My Mother-in-Law Cut This Chicken Recipe Out of a Magazine in 1971 — We Still Make It Every August
This recipe creates a flavorful sauce, so you’ll want something that can soak it up.
Mashed Potatoes
Creamy mashed potatoes are one of the best choices.
Spoon the chicken sauce and caramelized onions over the potatoes for an incredibly comforting meal.
Rice
White rice, brown rice, or basmati rice all work beautifully.
The rice absorbs the savory sauce and makes the dish more filling.
Roasted Vegetables
Try serving the chicken with roasted carrots, green beans, Brussels sprouts, or broccoli.
The slightly sweet roasted vegetables complement the caramelized onions.
Crusty Bread
A loaf of warm crusty bread is another simple option.
Use the bread to soak up the remaining sauce from your plate.
A Simple Green Salad
Because the chicken is rich and savory, a fresh salad makes a wonderful side dish.
Combine:
Lettuce
Cucumber
Tomato
Red onion
Fresh herbs
A simple lemon dressing
The fresh vegetables provide a nice contrast to the warm chicken.
How to Make the Sauce Even Richer
If you want an extra-rich sauce, you can add a small splash of heavy cream toward the end of cooking.
Stir it into the pan and allow it to simmer gently for a few minutes.
Another option is to add a small knob of butter after removing the pan from the heat.
Swirl the butter into the sauce until melted.
This creates a glossy, restaurant-style finish.
Add Mushrooms for Another Variation
Mushrooms work beautifully with this chicken.
Slice approximately 8 ounces of mushrooms and cook them with the onions.
Allow them to brown slightly before adding the broth.
The mushrooms will absorb the flavorful chicken drippings and add an earthy flavor to the sauce.
Add Fresh Herbs
Fresh herbs can completely change the character of the dish.
Try adding:
Parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Chives
Oregano
For the best flavor, add delicate herbs such as parsley near the end of cooking.
Hardier herbs such as thyme and rosemary can be added earlier.
Can You Make It Spicy?
Definitely.
If your family enjoys spicy food, add:
Crushed red pepper flakes
Cayenne pepper
Hot paprika
A little chili powder
Start with a small amount.
You can always add more, but it’s difficult to remove excessive heat once it’s in the dish.
A Sweet and Savory Version
The combination of honey and onions gives this chicken a wonderful sweet-savory flavor.
If you enjoy that style of cooking, you can increase the honey slightly.
You can also add a splash of apple cider vinegar to balance the sweetness.
This creates a sauce with sweet, savory, tangy, and slightly smoky notes.
Why This Recipe Became a Family Tradition
The best family recipes aren’t always the most complicated ones.
Sometimes they’re the recipes that appeared on the table year after year.
Maybe they were written on an old index card.
Maybe they came from a magazine.
Maybe the original recipe was changed slightly every time someone made it.
That’s part of what makes family cooking special.
This chicken recipe has that old-fashioned quality.
It’s made from familiar ingredients, doesn’t require complicated equipment, and creates the kind of comforting aroma that makes everyone in the house wonder when dinner will be ready.
