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These creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs are absolutely delicious. Crispy skin and tender inside, chicken thighs are coated in a creamy sauce with salty, crispy bacon, earthy mushrooms, and fresh thyme. These creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs might become your favorite quick Whole30 dinner recipe! But for a quick Whole30 dinner recipe, these creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs are totally dinner party worthy.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- As soon as I tasted the very first bite of these creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs, I knew it was love. The salty, crispy bacon; the earthy mushrooms with their perfect sear; the garlicky, creamy sauce; the heady herbs; and the tender chicken thighs with their crispy skin? True love, plain and simple.
- This recipe is easy enough for a quick Whole30 dinner on a weeknight when you don’t really have a ton of time for something extravagant, but it’s also elegant enough for those nights when you have company to impress. And don’t worry about whether or not your non-Whole-30 friends will enjoy it – they absolutely will.
- Clean-up is a BREEZE because this bacon mushroom chicken dish is a ONE-PAN MEAL. Yup! All the cooking happens in just one large oven-safe skillet. No sink full of dirty dishes looming over you while you eat.
Key Ingredients
Chicken Thighs – Opt for bone-in, skin-on thighs here. The skin crisps up beautifully, and the bone keeps the chicken thighs tender and juicy. You could use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts if you’d prefer, but the cooking time will change slightly since they contain less fat than the chicken thighs.
Coconut Milk – Keeping this recipe totally Whole30-compliant, coconut milk forms the base of this cream sauce. It’s totally dairy free, but it still gives you a rich, creamy sauce, and it won’t overwhelm your dish with coconut flavor.
Chef’s Tips
- To get a really nice, browned skin on the chicken thighs, it’s important that you put them in the skillet and leave them alone. Don’t move them around or pick them up to check them or flip them over constantly. Put them in the skillet and leave them alone for 7 minutes or so. After that, gently pick them up – if the skin sticks at all, set them back down and let them cook a little longer.
- If you’re NOT on a Whole30 round and/or you’re NOT paleo, you can make the cream sauce with heavy cream instead of coconut cream. Add in a little freshly grated parmesan cheese for extra richness and depth. But ONLY IF you’re not following Whole30/paleo ways of eating. No dairy allowed on those!
- All of the cooking in this Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thigh recipe takes place in just one skillet. Just one! Make sure you’ve got a good oven mitt handy, though. The skillet will be super hot and you’ll need to handle it quite a bit.
Try These Whole30 Recipes Next
- Whole30 Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup (Paleo)
- Whole30 Chicken Burrito Bowls (Keto, Paleo)
- Egg Roll in a Bowl Meal Prep (Whole30, Paleo, Keto)
- Whole30 Fried Chicken and Mashed Potato Bowl with Gravy
- Whole30 Chicken Cacciatore
Creamy Whole30 Bacon Mushroom Chicken Thighs (Paleo)
These creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs are absolutely delicious. Crispy skin and tender inside, chicken thighs are coated in a creamy sauce with salty, crispy bacon, earthy mushrooms, and fresh thyme. These creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs might become your favorite quick Whole30 dinner recipe! But for a quick Whole30 dinner recipe, these creamy Whole30 bacon mushroom chicken thighs are totally dinner party worthy.
servings
Equipment
- Large oven-safe skillet
- Plates (2)
Ingredients
- 5 slices Whole30-compliant bacon diced
- 4 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs approximately 1 ½ pounds
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms about 3 cups, sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. In large oven-safe skillet, cook diced bacon over medium heat until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered. Transfer cooked bacon to plate. Pour out bacon grease, leaving 1-2 tablespoons grease in skillet. Raise heat to medium-high.
- Liberally season both sides of each chicken thigh with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Place seasoned chicken thighs in skillet, skin-side down. Place them carefully in such a way that they will cook evenly without needing to be moved. Let chicken thighs cook approximately 7 minutes or until skin is evenly browned and releases easily from skillet. Note: if skin sticks to skillet, continue cooking until skin releases easily.
- Flip chicken thighs over so skin-side faces up. Transfer skillet to preheated oven and cook 13 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160º Fahrenheit.
- Remove skillet from oven and carefully transfer chicken thighs to another plate. Place skillet on the stovetop and turn heat to medium-high. Take special care to always, always use a pot holder from this step forward; the handle will stay very hot.
- Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of fat from skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and cook approximately 4 minutes, stirring only once, or until mushrooms are golden brown and slightly softened.
