Smothered Chicken and Gravy

This baked Smothered Chicken and Gravy recipe is an easy oven meal that comes together in a snap. In it, chicken is smothered with a creamy sauce that magically turns into gravy in the oven. It’s perfect for ladling over rice, mashed potatoes or cornbread dressing.

Ingredients to Make Smothered Chicken and Gravy Recipe

Baked Southern smothered chicken is a down home comfort food dish that takes on many forms depending on the cook and their interpretation of the dish. This  is a “no fuss” juicy chicken that’s smothered with gravy and a healthy dose of home cooked love. It’s baked in one of my most beloved kitchen tools, my cast iron dutch oven. Cast iron cooking has a magical effect on foods from baking easy skillet apple pie biscuits, to fully loaded cornbread and sweet skillet berry cobblers. Not only does the food cook more evenly, but, it actually tastes better when cooked in my dutch oven. Ingredients to make Smothered Chicken Breast in the oven: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

• Chicken – Four 8 ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts.
• Seasoned Flour – Whisk together all purpose flour with salt, black pepper, and paprika for color.
• Butter – Three tablespoons of salted or unsalted butter.
• Onion – Onion seasons the gravy. Slice into thin wedges or dice.
• Soup – One can cream of chicken with mushrooms soup for the gravy.
• Liquid – One cup half and half makes the sauce creamy.
• Soup Base – Soup base is concentrated flavor that takes the place of salt. I used Better Than Bouillon.
• Seasonings – One teaspoon poultry seasoning, garlic powder, dried tarragon and black pepper.
• Garnish – Fresh parsley for color.

How to Make the Best Smothered Chicken and Gravy Recipe

• Butter – Melt butter over medium-high heat in a 6 quart dutch oven or similar oven safe pot.
• Seasoned Flour – Whisk together flour with salt, paprika and black pepper.
• Chicken Breasts – Dust chicken breasts on all sides with seasoned flour.
• Cook – Brown chicken in butter on both sides. Arrange in the dutch oven or buttered baking dish. Top with onion wedges and a light dusting of paprika.
• Sauce – Stir together, soup, dissolved soup base, half and half, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, tarragon and black pepper. Pour the over the chicken and onions.
• Cover – Bake covered per the recipe until the chicken is tender. Adjusting time depending on the thickness of chicken breasts used.
• Serve – Remove smothered chicken breast to a platter to rest for 5 minutes. Mix gravy and thicken, if needed then serve garnished with parsley.

Tips for Making Smothered Chicken and Gravy

• Kitchen Tools You’ll Need: Large Dutch oven, measuring cups and spoons, shallow dishes, whisk,
• Alternate Baking Dish: If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can brown the chicken on the stovetop in a large skillet and transfer it to a 13×9-inch baking dish for baking.
• Dice the Onion: When prepping the onion for the sauce, you can dice the onion, if you prefer.
• Soup Base Adds Ample Salt: There is no salt in the gravy ingredient list as the soup base provides an ample amount to season the dish. As always, you have the option to taste the gravy mixture and adjust to your liking.
• How Do I Know When Smothered Chicken is Done? The cooking time may need to be adjusted based on the thickness of the chicken pieces being used. A good rule of thumb is, when a knife is easily inserted into the thickest portion of the chicken breasts and juices run clear. You can also test for an internal temperature of 165°F with an instant read thermometer.
• Thicken the Gravy: At the end of cooking smothered chicken and gravy, you can thicken the gravy further using cornstarch. Remove the chicken breasts to a platter and keep warm. Place the dutch oven back onto the stovetop over medium-high heat, Mix up a cornstarch slurry using equal parts of cold half and half, cold chicken broth or cold water and cornstarch. That’s 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1-2 tablespoon of liquid, use a little more as needed. Whisk the slurry into the gravy and let it come to a gentle boil. Repeat until it’s thickened to your taste.
• How Do You Make Gravy Thinner? You can thin the gravy by adding more chicken stock, half and half or milk.
• How to Serve Chicken and Gravy: You may enjoy white rice, mashed potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots or pasta with this tender chicken.

Recipe Variations

• Protein: You can adapt this chicken recipe using boneless chicken thighs.
• Spice: You can add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the sauce for a bit of kick. Consider the taste of your family and add the amount to suit your taste.
• Seasoning: The poultry seasoning I use in this recipe is called Poultry Magic. You can adapt this recipe using your favorite chicken or poultry seasoning blend.
• Crockpot Smothered Chicken: This recipe is made in the oven but could be adapted to a crockpot. too. Assemble per the recipe in a slow cooker cooking on low for 5-6 hours, or just until the chicken is fork tender. Adapt the cooking time based on how your appliance performs.
• Chicken Tenders: You may like these Easy Chicken Tenders with Pan Gravy made on the stove top.

Storage and Leftovers

• Leftovers: Store leftover southern style smothered chicken breasts with gravy in an airtight container chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheating: Reheat gently in the microwave in single servings.
• Freezer Storage: You can freeze smothered chicken for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Side Dishes to Serve with Smothered Chicken and Gravy

While you can’t really go wrong, there are just some Southern side dishes that fit so well with this kind of main dish. Some recipes you may like to try:

• Creamy Buttermilk Ranch Mashed Potatoes is a classic choice to go with chicken and gravy.
• Southern Cornbread Dressing is moist on the inside with a slightly crunchy topping.
• Classic Wedge Salad drizzled with homemade bleu cheese dressing, cherry tomatoes, red onion and crumbled bacon.
• Sweet Pea Salad is a retro warm weather salad to make.
• Cajun Dirty Rice will add a little New Orleans flavor to the supper table.
• Roasted Parsnips from Dinner at the Zoo.

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Helpful Kitchen Items:

• Dutch Oven
• Measuring Set
• Kitchen Utensils
• Knives and Chopping Board