marilynpeight
This easy and creamy chicken is lightly fried in browned butter, then slow cooked or done on the stove top with a creamy Cajun flavored sauce. This quick and easy recipe for browned chicken strips with the creamy sauce are excellent over pasta, and can also be served over rice or mashed potatoes! You may enjoy this chicken and pasta with a side of copycat Red lobster biscuits or fresh bread sticks.
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Brown butter chicken with creamy cajun sauce. (slow cooker or stove top)
Equipment
- Large non-stick skillet (linked below)
- Small sauce pan (linked below)
- 3 quart crockpot (linked below)
- Whisk (linked below)
- tongs (linked below)
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 lb. chicken breast
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 8 oz. cooked pasta (optional)
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 garlic cloves minced (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- several dashes paprika
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Slow cooker instructions:
- Cut the chicken breasts into strips and season both sides with salt and pepper. Brown butter in a large skillet, then add chicken strips and garlic and flash fry for 20-30 seconds per side (you will not need to cook the chicken strips through at this point). Remove the skillet from the heat and place the chicken with garlic in a layer on the bottom of a 3-4 quart crockpot.
- For the sauce: Remove a tablespoon of browned butter from the skillet and place into a small saucepan, then add an additional 2 tablespoons of butter. Melt the butter then whisk in 3 tablespoons flour until smooth. Stir in the chicken broth and seasonings (additional salt can be added to taste) then bring to a light boil, whisking constantly until thickened.
- Pour the gravy over the chicken, then cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken strips from the gravy and stir in heavy cream. Return the chicken to the crockpot and allow the sauce to warm back up, then serve the chicken and sauce over cooked pasta (optional). Enjoy!
Stove top instructions:
- Cut the chicken breasts into strips and season both sides with salt and pepper. Brown butter in a large skillet, then add chicken strips and garlic and fry in browned butter (around 6-8 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 165) until the strips are cooked through. Cover and remove from heat.
- For the sauce: Remove a tablespoon of browned butter from the skillet containing the cooked chicken and place into a small saucepan. Add an additional 2 tablespoons of butter. Melt the butter then whisk in 3 tablespoons flour until smooth. Add the chicken broth and seasonings (additional salt can be added to taste) then bring to a light boil, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in heavy cream and then pour the sauce over the browned chicken in the non-stick skillet.
- Return the chicken and sauce to the heat and cook until the sauce is bubbly. Remove from heat and serve the chicken strips and sauce over pasta (optional). Enjoy!
Notes
Equipment needed for this slow cooker browned butter chicken with cajun seasoning:
- Large non-stick skillet I prefer a non-stick skillet when working with chicken, because chicken tends to leave bits behind in a regular skillet.
- Small saucepan A small saucepan is very useful for making the gravy/sauce for this creamy browned butter chicken.
- 3 quart crockpot A 3 quart crockpot is ideal for the amount this creamy chicken recipe produces. If you wish to double or halve the recipe you may also want to double/halve the size of your crockpot to keep the cooking times the same.
- Whisk I prefer to use a large whisk with a wire handle, for whisking up the creamy Cajun sauce for the browned butter chicken.
- Tongs Using tongs makes removing the chicken from the skillet easier and so much quicker!
Slow cooker method– Step 1: Slice and season the chicken strips with salt and pepper, then flash fry in browned butter along with garlic (optional).
Slow cooker method- Step 1 continued: Remove the skillet from the heat and place the chicken strips in a 3 quart crockpot (if needed the strips can be layered on top of each other).
Should I cook the chicken strips through in the browned butter if I’m using the crockpot?
No, not if using the crockpot method. because the chicken strips will continue to cook in the slow cooker, do not cook the chicken strips through at this point. Lightly frying the strips in browned butter is solely to give them that nice browned butter flavor.
Slow cooker and stove top– Step 2: Create a roux with butter and flour and garlic then add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Whisk until nicely thickened, and then add cream if using the stovetop method.
Why not add the heavy cream to the crockpot in the beginning?
Depending on how hot the crockpot is, the sauce can separate and curdle if the cream is added in the beginning. To avoid any small lumps, make a gravy type of sauce without cream. Once the chicken strips are cooked, remove them from the crockpot and whisk in the cream. Return the chicken strips to the crockpot and allow the sauce to warm up before serving.
Slow cooker– Step 3: Cover the chicken and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until nice and tender and fully cooked through (avoid over-cooking the strips to prevent them from drying out). Add heavy cream and serve over cooked pasta (optional) and enjoy!
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