Easy cream cheese chicken is just a few basic ingredients and simple to make, with a deliciously creamy sauce that coats every piece. Ready in less than 30 minutes!
This post was originally sponsored by Myxx. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
So you know I’m all about the easy chicken dinners right?
Well this is a super simple, deliciously creamy chicken recipe I’ve been making for a couple of years now and just had to share with you!
Easy cream cheese chicken has tender strips of chicken that are cooked and coated in a yummy cream cheese mixture, along with some onions and mushrooms.
Everything gets sprinkled with mozzarella cheese, which melts down over the chicken and veggies at the end.
It’s so scrumptious and it’s perfect when I need something that’s quick but comforting. Something easy but that the whole family will happily sit down to at night.
(And even though this is really easy and basic, I’ve even made it for company. It's always a huge hit!)
This recipe is ready in about 25 minutes, which I love, no matter what night of the week it is.
And I love that this has no heavy cream, which I never seem to have in the fridge.
In fact, it’s only got 7 main ingredients!
That luxuriously creamy sauce that coats the chicken and mushrooms is just cream cheese and some chicken broth. It melts down with all the flavors from the sautéed onions and mushrooms and the seared bits from the chicken and makes such a delicious sauce.
(I’ve used that trick before with chicken breast with jalapeño cheese sauce and healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet, among others.)
And because of that sauce, you’re definitely going to want to serve this over some fluffy steamed rice.
If you know me, you know I go for the whole grains. But it can take 30-35 minutes to make brown rice. Not always ideal if everything else can be ready well before that.
So today I wanted to share with you a new grocery store find: VeeTee rice. It cooks in the microwave, in its own container, in just 2 minutes. Yup, 2 minutes. It gets perfectly fluffy and hot and ready to serve.
OK, let’s get back to this delicious saucy chicken!
I've also got this slow cooker cream cheese chicken if you want to try making it that way for a hands off version.
Coming up I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions on how to make cream cheese chicken. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
(And y’all know I like to help you make a recipe your very own!)
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Chicken: You can use more than the 1 ½ lbs. of chicken in this recipe, but you’ll want to increase the cream cheese and chicken broth to make extra sauce. The sauce is SOOO good!
- Mushrooms: I love the mushrooms in with this recipe but you could skip them if you don’t have any on hand - or don’t like them. I’ve made this without mushrooms before and it was still delicious.
- Cream cheese: The recipe calls for the ⅓-less fat cream cheese and it’s deliciously creamy. Go for the real deal if you prefer, but I don’t recommend using fat free cream cheese.
- Broth: If you don’t have any chicken broth, you could substitute vegetable broth or just use water.
- Mozzarella: I love the melty mozzarella on top but you could also try this served with grated Parmesan if you prefer.
- Parsley: The parsley is good as a garnish but adds a nice herby freshness too. Feel free to skip it or to use some dried herbs as a seasoning on the chicken if you’d like.
As is, this recipe is gluten-free, low carb and keto-friendly.
Also, you'll notice I cut my boneless, skinless chicken breasts into long strips.
That helps ensure more even cooking and also helps stretch the chicken to feed more people. It also cooks more quickly. Win, win, win!
It’s one of my favorite tricks. (See my quick chicken cacciatore and salsa chicken for other recipes that use this same shortcut.)
You could also dice up the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes if you’d rather have smaller pieces. Just be sure not to overcook them.
And feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe too. They’ll just need some additional cook time to get cooked all the way through.
Serving Suggestions:
We love this with some steamed broccoli or some warmed peas. Both take no time at all to make so it’s perfect for keeping this as a quick meal.
I’ve even thought about increasing the sauce and stirring in some cooked broccoli or peas to this recipe, but I haven’t tried that yet. Yet.
This cream cheese chicken would also be great with a mix of sautéed or roasted veggies.
And finally, we do love it best with steamed rice, but you could serve this chicken over quinoa, polenta or mashed potatoes too. Anything that pairs well with the yummy sauce!
Make ahead tip: You can chop your veggies and slice your chicken ahead of time, but otherwise, I recommend cooking this when you plan to eat it that night. (With that prep, it’ll only take about 15-20 minutes for it to cook.)
Storage and Reheating Tips:
Place any leftovers, once cooled, in a covered container in the refrigerator and store for up to 4-5 days.
You can reheat the chicken in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until hot. I recommend slicing the cooked chicken strips into smaller pieces - like 1-inch cubes or so - to help it reheat more evenly.
You can also try reheating this chicken with cream cheese in a skillet on the stove. You may want to add some extra splashes of chicken broth to help loosen it up and create a sauce again so it doesn’t dry out or thicken up too much.
I don’t recommend freezing the leftovers of this chicken. The sauce doesn't stand up well to freezing and thawing.
There you go, another family favorite from our table to yours!
I hope you give this a try for a weeknight dinner that’s ready in less than 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. You can browse all of my 30-minute chicken recipes for more cooking inspiration!
Easy Cream Cheese Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in strips
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 oz. regular or reduced-fat plain cream cheese
- ¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ to ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
For serving:
- Steamed brown or white rice
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil.
- Add onions and mushrooms and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Meanwhile, slice the chicken into strips and season with the salt and pepper.
- Increase the heat to medium high, then add the seasoned chicken strips to the pan. Sear for 6-8 minutes, turning once, until the chicken strips are golden brown.
- Add the cream cheese and chicken broth and stir until the cream cheese is melted and well incorporated. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the entire pan, then cover, reduce heat and cook another 2-3 minutes, our until chicken is cooked through. (It should reach 165 if you are using a meat thermometer.) Season to taste with extra salt and pepper.
- Serve the chicken and mushrooms over steamed rice, with parsley if desired.
Annette
Easy Cream Cheese Chicken. The best!!!! Made this last night. We all enjoyed it. I’ll be making it this weekend for dinner guests. So glad I found your recipes.
Shae
This seems to be a favorite in my household. I do modify the recipe a little but overall one of my favorite go to!
Kathryn Doherty
Oh I'm so thrilled to hear that Shae! Thank you so much for sharing! : )
Maryn
This was quite easy to make and the payoff was tasty! Great balance of flavors too. I had some leftover cream cheese so this was a perfect way to use it up.