This creamy crème fraiche chicken is delicious served with cheesy mashed potato and seasonal vegetables and perfect for an easy dinner.
The tender and juicy chicken breasts sit in a tasty crème fraiche sauce flavoured with wholegrain mustard, garlic, Parmesan and freshly chopped parsley.
It's the perfect family friendly recipe which I tend to serve on a Sunday when I don't have time to make a roast dinner.
It also feels quite luxurious because of the creamy sauce, but it's relatively quick and easy to make with only a handful of ingredients.
👩🍳 You might also like my pan-fried pheasant breasts in a creamy white wine sauce!
Jump to:
✔️ Why should you try it?
- Easy to make chicken dish.
- Only a handful of ingredients.
- Freezer-friendly.
🥘 Ingredients
- Chicken - 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts.
- Olive Oil - for browning the chicken.
- Crème Fraiche - full-fat crème fraiche is best for this recipe.
- Wholegrain Mustard - alternatively you could use Dijon mustard.
- Garlic - 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped.
- Thyme - dried or fresh.
- Stock - made using a chicken stockpot or cube.
- Parmesan - finely grated to give the sauce a savoury flavour.
- Baby Spinach - adds colour to the dish.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Heat olive oil in a shallow casserole and brown the chicken breasts. Remove to a plate.
Two: Add the chopped garlic cloves and thyme to the pan and cook on a medium heat, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
Three: Pour in the stock and spoon in the crème fraiche and mustard and whisk the sauce on a medium heat until it becomes thick and creamy.
Four: Add the grated Parmesan and stir until melted.
Five: Add the chicken back into the pan, along with the baby spinach and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Six: Season and serve with freshly chopped parsley.
💭 Top tips
- Make sure the chicken and crème fraiche are at room temperature before starting the recipe.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the creamy crème fraiche chicken with mashed potato, boulangere potatoes, polenta roast potatoes or rice, and a selection of seasonal vegetables. Roasted tenderstem broccoli or roasted Brussels Sprouts both work well.
📖 Variations
- Try this recipe with pork steaks instead of chicken.
- Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts to cut the costs.
- Add some smoked bacon rashers to give the sauce a smoky flavour.
- Up the vegetables by adding frozen peas or green beans to the creamy sauce.
- Sprinkle over a pinch of smoked paprika on each chicken breast just before serving.
🥡 Storage
The crème fraiche chicken can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat it thoroughly in the microwave until piping hot.
Alternatively, the chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Yes! Leftover creme fraiche can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. There is a small risk it will split, but once defrosted, just give it a quick whisk and that should restore its creamy smooth texture.
😋Related recipes
More recipes using chicken breasts!
- BBQ Chicken Pasta
- Chicken and Chorizo Stew
- Chicken Goulash
- Slow Cooker Hunters Chicken
- Mango Chutney Chicken Curry
- Garlic Butter Chicken
- Baked Cornflake Chicken Nuggets
- Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake
- Sticky Marmalade Chicken
- Chicken and Apricot Tagine
Tried this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating in the comments!
🍽️ More family-friendly recipes
Recipe
Creamy Crème Fraiche Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 4 Chicken Breasts
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme or use fresh
- 400 ml Chicken Stock
- 200 ml Crème Fraiche
- 2 teaspoon Wholegrain Mustard
- 50 g Parmesan grated
- 100 g Baby Spinach
- 2 tablespoon Parsley chopped finely
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a shallow casserole or frying pan and brown the chicken breasts. This should take 2 minutes per side on a medium-high heat. Remove to plate.
- Add the chopped garlic and thyme to the pan (and if you have an open bottle of white wine, a little splash will help deglaze it). Cook on a medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock and spoon in the crème fraiche and wholegrain mustard. Whisk until the sauce comes together.
- Add the Parmesan and stir until it has melted into the sauce.
- Place the chicken breasts back into the sauce with the baby spinach. Simmer on a low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken breasts are cooked through (it will depend on the size of your chicken breasts to how long this will take). To test the chicken, slice into the middle of one breasts and make sure there is no pink colour remaining.
- Season and serve with the freshly chopped parsley,
Notes
- Try this recipe with pork steaks instead of chicken.
- Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts to cut the costs.
- Add some smoked bacon rashers to give the sauce a smoky flavour.
- Up the vegetables by adding frozen peas or green beans to the creamy sauce.
- Sprinkle over a pinch of smoked paprika on each chicken breast just before serving.
Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter to stay up to date with what's cooking in the Effortless Foodie kitchen! You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too!
Biana
This chicken looks amazing! So flavorful, healthy and delicious and just a few ingredients needed.
Helen
I made this using leftover double cream( bought too much at Christmas) and it tasted beautiful. I wasn’t sure whether the casserole should be covered? I did cover it. The spinach I would add last minute as it was very wilted
Courtney
This chicken was excellent! The whole family loved the sauce - so easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Maria
I love chicken in cream-based sauce recipes! I can see this being a regular at the dinner table. Thanks for sharing!
Lindsay
The creaminess of this recipe is so amazing! Love the mustard flavor too.
Emily Flint
I'm always looking for new chicken recipes and I can't wait to make this dish for my family! They will be so excited for something different and I know this is going to taste amazing!!
Jac
Thanks for the awesome recipe idea! This is a family favourite!
Shinta Simon
We made this today, and my family simply couldn't have enough. Highly recommended!
Bintu | Budget Delicious
What an easy and creamy delicious dinner! I can definitely see this being a hit in my house!
Jacqueline Meldrum
I use creme fraiche a lot but usually in pasta dishes. You've inspired me to be more creative with it.
Danielle Wolter
I am such a huge fan of a creamy chicken recipe and this one came out so delicious. Def a fav in our house.
Katherine
Creme fraiche, mustard, garlic, wine — what could go wrong? I made it with mashed potato and I cooked green beans in the sauce as suggested. Will def make again
Charles Lindsay
Why are quantities not specified - how much creme fraiche etc
really strange
Beth Sachs
Hi! The recipe card is at the bottom of the post.