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Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce

Skillet chicken and mushroom wine sauce with golden seared breasts and a dark, glossy mushroom-and-red-wine reduction. Finished with creamy thyme-flecked sauce that pools dramatically in the pan for a restaurant-style weeknight chicken dinner.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: French-American
Calories: 820
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt
  • pepper
  • garlic powder
  • dried thyme
Sauté and sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 0.5 cup dry red wine or white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 0.5 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Season and sear the chicken
  1. Season the chicken generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried thyme. Sear in olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side until golden and cooked through to 165°F, then remove.
Brown the mushrooms and build the sauce
  1. Melt the butter in the same pan, then cook the sliced cremini mushrooms over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes until deeply golden. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  2. Pour in the dry red wine and deglaze, scraping up all browned bits from the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes.
  3. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and fresh thyme leaves, then simmer for 5-6 minutes until the sauce thickens. Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the sauce over each breast.
Finish and serve
  1. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and serve. Let the chicken rest in the sauce for about 2 minutes so the coating turns dark and glossy as it settles.

Notes

For the richest, dark glossy sauce, scrape every browned bit during deglazing and simmer until the liquid visibly reduces and clings to the back of a spoon. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of broth. Freezing isn’t recommended because the cream can separate. For a lighter version, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream and simmer slightly longer to thicken.