Ultra tender flesh and super crispy skin smothered in a thick savoury sauce with vegetables. This Chicken Stew is slow cooked in the oven to develop deep, incredible flavours. The smell that fills the house when it’s in the oven is simply wonderful!
Made with skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks, this Chicken Stew recipe is a firm favourite during the colder months along with Beef Stew and Pot Roast. Mop your bowl clean with Irish Soda Bread, a quick and easy rustic no-yeast bread!
Chicken Stew – with crispy skin!
Anyone else here not a fan of slimy chicken skin??
I don’t care how long it’s been slow cooked. And whether it’s a stew, in soup or Hainanese chicken.
No chicken skin comes near my mouth unless it’s crispy or caramelised.
When my mother reads this, I know she’s going to roll her eyes and think”she’s so childish!!”
I don’t care. I love crispy skin. I want crispy skin. Give me all the crispy skin!!! 😂
Slow cooked in the oven for crispy skin!
Because I’m so anti-slimy chicken skin, I like to make my Chicken Stew in the oven rather than on the stove. And unless someone knows a magic trick, the only way to get crispy skin for a stew is in the oven.
Cook it covered for part of the time, then uncover it to let the sauce thicken, the surface of the veggies and edges of the stew caramelise, and – most importantly in my world – to get that chicken skin super crispy!
OK, I think I’ve babbled on enough about the chicken skin. Let me move on.
Under the crispy skin -> tender flesh.
Smothering the crispy skin -> thick savoury gravy sauce.
Around the crispy skin -> tender soft vegetables.
😇😇😇
I’m lucky enough to have a big, shallow casserole pot / dutch oven which is absolutely perfect for these kind of stews that go from stove to oven. But if you don’t have one, don’t worry, just tip it all into a baking pan before popping it into the oven.
And – confession time. The reason I cropped out most of the bowl in the photo below is because I ate the chicken before I took this photo. The side you can’t see just has bones, picked completely clean.
I couldn’t resist! Don’t judge me! 😂 – Nagi x
More Stews
- Classic Beef Stew – fall apart beef in a deep rich sauce
- Irish Beef and Guinness Stew – an incredible dark, rich sauce with incomparable flavour
- Braised Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce – truly exceptional, restaurant quality!
- Browse all Stew recipes
Classic dinners we’ll love forever
- Meatloaf – a family favourite forever and ever!
- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Beef Pot Roast
- Beef Stroganoff
- Ultra Tender Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling
Chicken Stew
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 kg / 3lb bone in, skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks (6 to 8 pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 onions , halved and cut into wedges
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 large carrots , cut thick end into 1.5cm / 3/5" pieces, thin end 2.5cm/1"
- 4 celery stalks , cut into 2cm / 4/5" chunks
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine (or water)
- 3 tbsp (35g) flour
- 3 cups (750 ml) chicken broth , low low sodium
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp Worscestershire sauce
- 3 sprigs thyme , or 1 tsp dried thyme (or other herb)
- 2 bay leaves (dried or fresh)
- 600 g / 1.2lb baby potatoes , halved (quarter large ones)
Serving (optional):
- Fresh thyme or parsley (chopped)
- Warm crusty bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Brown chicken on both sides until light golden, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Remove from pot. (Do in 2 batches if pot not big enough).
- If there's too much oil in the pot, discard some. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add carrots and celery, cook for 1 minute.
- Add wine. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the brown bits into the liquid. Cook for 1 minute until liquid is mostly gone.
- Sprinkle flour across surface, stir.
- Add broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to dissolve tomato paste.
- Place chicken on top, keeping the skin above the liquid level as much as you can.
- Bring to simmer then cover. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven, remove lid. Add potatoes, pushing them into the liquid and rearranging chicken so they sit on top (for lovely crispy skin).
- Return to oven without the lid for a further 40 minutes until the chicken skin is deep golden and super crispy, the potatoes are soft and the sauce is thickened.
- Taste sauce and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with warm crusty bread on the side to dunk in the sauce - or go all the way with Garlic Bread! Optional: garnish with extra fresh thyme leaves or parsley.
Recipe Notes:
Originally published May 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters – no change to recipe.
Life of Dozer
Flashback to May 2018 when this recipe was first published when he tore his ACL and had to have a knee operation. Shaved rump, permanent “help me up” harness, and trapped in a play pen for weeks.
Adding a Cone of Shame was just rubbing salt into the wound, isn’t it?
I told him not to scratch the stitches. I warned him about the cone. He did not obey!!😂
Happy to report he is back to normal, chasing birds, leaping off jetties and generally living the high life!❤️ N x
What size quart pot should I use for 8 people? I’m new at this? You said large…how large?
