One Pot Bacon Garlic Chicken and Spinach Dinner is a delicious, savory, rich, and luxurious complete meal in just one pot and under 20 minutes!
Bacon, garlic, chicken.
Is there any greater combination in all of history?
Ok – maybe a house all to myself, red wine, and Russian Snickers (they taste totally different when made with hazelnuts instead of peanuts, I’m forever spoiled….) – but I digress.
If you have chicken, bacon, and spinach – along with some garlic and butter on hand, you can have an amazingly delicious, restaurant-quality dinner in no time – in just one pot!
This one pot bacon garlic chicken and spinach dinner is completely drool-worthy, and will become a family favorite in just one sitting!
The meal is super-simple, great for dinner parties (serve with rice, potatoes, or cous cous for a delicious and easy spread that will wow your guests) – and in just one pot there is little cleanup!
How to cook perfect chicken thighs
I have a go-to method for cooking chicken thighs that is slightly different than how I see a lot of bloggers cook chicken thighs – I lay them out flat when cooking if they are boneless.
The chicken thighs look a bit weird when unrolled, but laying them flat, especially when pan frying, makes the fat render out and makes the chicken thighs lose the typical “flabby” texture a lot of people hate in chicken thighs!
Since thighs have a lot more fat than breasts, they don’t dry out as easily, making them foolproof when pan-frying.
To Make This One Pot Chicken Thigh Bacon and Spinach Recipe You Need:
- 3 slices bacon
- 3-5 lbs Chicken, skinless, chicken thighs – unrolled to lay flat
- 2 tbsp chicken stock, + 1/2 cup low sodium
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp garlic, diced
- 1 1/2 cup spinach, fresh
- 1 large, heavy skillet
- Large plate, for setting cooked bacon after pan frying.
- Spatula or tongs
How To Store One Pot Chicken Bacon and Spinach
Store one pot bacon spinach and chicken dinner in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
To reheat, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and heat until shimmery.
Add chicken and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until hot.
Add rest of bacon and spinach dinner to pan and heat until piping hot, about another 3 minutes.
How To Freeze One Pot Chicken Bacon and Spinach
To freeze this easy chicken dinner, I lay as flat as possible in a plastic bag and try to push out any extra air bubbles.
I set the chicken to lay out flat – often on a baking sheet – so it doesn’t “clump” together, so it can freeze and defrost more evenly (which will help to keep the texture you’d like.)
Freeze completely, and then move to another spot in the freezer if laying flat gets in the way.
Let defrost naturally in the refrigerator overnight.
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and heat until shimmery.
Add chicken and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until hot.
Add rest of bacon and spinach dinner to pan and heat until piping hot, about another 3 minutes.
Enjoy!
Chicken thigh substitutes
Even though my secret for making drool-worthy chicken thighs is pretty fool-proof (and makes the texture and flavor of the thighs a lot more palatable for people who don’t love thighs), you can easily make some simple swaps for this recipe!
Chicken breasts as a substitute for chicken thighs
If you’d rather use chicken breasts, butterfly the breasts (to make two thin chicken breasts) – and then if they are large breasts, cut them in half again (to make 4 smaller chicken breasts – not strips, but smaller breasts).
Pork Chops as a substitute for chicken thighs
If you’d rather try this recipe with pork, swap the chicken thighs for thin cut pork chops, with or without the bone. The flavor will be amazing – but reduce cooktime to just brown the chops, and then cook to 145 degrees internal instead of 165.
Shrimp as a substitute for chicken thighs
This recipe is amazing with shrimp instead of chicken – simply skip where you’d brown the chicken, and add the garlic and butter right after crisping the bacon instead.
Then, when you add the rest of the stock to form a sauce, add the shrimp and spinach so they don’t overcook!
When shrimp is opaque, they are done.
Other One Pot Chicken Thigh Dinners You’ll Love
If you love this delicious, easy one pot bacon garlic chicken with spinach, you’ll love these other easy one-pot dinners!
Easy One Pot Chicken Thigh Dinners
The best easy one pot chicken thigh dinner recipes.
Blackened Chicken Thighs with Garlic Butter Sauce
Blackened Chicken Thighs with Garlic Butter Sauce are easy, decadent, and so delicious - in one pot under 20 minutes!
Baked Ranch Chicken Thighs
Easy, crunchy, delicious Baked Ranch Chicken Thighs are a super simple one pot baked chicken thigh recipe everyone loves - bursting with ranch flavor in only five ingredients! Low carb, mess free, a deliciously crunchy crust, in a huge family favorite that is sure to make anyone a fan of chicken thighs in under 40 minutes!
One Pot Spicy Garlic Chicken Thighs Recipe
This easy delicious One Pot Spicy Garlic Chicken Thighs Recipe is super simple and quick for perfect Nando's style spicy Peruvian garlic chicken thighs that are spicy and bursting with flavor in just one pot with four easy ingredients!
Easy Air Fryer Lemon Chicken Recipe
Easy Air Fryer Lemon Chicken Recipe - a simple easy recipe for crisp and juicy air fried lemon chicken with under five minutes active cooking time!
One Pot Bacon Garlic Chicken and Spinach Dinner Recipe
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One Pot Bacon Garlic Chicken and Spinach Dinner
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon
- 3-5 lbs Chicken, skinless, chicken thighs - unrolled to lay flat
- 2 tbsp chicken stock, + 1/2 cup low sodium
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp garlic, diced
- 1 1/2 cup spinach, fresh
Instructions
- In a large, heavy pan, cook and crisp bacon until well browned.
- Remove bacon from pan, do not drain grease, and set aside and crumble when cool (while chicken is cooking).
- Add chicken thighs to pan (I like to lay them flat to crisp up more and let the fat render).
- Let brown on each side, about 4-6 minutes.
- Remove from pan when browned and set aside (chicken may not be fully cooked, we're just trying to get it well browned at this point.)
- Add 2 tbsp stock to pan, scrape any bits of chicken that stuck to pan with stock with a rubber spatula (don't scrub with metal on a cast iron pan, if using something else metal is ok)
- Add butter to pan, let melt.
- Add garlic to pan, let brown, about 4 minutes. Make sure garlic does not burn.
- Add stock to pan, and then add chicken thighs back in.
- Cook until stock has reduced into a thicker sauce and chicken has reached internal temperature of 165 degrees - about 5 minutes.
- Add spinach, toss with chicken and sauce, and let reduce.
- Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the top.
- When spinach is soft and reduced, remove from heat and serve!
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 465Saturated Fat 11gCholesterol 138mgSodium 312mgCarbohydrates 2gProtein 31g
Denine
I love this recipe! I made it after work one day and it was perfect ?. Thank you
Denine
I love this recipe! I made it after work one day and it was perfect ?. Thank you
Rey
Great flavors with this recipe. Wanted to add some kind of “starch” so I made some edamame pasta and added some chopped tomatoes, chopped basil, and a little “Better than Boullion” to the chicken, bacon and spinach mixture and served it on top of the pasta and some grated Parmesan cheese.
Pete
I part boil small cubes of potato and sweet potato then add when you put chicken thighs back in