Baked Chicken and Asparagus
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Enjoy this quick and tasty chicken and asparagus recipe that’s ready to eat in about 30 minutes! This easy one-pan meal pairs baked boneless chicken breasts and fresh asparagus spears with a lemony, creamy pan sauce. Serve with pasta or all by itself for a low-carb dinner.
Chicken and asparagus are an ideal combination for a healthy meal. This is one of our favorite quick chicken recipes to make when tasty green asparagus is in season. It’s also fuss-free to put together.
All you need is one pan to sear the chicken breasts, then the rest of the ingredients are combined in the same pan to finish cooking in the oven.
This recipe makes a simply elegant main dish or weeknight dinner all by itself, especially if you’re watching carb intake. Otherwise, make it a more substantial dinner and serve the chicken with rice, angel hair pasta or orzo. Or double up on your veggies and serve it with a fresh asparagus salad!
Ingredients you need to make the dish:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: Look for medium-size breasts, totaling about 1 3/4 pounds. The chicken is seared on the stovetop, then it finishes cooking in the oven along with the asparagus.
- Fresh asparagus: Choose thin or thick-stemmed asparagus with tightly closed buds at the tips. Snap off the lower 2-3 inches from the stalks before slicing into 2-3-inch pieces.
- Shallot: There’s nothing like a shallot when you want to easily elevate the flavor of a dish. Yellow onion will work just as well.
- Fresh thyme or tarragon: These herbs go perfectly with chicken. Either one adds a delicate flavor and a really appetizing aroma to the dish! If you don’t have fresh herbs, substitute with 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
- Dry white wine or fresh lemon juice: You can choose whatever you prefer or have on hand — white wine or lemon juice adds a pleasant acidic edge to the creamy pan sauce.
- Creme fraiche: I love cooking sauces with this cultured cream. It has a slightly tangy taste that I think is more delicate and nuttier-tasting than sour cream. You can use a good high-fat heavy cream instead.
- Flour: A small amount of all-purpose flour creates a light crust on the chicken and also helps to thicken up the pan juices. Rice flour or a gluten-free flour blend will also work.
- Butter and olive oil: Heating butter with olive oil helps prevent the butter from browning because the oil has a higher smoking point. They also taste delicious!
Basic recipe steps:
You’ll need an ovenproof large skillet to cook this dish. I use my 12-inch cast iron braiser or a large saute pan.
Here’s a quick photo guide to the cooking steps. To see how to make this chicken and asparagus recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. 
Sprinkle with flour on both sides.
Sear in butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot and cook until softened. Add white wine to deglaze the pan.
Scatter the asparagus around the chicken. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the cream. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
How to prep asparagus:
- Trim 2-3 inches from the woody ends of the asparagus — the lower part of the stalk is tougher and stringier. An easy way to do this is to hold each spear and and snap where it naturally breaks.
- Rinse the asparagus in cold water to remove any sand or grit.
- Slice on a slight diagonal into 2-3-inch long pieces.
Storing and heating leftovers:
- The cooked chicken, asparagus and sauce will keep refrigerated up to 5 days. The bright green color of the asparagus will fade, but it will still taste delicious.
- To warm it up for serving, cover and place in a preheated 350 oven until hot, about 10-15 minutes.
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Creamy Baked Chicken and Asparagus
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 1¾ pounds)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) flour (all-purpose or gluten-free)
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot finely chopped, or ¼ cup chopped yellow onion
- ¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine or fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup (120 ml) chicken broth
- ½ pound (225 g) fresh asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces
- ½ cup (115 g) creme fraiche or heavy cream
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or tarragon, plus a teaspoon chopped herbs for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 (220 C) degrees.
- Season the chicken on both sides with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the flour and flip to coat both sides.
- Place a large ovenproof skillet or saute pan on the stovetop and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted and starts to bubble, add the chicken breasts to the pan. Cook until one side is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken breasts and cook 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- Add the shallots to the pan, stirring them into the fat. Cook until softened, 1-2 minutes. Pour in the wine or lemon juice and let it bubble for 30 seconds. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Scatter the asparagus pieces around the chicken breasts. Spoon blobs of creme fraiche evenly around the chicken. If you're using cream instead, pour it over the chicken. Put the herb sprigs on top.
- Bake the chicken 15 minutes, or until the pan juices are bubbling and the chicken is firm and cooked through. Remove the herb sprigs.
- Sprinkle the chicken with chopped thyme or tarragon and serve.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The cooked chicken, asparagus and sauce will keep refrigerated up to 5 days. The bright green color of the asparagus will fade, but it will still taste delicious.
- To warm it up for serving, cover and place in a preheated 350 oven until hot, about 10-15 minutes.
Nutrition
Looking for more of the best asparagus recipes? Check out:
- Asparagus Risotto
- Mushroom Asparagus Pasta
- Baked Asparagus Frittata with Goat Cheese
- Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
This was very good and simple
Delicious. Everyone agreed.
Absolutely amazing! I added halved cherry tomatoes and then I thickened the sauce with cornstarch and added cooked Orzo. The flavor of the sauce was wonderful. Everyone in the house loved it! This recipe is a keeper!
Very delicious, easy and super fast!
Quite enjoyed this. Thanks for posting.
Excellent recipe, my family loved the dinner! I used fresh lemon juice and heavy
cream and omitted the herbs and served the meal over pasta. A quick prep
for a very tasty meal!!
Light, healthy, quick and easy to make – so delicious. I served brown rice with quinoa to the pan the last 5 minutes before done.
It was absolutely delicious!
WOW..I make a lot of chicken dishes with spinach..tomatoes ,etc!! But this is the BEST!!! Mt husband had 2 servings and practically moan with every bite ( and he is not one for vocalizing)…I used dried thyme and it blew me away! The asparagus was so tender and tasty…may need to add crusty bread to sop up the broth!!
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed it!
Didnt have the cream on hand , but modified without it. Was still delicious wish fresh light flavors.
what can you use in the place of the cream?
Will half n half work?
Half and half will make a more liquidy sauce. If you want to use it, try dissolving 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in the half and half, then pour into the pan. Sour cream or mascarpone would be better.
Loved this recipe! And my kids loved it too!!!
That’s great to hear!