This recipe was originally posted on July 27, 2011 and was updated on March 16, 2021.
Way back in 2011, I posted this recipe for my Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce. It was on the regular rotation at our house way back then and continues to be today. We probably make it a couple times a month.
This super delicious cream cheese sauce is a great way to dress up boring boneless skinless chicken breasts. And it’s super easy, too!
But honestly, this recipe has never gotten the attention it deserves. So I decided to shoot a few new images, update the recipe a touch to make even easier, and put it back out into the world, hoping y’all will give it another chance.
The most challenging thing about this recipe is getting the chicken cooked correctly – but even that’s not too hard. You want to get the chicken cooked through, without burning the outside. The super thick chicken breasts from the grocery store won’t work the way they come. I suggest taking a sharp knife and slicing each breast in half lengthwise to create two pieces of chicken that are roughly 3/4 to 1-inch thick. If you still find them too thick, put them between to pieces of cling wrap or in a gallon zip-top bag and pound them thinner with a meat mallet. This will allow them to cook through quicker.
And, of course, I always recommend an instant read meat thermometer. Not only does this ensure the chicken is cooked to a safe temperature, but it allows you to cook it right to 165° without going over and causing it to get dry. No one wants dry chicken. And that’s the chief complaint I get from folks about using boneless skinless chicken breasts, so use that thermometer!
And yes, this will also work with boneless chicken thighs. I’ve also been known to use some of those frozen chicken breasts that you buy in the big bag. Most of the time, those are thin enough to not need to be sliced. Just make sure they’re completely thawed before using them.
The seasoning from the chicken, combined with the fond (that’s the brown stuff on the bottom of the pan after cooking the chicken), chicken broth, cream cheese, and just a hint of mustard creates a decadent sauce that you’ll probably want to pour over everything on your plate. At least that’s what happens at our house! Ha!
Y’all enjoy!
Recipe Card
Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature, cubed
- 2 teaspoons mustard (dijon, creole, or spicy brown)
Instructions
- Trim excess fat and then slice the chicken breast in half lengthwise to equal pieces that are roughly 3/4 to 1-inch in thickness. Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook the chicken (working in batches if necessary) in the skillet until it is cooked through and the internal temperature is 165°. Adjust the heat as necessary to prevent burning and add additional oil if needed. Remove the chicken from the skillet and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Add the butter and melt. Add the chicken broth to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the cooked-on bits.
- Bring the broth to a simmer and add cream cheese. Whisk together to combine once melted.
- Add mustard and continue to simmer until sauce starts to thicken, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Once the sauce is thick, return the chicken to the pan and coat with the sauce. Add additional broth if the sauce gets too thick. Serve immediately.
Quick and easy to make. It was very good
Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely delicious and perfect for our keto diet! I served over mashed garlic cauliflower with broccoli and cheese sauce on the side. Thank you for something other than “crack chicken “ to add to our dinner rotation!
So glad to hear it turned out great for you, Tracy!
Made this tonight!! Awsome recipe. Great taste. Loved the added mustard. Very easy to make. I used Chicken tenders cut up. I’ll be making this again and again!! Thank you.
Awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
My teen daughter wanted a “big dinner with chicken and a sauce” so I tried this! I did use frozen chicken thighs (cook on low then slice and cook on high to brown) – turned out great, she loved the sauce. I need to triple the sauce next time because there was barely enough for leftovers she loved it so much.
Awesome! So glad to hear y’all enjoyed it!
I’ve made something similar to this in my crockpot which was always good cuz meats are normally so tender when cooked in crockpots. But this chicken was, if not more tender, just the same as if it had cooked for hours!! Absolutely delicious and easy which is ALWAYS a plus for me so it’s definitely a keeper for my family, thank you for sharing!!
Thank you Danielle!
Do you know if this will freeze well?
I’m sorry but with the cream sauce I would not think that it would freeze well!
My family loved this recipe. The chicken was tender and juicy and the sauce was delicious.
So glad you loved it! Definitely on dinner rotation at our house!
A great family or company dinner. Easy and quick. Great over wide noodles.
I absolutely LOVE egg noodles!
Hey, Stacey! This looks so good that I had to check it out. Sounds as good as it looks. I can usually tell by the ingredients and time to make the recipe that I’ll like it or not. Saying that, this recipe has me intrigued. It’s a keeper for sure. A couple of suggestions I’d like to offer. 1. try using chicken tenders if you don’t want to slice larger pieces of chicken. The frozen pieces are often loaded with salt, and I’m careful of my salt intake.
