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Creamy Baked Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms & Bacon. An easy weeknight dinner packed full of flavour the whole family will love! Another tasty low carb and Keto approved recipe.
Golden, crispy skinned and juicy bone-in baked chicken thighs with tender cremini mushrooms and crispy fried bacon pieces, simmered in a garlic parmesan cream sauce? YES please! Another ripper chicken dinner… readers have been loving this recipe since forever! Accidentally gluten free and low carb with maximum deliciousness.
BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS
There’s nothing like a delicious bowl of Creamy Chicken and Mushroom! But throw in golden baked chicken thighs WITH crispy bacon and you’re onto a winner. Both heavy cream and half and half options have been included in this recipe.
May the fats be ever in your favor.
HOW TO BAKE CHICKEN THIGHS
You want crispy skinned chicken for this. I can’t imagine anything worse than soggy, fatty skin swimming in a cream sauce. To get them nice and golden, you’re going to:
RUB skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs with olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.
SEAR thighs in a large oven proof pan or skillet, skin-side down first, to render the fat and get the skin a beautiful golden brown colour. Flip and sear the other side for about 2-3 minutes.
TRANSFER chicken to your preheated oven and bake until completely cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.
REMOVE chicken from the pan, keeping about half of the pan juices (chicken grease) in the skillet to start your sauce.
SAUCE FOR CHICKEN
Once your baked chicken thighs are nice and crispy, use the SAME PAN to prepare your sauce.
SAUTÉ garlic in the reserved pan juices over medium heat until fragrant. This process only takes about 30 seconds to a minute.
FRY bacon until crispy and add in the mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms begin to soften.
POUR in the cream, some chicken broth and Parmesan cheese, simmering until slightly thickened.
TASTE TEST before seasoning with additional salt as the bacon may add enough saltiness too the sauce.
ADD chicken thighs back into the pan SKIN-SIDE UP! This keeps them nice and crunchy for when you’re ready to serve.
SIMMER in the sauce to absorb all of those delicious flavours into the underside of the thighs.
PARMESAN AND GARLIC
These flavours are seen in most of our family recipes, from Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes to our reader favourite Mac and Cheese.
MORE BAKED CHICKEN THIGH RECIPES
Honey Soy Baked Chicken Thighs
Spinach Artichoke Chicken Thighs
Chicken Cacciatore
Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken
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Creamy Baked Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms & Bacon
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on or off
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 pinch Kosher salt to taste
- 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste
FOR THE CREAM SAUCE:
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 7 ounces diced bacon
- 14 ounces brown mushrooms Cremini, sliced
- 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup parmesan freshly grated
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground to taste
- 1 pinch salt only if needed to your taste
- 1 pinch fresh parsley extra chopped, to garnish
- 1 pinch parmesan fresh shaved or grated, to garnish
Instructions
BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Arrange chicken on a plate. Combine together the olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper in a jug. Rub the oil mixture over the chicken to completely coat.
- Heat a large oevn proof pan or skillet over medium high heat. Sear the chicken, skin-side down first, until skin is crisp and golden brown. Rotate and sear the other side (about 2-3 minutes per side).
- Transfer to oven and roast until completely cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.
- Once chicken is done, remove from skillet; set aside. Pour out HALF of the chicken juices left in the pan.
SAUCE
- Using the same skillet the chicken was in, fry the garlic in the reserved chicken juices over medium heat, stirring frequently until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the bacon and fry until just beginning to crisp. Add in the mushrooms and cook until mushrooms begin to soften.
- Pour in the cream, chicken broth and Parmesan. Let simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Season with pepper. Taste first before adding in any extra salt, as the bacon will add the salt.
- Add the chicken back into the pan; allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes in the cream to take on the flavours.
- Garnish with parsley and shaved or grated parmesan, if desired. Serve over rice, pasta, or steamed/grilled vegetables.
Notes
TIPS
- If using cream: Thickened cream, heavy cream, light or reduced fat cooking cream are all fine to use. If you prefer a thicker sauce, whisk together 1 level teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cream until lump free and well blended. Add the mixture into the cream sauce, while stirring continuously, until thickened.
- If using half and half: Bring to a gentle simmer; whisk 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into 1-2 tablespoons of *extra* half and half; pour cornstarch mixture into the centre of the pan; stir continuously until the sauce thickens and becomes a 'cream'. Nutrition facts are calculated based on skin-on, bone in thighs, and heavy cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this tonight – flavors great, but I would skip trying to pan fry to crisp the skins. Mine all stuck or fell off. Next time I will put the chicken on a sheet pan and low grill broil them till golden crispy. Otherwise I made this in one pan. Even added my egg noodles to pan with chicken and sauce, stirred covered for a bit stirred again and boom I done. Good recipe
So happy to hear it was a hit and you loved them!