Smothered Chicken With Vegetables (A One Pot Meal)
Smothered chicken is one of my favorite comfort foods. Tender, juicy chicken smothered in onions, carrots, celery, peppers and spinach and a yummy sauce – all in one skillet.
Food for the soul, this one pot meal of chicken and vegetables goes way back, over 30 years at least.
It’s a family fall or winter favorite that shares similar tastes to a chicken stew or chicken fricassee, but contains no dairy.
The oniony, garlicky savory gravy is like a warm hug.
This is a great recipe that is well worth the few extra steps and time in my opinion, and it can be made ahead and warmed up the next day. In fact, it’s just as good or better the next day.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Bone-in chicken pieces, carrots, onions, celery, red pepper, garlic, oil, baby spinach (optional), broth, salt, pepper, thyme, cornstarch.
- Chicken options
- You can substitute a whole cut-up chicken with any type of bone-in pieces you prefer e.g. chicken thighs, chicken breasts, etc. You can even make this same recipe using pork chops.
- I use bone-in, skin-on chicken. If you’ve seen my other chicken recipes, you’ll know that I always prefer dark meat (thighs and legs) because I find it juicier and more flavorful. But since the chicken and vegetables are covered in a sauce, the chicken – both dark and white – stays moist.
- Skinless chicken would be fine too (just cook it for less time).
- Vegetable variations
- Substitute or add other vegetables like mushrooms, sweet potato or parsnips. I don’t suggest watery vegetables like zucchini as they can become mushy.
- Instead of fresh spinach, use a cup or more of frozen chopped spinach, microwaved on high for 3 minutes then well drained.
- Seasonings
- Play around with the seasonings. I love thyme or rosemary in this recipe. Marjoram, sage, dill and poultry seasoning would work too. For a bit of heat, you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Step-by-step instructions
Weird Tip
To avoid that fry/onion smell in my hair, I wrap a scarf around my head when pan-frying the chicken. Not pretty and my husband just shakes his head, but worth it!
What to serve with smothered chicken
Keeping with the comfort food vibe, I love to serve this saucy chicken and vegetable recipe with fluffy mashed potatoes. Noodles, quinoa or rice are great too. For a lighter option, try our seasoned cauliflower rice with herbs.
To round out the meal, add a simple tomato and onion salad, microwave green beans, or a citrus salad.
Shortcuts
- Instead of making your own seasoned flour, buy a seasoning mix with similar seasonings (no chili powder or sugar!)
- Substitute garlic from the jar or frozen garlic cubes instead of mincing fresh garlic.
- Use boneless chicken and cut the vegetables smaller for a shorter cooking time in the oven.
Make Ahead
- Make the full recipe, cool and refrigerate. Warm it up in the oven the next day. The only small downside is that the spinach won’t maintain its vibrant green color.
- Leftovers are delicious and will keep in the fridge for several days.
- You can also make the dish a couple of hours ahead and rewarm it before serving.
More chicken comfort food recipes
- simple roast chicken and potatoes
- baked chicken with cream of mushroom soup
- chicken meatloaf with vegetables
- skillet chicken pot pie (30 minutes)
- Moroccan chicken with sweet potatoes
- roast chicken breast with gravy
- instant pot roast chicken and gravy
- balsamic glazed chicken
Smothered Chicken With Vegetables (A One Pot Meal)
Smothered chicken is one of my favorite comfort foods. Tender moist chicken smothered in onions, carrots, celery, peppers and spinach and a yummy sauce – all in one skillet. Food for the soul, this one pot meal of chicken and vegetables goes way back, over 30 years at least.
Servings: 4 -5
Equipment
- A deep 12" skillet (20.5 cm) with lid (or 14"/35.5cm). Or dutch oven. If you don't have one, you can transfer chicken and vegetables to a roasting pan with a cover for the oven portion of the recipe.
Ingredients
- 3.5 pounds chicken pieces (e.g. legs, thighs, breasts, wings) bone in, skin on.
- 1/4 cup seasoned all purpose flour, Note 1
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Vegetables
- 1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch/1.3 cm pieces
- 4 large carrots, peeled, cut in 1/2 inch slices
- 4 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch/1.2 cm slices
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch/1.3 cm slices
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp)
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped optional to add at final step
Sauce
- 2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme I use a bit more
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed into 1/4 cup/59 ml cold water
- salt and black pepper to taste
Garnish (optional)
- chopped green onions or chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/176.7C
- PREPARE CHICKEN : Trim extra fat from chicken. Place seasoned flour into a bag and season chicken pieces, one at a time, by shaking in bag (shake off excess flour and discard any remaining flour mixture after all chicken is coated).
- SAUTÉ CHICKEN: In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium heat to medium-high heat. Add chicken to the bottom of the pan and fry on one side until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn chicken and repeat on second side. The chicken will finish cooking later on. Drain on a paper towel over plate and set chicken aside. If your pan is not large enough to fit all the chicken pieces with some space in a single layer, fry in two batches then transfer all the chicken to a larger covered roasting pan.
- SAUTE VEGETABLES: Sauté vegetables and garlic in the skillet for 5 minutes. Place chicken back in skillet (or transfer to pan with chicken if using a separate pan) and settle vegetables under and on top of chicken.
