Cream cheese chicken is packed full of delicious flavor and makes the best quick and easy weeknight dinner! Coated in a super simple creamy sauce, this chicken recipe will be a family favorite in no time.
Cream Cheese Chicken
This cream cheese chicken recipe is truly one of the best chicken recipes you’ll ever eat. The chicken is butterflied so that it cooks quickly and stays tender, it’s lightly coated in flour to give it a little crunch from the golden brown sear, and it’s cooked in bacon drippings for unreal flavor.
The thick and creamy sauce is made from a combination of tender sauteed onions and red bell peppers, chicken broth, and cream cheese. It’s flavored with fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, and paprika.
At the end, crispy bacon pieces are mixed in, which add a delicious salty flavor and add a nice crunch. Even though this dish is delicious on its own, I normally serve it over Fettuccine (but any pasta or rice will work). This is a dish that even your picky eaters will love!
Ingredients
Bacon: Bacon adds such a delicious, rich, and smoky flavor to this dish. The cooked bacon pieces also lend a crunchy texture to the dish, and the bacon drippings are the perfect flavorful fat to cook the rest of the food in.
Chicken Breasts: Since chicken breasts are lean, they pair perfectly with this rich sauce. Look for air chilled chicken because it tastes better when it’s cooked and releases less moisture in the cooking process.
Salt and Pepper: Salt enhances all the other flavors in this dish, while pepper adds a subtle heat that helps balance out the richness.
Flour: Dusting the chicken with a light coating of flour helps create a delicious, golden-brown crust that has the perfect crunch. It also helps lock in more moisture.
Onion, Garlic, and Bell Pepper: These aromatics add a combination of savory and sweet flavors that make up the base of the flavor in the sauce.
Chicken Broth: This is the liquid we’re using to create the sauce, and it adds so much more depth of flavor than just using water would.
Cream Cheese: Adding cream cheese to the sauce is an incredibly easy way to create a delicious, creamy, and rich sauce. Using room temperature cream cheese helps it melt more smoothly.
Italian Herbs and Paprika: The combination of these two spices helps round out the flavor profile of the dish.
Alternative Ingredients
- Meat: Feel free to swap chicken breasts for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, turkey cutlets, or evenly thinly sliced pork chops.
- Vegetables: If you don’t have red bell peppers, feel free to swap it for yellow or orange bell peppers. Green bell peppers will also work but will have a less sweet flavor. You can also saute some of your favorite vegetables to add to this dish. Mushrooms, spinach, or kale would all be delicious here.
- Spice: If you like a bit of heat, feel free to add in some cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
How To Make Cream Cheese Chicken
Cook the Bacon: In a large skillet, cook the sliced bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the skillet. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)
Prepare the Chicken: Season the butterflied chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then coat both sides with flour, shaking off the excess.
Sear the Chicken: In the bacon drippings, sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown and cooked through. Set the chicken aside on a plate.
Saute Vegetables: Add the diced onion and red bell pepper to the skillet. Saute until softened, then stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
Make the Sauce: Reduce the heat and pour in the chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the skillet to release any browned bits. Stir in the Italian seasoning, paprika, and cream cheese, mixing until the cream cheese is fully melted.
Simmer with Chicken and Bacon: Lower the heat, return the chicken and bacon to the skillet, and spoon sauce over the chicken. Simmer until heated through.
Serve: Plate the chicken over rice or pasta, drizzle with sauce, and garnish with fresh parsley. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
Pro Tips
- Butterfly Evenly: Make sure you butterfly the chicken breasts evenly so that all of the pieces cook in the same amount of time. If some pieces are thicker than others, you may need to use a meat mallet to lightly pound the thicker pieces.
- Cook In Batches If Needed: For both the bacon and the chicken, you’ll achieve crispier, more delicious results if the pan isn’t overcrowded. You may need to cook the bacon and the chicken in batches to give the food enough room to brown properly.
