Quick Homestyle Chicken with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

Name: Quick Homestyle Chicken with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 large (or 4 small) chicken breasts; ½ teaspoon EACH: garlic powder AND onion powder; 1 tablespoon high heat oil; 3 tablespoons butter, divided (see notes); 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 ½ cups unsalted or low sodium bone broth (stock works too); ¼ teaspoon EACH: paprika (I like smoked), dried thyme, black pepper, white pepper, AND onion powder; 1 teaspoon garlic powder,; 1 tablespoon heavy cream; 1 batch prepared cheddar mashed potatoes, for serving; Steamed or sautéed veggies, for serving

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Homestyle chicken with gravy and mashed potatoes is the ultimate weeknight-friendly comfort food. Made with simple ingredients easily found in most kitchens. This chicken with gravy recipe requires minimal prep work. Season the chicken and cook both the chicken and gravy in one pan!

Quick and comforting.

Those are two of my favorite words when it comes to homemade food. This chicken with gravy recipe is easy enough to prepare on a weeknight and delicious to serve with my homemade cheddar mashed potatoes. You can also use frozen mashed potatoes or instant mashed potatoes to put this meal together on the table super fast. There’s no judgment here. Put in as much or as little effort as you can!

Homestyle chicken with gravy is the perfect meal to make when you want something warm, comforting, and cozy. The idea behind this meal is that you can make it year-round. Though I love warm and hearty meals in the fall and wintertime, unseasonably rainy days in the middle of summer sometimes have me craving a warm bowl of mashed potatoes smothered in pan gravy too.

This meal is so quick and easy to put together; it’s perfect for comforting Sunday dinners year-round.

What ingredients do you need to make chicken with gravy?

Chicken: I used two large chicken breasts for this recipe that I just sliced in half lengthwise. You can also use 4 small chicken breasts but keep in mind that the cooking time will vary slightly. Boneless skinless chicken thighs would also be a great alternative for those that prefer dark meat. Again, the cooking time might vary slightly.
Seasonings: the thing that I love most about this recipe is that most of the flavor comes from your spice cabinet. You’ll need garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, black pepper, white pepper, and smoked paprika. These ingredients combined with the broth will elevate the natural chicken flavor to create the ultimate gravy.
Butter: butter plays a two-part role here. We’ll use a tablespoon to brown the chicken and develop flavor. When the milk solids in butter get together with chicken and brown in the pan, they leave behind little brown bits or ‘fond.’ This will become part of our pan gravy’s flavoring.
All-purpose flour: just a hint of flour goes in with the remaining butter to create a roux – which we’ll flavor with the seasonings and use chicken broth to create the gravy.
Chicken Broth: you can use either bone broth or chicken stock for this recipe. It’s essential to use good quality products as most of the chicken flavor will come from the broth or stock you use.
Heavy cream: a tablespoon of cream at the end adds a nice richness to the gravy and keeps your family guessing as to why this tastes like liquid gold. No joke, I caught my husband trying to scrape every last bit of this stuff out of the pan!

How to make homemade chicken with gravy quickly:

Season the chicken. Start by seasoning the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Then, combine the seasonings needed for the gravy in a small bowl. This makes it super easy to add in when we’re preparing the gravy!
Sear the chicken to create the base for the gravy. Heat a splash of oil in a hot cast-iron or heavy bottom skillet. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Then, add the chicken in a single layer and cook until completely browned; flip the chicken and cook for several minutes until the chicken is almost cooked through. I like to get it to about 160ºF. That way, when we add it back to the gravy at the end, it cooks to the perfect temperature. Then remove the chicken to a plate. All the brown stuck-on bits will become the base of our pan gravy now.
Make liquid gold. Add the remaining butter to the skillet and allow it to melt. Once melted, add the flour and the seasoning mix that you prepared. You have to add the seasonings all at once and start whisking them right away to keep them from burning. Then, slowly drizzle in the stock as you whisk to combine. Using a wooden spoon, stir the gravy frequently until it starts to simmer. Then, add the heavy cream, stir to combine, and lower the heat all the way. Add the seared chicken back to the pan (add in any juice that may have collected on the plate, too) and let it simmer until the chicken cooks through and the gravy thickens a bit further. Then, taste and adjust with salt as desired. If you find the gravy is thickening quite a bit as the chicken is cooking through, you can add a small splash of water or broth to thin it back. Then, serve with sautéed or steamed veggie sand mashed potatoes topped with a ladleful of gravy!

Tips for making the best chicken with gravy:

It’s important to use good quality bone broth (or stock) for this recipe. Since we’re using lean chicken breast for this recipe, I highly suggest using a good quality bone broth or stock to make sure that the gravy has tons of flavor. You want to use something that tastes good on its own and that the seasonings will enhance the natural flavor of the chicken stock. Typically I do not insist on these sorts of things; I highly recommend using high-quality broth or stock for this recipe.
Take the second required to make the seasoning mix. I know it’s easier to add the seasonings in one at a time when you’re making the gravy, but making the mix ahead of time (in step 1) will allow you to dump it all in at once and keep the flour from burning. It’s little steps like these that can make or break your recipe. If you burn the flour as you’re adding in the seasonings, you’ll need to dump and clean your pan before proceeding. You’d also lose all the flavor you created in the pan by searing the chicken.
Make homemade mashed potatoes if you can. I have several different recipes for homemade mashed potatoes here on my blog. If you have 20-minutes, you can make these garlic and herb mashed potatoes in your instant pot. My cheddar mashed potatoes are always a hit when I make them around the holidays, or if time permits, make my roasted garlic slow cooker mashed potatoes.

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Yield: serves 4