Ready for a super easy, delicious, and family-friendly dinner? Then get ready for this chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes! It is ready in 30 minutes, is gluten-free, and can easily be made dairy free as well. It's a filling all-in-one meal that's perfect for a busy weeknight, or to make as meal prep for the whole week!
Ok, because this is such a quick and delicious recipe and you're probably in a hurry to make dinner for the whole family, I’m just going to skip to the good stuff:
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy: This recipe is super simple, with no special techniques or equipment required, and nearly everything is made in one pan. This not only makes this recipe very simple to make but also makes cleaning up a breeze!
- Quick: With this chicken and gravy recipe you will have a main protein, a sauce, and a vegetable/starch on the table in under 30 minutes (maybe 25 if you hustle!). Nearly no prep work is required, so the 30 minutes includes prep, making, and serving!
- Simple Ingredients: I bet you already have this handful of ingredients in your pantry. Chicken, flour, stock, potatoes - did you check? See, I knew you had them! These ingredients may be basic but this easy dinner is packed with savory and rich flavor in every bite!
- Can be scaled: Whether you're serving a crowd or only serving for two, this recipe can easily be scaled up or down by simply doubling or tripling the recipe.
- Travels and Saves Well: When we were making this, I told Dan this is one of my favorite recipes because everything can be stored and reheated together. The chicken, the sauce, and the potatoes. This makes traveling with (to say a kid's soccer potluck) and saving leftovers a breeze.
Looking for more one-pan meals or another easy dinner - try our Lemon Ricotta Pasta, Feta Gnocchi and Tomato Bake, or Instant Pot Pork Chops.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitutes unless otherwise noted.
Chicken tenderloins: Chicken tenderloins are awesome because they cook super quickly! Just be aware that oftentimes chicken tenderloins have more tendons running through them that you may need to cut around or remove. This is not a huge deal and is why they're typically cheaper than chicken breasts.
Substitutions: We use frozen chicken tenderloins that we thaw, but you can use fresh ones. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts but the cooking time will need to increase.
Baby Potatoes: I like to use baby potatoes because they require less prep work. I only have to cut them in half. Plus, a 1.5lb bag is the standard size at many stores so there aren't random leftover potatoes after making this meal.
Substitutions: Any kind of potatoes you like can be used as long as they are cut small enough to cook quickly. This can be russet potatoes, red potatoes, or even purple potatoes! You can also use parsnips as a low-carb substitute. You can also sub for pasta, like egg noodles if you don't want the mashed potatoes at all.
Flour: To keep this recipe gluten-free, we used a 1:1 gluten-free flour (that has xanthan gum in the mix). Our favorite brands are Bob’s Red Mill and Namaste Foods.
Substitutions: All-purpose flour can be used or any other 1:1 flour blend you like as long as it has xanthan gum in the ingredients. Cornstarch can also be used by following the substitution amounts listed on the jar and making a cornstarch slurry by mixing a little of the hot liquid with the cornstarch prior to adding it to the entire pot. Fours like almond flour, coconut flour, or oat flour will not work and should not be used.
Unsalted Butter: While I normally don’t mind salted versus unsalted butter for recipes, I prefer unsalted for this one. This is because the salt in mashed potatoes is a highly personal preference and beef broth or stock typically has a pretty high sodium content already. With unsalted butter, we can control the salt amount to personal taste.
Substitutions: You can use salted butter but just be sure to start with less salt than what I call for in the recipe, taste as you go, and adjust the salt amount accordingly. You can also use vegan butter to make this recipe dairy free!
Spices: For this recipe, we keep the spices pretty simple. Just a little salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh thyme.
Substitutions: You can use dried thyme in place of fresh thyme. I don't recommend using fresh garlic or onions in place of the powders as they will change the texture.
Beef Broth: It might seem strange to use beef broth in a chicken recipe, but it adds a depth of flavor you wouldn't get otherwise. Plus, it makes the gravy taste like KFC gravy and well, that stuff is delicious!
Substitutions: Any kind of broth or stock can be used to make a delicious gravy. This can be chicken stock, low sodium chicken broth or beef broth, vegetable broth, or other.
Recipe Testing Notes
Throughout testing this easy recipe, we learned some key things that worked and didn't work. Here are the key takeaways!
- You don’t need water: When researching gravy recipes, many added water and broth. We tried adding water and found the gravy to be too runny and not as flavorful. So, to keep this flavorful thick gravy, we nixed the water and kept it to just broth. The result is a thick broth with a rich flavor!
