Chicken in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
A cream sauce splits if it boils, and the chicken dries out if it stays in the pan throughout. Sear the chicken and remove it, make the sauce, then return it for the final 5 minutes over gentle heat that never boils.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Calories
- 450
Photo: Justmen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce is a French classic that takes half an hour and looks like restaurant food. Every problem it has comes down to timing and the temperature of the cream.
Method
-
1
Even thickness
Pound the breasts to an even 2 cm, then dry and salt them. Uneven thickness means one end dry and the other raw.
⏱ 8 min -
2
Sear and remove
Sear the chicken in a tablespoon of butter over high heat for 4 minutes a side until browned, then take it out. It is not fully cooked, and that is deliberate.
⏱ 10 min -
3
Mushrooms over high heat
In the same pan, cook the mushrooms over high heat for 7 minutes until their liquid has evaporated and they brown. Stewed mushrooms give a watery sauce.
⏱ 8 min -
4
Onion and garlic
Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, then the garlic and thyme for half a minute. Garlic goes in late so it does not burn and turn bitter.
⏱ 7 min -
5
Deglaze
Pour in the stock and scrape the browned base with a wooden spoon. That layer holds the flavour of the seared chicken and is the richest part of the sauce.
⏱ 3 min -
6
Cream over low heat
Lower the heat, add the cream, mustard and Parmesan, and stir until it thickens, 5 minutes with no boiling. Boiling splits the cream.
⏱ 6 min -
7
Return the chicken
Return the chicken and its juices, cover, and cook 5 minutes over low heat until cooked through. Serve with rice or pasta.
⏱ 6 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Sear the chicken and take it out — it returns for the last 5 minutes only so it cannot dry.
- The cream must never boil — low heat and constant stirring.
- Mushrooms over high heat until their water has gone, or the sauce will be thin.
- Scrape the browned base; it is the richest flavour in the dish.
People also ask
Why does the cream split?
It boiled. Cream tolerates heating but not boiling. Drop the heat to its lowest before adding it and never let the sauce bubble afterwards — a little Parmesan also helps stabilise it.
Why is my chicken dry?
It stayed in the pan the whole time. Sear it 4 minutes a side and remove it while still underdone, then return it for the final 5 minutes — it finishes in the sauce and stays juicy.
Can I make it without cream?
Yes, with milk plus a teaspoon of cornflour slurry, or full-fat coconut milk. Both give body, but cream is more stable over heat and less likely to split.
Cook mode
Chicken in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
-
1
Even thickness
Pound the breasts to an even 2 cm, then dry and salt them. Uneven thickness means one end dry and the other raw.
-
2
Sear and remove
Sear the chicken in a tablespoon of butter over high heat for 4 minutes a side until browned, then take it out. It is not fully cooked, and that is deliberate.
-
3
Mushrooms over high heat
In the same pan, cook the mushrooms over high heat for 7 minutes until their liquid has evaporated and they brown. Stewed mushrooms give a watery sauce.
-
4
Onion and garlic
Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, then the garlic and thyme for half a minute. Garlic goes in late so it does not burn and turn bitter.
-
5
Deglaze
Pour in the stock and scrape the browned base with a wooden spoon. That layer holds the flavour of the seared chicken and is the richest part of the sauce.
-
6
Cream over low heat
Lower the heat, add the cream, mustard and Parmesan, and stir until it thickens, 5 minutes with no boiling. Boiling splits the cream.
-
7
Return the chicken
Return the chicken and its juices, cover, and cook 5 minutes over low heat until cooked through. Serve with rice or pasta.
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