Chicken Fricassée is a traditional French chicken stew made with browned chicken pieces braised in a creamy white mushroom sauce. A rustic family-style meal that’s easy enough for midweek, it’s a bit like a white sauce version of Coq au Vin – except it’s so much faster to make!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Chicken Fricassée
Pronounced “fri-ka-say”, this is a terrific recipe to get a cosy stew fix any night of the week without hours of slow cooking. This dish is a traditional French chicken stew made with a creamy white sauce with mushrooms, instead of the more common rich, dark brown sauce like you ordinarily see with stews, such as with Coq au Vin and this baked Chicken Stew.
I’m just going to tell it to you straight: the chicken is lovely (juicy, golden brown, etc etc) … but this dish is all about the creamy white sauce!!!
Ingredients in Chicken Fricassée
Here’s what you need to make Chicken Fricassée.
1. Chicken pieces
This dish is best made with skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces that stay nice and juicy after simmering in the sauce. Mind you, this is a quick stew that only calls for 30 minutes of simmering time. But still, boneless breast or thigh would overcook in this time. Having said that, I’ve included in notes in the recipe for how I would make Chicken Fricassée with breast and boneless thighs, because I know some of you will ask!!
2. Other ingredients in Chicken Fricassée
Here are the other ingredients required for Chicken Fricassée:
Garlic and onion – The foundation upon which many savoury dishes are built, and Chicken Fricassée is no exception!
Bay leaves and thyme – The herb flavourings for the sauce. Fresh is best if you have them, else dried is fine.
Butter – It’s a French dish. Say no more! 😂
Mushrooms – The traditional vegetable included in the sauce. Though really, this is such an adaptable dish that it can be made with any vegetable suitable for braising. Add those that can withstand a 30 minute braising time at the beginning, and faster-cooking vegetables (like green beans and asparagus) towards the end.
White wine – Any white wine that’s not too woody or sweet will work great here. Chardonnay in particular adds really good flavour. Substitute with more low-sodium chicken stock/broth for a non-alcoholic version.
Chicken stock/broth – This dish is extremely tasty made with regular store-bought chicken stock. But it becomes a restaurant-quality treat if you make it with homemade chicken stock! Homemade chicken stock is straightforward to make and really worth it for the added deliciousness. (Bonus: It’s lower sodium than store bought and you get extra nutrients from the bones).
Flour – Used to lightly thicken the sauce.
Cream – This also thickens the sauce as well as making the sauce rich, creamy and decadent!
How to make Chicken Fricassée
In a nutshell, Chicken Fricassée is made by browning chicken pieces in butter, then braising them in a creamy mushroom sauce thickened with a little flour. It’s a quick stew so it’s only simmered for 30 minutes on the stove which is all you need for the chicken to cook through.
Brown chicken – First, we sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Then in a large skillet or pot that has a lid, melt the butter over medium-high heat. (If your pot/skillet doesn’t have a lid or you don’t have a lid from another pot that is the same size or larger, don’t stress, there’s options – I outline these in the simmering step.)
Brown the chicken thighs first, placing them in the butter skin side down. Cook them for 4 – 5 minutes until nice and golden, then turn and cook the other side for just 1 minute. Remove the thighs from the skillet to a plate or tray. Now do the drumsticks. For drumsticks, I usually sear 3 sides which gets decent coverage all around – about 2 minutes on each side. Once done, add them to the plate holding the thighs.
There will still be plenty of butter left in the skillet, which has now transformed into browned butter. Which means it’s extra tasty – woo!
Sauté mushrooms – To start the sauce, sauté the onions, mushrooms, thyme and bay leaves for around 5 minutes in the residual butter, adding the garlic towards the end. The mushrooms will change from white to light golden, but won’t go a deep golden brown. There’s no point browning mushrooms well because they will lose the colour when braised.
Then add the flour and cook it for 1 minute to cook out the raw floury taste.
Add stock and wine – Then add the wine and chicken stock. Stir well, scraping the base of the pot to dissolve all the golden bits stuck on the base of the pot into the sauce. This stuff is called “fond” and it’s concentrated flavours that makes the sauce even tastier!
Return chicken to pan – Return the chicken to the pot, skin side up. It will mostly be submerged, and that’s exactly what we want. The braising liquid will keep the chicken nice and juicy, while the chicken will absorb the tasty sauce flavour!
