Creamy Chicken and Apples Skillet

For an easy one pan dinner with fall flavors, try this creamy chicken and apples skillet. This savory dish uses tender boneless chicken thighs along with sweet apples, caramelized onions wrapped up in a creamy thyme sauce. A great combination of sweet and savory flavors to create an easy comforting weeknight dinner.

You might also like this easy air fryer baked apples recipe for dessert!

When I think of fall I think of pumpkins, apples and comfort food. Today I decided to make this creamy chicken and apples one pan dinner because it uses fall apples, inexpensive chicken thighs and it’s topped with a creamy thyme sauce. It’s pure fall comfort food and it’s a one pan meal.

And the best thing about this for me is that unlike traditional chicken and apples recipes, my skillet dinner is also low carb (7g net carbs) and high protein (32g protein)! You only need a few simple ingredients and you can make this fall chicken dinner in 35 minutes.

Why I love this recipe.

• It’s full of fall flavors with the creamy sauce and cooked apples.
• It’s a one pan dinner that is fairly easy to make.
• It uses simple ingredients to create delicious flavors.
• It’s a fairly low carb (7g net carbs)and high protein (32g protein) chicken dinner.

I made a similar recipe using pork tenderloin and different herbs and it’s really delicious but today I wanted to use chicken thighs because they are less expensive and something I often have in my freezer because my husband loves them.

What type of apples are best for cooking with chicken?

If you are going for low carb then I would use Granny Smith green apples because they have the least amount of carbs. They also are more tart and hold their shape well.

However I have often made them with Snapdragon, Honeycrisp and Fuji apples which are sweeter and they taste just as good because they contrast the apple cider vinegar in this recipe.

I would like to mention that I often keep the peels on the apples because they have lots of nutrients and it’s also easier than peeling them. Also you want to use firm apples so they don’t get too mushy and fall apart while cooking.

Check out all my apple recipes here.

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used in this recipe were apples, chicken thighs, butter, heavy whipping cream, onions, fresh thyme sprigs, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, chicken broth, salt and black pepper.

• chicken thighs – I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs as they are my husbands favorite but you can of course use chicken breast. You can also use bone-in of either cut but it should be skinless.
• apples – I used Snapdragon apples because that is what I had on hand. Green Granny Smith apples are the lowest carb variety but you can use whatever kind of apple you want.
• onions and fresh thyme – I have fresh thyme from my garden and I used that but you can substitute with dried thyme. Yellow or white onions can be used.
• apple cider vinegar and heavy cream – The apple cider vinegar is my favorite for this recipe but you can substitute with white white, red wine or even white distilled vinegar. I would not use balsamic as it’s too sweet. And the heavy cream is necessary to add the creaminess. You could use half and half but it will make the sauce thinner.

How to make creamy chicken and apples.

Step 1: Get out a large skillet and heat to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and then add the boneless, skinless thighs. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on top and brown for 3-4 minutes. Then flip them over and brown the other side for 2-3 minutes. Then take them out and set aside.

Step 2: Using the same skillet, heat it up again to medium heat and add the butter. When it has melted add the sliced onions. Saute the onions until they have browned. This might take 5-7 minutes.

Step 3: Now add the apple slices, broth, fresh or dried thyme and apple cider vinegar. Cover and turn the heat down to medium low and cook for 5 minutes.

Step 4: And in the heavy cream and mix well. Place the thighs back in the skillets along with any accumulated juice from them. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until the meat is cooked through.

You can serve this as is with a vegetable side dish like this green beans or this easy parmesan roasted broccoli recipe. For a low carb dinner try it over cauliflower rice or this cheddar cauliflower mash recipe. And if you don’t care about carbs you can serve it over regular rice or egg noodles for a more comforting meal.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

Recipe Tips

• Browning the chicken adds more flavor. I like to place the smooth top side down first so that when you flip it over to brown the other side it looks nicer.
• Make sure to brown the onions well but don’t burn them. This caramelizes the onions and adds a delicious savory and sweet flavor to the dish.
• Slice the apples thinly and uniformly so that they cook quicker and evenly.
• Don’t boil the cream sauce just let ti simmer so the cream doesn’t break or separate.
• You know the chicken is done when the internal temperature is 165°F. Because we brown them first, after simmering the sauce it should be cooked through but you can use a meat thermometer to be sure.

More cozy fall chicken recipes to try.

If you love easy comfort food in the colder weather here are a few of my favorites to try.

• Spanish chicken and rice (one pan)
• bacon wrapped chicken thighs (air fryer)
• keto chicken thighs with stuffing
• Greek lemon chicken (slow cooker)
• hearty chicken and wild rice soup orslow cooker tortilla soup
• keto chicken bacon ranch casserole (slow cooker)

Well I hope you give this creamy chicken and apple dish a try. It’s so flavorful and full of cozy fall flavors your family will love.