- BAKE: Pour broth into bottom of skillet (or roasting pan) and sprinkle chicken and vegetables with thyme. Cover chicken, place in the oven and cook chicken for about 35-45 minutes. Vegetables should be tender and chicken should read 160F-165F/71-74C with an instant thermometer.
- FINISH SAUCE AND SERVE: Remove chicken to a plate and set aside while you finish the sauce. Skim grease floating on the top and discard. Place skillet (or pan) on stove and bring vegetable and broth mixture to a boil. Pour in the cornstarch-water slurry and stir until thickened, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, stir in spinach (if using) and cook just until wilted, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. If the sauce is too thick, add some more chicken broth or water. Place chicken back into the skillet and spoon over sauce to coat it. If serving to company, transfer the entire dish to a deep platter (or serve in the skillet), sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired and serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles or with crusty bread. Garnish with parsley or green onions if desired.
Recipe Notes
- To make seasoned flour: combine 1/4 cup (31 grams) flour with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. Shortcut: buy seasoned flour or chicken seasoning (about 4-5 teaspoons) to add to flour.
- Variations and Substitutes
- Chicken options
- You can substitute a whole cut-up chicken or any type of bone-in chicken pieces you prefer e.g. all thighs, all breasts, etc.
- Skinless chicken would be fine too (and lower calories and fat).
- Vegetable variations
- Substitute or add other vegetables like mushrooms, sweet potato or parsnips. I don’t suggest watery vegetables like zucchini as they can become mushy.
- Instead of fresh spinach, use a cup or more of frozen chopped spinach, microwaved on high for 3 minutes then well drained.
- Seasonings
- Play around with the seasonings. I love thyme or rosemary in this recipe. Marjoram, sage and poultry seasoning would work too. Even dill.
- Chicken options
- Make Ahead:
- Make the full recipe a day or two ahead, cool and refrigerate in an airtight container. Reheat in a 350F/176.7C oven for about 20 minutes or until heated through.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for several days. I just warm them in the microwave.
- You can also make the recipe a couple of hours ahead. Rewarm in a 325-350F/163-176.7C oven before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 695kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 55g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 202mg | Sodium: 581mg | Potassium: 1061mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 13633IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?We’d love you to rate it above under ‘rate this recipe’ or in the comment section below. Thanks!
This recipe from 2016, now updated, was previously posted as Chicken and Vegetables In A Skillet.
This was delicious and easy. I used whole chicken breasts and the chicken was tender and perfect after 40 minutes in the oven. This seems like a good recipe to use up herbs and veggies because it would taste great with varied combinations. I added fresh rosemary and thyme and the flavors went well together.
Fresh rosemary and thyme would be delicious additions. Thanks for sharing Ellen 🙂
We really enjoyed this dinner! Served it with my husband’s homemade focaccia. It was a big hit! Thank you,
You’re very welcome! The homemade focaccia sounds perfect with it.
I’m a lazy cook so I used a rotisserie chicken from my local grocery store (they have lots of pre-cooked items like that & it’s all very good!) I just cut it up in large chunks & then followed the rest of the recipe. I served it with garlic bread-We loved it!!! Thanx so much for sharing this recipe with us-I will be making this again soon. Next time I will double the recipe so I can share with the elderly couple next door.
How clever Connie – what a great shortcut and kind neighbor. Glad you loved the recipe 🙂
What can I substitute for the cornstarch? I’m allergic to corn.
Potato starch is a very good substitute for cornstarch. Here are several others listed from Bon Appetit.
Really yummy with less calories then my other recipe for smothered chicken. Loved it!
Great to hear! Thanks very much for leaving a comment 🙂
This recipe is well written. Thank You!
My wife noticed that this chicken can be used in other recipes as it is, as it has been baked. I might use it for a chicken pot pie.
The sauce was lovely. I just wish I had more of it after we have eaten. We didn’t use much of it. We used it like a gravy.
I made this recipe for my ailing wife and she loved it. Thanks again for your expertise as you wrote this recipe.
What a lovely comment – thanks Keith. Wishing your wife all the best.
Made this for dinner and it turned out fantastic!
Yay! One of my faves! Thanks for the comment 🙂
love this recipe !! I did adjust the seasonings to My Preference, but overall, it tastes exact the way I expected it to. Will definitely make this recipe again.
Great to hear Denise. One of my favorites. Thanks for leaving a comment – feedback is always much appreciated.
I made this, using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and it came out delicious! It was a big hit for the whole family. Thank you for posting it.
Glad you liked it! I always use bone in chicken so I’m happy to hear the recipe worked well with boneless as well.
KOODOS….Ladies tried this receipe today and it was a true winner in my house…will keep as one of those soul satisfying go to meals
Happy to hear Lena! Definitely one of my favorite comfort foods. Leftovers are great too (if you have any).
Sounds so good. Have you tried it in a slow cooker? I can brown in mine. so it might work great
I haven’t tried that, but I think it should work well. Good idea! I’d love you to let me know how it works out if you try it. ?
Just wanted you to know that this recipe was fantastic. I doubled the minced garlic because, well. GARLIC! And I added Trader Joe’s Umami seasoning, about 1 tsp. Served over brown Jasmine rice.
So glad you enjoyed it. And that umami seasoning sounds like a good tweak. Thanks!