Chicken and bacon are a match made in heaven and we’re here today to celebrate that fact. This is the cosiest food you’ll ever make and the perfect addition to your dinner rotations! Follow me…
Preparing Chicken Breast (tips)
First thing you’ll want to do is bring your chicken close to room temp. Frying meat straight out the fridge causes it to seize up and start releasing a lot of moisture. This in turn causes the meat to come out tough and dry. Alongside this you won’t be able to brown the chicken properly because of the excess moisture, meaning you lose out on flavour. Another tip when prepping chicken breast is butterflying each breast in two to double the quantity. This not only gives you a 2 for 1 kinda deal, but also means the chicken will cook through quicker and more evenly. In terms of seasoning I keep it really simple for this one. The sauce itself is loaded with flavour and clings to the chicken really nicely. As such just a hefty pinch of salt and black pepper works just fine for the chicken seasoning. Bring out the best in the chicken but not to the point it overpowers the sauce. Last tip is to use a combo of olive oil and butter to fry. The butter adds gorgeous flavour to the chicken whilst the olive oil helps prevent the butter from burning out. Process shots: bring meat close to room temp (photo 1), slice in half (photo 2), season (photo 3), add butter and oil to pan (photo 4), add chicken (photo 5), fry both sides then remove (photo 6).
How to make Creamy Bacon Chicken
The sauce itself is an even split of chicken stock and cream. The flavour is deepened by freshly grated parmesan, alongside the fats from the bacon.
What bacon to use?
I like a thick cut streaky bacon. Choosing a thicker cut helps bulk out the dish a little more. Also opt for fattier cuts of bacon (i.e not medallions and definitely not turkey bacon). The fat helps create the base for the sauce.
Lemon Juice
I like to add a very gentle squeeze of lemon juice to the sauce. The sauce itself, as you can imagine is fairly richness. The lemon juice helps cut through the richness without altering the flavour too much. This is optional, but in all cases only 1/2-1tsp is needed.
Shallots vs Onion
I use shallots here, just because they’re a little sweeter than onions. This sweetness helps balance out the salty/richness of the sauce. The difference is minimal though so just use a regular white onion if that’s what you have. Just gently sweat them down to bring out their natural sweetness. Process shots: add bacon to pan (photo 1), fry until crisp (photo 2), fry shallots (photo 3), fry garlic (photo 4), pour in stock and cream (photo 5), add fresh thyme (photo 6), simmer then stir in parmesan, lemon juice and s&p (photo 7), add chicken (photo 8).
Serving Creamy Bacon Chicken
Once you’ve added the chicken back into the pan just give them a good basting in the sauce then serve up! Here I’ve served with Salt & Vinegar Potatoes and Garlic Green Beans. Lemon Potatoes also go nicely, both are nice and vibrant/acidic which compliments this sauce really nicely. You could also use Roasted Baby Potatoes for something more herby (all Potato Recipes Here). Roasted Broccolini would also work as a great sub for the green beans! Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy bacon chicken shall we?!
How to make Creamy Bacon Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
If you’re after another quick and easy creamy chicken recipe check out my Creamy Garlic Chicken and Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs! For more creamy chicken breast recipes check out my Creamy Tarragon Chicken, Creamy Boursin Chicken and Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken! For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
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