Photo: William Dickey
Smothered chicken is a real-deal Southern staple. Cheap, hearty, and delicious, it’s graced our dinner tables for decades past, always offering a welcome taste of nostalgia. There’s just something about tender, budget-friendly chicken breast generously coated in a warm, buttery sauce that feels both comforting and indulgent.
At the core, smothered anything is about enhancing the main ingredient with a bevy of spices and a few creamy additions. Between all the brilliant vehicles for a smothering gravy, like pork chops and cube steak, chicken is a Southerner’s bread and butter: the original.
In this smothered chicken recipe, a savory sauce of paprika, thyme, garlic, butter, and cream of mushroom soup (speckled with tender onions and mushrooms) takes a classic dinner to new heights. We dressed it up even more with a splash of white wine, which can be omitted by increasing the milk to 1 1/3 cups. Learn how to make smothered chicken tonight, and you'll be ready to serve this easy recipe at Sunday dinner with wide egg noodles, or rice. Get ready to receive rave family-favorite reviews.
How to Make It
Step 1
Prepare noodles according to package directions. Keep warm.
Step 2
Meanwhile, stir together paprika, dried thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Step 3
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and mushrooms, and sauté 8 to 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in garlic and paprika mixture; sauté 2 minutes. Add soup, milk, and, if desired, wine, and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add chicken pieces; spoon sauce over top of chicken. Reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated. Stir in 1 Tbsp. parsley. Serve over hot cooked noodles. Sprinkle with remaining parsley.
