If you are looking for an easy weeknight one pot dish, this Creamy Bacon Balsamic Chicken Skillet is the one. It comes together with ease and is full of flavour pops throughout.
This dish started as a blank slate. Writers block for cooks essentially. I had chicken. I had a cast iron pan. What I didn’t have was a clue what to make with it. So like I tend to do in times like this, the fridge door swung open and the rummaging began. This is where playing with flavours is key.
Through the chaos that is my “too small for me” fridge, I stumbled upon bacon, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, shallots, green onion, parsley, spinach, some vegetable stock, whipping cream, and garlic. It was go time and this this Creamy Bacon Balsamic Chicken Skillet is the result.
I would name it the “Lazy kitchen sink Skillet” but why call myself out like that. Give it a try tonight. Let me know what you think.
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts. Butterflied and flattened with a flat kitchen mallet.
salt & pepper
1/2 cup of diced thick cut bacon
1 large shallot peeled and thinly sliced along the veins from root to tip.
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes roughly chopped
1/2 cup of sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp of minced garlic
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar (I used pomegranate flavoured balsamic from Evoolution Oils)
1.5 cups of chicken / vegetable broth
1/2 cup of cream
2 cups of roughly chopped and de-stemmed spinach leaves
Chilli flakes (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
As in all cases when cooking a meal, you want to gather your Mise en place. Meaning all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go. This makes cooking much less stressful. And much cleaner. You will enjoy the process more when organized and tidy.
Tools needed at this point are simply a large cast iron frying pan. You will want to begin heating that up over medium heat.
Gather a spatula, wooden spoon, meat thermometer, tasting spoons (very important), and a plate to rest the chicken on. Some paper towel for the bacon, and tin foil to cover the resting chicken. You should be good to cook now.
Take your flattened chicken breasts and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Add the bacon to your frying pan and fry until crisp. Remove to paper towel with a slotted spoon reserving 1 tbsp of the bacon grease in the pan and pouring the rest into a dish to set aside.
Once bacon is done, add your chicken. Cook each side for 3-5 minutes. Using a meat thermometer, make sure the temp is 165° before removing it from the pan. Remove cooked chicken to plate and tent with the foil.
Add your shallot, garlic, thyme, and mushrooms to the pan. Cook over medium heat until softened.
Add the balsamic vinegar and stir for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. It will reduce rather quickly and you only want a slight reduction.
Add the chicken or veg stock and stir gently scraping all the stuck on flavour from pan. Add the cream and mix. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes giving the sauce some time to reduce by about 1/4. Taste the sauce. Add seasoning to your liking.
Add the bacon, tomatoes, green onions, and chicken to the pan. Add the spinach and parsley. Stir flipping the chicken a few times to coat it with the sauce.
Sprinkle with chilli flakes, a grate of parm cheese, and a grind of pepper. Enjoy.
Notes
You can use Coconut milk instead of cream if you wish to keep this meal dairy free.
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