One Pan Creamy Bacon Chicken Thighs
One-Pan Creamy Bacon Chicken Thighs are the ultimate weeknight dinner! Smoky bacon and tender chicken thighs make this the perfect chicken dinner for the pickiest of eaters! As a bonus, add in some veggies to cook in this luxurious cream sauce for the ultimate one pan meal!
Creamy Chicken Recipe
This dish is the epitome of savory satisfaction, where every bite is a symphony of textures and tastes that will leave you craving more. With simple ingredients and a decadent rich flavor, your whole family will enjoy this dreamy comfort meal.
Why You’ll Love It
Easy – This dish uses only one pan, meaning you don’t have to whip out a ton of dishes to make this delicious dinner. Plus, it only has a few steps, making it the perfect recipe for those who don’t like complicated recipes.
Quick – This easy dinner only takes 30 minutes to make, making it the perfect meal for any night of the week!
Lots of flavor – The juicy chicken thighs, shallot, minced, garlic, smoky bacon, fresh thyme, and heavy cream sauce produce the ultimate comfort food that will fill you up (literally) with joy.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs – bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on
- Thick cut smoky bacon
- Shallot – finely chopped or run through a food processor
- Garlic – finely minced or run through a food processor or on a microplane
- Fresh thyme
- White wine
- Heavy cream
- Parsley for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Tools
- Mini Food Processor – For pureeing all my shallots and garlic because it’s so much easier than chopping them up with a knife.
- Large Skillet – As of recently, I have switched over a ton of my cast iron for carbon steel. They are significantly lighter than cast iron but all of the same properties.
How to Make One Pan Creamy Bacon Chicken Thighs
Chop the Bacon
Grab that bacon and give it a good chop into small pieces. We’re creating our own bacon bits.
Pan Party
Grab a cast iron skillet or large skillet and turn on medium-high heat. Throw the bacon in and let it sizzle and cook until it turns crispy. Once it’s crispy, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the bacon. If you like, you can remove about three-fourths of the bacon grease while you’re at it.
Prep the Chicken Thighs
Dry the chicken thighs with paper towels. This helps the chicken get super crispy. Then, season the chicken thighs with a sprinkle of salt and pepper on both sides.
Sear the Chicken Thighs
Lay the chicken thighs into the bottom of the pan, skin side down, and let them sear. You’re aiming for a lovely golden brown and crispy chicken skin, which should take about 5-7 minutes. Flip the thighs and sear the other side. Once the chicken is cooked, set it aside for later.
Sauté the Thyme, Shallots, and Garlic
Lower the heat to medium-low and toss in the thyme, shallots, and garlic. This is a gentle sauté, meaning you don’t have to wait for the color to change. Then, you can toss in a whole sprig of thyme; its leaves produce a wonderful flavor while cooking.
Add the Wine and Cream
Give it a minute or two, then pour in the wine and let it do its thing for about 2 minutes. Then, add the heavy cream. Nestle the cooked chicken back in, skin side up. The liquid should come up about halfway to the chicken. Cover it all up—lid or foil, your choice—and bring the heat down to medium. Let the chicken cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the chicken juices are crystal clear. Lastly, remove the thyme sprigs.
Finishing Touch
Garnish the dish with the crispy bacon and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Tips
- When removing oil from the pan, line a small bowl with foil and pour the oil in there. Once it solidifies you can throw it out in the garbage! NEVER pour oil down your sink as it will clog your pipes.
- Serve up this quick dinner with a simple green salad, creamy pasta, or any of your favorite sides for a complete meal! But, you can totally eat this meal by itself if you prefer!
Variations
- You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs just watch the cooking time because it will cook significantly faster. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts but that will go even faster. I prefer thighs because the risk of them overcooking and drying out is much lower.
- Mushrooms would be such a great item here! I would slice them and throw them in with the shallots to sweat out a bit!
- If you want to add some greens, add a bunch of baby spinach to the pan a few minutes before the cook time is up. You don’t want the spinach to become wilted and lifeless.
- Sprinkle some red pepper flakes on top for a slick kick!
Storage
Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheating
When you’re ready to eat it, add it to a hot skillet and let everything heat up.
If you’re short on time, you can pop the chicken thighs into the microwave and heat them up in 30-second intervals until warm.
Print
One Pan Creamy Bacon Chicken Thighs
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 People 1x
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs, bone in skin on (Note 1)
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4 slices of thick cut smoky bacon
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1 shallot finely chopped or run through a food processor (Note 2)
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8 cloves of garlic, finely minced or run through a food processor or on a microplane
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2 sprigs of thyme
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½ a cup of white wine
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1 cup heavy cream
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1 tbsp chopped parsley for garnish
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Salt and pepper to tast
Instructions
- Using a knife, cut up the bacon into small pieces.
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Using a cast iron skillet or a stainless steel skillet, place bacon in over medium high heat.(See Note 4)
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Allow to cook until crispy and remove using a slotted spoon. Remove ¾ of the oil. (See Note 5)
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Season your chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides.
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Place the chicken thighs into the pan skin side down and let sear for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Flip the chicken and sear the other side.
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Once you have seared the chicken, remove from the pan with tongs and set aside.
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Pour off ¾ of the fat in the pan into the same container as previously.
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Turn the heat to medium low and add in the thyme, shallots and garlic. You want them to sweat, meaning ideally no color. You can throw in the whole sprig of thyme as the leaves will fall off the sprig by the end of cooking time and you can fish out the stems easily.
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After 1-2 minutes, pour in the wine and allow to evaporate for about 2 minutes.
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Pour in the heavy cream and nestle the chicken in skin side up. The liquid should come up about half way up the chicken. Close with a lid or aluminum foil and bring the heat down to medium. Allow to cook until chicken juices run clear or about 10-15 minutes.
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Using tongs, remove the thyme sprigs from the sauce.
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Garnish with crispy bacon and parsley
Notes
- You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs just watch the cooking time because it will cook significantly faster. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breast but that will go even faster. I prefer thighs because the risk of them overcooking and drying out is much lower.
- I use my mini food processor to puree all my shallots and garlic because it cuts time in half! And you do not need to dirty a knife and a cutting board then!
- Mushrooms would be such a great item here! I would slice them and throw them in with the shallots to sweat out a bit!
- As of recent I have switched over a ton of my cast iron for carbon steel. They are significantly lighter than cast iron but all of the same properties.
- HACK: When removing oil from the pan, line a small bowl with foil and pour the oil in there. Once it solidifies you can throw it out in the garbage! NEVER pour oil down your sink as it will clog your pipes.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
