What Makes This Recipe So Good
As soon as I tasted the very first bite of these creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs, I knew it was love. The salty, crispy bacon; the earthy mushrooms with their perfect sear; the garlicky, creamy sauce; the heady herbs; and the tender chicken thighs with their crispy skin? True love, plain and simple. This recipe is easy enough for a quick Whole30 dinner on a weeknight when you don’t really have a ton of time for something extravagant, but it’s also elegant enough for those nights when you have company to impress. And don’t worry about whether or not your non-Whole-30 friends will enjoy it – they absolutely will. Clean-up is a BREEZE because this bacon mushroom chicken dish is a ONE-PAN MEAL. Yup! All the cooking happens in just one large oven-safe skillet. No sink full of dirty dishes looming over you while you eat.
Key Ingredients
Chicken Thighs – Opt for bone-in, skin-on thighs here. The skin crisps up beautifully, and the bone keeps the chicken thighs tender and juicy. You could use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts if you’d prefer, but the cooking time will change slightly since they contain less fat than the chicken thighs.Coconut Milk – Keeping this recipe totally Whole30-compliant, coconut milk forms the base of this cream sauce. It’s totally dairy free, but it still gives you a rich, creamy sauce, and it won’t overwhelm your dish with coconut flavor.
Chef’s Tips
To get a really nice, browned skin on the chicken thighs, it’s important that you put them in the skillet and leave them alone. Don’t move them around or pick them up to check them or flip them over constantly. Put them in the skillet and leave them alone for 7 minutes or so. After that, gently pick them up – if the skin sticks at all, set them back down and let them cook a little longer. If you’re NOT on a Whole30 round and/or you’re NOT paleo, you can make the cream sauce with heavy cream instead of coconut cream. Add in a little freshly grated parmesan cheese for extra richness and depth. But ONLY IF you’re not following Whole30/paleo ways of eating. No dairy allowed on those! All of the cooking in this Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thigh recipe takes place in just one skillet. Just one! Make sure you’ve got a good oven mitt handy, though. The skillet will be super hot and you’ll need to handle it quite a bit.
Try These Whole30 Recipes Next
Whole30 Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup (Paleo) Whole30 Chicken Burrito Bowls (Keto, Paleo) Egg Roll in a Bowl Meal Prep (Whole30, Paleo, Keto) Whole30 Fried Chicken and Mashed Potato Bowl with Gravy Whole30 Chicken Cacciatore