2. break up the cream cheese into smaller pieces and whisk into the broth.
Thanks, Stacey, for another tried and true recipe.
Thanks so much for these tips Sandy!
I cut my chicken across the grain into strips about 1/2″ wide, then cut the longer strips in half. Seasoned with Tony’s Creole seasoning instead of the salt/pepper/garlic powder. Sauteed in half as much oil, using a well seasoned iron skillet. They cooked quickly, and left plenty of fond in the bottom of my skillet. I also sauteed some minced bottled garlic in the butter for a minute before adding the broth (we love garlic!), then proceeded with the recipe. It was delicious! Next time I will add some mushrooms! Served it with brown rice cooked in chicken broth with dried vegetable flakes (red and green bell peppers, onions, carrots, parsley) added.
P.S. I’ve also used this boneless pork loin cutlets. We have a hand cranked cubing machine to make make cubed steaks/cutlets and I run 1/2″ thick boneless loin chops through it. They work wonderfully well in this recipe.
That’s an excellent replacement!
What do you serve with this delicious-looking chicken?
Usually a vegetable like green beans and a starch. Jack’s favorite is mashed potatoes and Heather’s favorite is rice!
Wowzer! So much flavor for such an easy recipe! My husband devoured it! Thank you for reposting…. So happy I found it!
I’m so glad to hear y’all enjoyed it!
Planning to make this soon! Wondering if you know the amount of calories and how healthy this is. And if it’s not “so called healthy” how can I twist this to make healthy.
You could always swap the regular cream cheese for Neufchatel cream cheese!
I’m so glad I came across this recipe it is my new favorite way of cooking up some chicken, it was so easy and the chicken was so moist! I wanted to drink the sauce it was so good!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! We are actually having it for dinner tonight, lol!
I’m so glad I came across this recipe it is my new favorite way of cooking up some chicken! I wanted to drink the “sauce” it was so good!!!
It’s a winner at my house but I will double the sauce next time. It was heavenly on mashed potatoes! Thanks for a recipe that doesn’t use cream of something soup. I used my home canned chicken broth to cut down on the sodium.
We always double the sauce at our house! So good!
So happy to see a sauce not using can of cream soups; too salty! Any other suggestions in making cream sauces.
Looking forward to making this for Sunday dinner. What side dish would you recommend to go along with it?
Sorry I’m just now seeing this. We typically serve this with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.
What to use besides chicken broth?
Chicken broth is going to give you a lot more flavor but you could you water or milk.
This is definately a WINNER at my house. I just forgot all about it. Thanks for reminder. I might try adding sliced cooked mushrooms. Going be YUMMY supper tonight.
I think the mushrooms would be delicious! So glad to hear you’ve enjoyed it!
Made this recipe as is..FaNtAsTiC!
2 weeks later, decided to add:
Sautéing both;
Sliced Shallots… &
Fresh Tiny Mushrooms
(Can’t locate?
Slice Mushrooms thinly)
I served over Spinach Noodles..DeLisH!
That Mustard,
Really added a nice “Zap”!
So glad to hear you’ve enjoyed it! Your additions sounds AMAZING!!
Omg that was so good, I just fed two grown men that were licking their plates at the end. Thanks for the winner dish.
Wonderful! Glad y’all enjoyed it!!
How would chicken tenderloins work in this recipe ?
Absolutely! Enjoy!
Loved it!! So quick and easy but so delicious!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! We sure love it!
Other than Boursin or mustard, any other suggestion to mix in with the cream cheese.?
Thanks!
In all honestly, you don’t have to mix anything else in. It’s great without the other, it’s just that the mustard gives it a punch of flavor.
This would be great for all the KETO people out there!
Yep! It sure would! Great idea!
So glad you reposted this. Looks delicious and easy. Will try it for sure ! BTW, read this Sunday 6/20. Happy Father’s Day !
Thanks so much, Robbie!
Recently found your site and this looks so good! Think I’ll try like one of your readers/watchers suggested and make the sauce with a garlic/herb cream cheese and do nice thick bone-in pork chop. Add your green bean casserole and a twice baked potato, so good!
Welcome, Tamera! Sure hope you enjoy it! Let me know how it turns out!
I can’t wait to try this. I am not a fan of the mustard flavor, so I am going to try a chic-fil-a sauce in it. It has mustard but not the taste. I love that stuff. By the way, your smothered chicken is delicious.
