The 30-Minute Chicken Dinner I Make Once a Week

One of the most useful things I learned in culinary school was the importance of a good pan sauce. A pan sauce is made with the drippings left behind from cooking a piece of meat (or “fond” if you want to get cheffy). That fond is basically free flavor, and it’s a shame to waste it. 

By deglazing the pan with liquid (here, it’s chicken stock and balsamic vinegar) and adding some extra flavorings, you can quickly create a sauce that tastes like it took a lot longer to make.

This recipe comes together in 30 minutes and is a family favorite, so it’s been showing up on the meal plan often these days. The tangy vinegar sweetens as it reduces, resulting in a sauce that’s complex and crave-worthy, and the leftovers are delicious the next day on a baguette or over salad greens. For family dinner, I like to serve this over creamy polenta or with egg noodles.

Tips for Making My Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms

• Quicker-cooking chicken: If your chicken breasts are particularly thick, consider giving them a light pounding with a meat mallet so that they will cook more evenly and quickly.
• Extra credit: Though it’s optional, I like to dredge the chicken in all-purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper before searing. It gives the chicken more of a golden brown crust and helps further thicken the pan sauce.
• The mushrooms: Use any mushroom or mix of mushrooms you like. Just make sure the pieces are roughly the same size, about an inch to an inch and a half. Cremini and oyster mushrooms are my favorites for this recipe.
• Even more flavor: For a little extra pop of umami flavor in the sauce, stir in a teaspoon of Dijon mustard when you add the chicken stock and balsamic.
• For more sauce: If you like a saucier dish, increase the amount of liquid to a cup each of stock and vinegar.