One Pan Smothered Chicken features seared chicken and gravy that’s so easy to make in just 30 minutes! Tender, juicy chicken is smothered in a rich and creamy gravy with lots of bacon and makes for a seriously mouthwatering main course.
One Pan Smothered Chicken
I have to say that my love of smothered chicken started at a pretty young age. Scratch that, my love of GRAVY started at a young age because I grew up on comfort food! Chicken with gravy was a must for us served up with mashed potatoes or even just white bread to sop up the goodness. We all know how much I adore chicken thighs too and serving them in a delicious bacon gravy, it doesn’t get better! The best part? It’s made all in one pan so the cleanup takes no time at all. Serve over your favorite starch, throw in some bread, and something green like these roasted green beans and you’ve got an amazing comfort meal.
Go gaga over more gravy recipes like the Best Sausage Gravy to pour over biscuits in the morning or this classic Brown Gravy Recipe to add to meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and so much more!
Are these smothered chicken thighs fried?
Basically, yes! This recipe consists of bone in, skin on chicken thighs that are dredged in flour, then fried in butter. However, they won’t finish cooking all the way through while frying. They will be seared until golden brown on both sides, then will finish cooking as they simmer in the gravy. Remember when cooking any type of chicken, it should reach an internal temperature of 165°F to be safe for eating!
How To Make One Pan Smothered Chicken
- Cook the bacon. In a large skillet, cook your diced bacon over medium high heat until cooked to your desired crispiness. Set it on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess grease and set aside.
- Create the chicken coating. While the bacon is sizzling away, combine the flour, garlic and onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. Stir to mix.
- Coat the chicken. Pat dry the chicken thighs to remove excess moisture. Dredge the chicken on each side into the flour mixture. Shake off excess and set any remaining flour mixture aside.
- Butter the pan and cook the chicken. Once the bacon is done cooking and removed from the pan, add half of the butter to the pan and let it melt. Add the coated chicken and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side until nice and golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Make the gravy. Add the rest of the butter to the pan and let it melt again. Sprinkle in one cup of the leftover flour mixture and whisk for about a minute until the butter and flour are combined. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and milk until the gravy is smooth.
- Return the seared chicken and bacon to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve. Serve the chicken and gravy over Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes or rice and enjoy!
Storing One Pan Smothered Chicken
Store leftover chicken thighs and gravy in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. I like to store the gravy in a separate container since it makes so much, then I can use it for other dishes!
Ingredients Notes for One Pan Smothered Chicken
- Bacon – You can use any type of bacon you like! Thick, thin, applewood smoked, maple, whatever you have or prefer. No matter what you go with you’ll want the bacon to be diced into small chunks.
- Chicken – Bone in and skin on makes these chicken thighs so crispy and juicy!
- Butter – Salted or unsalted will work here.
- Chicken broth – You could use vegetable broth but I find the chicken adds more flavor.
- Milk – Whole, 2%, or a non dairy substitute (just keep in mind this might make the gravy slightly more runny and you may want to add less, or add more flour as non dairy options tend to be thinner in consistency).
- Seasoning blend – You can customize your blend but I think the flavors of the Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic and onion combine really well with the bacon flavoring.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
One Pan Smothered Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 Slices Bacon, Diced
- 2 Pounds Chicken Thighs, Bone in and skin on
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 Stick Butter, Divided
- 3 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Cup Milk
Instructions
- Cook the diced bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- While the bacon is cooking, mix together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in a shallow bowl or dish.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and dredge the chicken on each side into the seasoned flour until coated. Shake off any excess flour and set the flour mixture aside for later.
- Once the bacon is removed from the pan, add half of the butter to the pan and allow to melt.
- When the butter is melted, add the flour coated chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining butter to the pan and allow it to melt.
- Sprinkle one cup of the remaining seasoned flour to the pan and whisk for 1 minute until the butter and flour are well combined.
- Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and milk until gravy is smooth.
- Return the cooked chicken and bacon to the pan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
Can I use Wondra flour, or should I stick with regular flour?
I haven’t tried it, so I’d have to advise sticking to regular flour 🙂
I had all the ingredients on hand so I decided to try this recipe . I did add some mushrooms and some creole seasoning to add a kick to it. I served it over rice.
You should be arrested for how good this is. Just made it and it was perfect! I used the amount of flour you originally designated(1 Cup) and it turned out amazing. Tried using a smaller amount as some suggested, but it was very watery and not the consistency I wanted. I do have a question for you. Would there be a way to give this more heat? I’m a big fan of food that has a kick on the back end and I feel like this gravy could do just that. I’m just not sure of what to add. Thanks for the recipe!!!
For a little heat you could put in the dry flour 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper to your heat level or you could mince up a jalapeno pepper into the sauce if you like that flavor. The cayenne will not change the flavor just the heat level
Add. Crushed red pepper.
I don’t eat chicken thigh, can I use chicken breast instead
Yes you can
Can I use chicken breasts instead?
Wow this is super flavorful gravy! I used 1/2 cup flour mix for the gravy and that worked out fine. I served it with twice baked potatoes and the chicken, gravy and potatoes were the ultimate comfort food. I did spoon out a lot of the chicken grease though before i ate it though.
I tried this while my boys were home for a visit. They are both 6’3″ and eat a ton! I was short on chicken so I threw in some pork chops too and they loved every bit of it! My boys are not picky eaters by any means, but man they could not stop raving about the taste and how tender the chicken/pork chops were (you could cut them with your fork-no knife needed)! The only change I made was reducing the amount of flower for the gravy to 1/4 cup as recommended in other comments. The Gravy came out perfect!
This will be a continued staple when the kids come to visit for sure! It is so easy to make and so full of flavor!
Thank you for this very easy and delicious recipe. I tried it last night after I watched the video and did my own spin on it. Everything came out great. My teenage son made his way in the kitchen last night and let’s just say this morning it is all gone. I will have to try this again. Thanks again!
I was going to go for sweet and sour chicken and then to my surprise there i used up the last peppers yesterday making spaghetti squash with turkey meat, so i rushed to the internet and found your recipe thank goodness i definitely felt good with the presentation and flavor i also made organic jasmine rice and my house smells divine. Thank you
Mine turned out amazing. I accidentally added all the butter at once, but it was still fine.