This mouthwatering Mediterranean Chicken Skillet dinner for four is a simple skillet meal that is packed full of flavor. It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, so that makes this a great meal to make for a busy weeknight- much like our Caprese Chicken Skillet dinner!
This easy chicken skillet recipe turns out tender and juicy chicken with incredible fresh flavors in the creamy and delicious sauce.
Skillet meals are awesome because they are easy to make with just one pan. There are no extra dishes to dirty, making cleanup a breeze! You must also try our juicy Skillet Pork Chops, Skillet Sockeye Salmon and Skillet Macaroni and Cheese.
Ingredients Needed for making Mediterranean Chicken Skillet:
- Chicken: This recipe calls for using chicken breasts. You will cut them through the middle to create cutlets. Alternately, many times you can find chicken that is already sliced thinly into cutlets. Try using boneless, skinless chicken thighs too!
- Flavor Enhancers: The added “flavors” in this recipe come from using fresh garlic, garlic powder and dried oregano. It does call for using fresh thyme though, which will give it some fresh flavor!
- Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil for sauteing the chicken in the skillet. Alternately, you can also use avocado oil.
- Butter: Salted butter will provide the most flavor.
- Capers: Capers provide a nice burst of salty, briny flavor to the sauce. If you don’t care for capers then it’s okay to leave them out. But they’re so good, so I suggest you keep them in!
- Cream: Use heavy cream to create the creamiest consistency for the sauce.
- Spinach: You’ll need fresh spinach leaves for this recipe. Don’t use frozen!
- Lemon: Pick up one lemon for this recipe. You’ll be cutting it into 6 wedges for squeezing into the sauce just before serving.
- Parmesan: If you have a hunk of fresh Parmesan cheese on hand, grate a tablespoon or so to sprinkle on top of individual servings.
How to make Mediterranean Chicken Skillet:
Prepare the Chicken:
First, you’ll want to make sure the chicken breasts are dry. Pat them with paper towels. Then season them with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Get your skillet hot with oil, and cook the chicken on both sides until cooked through. Move your cooked chicken out of the skillet.
Prepare the Sauce:
In the same skillet, melt the butter and saute the garlic, oregano and thyme. Add the capers and cream (be sure to scrape up any brown bits from the pan so they get added to the sauce!) The spinach is then added in and cooked until it shrinks down. Then the chicken is added back into the pan to warm it all up! That fresh lemon is then squeezed in, and it’s ready to serve with chicken, sauce and Parmesan on top.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions:
- Substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breast.
- Try this recipe using pork chops or fish instead of chicken.
- Add in 1/4 cup of (drained) sun dried tomatoes packed in oil.
- Chopped artichoke hearts would be a great addition too.
What to serve with Mediterranean Chicken Skillet:
- This chicken with the cream sauce would be fantastic served over freshly cooked orzo, couscous or rice.
- Potatoes would be a delicious accompaniment to this meal.
- I think the sauce would marry well with a little bit of angel hair pasta.
- Serve with roasted brussels sprouts!
- A hunk of crusty bread is perfect for serving with this Mediterranean chicken skillet because you’ll want something that can soak up every bit of the sauce.
Here are a few more chicken dinner recipes you might like to try:
Creamy Mediterranean Chicken Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast, sliced lengthwise into cutlets
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoons capers, drained
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups roughly chopped fresh spinach, loosely packed
- 6 wedges lemon
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the chicken with the kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides and the internal temperature is 165℉, or the center is no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic, oregano and thyme and cook until the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the capers and cream and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute, then return the chicken to the pan and warm it for 2 minutes, spooning some of the sauce over the chicken.
- Squeeze the lemon wedges onto the chicken and add them to the pan. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Serve warm, with a spoonful of sauce.