Thanks, Deborah! Glad to hear you’ve enjoyed the smothered chicken! This one doesn’t have a huge mustard flavor, but I totally think you could swap it for the CFA sauce. Let me know how it turns out! Enjoy!
This looks great! I am planning on making it for our Sunday dinner tomorrow. I think I’ll add some fresh mushrooms to the sauce and serve it over puff pastry shells.
Genius! Love the idea of adding mushrooms! And puff pastry is NEVER a bad idea! Hope it turned out great for you!
Hi Stacey,
This looks so good! I wonder if chicken tenderloins would work. I’m guessing they would. I’ve been buying those more than the breasts lately and really like them.
As always, look forward to seeing your recipes!
Absolutely! They should work perfectly!
I can’t wait to try this! I bet it would be good with one of the Boursin flavored cream cheeses too! I might try the garlic and herb cream cheese!
Absolutely! Either of them sounds amazing!!
What is creole mustard?
It’s a type of brown mustard. Here’s what google tells us: https://www.chowhound.com/post/substitute-creole-mustard-733503
Making this now for dinner! Didn’t have cream cheese so I’m using sour cream and mixing Dijon mustard and Cajun seasoning into it! Serving it with white rice and green beans! I think this meal will be a big hit with my girls and husband!
I hope everyone enjoyed it!
Ooooh this was good. Made exactly like you said. Sauce was awesome., I used Djon mustard and white wine. My wife dubbed it a fancy chicken fried steak. I made it with egg noodles and green beans. Thank you, I’ve tried several of your recipies and they have all been good.
So glad they’ve all turned out good for you!
My husband would love this made with pork chops too. Delish!!
Thanks! Sounds like a GREAT idea!
This looks so good. My husband is doing the cooking right now because I am working and he is not, yet. He will soon. He doesn’t know how to cook but I believe your blog can show him how to….. Thank you. p.s. now I just have to get him to read and follow your website. ha ha ha
All it takes are the right ingredients, easy instructions, and a little confidence. I bet he can manage it just fine!
Creole mustard? Ah, I don’t think they have it up here in Topeka, KS; any suggestions for substitutes? Sounds ‘dee-lish’!….may even try using a little white wine in the sauce to ‘fancy it up’…hmm..just a thought.
LOL! You’re welcome to replace it with dijon or a coarse grain mustard. Adding some white wine would be GREAT too!
Tried this recipe tonight and wow I loved the sauce! I used a few lighter ingredients (fat free broth, low fat cream cheese, and light butter), and it still turned out great!
Thanks, Amy! This is one of those recipes that lightens up really well! I’m so glad y’all enjoyed it!
I cooked this tonight and it was DELICIOUS!! We’ve been watching our weight but decided to splurge tonight. SO good!
Wonderful! I’m so flattered that your little cheat was for one of my recipes! So glad y’all enjoyed it!
Hi Stacy, just love your site. I have a friend who has a birthday comming up This Sunday(Jan. 22, ) I am wanting to make her a meal that I can give to her in the morning (like Fri. Morning) that will be good when she gets home. She will need to reheat. I also want to make her a coconut cake. That is her favorite. She really only eats chicken meals. Any suggestions. I am also going to try the Papa Lemon ice box pie. Looks great. Thanks, Cindy
Thanks so much, Mrs. Cindy! I’m so glad you enjoy the site. Of the recipes on the site, I would suggest the Smothered Chicken, Chicken Bog, and the Poppyseed Chicken Casserole. These are the ones that should reheat best. Good luck with this and the pie!
Made it tonight and it was WONDERFUL! Our small town grocery store didn’t have a bag of frozen chicken breast (which I thought was odd) so I used fresh chicken. It was a big hit with everyone. Now I’m wondering how the sauce would be on a grilled filet mignon….
That’s great! I’m so glad y’all enjoyed it. I bet it would be fantastic on some grilled steak! Heck, I might even like raw tomatoes if they had this one them! LOL!
It really depends on the thickness of your chicken. If you’re using the thinner frozen boneless skinless breasts they’ll be about done by the time you finish the sauce or a little sooner – probably about 15 minutes.
I served this with a watermellon salad and swiss cheese grits!!Yummmmmmmmm! Yummmmmmmmm! Yummmmmmmmmm!
Sounds delish! SO glad you enjoyed it, John!