Thank you
Hi Skyring, a 5-6 quart pot will be perfect. – N x
Another great recipe from Nagi! I made this with the garlic bread and they were a big hit. The only th9ng, the potatoes were still a bit hard. Next time, I’ll try putting in the potatoes from the beginning and extend the time.
Hi Jennifer, sorry to hear your potatoes were a bit hard, that could be due to the type or size. Next time just add them a little earlier to cut them smaller – I’m so glad you loved it anyway ☺️
I cooked this last night and was so delicious. The only change I made was I put the potatoes in with everything at the start and cooked uncovered in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Was perfect!!!
A big hit with the family last night. We all liked the crispy skin. Thanks for developing and sharing. I will try more of your recipes.
The crispy skin is the best!! I’m so glad you liked Louis ❤️
This was the best meal I’ve had in a long time! Absolutely delicious! I wanted to make a warm comfort meal for my husband before he has to plow snow all weekend and this was perfect! Even my ridiculously picky daughter ate it!
Winning Samantha! I’m so happy it was a hit, stay warm ❤️
Thank you! So far, I have not made a recipe that we don’t like. My hubby really loves the Potato au Gratin!
That’s fantastic to hear Soon ❤️
Made this for friends who are amazing cooks and they loved it!
Wahoo that’s such a great compliment!
Hello Nagi, Recipe looks delicious can I cook ahead and re heat or cook up to point where I need to crisp chicken. Then do final stage when ready?
Hi Meg, I’d cook it up until set 11 and then reheat and crispy the skin when ready to serve. I hope you love it!
Hi nagi I am frim nz and I am new to ur blog. Bu t tried a few dishes and my husband loved each one of them. His fav is this dish and will try all ur dishes . Thanks a lot
That’s great Hema! Thanks so much for the great feedback – N x
Hi Nagi. Made this last week in a dutch oven. My chicken took FOREVER to brown. The only thing I could think of is that it might have been partially frozen and the moisture slowed the browning process. The legs were especially tough to brown vs. the thighs (is chicken leg skin thicker?). It did brown beautifully after the baking part (kept above liquid level) BUT it wasn’t crispy 🙁
All in all, it was very tasty and the chicken fell off the bone. I had some potatoes, veggies, and gravy left over… how long are these good for in the fridge? Thx!
Hi Cynthia, always make sure meat is fully defrosted before cooking to ensure it cooks evenly and doesn’t dry out while being raw in the middle. I’m so happy you found it tasty still! I would keep this in the fridge for up to 2 days☺️
I didn’t have tomato paste on hand, so I didn’t add any, and I used shallots for a slightly sweeter take, instead of onion. love love love! This is such a keeper that I will make again and again.Yummy and comforting. Thanks so much fort sharing!Q
Sounds great Melissa!
Hi there, I’m hoping to do some prep for a dinner party tomorrow. Could I do the browning of the chicken and laying into the oven dish tomorrow? This way it’s ready to go and I just put it in the oven and I’m free to entertain and multitask.
Sorry for the late reply, did you end up doing this??
GORGEOUS! Just sat down to a gorgeous bowl of this stew with your cheesy garlic bread. Totally divine and easy to make. Even my quite fussy daughter ate the lot. Thanks again for another yummy recipe Nagi! 😊❤
Hi Nagi, thank you for the wonderfully yummy and easy to follow recipes! I am inspired to cook for my family even after busy days at work and my kids really appreciate it. 🙂 I’m in the midst of cooking this and know it will be delicious but because all my chicken skin got stuck to the bottom of my Dutch oven, we won’t be able to enjoy the crispy part of this recipe. How do I make sure that the skin doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan next time? Thanks for your kind advice in advance.
Hi Hsien, Add a touch more oil to ensure the skin doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan when browning. ☺️
Miss Nagi, I made a modified version of this and my wife loved so much she wanted me to write you. I was marinating chicken thighs to make Asian Marinated chicken when your email arrived. I pretty much followed your Chicken Stew recipe with a few minor medications. Using the marinated chicken the sauce was rich with a nice kick to it. Very, Very Tasty!
Woah Dennis, sounds fabulous!!
Can I use skinless boneless chicken thighs instead?
Hi Brennda, you can you just won’t get that crispy skin. Just adjust the cook time as it will take less time to cook without the bone – I’d check the chicken after 20 minutes with the lid off. ❤️
I made your chicken stew and it was very good. Directions were spot on. My chicken thighs were crispy and beautifully browned. I added some sage and rosemary but other than that followed the recipe exactly. My potatoes were perfectly done in the 40 minutes suggested in the recipe. Thank you!
Sounds fabulous Mary!
How can I store this stew for couple of days and how many days will it last?
You can freeze this, thaw and heat it up in the microwave then blast the chicken under a hot grill to re-crisp it ☺️
Hi Nagi..i followed ur recipe..its in the oven now looking really gd….the only thing i didnt have tomato paste so i used 1/3 cup of marinara sauce..😜