Skillet Chicken With Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions

Skillet Chicken With Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(10,078)
Notes
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This comforting one-pot dinner is reminiscent of a rich French onion soup, but made in less time and with lighter ingredients. Cooking the onions in a hot, dry pan forces them to release their moisture, so that they shrink and become silky and sweet in 30 minutes. Serve everything directly from the pan, with some crusty bread to soak up all the juices, or shred the chicken and pile it on top of buttered noodles. For something green, stir in some spinach to wilt at the end or serve alongside a simple green salad or roasted broccoli.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 5tablespoons olive oil
  • 2tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
  • 2teaspoons honey
  • 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3-inch pieces
  • 2medium yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
  • ¾pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
  • ½cup fresh flat-leaf parsley or dill leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped
  • ¼cup grated Parmesan or pecorino (optional)
  • Bread or cooked pasta, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

599 calories; 27 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 45 grams protein; 1249 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, the honey, mustard, red-pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt; whisk until smooth. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then add to the mixture, coating it well. Set aside at room temperature, stirring it once while you make the onions.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a 12-inch cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high until very hot, 1½ to 2 minutes, then add the onions in an even layer. Season with salt, then cook, mostly undisturbed, for 4 minutes more, stirring every minute or so. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, and stir to combine. (It will look crowded, and that’s OK.) Allow to cook mostly undisturbed until the mushrooms shrink and start to brown, about 4 minutes, stirring every minute or so.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and allow the onions to cook until they start to color, stirring and lowering the heat as necessary to avoid burning, about 2 minutes. Push the onions and mushrooms to the edges of the skillet, then add the chicken pieces to the center. Pour any remaining marinade (there will be very little) over the onions and mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes, then combine the chicken and vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes more. (Reduce the heat to medium if the onions look like they are burning at any point.)

  4. Step 4

    Add the remaining 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, stirring and scraping up anything on the bottom of the skillet. Season to taste with salt.

  5. Step 5

    Remove from the heat and top with the parsley and cheese, if using. Serve with bread or pasta.

Ratings

5 out of 5
10,078 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

This made the flavor very intense, and fantastic with noodles and a light pinot noir. Will definitely make again

Welcome to cooking! I sympathize with your frustrations over ambiguities. Don't worry! Cut the chicken however you want (or don't cut at all). Diamond Crystal is specified because it's less "salty" than other kosher salts. Solution? Use less of another salt. "Good" olive oil just means something other than a $2 bottle that's rancid. Have faith in yourself, your tastes, your abilities. Use a little more of an ingredient you like, less if you don't. And enjoy!

This dish turned out excellent for me. I added some oyster mushrooms to the creminis since I had them. If/when I make it again I will likely add more varieties of mushroom. It was delicious. I served it over a basic risotto, which gave the dish a rich, creamy texture that was quite decadent.

Super simple to make, and great for a week night dinner. Slicing the onions thin is key to get that “french onion” result

Half the chicken. Twice the onions and mushrooms.

I made this using extra firm tofu and it came out great. Added baby spinach, fresh parsley and dill toward the end to finish it. Beautiful “meatless Monday” dinner served with vegan noodles.

Made it 6 months ago as written: was disappointed in the final amount of the cooked mushrooms and onions. My thin-cut veggies disintegrated! :-) Last night, used 6 cups each of the onions and mushrooms and didn't cut them too thin (and adjusted cooking time accordingly); kept the chicken amount the same; used white wine and vinegar (NOT white wine vinegar) to round out the flavor, cut back on the last addition of olive oil. MUCH better dish for me. Thank you, Ms. Fahr and the NYTimes.

Didnt have sherry vinegar so substituted seasoned rice vinegar. I was skeptical about sweating the onions in a dry pan, but it worked perfectly. Very tasty and a nice change from my boring chicken recipes. It will go into rotation at my house.

This was delicious! We used dry sherry (not cooking sherry, yuk) instead of the sherry vinegar and I think it gave the flavor just a bit of a pop (and the aroma of the dry sherry, of course, is to die for). I questioned the cooking directions, but they worked perfectly. Next time I will probably throw in some spinach as suggested. Will definitely make this again.

As a relatively new cook, certain common recipe ambiguities drive me nuts. In this case, chicken thighs “cut into three-inch pieces.” What are pieces? Rectangles (unlikely of course), slices, strips? If one of the latter two, how wide? Then there’s the recent trend to specify Diamond Crystal salt. Why? It’s become hard to find in the DC area. And what is “good” olive oil? Should I avoid olive oil labeled “bad?” And recipe times that ignore time needed to prepare ingredients.

