Texas Roadhouse Smothered Chicken features marinated chicken breasts smothered in sauteed mushrooms and onions and topped with gooey, melted cheese. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to make this restaurant favorite at home.

I am a big fan of making restaurant dishes at home! While it can be nice to go out once in a while, making a copycat version of some of your favorite dishes means you can enjoy them more often, and cater them to your specific needs.

In addition to this smothered chicken, we love Olive Garden Steak Gorgonzola, Cheesecake Factory Crusted Chicken Romano, and Popcorn Chicken Bowl (Copycat KFC Famous Bowls)

The Secret to a Flavorful Chicken Breast

two chicken breasts smothered in mushrooms, onions, and melted cheese in a cast iron skillet with one shown closer.

The main component of this dish is the chicken. While boneless skinless chicken breast is a delicious and easy protein that can prepared countless ways, it can have the tendency to dry out if overcooked.

One way to ensure your chicken breast is tender and flavorful is to do something called jacquard.

Jacquard is the process of poking some holes into meat to help tenderize it, shorten cooking time, and allow the marinade to more fully penetrate the meat.

While there are specific jacquard tools available, a regular table fork will work just fine!

Why You're Going to Love this Recipe

One way to make this Texas Roadhouse chicken at home a bit easier is by making everything in one pan. At the restaurant, they have multiple chefs working on the different components all at once. This works in a commercial setting, but at home that means a lot of dirty dishes!

I set up this recipe using one cast iron skillet from start to finish, this means less dishes and that not a bit of flavor is lost.

Ingredients

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: Use medium sized chicken breasts for best results. If you would like to shorten the cooking time for this recipe, use thin cut chicken breasts or butterfly regular chicken breasts so they are thinner.
Italian Dressing: This works as a quick and easy marinade for the chicken! This is what the restaurant uses, as it has all of the components of a great marinade- fat, acid, and flavors. Any brand will work.
Butter: This adds a delicious rich flavor for sauteing the mushrooms and onions.
Mushrooms: I like cremini here, but white button mushrooms or portobello would both work too.
Onions: Regular yellow onions work well.
Monterey Jack Cheese: I find that sliced block cheese or sandwich slices melt the best and cause the final product to look most "Restaurant quality," but shredded cheese will work too.
Spice Blend: The restaurant uses a blend of white pepper, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.

How to Make Texas Roadhouse Smothered Chicken at Home

two jacquard chicken breasts on a plate being poked with a fork.

Step 1. Place chicken breasts on a plate or cutting board. Using a jacquard tool or fork, poke several holes in the meat. If using a fork, I like to stab it 10 to 15 times on each side of the chicken breast. Place chicken in a dish or a gallon sized ziploc bag.

Step 2. Wash hands thoroughly. Pour italian dressing over top, coating chicken. Place in the fridge. Let chicken sit in the marinade for 2 to 24 hours, depending on your schedule. The longer it sits, the more flavorful your dish will be. Once chicken is done marinating, it's time to cook!

browned chicken breasts in a cast iron chicken.

Step 3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to pan and then place chicken breasts carefully in. Cook for approximately 5 minutes to thoroughly brown, not moving so that a deep brown color forms. Flip and repeat on the over side. Remove to a clean plate to the side.

sauteed mushrooms and onions in a cast iron skillet.

Step 4. Reduce heat to medium and add butter. Add sliced mushrooms and onions, sauteeing until both are softened and fragrant, around 5-7 minutes. Add water and scrap up all of the extras bits on the bottom of the pan, as there is a lot of flavor there.

seasonings added to mushrooms and onions in a cast iron skillet.

Step 5. Add spices and stir. Move mushrooms and onions to the side of the skillet and place chicken breasts back into the skillet.

mushroom and onion mixture on top of cooked chicken breasts.

Step 6. Carefully scoop mushroom-onion mixture over top, splitting between the two pieces of chicken.

Step 7. Top with cheese slices and place in preheated oven.

two chicken breasts smothered in mushrooms, onions, and melted cheese in a cast iron skillet.

Step 8. Cook for 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.

How to serve

Serve this recipe will simple sides like steamed broccoli or spring peas and mashed potatoes!

It's also great with rice, such as rice pilaf. Or a simple garden salad.