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 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 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.
Nutrition
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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!
So glad everyone liked it!
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!
Glad to hear it, Roselyn!
I have bone in thighs with the skin on. Could I just use those?
Sure! They take a bit longer to cook though, though.
I did mine with chicken breasts instead. Hubby doesn’t care for thighs. I also added some sun dried tomatoes. Delicious!
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.
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!
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!
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!
So glad to hear it. And you should adapt it any way you see fit!
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.
Does this dish freeze well?
Not sure how the cream etc would fair. I think it might get kind of goopy.
This is the recipe that, when asked what to make for dinner, is what they ask for. Tastes like restaurant quality! Thank you!
I am so glad to hear that!
The dish was AMAZING! My whole house consumed the entire pan! Easy and very delicious! Highly recommend it!
It is tasty stuff!
Have you ever tried this in a crockpot?
I have not, sorry!
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!!
This is delicious! Mine came out a little highee calorie than the macros listed, but it was worth it! Yum!
I have made this twice this past month. Both my boyfriend and I love it! It’s amazing!
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!
How do you make zoodles? I understand that the are zucchini strips, how are they cooked? How many carbs?
http://inspiralized.com/the-three-best-ways-to-cook-spiralized-zucchini-noodles/
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.
Glad you liked it!
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!!!
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!!
Yay, glad you liked it!