Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Skillet Meal is a quick and flavorful meal that's made in a single pan in 30 minutes.
Chicken, mushrooms, and orzo are coated in a creamy herb sauce.
If you're short on time and have no patience for doing dishes, you'll love this creamy chicken and mushroom skillet meal. It's ready in just 30 minutes, and is made in a single saute pan on the stove top.
The best part is that this recipe is made with simple ingredients you can find at your local grocer.
Plus, the chicken, mushrooms, and pasta are coated in a creamy and flavorful herb sauce. It's surprisingly simple to make, and filled with flavor.
Ingredients and substitutions
If you already have cooked and cubed/shredded chicken on hand, skip the first two steps and continue with the rest of the recipe as written.
Orzo can be substituted with another small dried pasta. Check your pasta's package cooking times and adjust the recipe accordingly.
Chicken broth can be substituted with vegetable broth.
Heavy cream is best for this recipe because it helps create a thick and creamy sauce. I'd suggest adding half the amount if substituting with half & half or whole milk.
Thickening your sauce
Thickening your sauceThis recipe contains no thickening agents, like flour or cornstarch, to help thicken your sauce.
Because everything is cooked in the same pan, the starches released when the pasta cooks will help thicken your sauce naturally.
If measured exactly, your pasta should absorb almost all of the chicken broth while it cooks. If your sauce looks thin after your recipe is complete, allow the pan to set, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sets, so your sauce will thicken over time.
What to serve with a skillet meal
Since this recipe makes an entire meal in a single pan, there's no need to serve anything extra on the side. However, if you'd like to stretch this recipe into more servings, here are a few great side dish ideas:
- Strawberry spinach salad
- Winter chopped salad
- Freezer garlic bread
- Garlic bread cheese balls
- Roasted zucchini and squash
- Kale apple slaw
- Green beans and onions
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Skillet Meal
Ingredients
- 16 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ small onion, diced
- 8 ounces button mushrooms, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 ounces chicken broth
- 1 cup orzo, uncooked
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 ounces heavy cream
Instructions
- Season cubed chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat saute pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to pan. When hot, add chicken and cook until juices run clear, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions and mushrooms to pan and cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have browned (about 4-5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth to pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Then, add orzo, parsley, and thyme. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until pasta is just al dente (according to your pasta's package directions). Most of the liquid should be absorbed.
- Remove lid and add heavy cream and cooked chicken. Stir to combine. Cook for one additional minute, then remove from heat. Allow to set for 5 minutes to allow sauce to thicken.
- Optionally, top with fresh chopped parsley, or freshly grated parmesan.
I'm not really sure I should rate or comment on this recipe since it didn't end up anything like it was written. While checking my pantry prior to a grocery run, I mistakenly thought I had half a box of orzo. Wrong! The brain saw risotto and thought orzo. I wasn't running back to the grocery just to get orzo so......I ran with what I had. And since I'd already taken a huge liberty with the risotto, I thought, "What the heck! Let's throw in this can of baby peas." It turned out good but I think I'd like to try it again but next time with the correct ingredients.
This recipe is awesome! I did tweak it a little. Put 12oz of chicken broth and 4oz of white wine. Will be making this again! I happen to love all of your skillet dishes so far. Thanks for posting it
Thank you for the great review, Jennifer. I'm glad you're enjoying the skillet meals!
My family loves this dish. I added some mixed vegetables to make it a complete and rounded meal and used plain Greek yogurt instead of the heavy cream, because that’s what I had.