Recipes » Main Dish Recipes » Creole Style Smothered Chicken

Creole Style Smothered Chicken

Name: Creole Style Smothered Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 4 pound whole chicken (butterflied); Salt and ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 medium onion (finely chopped); 1 medium green bell pepper (finely chopped); 2 ribs celery (finely chopped); 1 clove garlic (minced); ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; ½ teaspoon dried thyme; 2 tablespoons flour; 14.5 ounces canned tomatoes (with their juice); 2 tablespoons chopped green onions

ByLana Stuart Published: July 29, 2014March 1, 2022 Last Updated: March 1, 2022

35 Comments

5 from 2 votes

An easy one-pan recipe for Creole Style Smothered Chicken with a whole chicken in a sauce of tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, and onions.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Jump to Recipe

Creole Style Smothered Chicken presented on a large serving platter.

You’ll love making this easy, one-pan recipe for Creole Style Smothered Chicken. A whole butterflied chicken is cooked with a simple creole sauce made of peppers, onions, celery, and tomatoes that are cooked down and thickened to pour over the chicken. A great comforting dinner any night of the week!

This southern classic is one of my favorite recipes to make and is a staple in our kitchen. Who wouldn’t want a serving of tender, juicy chicken topped with flavorful homemade Creole sauce? It’s the perfect meal to serve with a side of rice or green vegetables making it well-rounded and satisfying.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The entire recipe including the chicken and Creole sauce is cooked right in one skillet saving you clean up time.
It’s a dish that’s comforting and hearty as a Sunday dinner or to serve on any weeknight.
The weight of the skillet helps seal in the moisture and tenderness of the chicken while keeping the skin nice and crispy.
The Creole sauce is made with the “holy trinity” of bell peppers, celery, and onion along with tomatoes and seasonings.
It’s budget-friendly and very easy to make.
It pairs well with almost any side dish including rice, beans, or a fresh green salad.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Whole chicken (you’ll need a chicken that weighs about 4 pounds or one that fits into your skillet with overcrowding)
Salt and pepper (to season the chicken and infuse flavor into the meat)
Butter (you’ll use butter to sear the chicken to create a crispy skin texture)
The Holy Trinity (the basis for many Creole recipes; it consists of equal parts onion, celery, and bell pepper)
Garlic (infuses the sauce with its flavor)
Salt and pepper (to balance the flavors in the sauce)
Dried thyme (adds a fresh herbal flavor)
Flour (used to thicken the sauce)
Canned tomatoes (be sure to save the juice to add volume and richness to the sauce)
Green onions (used as a garnish for color and a light oniony flavor)

You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Creole Style Smothered Chicken

Let’s Go Step-by-Step

I always like to show you the photos and step-by-step instructions for my recipes to help you picture how to make them in your own kitchen. If you just want to print out a copy, you can skip to the bottom of the post where you’ll find the recipe card.

What is a Butterflied (Spatchcocked) Chicken?

A butterflied, or spatchcocked, chicken is one with the backbone removed completely. This allows the chicken to lie completely flat in the pan. Doing this reduces the cooking time by creating a uniform thickness. It’s a simple process to do yourself, or ask the butcher in the grocery store to do it for you. They’re happy to take care of it at no extra cost in most places.

To butterfly (or spatchcock) a chicken:

Using sharp kitchen shears, cut down both sides of the backbone from one end to the other and remove it completely.
Open up the chicken and place it skin side up on a cutting board. Press down on the breastbone until the bone cracks and chicken flattens out. Tuck the wing tips under the breast.
The last step is to make a shallow cut between the leg and thigh. Why? Well, that’s usually the last part to cook through and making a little cut there will help the dark pieces to cook at about the same time as the lighter pieces.

For photos of the process visit my Rosemary Lemon Spatchcocked Chicken recipe post.

Choose a skillet large enough to hold the butterflied chicken without crowding, preferably a well-seasoned black iron skillet. The one I used here measures 12 inches.

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A whole spatchcocked chicken in a large cast iron skillet. — STEP 1.

STEP 1. Lightly season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat, then add the chicken skin side down.

Smaller skillet with cans as weights on top of chicken in larger skillet. — STEP 2.

STEP 2. Cover the chicken with a heavy plate or a smaller skillet that will fit inside the cooking skillet (In the photo I’ve used a 10-inch skillet to weight the chicken). Weight the plate or skillet with several heavy cans. You need about 5 pounds of weight. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 25 minutes or until the skin is nicely browned.

Browned chicken resting on a plate. — STEP 3.

STEP 3. When the chicken has browned, remove it to a plate and set it aside.

Vegetables cooking in iron skillet on left; tomatoes added on right. — STEPS 4 & 5.

STEP 4. Without cleaning the skillet, add the onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, salt, black pepper, and thyme. Cook and stir the vegetables until they’re wilted and the onion is becoming translucent.

STEP 5. Sprinkle the cooked vegetables with flour and stir until well blended. Add the tomatoes with their juice. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

Chicken on top of sauce in skillet (left); Weighted with cans (right. — STEPS 6 & 7.

STEP 6. Return the chicken to the pan with the browned side up on top of the sauce.

STEP 7. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover again with the plate or smaller skillet and weights. Cook for about 45 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160F.

Creole sauce reducing in cast iron skillet. — STEP 8.

STEP 8. Remove the chicken to a serving platter. Increase the heat slightly and cook the sauce briefly until thickened.

STEP 9. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with the chopped green onions.

Recipe Tips

It’s possible to use chicken pieces or chicken quarters but I think it’s actually easier to use a whole chicken.
Be sure to use enough weight and place it so that the chicken is pressed down evenly against the surface of the skillet. This ensures that it cooks evenly.
Larger chickens will require more cooking time and larger skillets. For best results choose a chicken that is no larger than 4 pounds and use a meat thermometer to ensure that it has reached 165 degrees (F) internally in the thickest part of the breast and thigh.
Searing the chicken in butter before cooking it in the sauce adds loads of flavor. Don’t be tempted to skip that step!

Storing and Freezing

Storing: Store the chicken and sauce in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat using the microwave or in a skillet until warmed through.

Freezing: You can store the chicken and sauce separately in freezer containers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating and serving.

FAQs

Is Creole food spicy?

Sometimes it is, but it doesn’t have to be! You can control the level of spice by adding your desired amount of cayenne pepper or red chili flakes to the sauce. You’ll note that this recipe as written doesn’t contain anything spicy at all. Feel free to add some heat if you like.

What’s the difference between Creole and Cajun cuisine?

Cajun foods typically use quite a bit more warm spices such as cayenne. Creole tends to lean more toward herbal flavors of thyme, oregano, and, of course, the trinity of bell pepper, celery, and onions.

What does “Creole” mean?

Creole generally refers to people of mixed colonial French, African American, and/or Native American ancestry, usually residing in Louisiana.

More Recipes You May Like

Have you tried this recipe? I’d love for you to give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card and/or in the comments section further down. You can always stay in touch on social media by following me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest and Sign Up to Get my Newsletter, too!

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Lana Stuart

Lana Stuart is the cook, writer, and founder of Lana’s Cooking. Lana has been cooking since she was tall enough to reach the stove and started this blog in 2009 to share her delicious home cooking recipes. You'll find about 700 recipes here so there's sure to be something your family will like!
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