# 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.

**French Cuisine · 45 min · 4 servings · 450 kcal per serving**

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.

## Ingredients

- 4 — chicken breasts
- 300 g — mushrooms, sliced
- 1 — onion
- 4 cloves — garlic
- 1 cup — cooking cream
- 1/2 cup — chicken stock
- 3 tbsp — butter
- 1 tbsp — Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup — Parmesan
- 1 tsp — dried thyme
- 1 tsp — salt
- 1/2 tsp — black pepper

## 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.
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.

## Tips

- 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/french-cuisine/creamy-chicken-mushroom-sauce
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-23