Chicken Fricassée

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If you’re like me, cool days call for hearty, homecooked meals! There’s just something so comforting about the smell of a roast in the slow cooker permeating your house or a stew simmering on the stove or in the oven. The smell of a Chuck Roast in the slow cooker still draws me back to the lazy Sundays of my childhood in which my Mom and I binge-watched Lifetime movies all day while dinner took care of itself. Chicken Fricassée is one of those comfort meals for me and the recipe I am about to share with you is bursting with an amazing aroma AND unbeatable flavor!

So what exactly is Chicken Fricassée? Well, it is a traditional French stew in which you brown chicken in butter and then braise it in a creamy sauce. This chicken is so versatile, as it pairs well with many starches, such as mashed potatoes, white rice and pasta. It’s also equally as delicious over a bed of cauliflower rice for a low-carb version.

Before I get ahead of myself however, let’s discuss the ingredients. For the chicken in this dish, you are going to need boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can also use drumsticks), Himalayan pink salt, freshly ground black pepper, and butter.

For the stew, you will need sliced Baby Bella mushrooms, onions, garlic, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, flour, white wine (I like to use Chardonnay, but any dry white wine will work), heavy cream, chicken broth, Himalayan pink salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh parsley.

To make the chicken, season both sides of each chicken thigh generously with salt and pepper and set them aside.

In a large sauté pan over medium to high heat, melt the butter. Add in the chicken thighs and brown for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip them over and cook for 1 more minute on the opposite side. Remove them to a plate.

For the stew, add the mushrooms, onions, bay leaf and thyme to the pan. Sauté until the mushrooms are golden brown and the onions are translucent; about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for 30 seconds. Do not overcook the garlic, as it will burn and add a bitter flavor to your dish! Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour in wine and deglaze the pan by scraping to dissolve the brown bits stuck on the bottom into the sauce. Add in heavy cream and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.

Return chicken back to the sauce, cover and cook on a rolling boil for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium and continue to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over mashed potatoes, white rice, or short pastas like Macaroni, Penne or Ziti.

If you are not particularly a fan of mushrooms, or you simply want to change up the flavor of this dish a bit, you can substitute asparagus or green beans for the mushrooms. It is important to note that when using these vegetables, you should only add them in just before returning the chicken to the sauce and make sure they are completely submerged in the sauce so that they cook all the way through.

Chicken Fricassée is an excellent meal for a fall or winter dinner, but don’t let that stop you from serving it up year round. It never disappoints!