This was delicious. I used boneless skinless chicken breast, cause that’s what I had on hand, and Let it marinate a little longer in the sherry/honey/oil mix. Mixed together with noodles, and broccoli (that I just cooked with the noodles) it was delicious and filling, and saves nicely for left overs. Look forward to making again.

Watch the onions carefully in the beginning. I got distracted during the first 2-4 minutes of cooking and they burned. Had to toss and start over. Also, this recipe works very well with extra firm tofu.

So good! I doubled the marinade and cooked the chicken pieces whole (boneless skinless thighs) - result was very rich and tender chicken with mushrooms and onion. Served with buttered pasta - yum!

Resisting the tempatation to add fat to the caramelizing onions was a challenge, but, it worked. Too much oil and salt for me and last stage of carmelizing onions totally unnecesary. I'd also reduce the size of the chicken pieces to reduce cooking time. Agree: more onions and mushrooms (or conversely less chicken). Rice wine vinegar subbed in for sherry vinegar and it worked just fine.

This turned out absolutely delicious. The mushrooms absorbed the honey/vinegar marinade taste so they’re like little bursts of flavor especially when paired with pasta or rice. I used bone in chicken thighs because I find they always turn out tastier and juicier. Do not forget the parsley! I didn’t use the cheese since it’s never my preference.

Mother in law is allergic to vinegar so used vermouth instead (I didn't have sherry) - good flavor but of course missing some acidity, and also, missing some sweetness. In the last stage of cooking I was worried about things drying out, so I covered the pan, but that wasn't necessary and ultimately was a bit too wet, though it was nice to have more sauce. Next time will add a bit of lemon juice and more honey, +maybe a bit of corn starch or flour to thicken the sauce.

I have mistakenly made this twice. We didn't care for it either time.

I’ve messed up creating this as in I used drumsticks instead of boneless chicken thighs. After cooking the vegetables I transferred them into a dutch oven to Add and sear the drumsticks. I also deglazed with about a cup of low-sodium chicken stock before cooking in the oven at 350 for 40 min or so. After cooking I added the remaining sherry to the sauce, I did not add cheese. The sauce was immaculate and this is now a staple drumsticks recipe for me.

Q. Who here washes their chicken? Inquiring minds want to know

I found this ABSOLUTELY delicious! I followed the recipe almost all the way. I added a sliced shallot that was in dire need to be used. Served this over dutch noodles and it was a BIG success. Adding this to my menu rotation.

Very good meal, wished for more vegetables.

Absolutely delicious. I added an extra onion and doubled the parsley. Served this with brown rice — the dish goes nicely with it.

30 minutes prep cooking time

As usual, this 30 minute recipe took an hour. But it was definitely worth it!

Six large onions, 1 1/2 lbs. Crimini mushrooms and my 11 cup Cuisinart 8 mm slicing blade, filled the bin almost two times with 9 bone in chicken thighs, baby kale, spinach and chard. It was perfect although I did follow some others advice with balsamic vinegar and marsalla wine. Had it with farfelle it was amazingly good and deserved the 9K+ reviews.

Delish. Use red onions and seasoned rice wine vinegar, if available.

I really enjoyed this meal. My only disappointment is that I didn't have egg noodles but white rice was in the pantry. This was yummy - I feel like I could have made broccoli for a little bit of green to the dish.

Step 2- add the onions to the hot pan without oil? Is there a reason for this? Is it to get the onions to release their moisture?

I used 1/2 Eric Kim's Dry brined chicken recipe letting the meat set for 40 minutes while I prepped. Omitted the salt from the marinade and added the cut up chicken while I prepped the rest. Added two chopped leeks to the onion along with one yellow zucchini after the mushrooms cooked. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022238-dry-brined-chicken-breasts?algo=identity&fellback=true&imp_id=7825127103278540&req_id=8967004595191371&surface=cooking-search-web&variant=0_relevance_reranking

Have made this several times and it was flavorful and delicious. One time I couldn't get the chicken to brown enough because the pan was so full so the next time I decided to cook the chicken first in the pan to get it nice and brown, removed it and set it aside and then cooked the onions and mushrooms. When the veggies were brown I added the chicken back in with marinade and it was perfect.

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