An easy keto chicken skillet recipe, with a rich bacon, spinach, and feta cream sauce. Serve over zucchini noodles for the perfect low carb dinner.
As much as I love more complicated recipes, I have to say that I am really into easy skillet dinners these days. I love the one pan approach, especially on weeknights, because there is so much less fuss and less clean up. Which means more time to enjoy dinner without the spectre of a sink full of dishes hanging over me. And now that we’re working on getting the kids to do the dishes, I am sure they appreciate the one pan meals too. So this deliciously creamy low carb skillet chicken was a hit on more than one level.
How To Make This Easy Keto Skillet Chicken!
Who knew that getting kids to their chores would be such a chore unto itself? I used to joke to people that I had kids for the free labour, but the reality is that getting them to the point where they can be truly helpful takes a great deal of work. It takes time to learn to load a dishwasher properly and not just pile in the plates willy nilly. And hand washing may seem obvious, but it’s not. You have to show them what to scrub and what to wash more gently, what to soak and what can be simply rinsed and dried. They are relatively willing to learn at the moment (we aren’t into the rebellious teenage years quite yet), but they are always in a hurry to finish whatever task is in front of them.
So I inevitably come back into the kitchen after they are supposedly done, and I have to walk them through how they could possibly do it a bit better. Diplomatically, of course, for fear of hurting their little feelings when they are so proud to have done it all. I also have to be ready for a fair amount of broken dishes as they learn what they can and can’t pile up on the dish drainer. A few wine glasses have already been casualties of this war.
Is it any wonder that parents just sigh and do everything themselves? We know this isn’t right, we know our kids need to learn to be helpful, but it’s such a monumental task unto itself that we sometimes feel it’s easier to do it on our own. I am trying to break that habit in both myself and my kids. And easy keto dinners are the name of the game as we transition into a houseful of helpers.
Really, friends, how can you go wrong with pan seared chicken thighs in a creamy bacon and spinach sauce? The addition of feta was inspired, if I do say so myself. That tangy cheese hits just the right note in this rich creamy low carb meal.
Creamy Bacon Spinach Feta Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon chopped
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- ½ cup crumbled feta
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon grease in the pan.
- Season the thighs with salt and pepper and add to the pan, laying them flat if they are folded up. Cook 4 minutes per side, until cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- Add the butter and let melt. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the spinach and sauté until wilted, 2 or 3 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and the parmesan and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the bacon back into the sauce and stir to combine. Add the chicken back into the pan and toss to coat. Sprinkle the pan with crumbled feta.
- Serve over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
David Graceffa says
This was a great recipe – The only thing I did different was cook the chicken thighs in an air fryer first and then transferred it to the pan to save some time. There was plenty of sauce from the bacon fat, cheese and cream. – I’ll make this again.
Dawn Covington says
Easy to make and my family loved it! Win, win!!
Amie says
This chicken dish was delicious. I felt like I was eating a expensive restaurant dish. This will be another recipe from alldayidreamaboutfoods creations that will on our families favorite dinners menu.
Eva says
looks yummy will try soon!
Dawn Longley-Barnett says
i would love to by your books but i live in france Don’t want them in French just want your books
Carolyn says
Hi Dawn, I wish I could advise more on this subject but once it goes across borders, my publisher no longer knows who distributes it. You can still order via Amazon, and I think a number of international readers use something called Booktopia.
Susan says
This is an amazing recipe – we both loved it. The only problem I have with it is that it took me an hour to get it made. Well, there was another one, too – the floor I mopped today ended up covered in grease. Maybe I should use a saute pan next time instead of a skillet. I did dump the bacon/chicken fat after cooking the chicken, because there was still a ton of it. For reasons I can’t figure out, I have difficulty getting chicken thighs cooked through. That’s a good part of what took me so long to make this. I love that I can read your recipes and know that we will enjoy them. This one’s a definite keeper even if I don’t make it frequently.
Jennifer says
The whole family loved this! I did a combination of breasts and thighs so everyone could have their favorite. I ate mine over Miracle Noodles.
Janine says
Loved this! I am new to KETO and looking for something quick that my husband will also like. I made it with breasts (I don’t like dark meat) and I would increase the cream a bit, not enough to cover the chicken, but it could be I cooked it down too much. Thanks for a great recipe! (Love your cookbook “Easy Keto Dinners” where I found this recipe)
Cheryl says
Thank You Janine for saying which of the cookbooks this recipe came from… I so often forget to check all Carolyn Ketchum’s cookbooks for recipes on the website and end up printing the recipe out, wasting paper… Knowing which cookbook it came from is very good… Thank You…
Maryann says
OMG!!!! This tastes fantastic!!!! Thank you sooooo much for all your amazing recipes!! Keep em comin!!
Sara K Jenkins says
So good! This will be a repeater for me!
Nicole says
SOOOOO good! I’ve made it twice now, it’s a favorite!
Ana Wiersdorf says
Is there a good substitute for the cream? My tummy can handle the cheeses, but not the heavy dairy of the cream.
Carolyn says
Sure, try full fat coconut milk. It probably won’t thicken quite as much.
Jessica says
I plan on trying this today, sounds delic!
Linda says
I’m making this for dinner tonight. So Excited!!
Christine Rogers says
Oh my!! We had this tonight. The only complaint was there wasn’t more! There might have been a bit of a fight scrapping the pan clean. A SERIOUS keeper for my fussy family.
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it.
Nan Claypool says
This is a fantastic Recipe. Made all of the gravy with half of the chicken (There are only 2 of us). We literally scraped the pan. Wow, so easy and so wonderful!
Christopher Stefanik says
I am planning to try this soon. I was just curious what you considered a serving size? A cup, 8 oz total, etc?
Carolyn says
It’s 6 chicken breasts, hence one per serving. The rest you need to eyeball.
Gretchen says
I think I just tasted heaven! This was so good! I had it over zoodles, delish. Love your recipes, keep up the great work 🙂
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Claudia says
Goodness this was delish!!!! I was a little worried how this would taste with the cauliflower rice but it was so good! Liked it even better with the cauliflower rice than regular rice!