You’ll love this Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom recipe! The chicken breast turns out tender and flavorful in the cheesy and creamy mushroom and onion sauce. The onions are optional, but highly recommended :)!

Main ingredients for the Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom recipe:

Chicken: chicken breast is seasoned, dipped in flour and egg and gently sautéed on both sides
Mushrooms: the sky is the limit for the types of mushrooms you can use in this recipe. I used sliced button mushrooms and cremini mushrooms. But, you can use shiitake, portabella, enoki, oyster, or a variety of them. The only mushrooms I prefer not using in this recipe is the King Oyster/Trumpet mushroom. These mushrooms have very thick stems and are tougher and not as tender as the other mushroom varieties.
Onions: If you love French onion soup, you will love adding onions to this recipe. Sautéed with mushrooms in a creamy sauce and baked under a melted cheese layer, so good! Slice the onion into longer slices so the taste and texture is not lost under the cheesy layer.
Seasonings: some salt, ground black pepper, a little bit of paprika.
Cheese: Parmesan cheese and some mozzarella, or cheddar cheese.
Heavy cream: makes the onion/mushroom mixture more creamy and enriches the entire dish

Cheesy chicken and mushroom in baking sheet

Best chicken to use for the recipe:

So the best chicken to use for this recipe is a skinless, boneless chicken breast.

Because chicken breast is not as fatty and more lean than a chicken thigh, it can get a little dry. But we will flatten the chicken breasts, beat them a little bit to make sure they are the same thickness and to tenderize them better, and then dip them in flour and egg. The dry flour coating keeps the chicken breast from becoming dry by sealing in moisture.

How to split or butterfly a chicken breast:

Butterflying a chicken breast is simply splitting the chicken horizontally – not cutting it through to make two pieces, but “opening” the breast to make it thinner.

Place chicken breast on a cutting board, flat side down.
Pressing down the chicken breast with one hand, use your other hand to hold a chef’s knife and gently slice from top corner down into the middle of the breast and horizontally, almost to the other side stopping the knife before it cuts the meat in half. Open the meat like a book.
Keeping the meat on the cutting board, cover the butterflied pieces with plastic wrap and pound each piece with the smooth side of a meat mallet. Pound from the center of the piece, almost spreading the chicken out, to make thinner butterflied pieces – about 1/4″ in thickness.

How to prepare the Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom recipe:

So this is a quick summary of the preparation, for more detailed description please see recipe card below.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
Season both sides of the chicken with salt and ground black pepper and dip each piece in flour and then egg
Heat two tablespoons of cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken breast until browned (about 1-2 minutes per side). Fry about 2 pieces at a time (depending on the size of your skillet) so as not to overcrowd. Transfer the chicken onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
Using the same skillet sauté the sliced mushrooms until all liquid evaporates. Add the sliced onion and sauté until the onions and mushrooms have slightly browned. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and stir well. Pour in the cream and add the parmesan cheese. Stir well to combine. Reduce heat to medium and allow sauce to thicken (about 5 minutes).
Top each chicken slice with the parmesan mushroom sauce/mixture (about 2 tablespoons over each slice) and then top with the shredded cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese has fully melted (about 15 minutes). Garnish with some chopped dill (optional). Serve hot or warm.

A few time-saving tips:

To save some time and shorten the preparation process, here are a few tips:

Purchase chicken breast cutlets: you can almost always find the already butterflied chicken breast at a grocery store. You will only need to pound with a meat mallet to make them a bit thinner.
Choose shredded cheese: although parmesan cheese melts better (and is way better overall) when freshly grated, it will save you a little bit of time if you are in a rush. To save on time I usually purchase the pre-shredded mozzarella cheese to be used on top of the mushrooms, but still freshly grade the parmesan cheese myself. If you choose to purchase the parmesan cheese pre-grated, select the fresh cheese in the refrigerated or deli section of your grocery store, as apposed to the condiments section.
Purchase sliced mushrooms: pre-sliced mushrooms, of many different varieties, are also almost always available at your local grocery store. Although more expensive, these can save you some time on slicing the mushrooms.
Use two skillets: a little more cleanup after cooking, but faster preparation. While the chicken is frying on one skillet, prepare the onion/mushroom topping on another skillet. This way you don’t have to wait for the chicken to fry until you start cooking the mushrooms.

cheesy chicken and mushroom Recipe closeup image

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