Simmer covered 10 minutes – Once the chicken is in the sauce, bring the liquid back up to a simmer. Then adjust the heat so it’s bubbling constantly but not boiling rapidly – see video to see what this looks like. On my stove, it’s medium heat.
Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncovered 20 minutes – Remove the lid then simmer for a further 20 minutes. In this step, the sauce will reduce and thicken into a thin gravy consistency.
“When is the chicken cooked?” – By this time, the chicken will be cooked. 30 minutes mightn’t sound like long for a stew, but that’s all you need because the chicken is cooked submerged in a very hot liquid. It will be completely cooked and quite tender, though not at the “fall-apart-at-a-touch” stage which is intentional.
Now make the sauce creamy … – Remove chicken from the sauce to a plate. Add the cream, stir, then bring the sauce back up to a simmer.
Garnish and serve! Once the sauce comes back up to a simmer, return the chicken to the sauce. There’s no need to simmer the sauce after the cream is added.
Garnish with a good amount of parsley, and it’s ready to serve!
Matters of serving and eating!
How to serve Chicken Fricassée
Chicken Fricassée can be served directly in individual servings. Otherwise, serve it family-style by placing either the cooking vessel on the table or transfer the Chicken Fricassée to a large serving bowl so people can help themselves.
Starchy sides
As for what to serve with Chicken Fricassée, any sauce this good demands a starchy partner! Mashed potato is traditional (Cauliflower Mash for those going low-carb) though I was interested to learn that rice is not unheard of either.
Short pastas like macaroni, penne and ziti would also be ideal. Basically anything that let’s you enjoy every drop of that gorgeous creamy mushroom sauce!!
Side salad
We’re a little light on the vegetables in Chicken Fricassée! So round off your meal with a nice side of greens. Try a big bowl of roasted vegetables, Garlic Sautéed Spinach, a fresh French Bistro Salad, Roasted Asparagus or a big bowl of leafy greens tossed with a French Vinaigrette.
If you try this Chicken Fricassée, share below in the comments what you served it with. People want to know! 😊 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Chicken Fricassée (French creamy chicken stew)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 chicken drumsticks (~150g/5oz each, Note 1)
- 4 chicken thighs , skin-on and bone-in (~250g/8oz each, Note 1)
- 1 tsp salt (cooking / kosher salt)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 tbsp / 60g unsalted butter
Stew ingredients
- 300g / 10oz white mushrooms , halved if small, or cut in 4 to 6 if large
- 2 medium brown onions , sliced 0.6cm (1/2in) wide
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1 bay leaf , fresh (sub dried)
- 3 thyme sprigs (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
- 3 tbsp flour , plain / all-purpose
- 1/2 cup white wine , preferably chardonnay (Note 2)
- 3 cups chicken stock , low sodium (preferably homemade!)
- 1/4 tsp salt (cooking / kosher salt)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp parsley , chopped
- 2/3 cup thickened/heavy cream
Instructions
- Season chicken: Pat chicken dry with paper towels then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Brown thighs: Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet or heavy based pot with a lid. Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute then remove to a plate.
- Brown drumsticks: Then brown the drumsticks, as best you can. I do 3 sides, about 2 minutes each. Then remove from skillet.
- Sauté mushrooms and onion: Add mushrooms, onion, bay leave and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes until mushroom is lightly golden – they won't go deep golden brown.
- Garlic and flour: Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Wine and chicken stock: Add wine and chicken stock. Stir, scraping the base of the pot to dissolve the brown residue stuck to the pan ("fond") into the sauce.
- Return chicken to sauce: Return chicken back into the sauce with the skin side up.
- Simmer covered 10 minutes: Once it comes to a simmer, adjust heat so it's bubbling constantly but not rapidly (see video) – medium-low on my stove. Cover with lid and simmer 10 minutes.
- Uncover 20 minutes: Remove lid and let it simmer for a further 20 minutes. Chicken will be cooked – internal temperature 75°C/167°F or slightly higher.
- Creamy sauce: Remove chicken to a plate. Add cream and stir. Once it comes up to a simmer, taste sauce (I know, big ask!), and add more salt if desired..