- Add garlic cloves and sauté, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Pour coconut milk into skillet and add salt and fresh thyme. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to gentle boil, then immediately reduce heat to low. Simmer mixture approximately 2 to 4 minutes, until flavors have blended and sauce has reduced slightly.
- Add bacon to sauce and stir well. Taste and add more salt and pepper as desired. Return chicken thighs to skillet and coat with sauce. Serve warm with mashed potatoes or cauliflower rice and some leafy greens.
- To get a really nice, browned skin on the chicken thighs, it’s important that you put them in the skillet and leave them alone. Don’t move them around or pick them up to check them or flip them over constantly. Put them in the skillet and leave them alone for 7 minutes or so. After that, gently pick them up – if the skin sticks at all, set them back down and let them cook a little longer.
- If you’re NOT on a Whole30 round and/or you’re NOT paleo, you can make the cream sauce with heavy cream instead of coconut cream. Add in a little freshly grated parmesan cheese for extra richness and depth. But ONLY IF you’re not following Whole30/paleo ways of eating. No dairy allowed on those!
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 561calProtein: 30gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 160mgSodium: 460mgPotassium: 756mgTotal Carbs: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gNet Carbs: 5gVitamin A: 200IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 4mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Fantastic recipe, thanks for sharing it! I used the usual boneless skinless breasts because that’s what I had on hand. It was wonderful, but I have no doubt that it would’ve been even better as written. Will absolutely make it again!
This has become my go-to comfort food recipe – was looking for something creamy and mushroomy when doing a whole 30 and i found this on google… led me to your site, which is my new fave! this dish is amazing… such a great way to cook chicken. not only is this the best flavor ever, i actually find that this recipe helps me with an issue i have with chicken thighs… i find that they never taste as good, they almost taste bad, when i reheat them in either microwave or oven. it must be related to the fat, b/c it doesnt happen for me w/ chicken breast. anyway, it DOESNT happen in this recipe. i eat 2 for dinner and reheat one each for lunch the next 2 days and it’s perfect both ways!
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
This is good enough for company! I had to use 1/2 prosciutto because I didn’t have enough bacon. It is so delicious and flavourful. I can’t wait till my husband gets home to try it. Thanks for another wonderful recipe Cheryl.
That is such a compliment, Jane! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
This was by far the best Whole 30 recipe we have made. The leftovers are just as good too. Over cauliflower puree made it restaurant quality! I even subbed salmon one night and it was just as good. Thanks for our new staple!
I’m SO glad you like it! And love that it’s so versatile. Thank you so much for letting me know!
I’m always so worried to cook with coco milk, I find no matter the recipe, the coconut taste always come through. Do you think I could make an aquafaba cream in this recipe and it wouldn’t suffer? I wish I didn’t hate coconut milk as it’s in EVERY cream substitute recipe.
I don’t know in what world it takes 13 minutes to cook this chicken in the oven. It takes at least 45 minutes uncovered so plan on adding more cooking time. After a total of almost two hours, dinner was done and was well worth the wait! This one is a crowd pleaser for sure!
I’m so glad you liked the dish Brittany! Did you make sure to use chicken thighs and really brown them on the stovetop first? We use this method for chicken thighs weekly and 13 minutes always works for us 🙂
I plan to make this on Monday night next week and I’m already looking forward to it!! Is it imperative to cook this in an oven-proof skillet? I’m a newlywed and I do not have one yet. 🙂 I can probably borrow from my mom or a friend if this would interfere with the meal!
What you can do is wrap aluminum foil over the handle of a skillet that isn’t oven-proof; that will prevent any melting! Or, if necessary, you can transfer the chicken to a separate pan to bake, then use the skillet to finish the sauce
Best Whole30 recipe I’ve tried! Boyfriend (who is not on Whole30 and quite a picky eater) went back for seconds. Thank you!
Picky eater win!! That’s so great 🙂 so glad you liked it!
This was absolutely my favorite Whole 30 recipe thus far! Thanks so much!
That makes me so happy Jene!!
Do you leave it skin side down when you put it in the oven?
I prefer to flip them skin-side up. They get crisper that way!
We had this for dinner on Monday and it was delicious! The perfect recipe to make when you’re Whole30-ing, but your husband and kids aren’t 😉 Everyone loved, and no one missed the typical cream sauce made with cream. Definitely making again.
Ah! I’m soooo glad you made it and liked it 🙂 Are you Whole30ing? That’s exciting!