One Pan Creamy Chicken and Chorizo

close up overhead shot of chicken thigh in creamy chorizo sauce in large pan

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5 from 8 votes

Juicy seasoned chicken thighs in a rich and creamy chorizo sauce!

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Spanish, Western

Servings: - 4

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £3 / $4

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Large Pan & Tongs
Wooden Spoon
Jug (for stock)
Fine Cheese Grater

Ingredients

Chicken

600g / 1.3lb boneless skinless Chicken Thighs (preferably 6 even-sized thighs - see notes)
1 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Salt
1/4 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Black Pepper
1/8 - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Creamy Chorizo Sauce

1 small White Onion
100g / 3.5oz diced Spanish Chorizo (see notes)
2 cloves of Garlic
60ml / 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
180ml / 3/4 cup low-salt Chicken Stock (see notes)
180ml / 3/4 cup Double/Heavy Cream, leave at room temp
20g / 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 bunch of Fresh Basil (~15g)
175g / 6oz Baby Plum Tomatoes

Instructions

Coat both sides of the chicken thighs with the seasoning. Add the oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the thighs and fry both sides until lightly charred and cooked right through the centre (4-5 minutes on each side depending on size). If they start charring too aggressively just lower the heat slightly. Remove and place on a plate to one side. Lower the heat to medium.
During this time finely dice the onion and garlic, then halve the tomatoes and roughly dice the basil. If you need to grate the parmesan, make the stock and dice the chorizo do this now too, although if you run out of time you can do this whilst the onion is frying (next step).
Add the onion to the leftover fat in the pan and fry until it begins to soften. Add the chorizo and fry for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Pour in the wine then raise the heat and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook for around 2 minutes until it almost completely evaporates. Lower the heat slightly.
Add the stock, cream and parmesan and give it a really good stir to blend everything. Simmer fairly rapidly for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, basil and the resting juices from the chicken and gently simmer for a couple of minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften.
Turn the heat to low, add the chicken back and spoon over the sauce for a minute or so to warm it through. Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Chicken - I like using thighs because they're more fatty and flavoursome than breast, but you could try breast if you'd prefer. I recommend using 2 large breasts and horizontally slicing them through the centre to create 4 even-sized breasts. They won't take as long to cook (3-4mins each side) but the rest of the recipe is the same. You also may need to add a dash more oil to fry the onion as breasts won't produce as much thighs. In all cases I recommend getting the chicken out of the fridge 15-30mins before needed, just to help relax the meat.

b) Chorizo - I buy this already diced into small cubes. If you can only find whole chorizo that's fine, just dice it up nice and small. I recommend this over larger chunks so it gets more evenly distributed, instead of large chunks here and there.

c) Stock - Chorizo adds a lot of salt to the sauce, so I highly recommend using low-salt stock. I use a low-salt Oxo cube because it makes the perfect amount needed for this recipe.

d) Wine - This helps cut through the richness of the sauce. If you can't use it just leave it out.

e) Serving - Here I've served with orzo and some rocket. If you want to serve with orzo I recommend 100g/1/2 cup per person (dry weight). Once cooked, I just mix in a splash of cooking water, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Rice could also work, but check out my Side Dishes for more inspo. You're mainly after something to mop up that rich sauce!

f) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 3 with no sides.

Nutrition