skillet chicken with cheddar chive sauce
by Katie Webster
May 20, 2013 (updated 3/27/22) Jump To Recipe
Afternoon sports, graduation parties, spring concerts oh my. This time of year is busier than can be. And all I want to do is play in my garden. The pea tendrils are pushing up out of the earth and reaching for the trellis just above them. The first row of mesclun mix is almost ready for the salad bowl. And the chives are budding up. Though I have a long list of chores to tend to in the garden, I haven’t been dividing clumps of daylilies and filling my planters. I have been off doing other things.
I feel torn in a million directions. If you read the Healthy Seasonal Recipes newsletter, you know we are very busy around the house these days. And now suddenly, I am adding a new activity to my schedule. Running.
I haven’t run very much since I ran a half marathon last spring. And since I took on becoming a Les Mills GRIT coach in January, I think I have gone for about three runs. Total. That is, until last week, when a new friend asked me to run a leg of the Vermont City Marathon Relay on the 26th. Of this month! Even though I knew it was crazy, I said yes. Yikes! What was I thinking?! So suddenly I have been running like mad. I am sore.
Anyway, I want to tell you that this chicken rocks because it is fast and light and springy. It doesn’t take much time, and the whole family will eat it. It is like comfort food light. It is creamy and cheesy, but not heavy. The fresh chives and bright spring green garlic make it so lovely. Did I mention it is fast? I served it with barley, but mashed potatoes would be heavenly with this. I would go on but you get the idea and I gotta run 🙂
skillet chicken with cheddar chive sauce
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Skillet Chicken with creamy Cheese Sauce with cheddar and chives
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- Freshly ground pepper
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed (about 1 ½ pounds)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup finely chopped green garlic* see ingredient note
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup non-fat milk
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and pepper all over the chicken. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken in the flour, until coated, shaking off excess and setting aside. Reserve ¼ cup left-over flour mixture and discard the remainder.
- Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, but not smoking, add chicken to skillet and cook until browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate. Note chicken will continue cooking in step 4.
- Add green garlic or leeks, thyme and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt to the skillet, and cook, stirring until fragrant and starting to brown slightly, 1 to 3 minutes. Add wine, and cook scraping up any browned bits until the wine has almost completely evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved ¼ cup flour over the green garlic mixture and stir to coat. Stir in broth and milk and stir until the flour is dissolved. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, and continue cooking until the sauce is thickened slightly, about 1 minute.
- Return the chicken and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, turning the chicken over in the sauce occasionally until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and is cooked through, 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Remove skillet from heat and stir cheddar and chives into the sauce until the cheese is melted. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.
Notes
Ingredient note* Green Garlic is immature garlic plant and is available in the spring from farmers markets, CSAs and markets with a really good produce department. It has a distinctly garlicky flavor, but is not as strong as mature garlic. If you can’t find it, substitute 1 cup leek and 1 clove chopped garlic. Here is how to cut and clean a leek Do the same thing for green garlic.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 thigh, and 1/3 cup sauce
- Calories: 274
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Fiber: 11 g
- Protein: 19 g
Keywords: skillet chicken,chicken with cheese sauce
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
This dish looks absolutely gorgeous. Sounds really delicious as well. Definitely trying this tomorrow! I have to say, your dishes are really well presented. Kudos to you, Katie. I found a new favourite site!
Why thank you Gareth. Thanks for dropping by. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
I printed this week’s recipes. I made the rice dish last night and skillet chicken tonight. Both were a hit along with the cauliflower rice. I skipped the steak because my husband has alpha gal. Thanks for giving me healthy ideas and recipes that won’t break the bank.
I am so so happy to hear that you are liking it Lanelle. That is such great news. Enjoy!
We’re going to be in the high 60s this weekend and I’m so getting spring fever. This chicken dish caught my eye and after reading your post, I’m really ready for spring. I don’t have a vegetable garden but I plan on a really big herb garden this year. I’m so jealous of your food styling skills, Katie! Absolutely beautiful! And it looks delicious too!
Thank you Bill. I wish it was warmer here this weekend. Though it is supposed to get above freezing, so I shouldn’t complain;) I am looking forward to the garden too. You can never have enough herbs.
just discovering this recipe – yes I’m poking around your blog 😉 – and I love it!! quick comfort is totally my kind of dinner!
Totally okay by me if you poke around Christine! Quick and comfort are always good right?!
This is a gorgeous dish! I’ll be adding it to my menu this week for sure 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Lauren. Comfort food is on our menu this week too!
Enjoy the marathon! How long is your leg? This recipe looks so fresh and good, it’s definitely something I could modify for my low carb, GF diet.
I didn’t end up getting to run in the race. My team mates had to leave town unexpectedly. Oh well there is always next year. I think it would be easy to make it gf, though a little bit of starch may be needed to stabilize the sauce so the cheese won’t break. I think if you skip the dredging step, you can then just add in enough gf flour (3 tablespoons is probably enough) to thicken the sauce and keep the carbs in check.
Thanks Brooke. Yes I am sure gf mix or rice flour would work well here. I think you could easily omit the dredging step, and just add the gf flour to the green garlic mixture to stabilize and thicken the sauce.
Your photography is amazing. You just capture the life in the food so well like it’s actually in front of me. Also you had me at fast 😉 I think I would try substituting the flour with GF flour which im sure will work 🙂
This chicken is simply gorgeous! I love all the fresh flavors here … the green garlic, the thyme.. I will definitely be making this.
Thanks Kate. I am glad you think it looks good. I think I will have to make a fall variation too when the time comes. It seems like it would work with rosemary and mushrooms.