This Cheesy Chicken With Mushrooms has tender boneless chicken breasts topped with sautéed mushrooms and mozzarella cheese baked in a garlicky sherry wine sauce. It’s a quick, easy and delicious dinner for any night of the week!
If you want an absolute winner of a chicken dinner that makes a great weeknight meal, Sunday dinner, or one to impress guests, look no further! This baked chicken with cheese and mushrooms is IT!
I really can’t believe it took me this long to share this recipe with you all. Why? Because, in our house, it is, without question, our absolute favorite chicken dish.
I’ve been making it forever (it’s one of the first dishes I taught myself how to cook and is adapted from a recipe I found in one of my mom’s old community cookbooks), and we never, ever get tired of it.
In fact, David’s birthday is this weekend, and when I asked him what he wanted me to make for his birthday dinner, this is what he requested (even though we just had it a week or two ago). It’s what he always requests!
If it was my birthday, I’d ask for it too. It’s so good!
The chicken is tender. The mushrooms on top have been sautéed in butter. The cheese is all melty and gooey. And then there’s the sauce. The sauce most definitely makes this dish!
It’s a simple sauce made with chicken broth, sherry, garlic, and the yummy brown bits left behind from browning the chicken, but it adds so much flavor that you’ll want to lick your plate clean.
But be polite and just use the chicken to mop it all up instead, ‘kay?
Ingredients you need:
- Butter
- Fresh mushrooms
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- All-purpose flour
- Olive oil
- Chicken broth or stock (I use a mixture of water and roasted chicken base, such as Better Than Bouillon)
- Dry sherry
- Garlic
- Cornstarch
- Water
- Mozzarella cheese (I use sliced)
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Here’s a look at how to make Cheesy Chicken With Mushrooms:
Tips and Tidbits:
- If you can get 4 smaller 4-ounce boneless chicken breasts, that’s what I would recommend. But, I know they can be hard to find these days, so you can use 2 larger 8-ounce breasts and slice each in half lengthwise to make 4 smaller pieces.
- Save yourself a few minutes of prep time by using pre-sliced mushrooms.
- Fresh sautéed mushrooms are best in this dish, but you can substitute one 8-ounce can of sliced mushrooms if you’d like. Drain them and place them on the chicken (no need to cook first since they are already cooked).
- When you brown the chicken, you just want to get a nice color on both sides. It should not be cooked through at this point, as it will finish cooking in the oven. If you cook it through and then put it in the oven, your chicken will likely be overcooked.
- For the chicken broth, I use roasted chicken base mixed with water. I think it has much more flavor that most canned or boxed broth or stock.
- Use a dry sherry (sweet sherry might make the dish too sweet). Avoid cooking wine, which can be salty. A small bottle of the real deal is not very expensive (less than $10 where I live), and will have a much better flavor.
- You can use sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese. I like to use slices because it’s easier and it doesn’t end up in the sauce as much. Other cheeses that melt nicely, such as provolone or Swiss could also be used.
I love serving this chicken either with a side of oven-roasted broccoli and my rice and pasta pilaf, or I make it super simple and make some of my creamy orzo with peas and parmesan cheese, which is two side dishes in one!
I hope you try this Cheesy Chicken With Mushrooms recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
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Cheesy Chicken With Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 4 (4 ounces each) boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 2 larger 8-ounce boneless breasts halved lengthwise to make 4 smaller pieces
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chicken broth or stock, I use 1 cup water mixed with 1 teaspoon roasted chicken base (such as Better Than Bouillon)
- ⅓ cup dry sherry
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 heaping teaspoon)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons cold water
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese, about ¾ to 1 ounce each
- salt and pepper, to taste
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large skillet (I use an 11 or 12-inch skillet), melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender and any liquid that has been released from the mushrooms has evaporated. Remove the mushrooms from the pan to a bowl or plate; set aside. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Place each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and gently pound to an even thickness with a meat mallet. Note: We aren't looking for thin breasts for this recipe. Focus on pounding the thicker end of each breast just until the breast evenly thick, so it will cook evenly. If using larger breasts that you cut in half lengthwise, if they are already even in thickness after cutting, you don't need to pound them.
- Place the flour on a dish or in a shallow bowl. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper and lightly dredge in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Return the skillet to the stove and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown on both sides (the chicken should not be cooked through at this point; it will finish cooking in the oven).
- Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a single layer in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Add the chicken broth or stock, sherry, and garlic to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly.
- Combine the cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir until smooth. While stirring (I like to use a whisk here), add the mixture to the sauce. Continue simmering and stirring for another minute or two just until the sauce has thickened slightly (it should not be a super thick sauce; if you feel it is too thick, add a little more broth). Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Top the chicken breasts with the cooked mushrooms.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and mushrooms.
- Top each piece of chicken with a slice of cheese (I cut each slice of cheese in half to get better coverage).
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of at least 165°F) and the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired, and serve.
Patti
I hate people that review a recipe, but then say they changed this, this and that! I made this as it was written, except (sorry) I only had roast garlic, so I used that. I had roasted all the garlic the day before, and hadn’t gotten out to replace it yet. But it worked too.
This recipe is awesome! The prep is worth it, when you take that first bite. I had made mashed potatoes to go with them, and didn’t ever eat them, all I wanted was the chicken. The only thing I might do next time, and there will be a next time, is double the sauce. And mushrooms. Probably the cheese needs to be increased too. 😁
Michelle
Hey, Patti! Thank you so much for this awesome review and 5-star rating…I’m really happy that you enjoyed the chicken! I’ll have to try it with the roasted garlic sometime because that sounds delicious. And you really can’t go ever go wrong with more sauce, mushrooms and cheese!