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.
- 6 strips bacon chopped
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Serve over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
Linda says
Oh my gawd – this is so freaking delicious!! I doubled the recipe and used prosciutto instead of bacon (elderly parents can’t eat bacon). I served over my almost famous caulirice (just Trader Joe’s frozen caulirice, Kerrygold butter, sauteed onion and salt & pepper).
Thanks again Carolyn for another great recipe!!
Carolyn says
Yay, glad you liked it!
Claire says
Your site is so amazing!!! This recipe is mouth watering. I pinned it and am going to put it on our menu soon. Bacon and cream oh!!! I am sure it is another winner!!! Thank you!!!
Amy says
This is a wonderful recipe. Tried it tonight and served with the Strawberry Caprese Salad. Delish. I did make it with chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs and loved it.
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it!
Jeffry Calhoun says
How do you make zoodles? I understand that the are zucchini strips, how are they cooked? How many carbs?
Carolyn says
http://inspiralized.com/the-three-best-ways-to-cook-spiralized-zucchini-noodles/
Jackie says
Thank-you for another wonderful recipe! I came across your blog awhile ago and have greatly appreciated the variety of low carb recipes you’ve come up with. Thank-you for graciously sharing what you’ve learned and created with so many!
Lacey says
I have made this twice this past month. Both my boyfriend and I love it! It’s amazing!
Emily says
This is delicious! Mine came out a little highee calorie than the macros listed, but it was worth it! Yum!
Hailey says
I loved this recipe! Absolutely delicious and relatively easy. I’m sure it will get easier the more times I make it. My one adjustment might be to make sure I add enough salt. So yummy!!
Melanie says
Have you ever tried this in a crockpot?
Carolyn says
I have not, sorry!
Josh says
The dish was AMAZING! My whole house consumed the entire pan! Easy and very delicious! Highly recommend it!
Carolyn says
It is tasty stuff!
darby says
This is the recipe that, when asked what to make for dinner, is what they ask for. Tastes like restaurant quality! Thank you!
Carolyn says
I am so glad to hear that!
Marli says
Does this dish freeze well?
Carolyn says
Not sure how the cream etc would fair. I think it might get kind of goopy.
Terri says
I never comment on recipes but this was amazing. All 4 of us loved it. Even my picky 10 year old. I made your cheesy garlic bread muffins wth it. Which were great dipoed in the sauce.
Elisabeth says
Oh my gosh!!
With my husband not doing keto, it’s so difficult to make ONE dinner we can both enjoy. In fact, we usually make separate meals because he doesn’t like a lot of the low-carb dishes that I make.
I will say that I used 7 slices of bacon and a pound of chicken breast. I sauteed 4 cloves of garlic and the spinach in Greek butter, and added sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms.
My husband had his over regular fettuccine noodles, I just had mine in a bowl. He absolutely inhaled his and proclaimed we needed to have it on a regular basis so we could eat the same meals together more often!
We are big fans of Mediterranean cooking, so please don’t take my amendments as an insult! I’d probably add marinated artichokes to my portion in the future.
Thanks again for a wonderfully delicious recipe!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it. And you should adapt it any way you see fit!
Kimberly Johnson says
We made this dish twice so far and have amendended the recipe slightly: added some lemon zest and fresh parsley to the sauce at the very end. Thanks for the great recipes. Cheers!
Eric says
Cook chicken way longer than 4 minutes per side. You cant cook it long after adding the chicken back to the sauce or you ruin the sauce. Bad directions.
Carolyn says
Hey! How about you actually try making it before you decide you know how the recipe works. Because you flatten them out, they actually cook quite well in that amount of time. I do this as a profession so I do know what I am doing here. But you are free to cook them longer if it worries you!
Jenn says
I did mine with chicken breasts instead. Hubby doesn’t care for thighs. I also added some sun dried tomatoes. Delicious!
Wynette says
I have bone in thighs with the skin on. Could I just use those?
Carolyn says
Sure! They take a bit longer to cook though, though.
Roselyn says
I’m so happy I found your site- you have the best recipes! I just made this for dinner tonite and it was DEELISH! So yummy and everyone loved it 🙂 Had it w the zucchini noodles. I wanted bread too but was limited in my ingredients I had at home. I found your low carb pesto bread recipe and was able to modify it to what I had (not enough eggs or basil ~made half, mixed fresh basil, mozzarella, and sliced grape tomatoes into it, turned out pretty darn good!) ThankYou for making Keto easier!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it, Roselyn!
Monica Winstead says
I made this tonight for my family. Delicious! I had it over zoodles and they had pasta. I also made your deep dish sausage pizza for my lunches this week. Thanks, Carolyn, for recipes that make eating healthy so tasty!
Carolyn says
So glad everyone 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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
Linda says
I’m making this for dinner tonight. So Excited!!
Jessica says
I plan on trying this today, sounds delic!
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.
Nicole says
SOOOOO good! I’ve made it twice now, it’s a favorite!