- Serve! Return chicken into the sauce then remove from the stove. Sprinkle with parsley and serve! Traditionally served over mashed potato or rice. Also ideal with short pasta like penne, ziti or macaroni.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Ordinarily I hose him down with the garden hose after his beach session. But it was bitterly cold on this particular morning, so I took pity on him. #sucker (that’s me I’m referring to!).
joan says
Love all your recipes this chicken fricassee is absolutely gorgeous – a firm favorite here, made it this morning ( will heat it up tonight) to have with your gorgeous artisan bread. Thank you
Eleanor Gibson says
your sticky chicken wings taste great but using Kosher Chicken doesn’t really work. I poured off over a cup of “juice” from the pan when done . Any idea how to make it work with kosher chicken?
Honey Bee says
I use canned unsweetened coconut cream when I need something to be dairy free. It has a heck of a lot of calories, but works the same as cream.
kpg says
Tried this and followed all the timings…but the chicken pieces were raw in the middle! I’ve been cooking for years and don’t believe these timings are anywhere near long enough; at least 20 minutes with the lid on at a low simmer, then probably another 20 without the lid.
Bad Kitty says
That’s not the fault of the recipe. Everyone’s stove/oven temps will vary by their location. Adjust your timing according. Stop complaining/criticizing! Relax and be grateful for all her delicious recipes.
Lindsay Holtz says
I have a similar question – do you have any subs for heavy cream that are lower in calories, or a sub that allows you to use less heavy cream? thank you! I love all of your recipes, btw!
Helen says
Hi, how could I make this healthier with a replacement of the heavy cream. Thanks Helen
Shannon says
I have great luck in almost every soup or stew recipe replacing heavy cream with Carnation 2% evaporated milk – it has 5% of the fat of heavy cream and 60 calories per 1/4 cup compared to 200.
Helen says
Thank you Shannon I will give it a go.😀👍🏻
Janet says
Thanks for this great recipe, will sure try it. Is there a substitute for the mushrooms ?
Sharon says
I have made a French soup before and put some cream cheese in it which made it so creamy and delicious. Maybe a little cream cheese in this recipe would be a great addition too.
Terry Lambert says
Family loved this, I thickened the sauce with corn flour. I’ve cooked a few of your recipes now and everyone is a winner
Helen says
I used wild assorted wild mushrooms and dry martini instead of wine, which works well and yu don’t have to open a bottle of wine
Nagi says
Good tip Helen! N x
Pat says
Can you use a deep roasting pan. I will be cooking for 14.
Robert says
Absolutely awesome! Normally I feel the need to tweak recipes for my own tastes. Can’t think of how to improve this! Thanks.
John Rosauer says
Pepper is listed in the ingredients for the stew, but it is not used.
Tamaro M Harlis says
I just saw this recipe on Facebook. I was wondering if whole milk can be used as a substitute? I do not have any heavy cream.
Nagi says
Using milk will work but will make the sauce very thin and a different texture. You can thicken it up at the end by mixing 2 Tbsp softened butter with 2 Tbsp plain flour in a bowl then adding 1 tsp of that at a time to the hot sauce and stirring until it is as thick as you would like it. Enjoy! N x
Patricia Daley says
I am dairy free. Wondering if a can of full fat coconut would be acceptable as,a substitute for the cream?
Andrew Zafra says
I tried this with coconut cream!! May need to add some more flour to thicken, but it wasnt too bad!
Patricia Daley says
You used full fat coconut milk, right? You could also try to thicken with a slurry of GF cornstarch.
Nagi says
I think that would change the flavour too much, sorry! N x
Angelica Gatis says
Not too many ingredients, love it!
Christine Campbell says
Amazing dish! Even my picky kids loved it! Everyone wanted seconds. Will definitely double this the next time we make it.
Louise Hale says
Awesome recipe, so very easy to make after work with simple ingredients.
Loved by the whole family.
Nagi says
Thanks! N x
Laurie says
This was so good! I don’t usually like leftovers, but this was so good both nights.
I will definitely make this again.
sarah says
I would like to try this for a dinner party. Can I make this before they arrive and what’s the best way to re-heat? – Just on the hob or in the oven? Also its for 8! Do I double the sauce? Thanks x
Nagi says
Yes you can double the recipe but will need to use two pans (unless you have an enormous skillet!) Just reheat in the sauce on the stovetop or transfer to a baking dish with the sauce and keep covered and reheat that way. Enjoy! N x
Anurag Mehndiratta says
Made this today with a couple of mods – no wine, used corn flour, and just milk instead of cream!! Came out awesome!! Thanks.
Nagi says
Excellent! N x