the flour from the larger bowl to a plate and then coat each piece of chicken in it (you will have some leftover flour to discard).
Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes/side (golden but not quite fully cooked through). Transfer chicken to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter to the skillet. Once it's melted, add in the onions and cook until softened and golden (about 15-20 minutes. It'll depend how thin the onions are sliced and vary from skillet to skillet - I use cast iron). Stir every couple of minutes, and if the onions appear to be burning vs. slowly browning, turn the heat down.
Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of seasoned flour into the pan. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.
Add in the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce and stir until the flour has dissolved while scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan, then stir in the cream.
Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through (165F) and the gravy has thickened a bit. You may need to increase the heat to get it going again.
Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately.

Notes

You can definitely sub chicken breasts for chicken thighs! You may need to cook them a bit longer to ensure they're nice and tender.
This recipe has a bit of a kick. If you're sensitive to spice, you can use less cayenne pepper than indicated.
Some of the flour dredge is discarded, so I used 1/4 cup flour in the nutrition calculation.

Nutrition