One pan? Yes, please! This French Herbes de Provence skillet chicken uses chicken tenders, potatoes, olives, and spinach make quick work for this weeknight, freezer friendly meal.

Photography Credit: Alison Bickle

Sometimes you just need a meal in your back pocket. Herbes de Provence Skillet Dinner is that meal for me.

We always have potatoes and onions on the countertop, and the refrigerator is rarely without a leafy green and jar of olives. Toss them together with some marinated chicken from the freezer, and dinner is ready in a snap!

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THE BEST CHICKEN FOR THIS RECIPE

Skip over split breasts and boneless skinless chicken breast halves for this recipe. You want thinly sliced chicken breast, chicken tenderloins or chicken tenders.

A thick breast would take too long to cook, and your vegetables would be overdone by the time the chicken finished. The thinner cut also gives you better seasoning distribution because more of every bite is coated with marinade.

SHOPPING FOR THE VEGETABLES

Potatoes: I use small golf-ball-sized baby or b-sized potatoes because I want them to cook quickly. You can use larger potatoes if that’s what you have on hand, just cut them into rough half-inch cubes.

Swiss Chard: I love Swiss chard because it has a very slight earthy flavor similar to beets but not as strong. Try to find chard with white stems. If you use rainbow chard with red or yellow stems the color will leech into the sauce and you will have pink or yellow sauce. If you don’t mind colorful sauce, then by all means get crazy with the rainbow chard. If Swiss Chard isn’t your thing substitute chard for spinach.

Olives: It may seem strange to add olives and potatoes together, but they are match made in heaven. I buy whole pimento stuffed Spanish olives and slice them in half, but I think this would also work well with Queen Olives or Kalamata Olives, just make sure they are pitted.

Swap the vegetables as needed! If you don’t have the vegetables I used on hand, don’t worry about it! Serve the chicken with a side salad over pasta or with a vegetable of your choice. Anything goes!

SEASON THE VEGETABLES AT THE END

Toward the end of the recipe, remove the chicken and tent it with foil. It’s easier season the vegetables and coat them in additional spices and butter once the chicken is removed. Don’t worry you’ll put everything back together before bringing dinner to the table.

THE BEST SKILLET TO USE

You’re packing a lot of food into one skillet. It’s best to use a 12-inch skillet (measured across the top) to ensure you have enough room for all of the chicken and vegetables.

HOW TO MAKE AHEAD AND FREEZE

Stock up on chicken when it’s on sale. Commit 10 minutes to label the bag and make the marinade. Toss the marinade and the chicken in the bag. Freeze it flat to save on freezer space.

Rest easy because the chicken tastes great with or without the vegetables! When a busy workweek hits, take the chicken from the freezer to the fridge in the morning. When you return home from work you can have chicken on the table in under 30 minutes!

Use a gallon-size freezer bag that you press to seal rather than those with a zipper slide. Write the date, name of the recipe, and SimplyRecipes.com so you can easily find the recipe later. Add the chicken and marinade ingredients to the bag. Squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag and close it. Smoosh around the chicken until its well coated in marinade. Lay flat to freeze.

This will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months, and up to 48 hours thawed in the refrigerator.

Not a planner? No biggie! You could still make this whole dish start to finish in one night and have dinner ready in 40 minutes or less.

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