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Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce is an easy and delicious dish easy enough for a weeknight but good enough for an elegant dinner party with your best company!

A skillet with chicken and mushrooms with fresh thyme

Tender and flavorful Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce

I adore everything about this dish and bet you will too! This delicious recipe for Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce was first posted in 2015 and has been a favorite ever since.

I’ve streamlined the process a little and tweaked the recipe just a bit, but it’s still the same one-pan, moan-worthy, restaurant quality chicken dish we love and depend on.

What kind of mushrooms are best for this Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce?

For this recipe I’m not stuck on using one kind of mushroom. I often see which mushrooms look best when I get to the store and go with it. The mushrooms featured in the photos above are Baby Bella’s.

These deliciously earthy mushrooms are a smaller version of the popular portabella mushroom. Baby bella’s are cremini mushrooms that have been allowed to mature for 7 days longer than commercial cremini mushrooms.

For this dish you can also use white mushrooms or a mixture of the two.

The best way to clean mushrooms

Mushrooms grow in a damp environment so they are fine to be washed. However, I never let mushrooms sit in water or they’ll eventually start to soak up the liquid. I clean each mushroom individually by wiping with a water soaked paper towel to remove the dirt.

You can also lightly rinse the mushroom under a stream of water, but if the gills are exposed under the cap I usually don’t turn the mushroom upside down in the water. Allow the mushrooms to dry in a strainer or pat dry with paper towels.

Cook the mushroom stems too please

Please use the entire mushroom. Cut off the rough, woody, dried up end of the mushroom before using.

A close up of Skillet Chicken in Mushroom Wine Sauce with fresh thyme

Secrets for making this dish super flavorful

Building layers of flavor is the simple, easy way to make a dish flavorful. First, brown the chicken to seal in the juices then set aside to rest. All those nice flavorful bits of chicken goodness remain in the pan for the next step.

Next, cook the mushrooms, undisturbed, until dark golden brown on one side. Flip the mushrooms and stir until the moisture is released, and then evaporated. Add a hefty pile of thinly sliced shallots to the pan and sauté until tender and starting to caramelize.

Quickly sauté minced garlic with the mushrooms just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Next, carefully pour the white wine into the hot pan. Stir quickly while scrapping up the bottom of the pan to deglaze. This process incorporates all those crusty bits of flavor into the sauce building all that amazing flavor.

Finish the dish by adding fresh thyme sprigs, chicken broth, Dijon mustard and a little cream. Heat just until the sauce is thickened and warmed through.

Can you double this sauce / gravy in this dish?

Yes you can! However, take care to brown everything in batches to achieve the best flavor and color.

A skillet filled with chicken cutlets in a mushroom wine sauce

Cut the chicken breasts in half diagonally to create quick cooking cutlets.

This chicken is not just any old dried up piece of bird. These cutlets are tender, moist, juicy and delicious bites of chicken! Cutting chicken breasts into thinner cutlet size pieces helps the chicken cook quickly and more evenly.

You can cut your own chicken breasts or buy them from your local grocery store packaged as cutlets. Chicken tenders would be fine here too, just adjust the cooking time.

Another alternative is to use whole chicken breasts that have been pounded to an even thickness. And finally, feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this chicken mushroom recipe, too. It’s all good!

A plate with chicken in mushroom wine sauce with broccoli and mashed potatoes

How to serve Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce

We like to serve this chicken with something fresh and green like a salad, steamed broccoli, green beans or oven roasted Brussels sprouts.

In addition to something green, serve this creamy chicken with wild rice, buttery mashed potatoes or a nice flat noodle. However, don’t forget the crusty bread to soak up the wine sauce. Yummy!

A skillet with chicken cutlets in a rich, mushroom wine sauce with fresh parsley and thyme

Ingredients Overview

boneless, skinless chicken breasts – for this recipe you’ll need 3 large breasts, or 6 chicken cutlets. You can also use chicken tenders, or boneless skinless chicken thighs
all-purpose flour – for dredging the chicken
salt
pepper
garlic powder
mushrooms – any small variety of mushrooms will do
unsalted butter
olive oil
garlic
shallots
chicken broth – we prefer low-sodium to ensure the recipe is not too salty
dry white wine
heavy cream
fresh thyme
Dijon mustard
cornstarch – for thickening the gravy

You probably have most everything needed on hand already. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try!

If you’re lucky enjoy to have leftovers, reheat gently in the microwave for another delicious meal.

Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 1

Yield:

Course: Dinner

Author: Tricia

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5 from 455 votes

Fork tender chicken that's super easy to make, flavorful and delicious!

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless (5 to 6 oz) chicken breasts cut in half horizontally into cutlets
½ cup all-purpose flour (66g)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
12 ounces mushrooms cleaned and thick sliced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
2 large shallots sliced thin
½ cup dry white wine
1 ½ cups chicken broth low sodium
½ cup heavy cream
2 large springs of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water or broth

Instructions

Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Cut each breast in half horizontally into 2 thinner cutlets. Alternately, place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to an even thickeness.
In a shallow bowl combine the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet. Heat over medium until the butter is melted. Dredge 3 chicken cutlets in the flour mixture, coating both sides, shaking off the excess flour. Add the coated chicken to the skillet and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook another 3-5 minutes. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat until all chicken is browned.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook, undistrubed, until the mushrooms are very dark on one side. Stir and turn the mushrooms and continue cooking until the moisture is released and then evaporated, and the mushrooms are all well browned.
Add the sliced shallots to the pan and cook until softened and starting to brown. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Pour the wine into the pan and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Add the thyme sprigs, chicken broth, mustard and cream. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the dissolved cornstarch. Bring the sauce back to a light simmer and add the chicken. Heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened and the chicken warmed through. Remove the thyme sprigs, and season the dish with salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with parsley or additional thyme and serve with rice, potatoes or noodles.

Recipe Notes

To make chicken breasts easier to slice into cutlets, put them in the freezer in a single layer for about 15 minutes.

Any dry white wine will do for this sauce. For this recipe I typically use a Chardonnay. If you don’t drink wine, substitute white grape juice or additional chicken broth in this recipe.

If you prefer more sauce / gravy, double the ingredients starting with 2 extra tablespoons of butter in Step 4. Then double the amount of mushrooms, shallots, garlic, wine, thyme, chicken broth, mustard and cream. Enjoy!

Make sure the mushrooms are very dark on one side before turning for the best flavor and color. Once turned, cook until the moisture is released and then completely evaporated before adding the shallots.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Looking for more delicious chicken and mushroom recipes?

If you follow SRFD you’ve probably noticed I have a little chicken and mushroom recipe obsession. Enjoy!

Originally posted 2015, updated October 2019 and May 2024

Tender and flavorful Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce