What a classic, right? This one just looks, smells and tastes like home. A simple meal of perfectly cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts covered in a truly delicious creamy sauce, and bordered by piles of freshly roasted vegetables is a perfect meal indeed. You can never have too many recipes like this one, and today, you literally have a full plate of food – a square meal – in a handful of humble ingredients that come together in a snap. Yes, this Creamy Dill Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans is a forever sort of recipe, and I know y’all are going to love it.
Simple as it is, I do have a couple of awesome tricks up my sleeve – woven right into the fabric of this easy recipe – that will ensure both your chicken and the sauce are as delicious as we can possibly make them. Read on for all the juicy deets …
How to make the most of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Unlike their dark meat brethren, white meat – the boneless, skinless cuts – tends to have a tougher time staying moist during and after the cooking process. The lack of bones causes this, and the consistency of the white meat versus the dark meat. But even so, boneless skinless chicken breasts can be a truly wonderful thing when treated the way they want to be treated, their flavor and potential coaxed out just the right way. Here are a few good tricks to help you do just that:
- Pound it out. Literally. Flattening/pounding chicken breasts prior to cooking ensures that the thickness will be more even throughout, and it will increase the surface area somewhat, giving more chicken the chance to get browned and flavorful. It also tenderizes the meat, helping you to achieve juicier results. See below for a more detailed how-to.
- Drench them in the BEST sauce. If ever, oh ever, there was a food that is practically begging to be served with a sauce of some sort – it’s chicken breasts. You know what I’m saying here? In this recipe, we’ll quickly whip up a simple yet hugely flavorful pan sauce using some chicken stock concentrate (or just stock, if you can’t find), some luscious sour cream + butter, and some tangy Dijon mustard.
- Introduce them to fresh, bright herbs. The addition of fresh, grassy, brilliant green herbs is so essential to creating a flavorful, complete dish that I find it nearly impossible to leave them out of any savory recipe. When dealing in chicken – breasts especially – the simple add of some fresh herbs lifts the dish to a whole new level in a hurry. Today, we’re demonstrating this truth with one of my favorite herbs ever – DILL.
What does Dill taste like?
I was sharing this recipe with a girlfriend of mine over the weekend, explaining to her just how clutch the addition of the dill is to the whole thing, and she stopped me, mid-swoon.
“I’ve eaten Dill before, but I’ve never really thought much about it. What does it taste like, exactly – like, how would you describe it and what other ways can I use it?”
In short, Dill (also called Dill weed) tastes grassy, bright, and slightly citrusy. This being the case, you can see why it’s such a great addition to so many savory recipes (like today’s Creamy Dill Chicken). It has a trademark sweetness that is very subtle but totally, completely lovely and helps Dill play quite well with other herbs such as parsley, mint, and tarragon,
Great Uses for Dill
- Simple Pan Sauces
- Salad Dressings (classic in potato salad)
- It’s a great garnish for soups and savory braises or roasts
- Stir it into dips (yogurt, hummus)
- It’s great as a flavoring element when cooking or roasting fish
Great Alternatives for Dill
Okay. Let’s say the Dill at your store isn’t looking so great, or maybe you just don’t care for it – there are alternate herbs waiting on the bench, just ready to be subbed it for Dill if it can’t play for you. Put me in, Coach! Here are some herbs you can substitute for Dill if need be:
- tarragon
- fennel
- chervil
- basil
- parsley
This recipe would work with a combination of any and all of the herbs I’ve listed above. I honestly think spring and summertime are perfect for really leaning into the abundance of fresh herbs that are available. Just take advantage of that and let your taste buds be your guide.
How to pound out chicken breasts
An easy and relatively painless step in preparing boneless skinless chicken, pounding is basically just what it sounds like – it’s as straightforward as it gets. Honestly you can pound your breasts however you feel like, but here’s how I do it:
I just lay the chicken breasts on a cutting board in one layer and then I set a piece of plastic wrap over them. I use a rolling pin or a heavy pint glass to just pound them out a bit, usually until they’re about half as thick as they were to begin with.
What you’ll need to make this Creamy Dill Chicken recipe
2 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (depending on how many you’re serving), pounded to half their original thickness (see note 1)
Salt and pepper, as needed
Olive oil, for cooking
16 oz. fresh green beans trimmed (give or take)
24-oz. baby gold potatoes, halved (quartered if they’re especially large)
3 tsp – 1 TBSP chicken stock concentrate (such as Better Than Bouillon; see note 2)
½ cup sour cream
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP chopped fresh dill
How to make this Chicken with Creamy Dill Sauce
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Adjust the racks to the top and middle positions.
Put the potatoes on a baking sheet and the green beans on another. Drizzle both with olive oil to coat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the potatoes on the top rack and the beans on the middle rack and roast until golden and cooked; potatoes take about 25 to 30 minutes (stirring halfway through) and the beans take about 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, cook the chicken. Add 1 to 2 TBSP olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the hot oil until golden brown and done in the centers; about 4 to 5 minutes per side (pounded/thinner chicken takes less time to cook through).
Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board and let it rest while you prepare the sauce.
To make the sauce, reduce the heat under the skillet to medium and add the chicken stock concentrate to the pan (that still has the chicken bits and drippings) along with 1 cup of water. Stir and let this simmer for about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream and Dijon. Add half of the chopped dill and the butter. Stir to combine and taste – season with salt and pepper as you see fit.
Slice the chicken breasts and serve alongside the potatoes and green beans, with some of the creamy dill sauce spooned over top.
If you like the looks of this Creamy Dill Chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans, you might also enjoy:
Quick and Easy Indian Butter Chicken
Cajun Style Chicken Fricassee with Andouille
Creamy Dill Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans
A flavorful, classic diner recipe that is wonderful on a busy weeknight or even for entertaining. The bright, distinct flavor of fresh dill is the star here, so don’t be shy when it comes to showering it over that chicken!
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (depending on how many you’re serving), pounded to half their original thickness (see note 1)
Salt and pepper, as needed
Olive oil, for cooking
16 oz. fresh green beans trimmed (give or take)
24-oz. baby gold potatoes, halved (quartered if they’re especially large)Â
3 tsp – 1 TBSP chicken stock concentrate (such as Better Than Bouillon; see note 2)
½ cup sour cream
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Adjust the racks to the top and middle positions.
- Put the potatoes on one baking sheet and the green beans on another baking sheet. Drizzle both with olive oil to coat (a couple teaspoons per sheet pan), and season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the potatoes on the top rack and the beans on the middle rack and roast until golden and cooked; potatoes take about 25 to 30 minutes (stirring halfway through) and the beans take about 10 minutes or so, no need to stir.Â
- Meanwhile, cook the chicken. Add 1 to 2 TBSP olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on one side and cook in the hot oil until golden brown and done in the centers; about 4 to 5 minutes per side (pounded/thinner chicken takes less time to cook through).
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board and let it rest while you prepare the sauce.
- To make the sauce, reduce the heat under the skillet to medium and add the chicken stock concentrate to the pan (that still has the chicken bits and drippings) along with 1 cup of water. Stir and let this simmer for about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream and Dijon. Add half of the chopped dill and the butter. Stir to melt/combine and taste – season with salt and pepper as you see fit. Alternatively, if it’s too salty – just add more water.
- Slice the chicken breasts and plate alongside the potatoes and green beans, with some of the creamy dill sauce spooned over top.Â
Notes
NOTE 1: Flattening/pounding chicken breasts prior to cooking ensures that the thickness will be more even throughout, and it will increase the surface area somewhat, giving more chicken the chance to get browned and flavorful. It also tenderizes the meat, helping you to achieve juicier results. To do this, I just put the chicken breasts on a cutting board and then I lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. I use a rolling pin or a heavy pint glass to just pound them out a bit.
NOTE 2: If you cannot find chicken stock concentrate, you can substitute 1.5 cups of chicken stock for the water. Allow it to simmer in the pan until reduced to one cup and then proceed with the recipe from there. Reducing it that way is a form of concentrating the stock, thus increasing its flavor.