- Gluten-free flour works just as well: Initially, we made this recipe with all-purpose flour, as that's how I always made gravy. But being we're a mostly gluten-free household, we tied it with 1:1 gluten-free flour replacement and it works just as well! So all my gluten-free people out there can enjoy this tasty chicken and gravy just as much as we do!
How to Make This - Step by Step
Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for the full recipe card and nutritional information.
Step one: Prep
Halve the baby potatoes, boil water in a large pot, and heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. The potatoes should be no larger than 2” x 2”. We don’t peel the potatoes but if you don't like the skin in your mashed potatoes, you can peel them. Also, chop the thyme finely.
Step two: Boil and cook
Start boiling your potatoes. Add the chicken tenderloins to the hot skillet and cook through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Be sure to leave about 1” around the chicken tenders to allow hot air to circulate and that they are in a single layer. You may need to cook in two batches.
Step three: Make the gravy
After the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the broth. Whisk your other ingredients in and let simmer until thickened, 5-7 minutes. While this simmers, shred the chicken.
Step four: Make the mashed potatoes
Once the potatoes are fork tender, strain them and add to a large bowl with the other mashed potato ingredients. Use a hand mixer to whip everything together until smooth. You can also do this with a fork and/or potato masher.
Step five: Combine
Add the shredded chicken back to the pan with gravy. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Plate potatoes, top with chicken and gravy, and serve!
Watch How to Make This - Step by Step
Joy Tip!
Using a hand mixer is a great way to mash your potatoes! This is a trick from my dad. It mashes the potatoes, mixes in the other ingredients, and whips everything together for a super fluffy consistency.
Common Questions
You can enjoy just about anything with this easy meal of smothered chicken! We love ours with mashed potatoes (hence this recipe), but you can have it with cauliflower mash, roasted vegetables, pasta, green beans, or white rice. Just to name a few!
The easiest way to shred chicken is either in a large bowl with a hand mixer or with two forks on a plate. This recipe yields super tender chicken so it should be easy to shred.
Certainly! You can use rotisserie chicken, slow cooker chicken, Instant Pot chicken, or leftover chicken and just add it to the gravy at the end. You can also cook the chicken on a baking sheet in the oven if you don't like to cook it on the stove.
Want to Save It For Later? Here's How!
This recipe keeps incredibly well in the fridge. It can also be frozen with some little tricks.
Fridge: To keep this in the fridge, store the potatoes, chicken, and gravy all together in an airtight container. This keeps the chicken moist when reheating. It will keep for 4 days in the fridge.
Freezer: To freeze this, store the chicken and gravy separate from the mashed potatoes in airtight containers. This will keep in the freezer for 2 months.
Reheating: To reheat, thaw in the fridge, if frozen, overnight before eating. Then reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until heated through. It can be helpful to mix it halfway through to ensure even reheating.
Fun Fact
The word potato comes from the Spanish word 'patata'. It's considered the 4th most important crop worldwide. 35% of potato crops are turned into French fries, 28% are used fresh, and 13% go to chips. (source)
Chicken and Gravy Pairings
These are some of our favorite side dishes to enjoy with this chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes.
Did you try this and love it? Leave us a review, we would love to hear from you!
Recipe
Chicken and Gravy Over Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
Chicken
- 8 chicken tenderloins*
- 4 tablespoon butter unsalted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Gravy
- 2 cups beef broth
- 4 tablespoon flour 1:1 gluten free flour replacement
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Mashed Potatoes
- 1.5 lbs baby potatoes fingerling, halved
- 8 tablespoon butter unsalted
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 sprigs thyme fresh, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and let boil for 15 minutes, under fork tender.
- While the potatoes boil, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a light coating of oil or butter if it is not a non-stick pan. Add the chicken tenderloins to the pan, ensuring a single layer and that you have at least 1" of space between each tenderloin. Sear for 4-5 minutes.
- Flip the chicken tenderloins and cook another 3-4 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the skillet and set on a plate. Use two forks to shred the chicken. Set this chicken aside.
- Make the gravy by adding the beef broth to the hot pan (that once had the chicken in it) to deglaze the pan. Drop the temperature of the pan to a low heat. Then add the butter, stirring until melted. Once melted, whisk in the remaining broth ingredients and let simmer for 5-10 minutes or until thickened. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the gravy and let simmer while you make the mashed potatoes.
- Returning to the mashed potatoes, strain from the pot. Add these to a large bowl with all the other mashed potato ingredients. Use a hand mixer to whip the mashed potatoes until well combined.
- Plate mashed potatoes and chicken and gravy on top. Enjoy!
Anne says
This is an easy and filling meal. My kids ate the whole thing!