- Deglaze: When you add the chicken broth, be sure to scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan. They add so much flavor to your sauce.
How To Slice Chicken Cutlets
First things first, make sure you’re using a sharp knife and chilled chicken. Chilled chicken is firmer, easier to handle, and less slippery than room temperature chicken. Once you’re ready to slice, place the chicken on a cutting board with your non-dominant hand on top. Take your knife and slice it horizontally through the chicken breast into two even cutlets.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs?
Absolutely! Boneless, skinless chicken thighs would be a great protein to use in this recipe. They have tons of flavor and will make this dish taste even more rich. You may need to cook them for a bit longer though. I prefer chicken thighs cooked to a higher internal temperature to give the fat a chance to render (I prefer my chicken thighs cooked to an internal temperature of about 195F).
What Can I Do With Cream Cheese?
If you’re looking for more cream cheese recipes, be sure to check out these popular recipes while you’re here:
- Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
- Cream Cheese Pasta
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- Mac and Cheese without Milk
- Fried Pickle and Ranch Dip
- Everything Bagel Dip
What To Serve With Cream Cheese Chicken
I love serving this chicken over some garlic butter pasta or some mashed potatoes without milk. I also like serving it with either a side salad or some buttered peas, along with a slice of air fryer garlic bread.
Can You Freeze Cream Cheese Chicken?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing this dish. The cream cheese sauce risks separating when it thaws, which will cause a grainy texture.
Storing And Reheating Leftovers
Allow the leftovers to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, warm it up in a skillet over medium heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce is creamy. If the sauce is too thick, you may need to add a bit more chicken broth to achieve the perfect consistency.
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
Chicken Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of our other chicken recipes. Some reader favorites are:
- Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
- Chicken Taquitos
- Crispy Panko Chicken
- Chicken Tenderloins
- Chicken Gnocchi
BEST Cream Cheese Chicken (Quick and Easy Recipe)
Cream cheese chicken is so flavorful and a quick and easy weeknight dinner! Coated in a super simple creamy sauce, this is a family favorite.
Ingredients
- 6-8 slices of bacon (sliced)
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (butterflied, about 3 large chicken breasts)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 1 red bell pepper (stem and seeds removed, diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning*
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened, 1 full block)
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)
- Cooked rice or pasta (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once heated, cook the sliced bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes. Once cooked, remove the bacon pieces and set them aside, leaving the bacon drippings behind in the skillet.
- While the bacon is cooking, season both sides of the butterflied chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Sprinkle them with the flour, making sure both sides are coated evenly, then shake off any excess flour.
- Carefully place the chicken breasts into the skillet with the bacon drippings. Sear each side until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes per side. Once seared and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165F on an instant read meat thermometer, remove the chicken breasts and set them aside on a clean plate.
- To the same skillet, add the diced onion and red bell pepper. Saute for about 4 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
- Stir in the minced garlic and saute until aromatic, about 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to medium, pour in the chicken broth, and scrape down the bottom of the pan. Stir in the Italian seasoning and paprika, then place the cream cheese in the skillet, stirring continuously as it melts.
- Once the cream cheese has melted, turn the heat down to low. Return the seared chicken breasts and the crispy bacon pieces to the skillet, spooning some of the sauce over the chicken.
- Allow the mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is heated through.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Serve the chicken breasts over mashed potatoes or pasta, drizzling the creamy sauce over the top, and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
*You can substitute the Italian seasoning with 1 teaspoon each of dried oregano leaves, dried basil leaves, and dried thyme leaves.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat on the stove over low heat, adding a splash of chicken broth or milk if needed.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 429Total Fat: 22.4gCarbohydrates: 11.8gFiber: 1.5gSugar: 4.1gProtein: 43.4g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
I hope you love this cream cheese chicken recipe as much as I do! It’s such a quick, easy, and delicious dish to add to your dinner rotation, especially because it’s easy enough for weeknight dinners and elevated enough for special occasions.
