Braised Chicken & Mushrooms

by Neutral Eating on June 29, 2025 0 comments »

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Roast your chicken in a pool of creamy, garlic mushroom sauce. The chicken is tender and juicy. The skin is crispy. Expect every bite to be just as flavorful as the last.

chicken and mushroom recipes baked (Easy dutch oven chicken recipe)

What can I expect?

It’s a “one-pot meal.” Throw the ingredients into a cast iron pan, pop it in the oven, and you’re done. This Crispy Chicken and Mushroom recipe is both beginner friendly and easy clean up.

Even if this is your first time working with raw chicken, you can prepare a perfectly cooked chicken with ease. Your chicken will be tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

It’s no surprise that this is one of our favorite recipes. Hardly any dishes get dirty. It takes minutes to prepare. It has great meal-prep potential. It’s healthy. And the flavors are incredible for how little effort is needed. This chicken and mushroom one-pot meal is a winner.

Is Crispy Chicken and Mushroom healthy?

easy chicken and mushroom recipes (a healthy cast iron skillet chicken recipe for dinner)

Let’s look at the main ingredients:

Chicken thighs (skin on)
Mushrooms
Garlic
Heavy Cream

Chicken, mushrooms, and garlic are natural, nutritious food sources. Each have their own list of health benefits.

But what the chicken skin? What about the dark meat? Aren’t they both fatty and unhealthy?

Neutral Eating has a practical stance on dark meat and chicken skin:

If you’re going to eat meat, make full use of the animal. Eating the whole animal is sustainable, nutritious, and humane.

Both dark meat and chicken skin are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, protein, and natural fat energy. And the stuff is delicious. Doing right by the animal means you get to eat it all. Enjoy the dark meat. Enjoy the skin! Learn more about the Neutral Eating Food Philosophy here.

But what about the Heavy Cream? Is dairy healthy?

Dairy is full of vitamins, minerals, protein, and natural fat energy. But if everyone consumed dairy all of the time, dairy farming would become abusive and unsustainable…

Let’s be mindful of our dairy intake. Buy dairy that comes from pasture raised cows and try to eat less.

Cast Iron Chicken and Mushroom Tips

Healthy dutch oven chicken recipes for dinners

Use a cast iron pan or dutch oven

A cast iron pan makes this recipe a one-pot meal. Prepare the sauce on the range, and cook the chicken in the oven. A cast iron will help you prepare your meals faster, cut down on dishes (you don’t have to wash a cast iron pan), and they make food taste better. We love cast iron pans.

Use a whole chicken

Did you know you can buy a whole raw chicken from the grocery store? When you’re finished cutting up your whole chicken, you’ll end up with two thighs and two breasts. Not to worry. Toss the two breasts and two thighs into your cast iron, and follow the recipe as written. Nothing changes. Be sure to leave the bone in and the skin on for both the breasts and the thighs.

Serve it over shirataki or cauliflower rice

This recipe is saucy! And while we’re not too shy to drink the extra sauce straight from the bowl, you can serve this recipe over shirataki rice. When the chicken is mingled with rice that has sopped up even more sauce, every bite is that much more flavorful and satisfying.

Meal prep

This crispy chicken and mushroom one-pot meal is fast and easy to prepare which makes it a great meal prep option. Store the extra chicken in a glass container with a lid in the fridge. To reheat, place a cut of chicken on a plate, spoon some sauce on top, and put it in the microwave. We suggest a microwave cover to avoid splatter.

Check your condiment ingredients

Condiments are healthy when they’re made with natural ingredients. Next time you’re buying ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc., choose a brand that has ingredients you can understand. Know that most condiments do not need added sugar.