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, make the chicken flesh super tender, the surface of the veggies and edges of the stew caramelise, and – most importantly in my world – to get that chicken skin super crispy!
Don’t have the time to slow cook?
Try my speedier Chicken Stew – made with boneless chicken thighs, this is on the table in an hour but tastes like it’s been cooking all day!
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
- Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
- 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
Super easy and delicious!
Wahoo, thanks so much Kristina!
I cooked this delicious recipe last night, substituting red wine for white. The skin was crispy, what a triumph!
Made this last night, delicious! I don’t have a dutch oven, so I just simmered it on the stove until the vegetables and the chicken were tender. I also had fresh basil and oregano in my garden so I used those instead of the thyme. Wonderful! I will be making this some more!
That sounds amazing Leona, I’m so happy you loved it 🙌
Sounds amazing! Can i do this without skin? Just scared the fat in the skin may activate my gallbladder pain! Thank you!!!
Hi Monica, you sure can!
Perfect! Left out the potatoes and served them mashed on the side to soak up the fab juices. There’s a small amount of leftovers which I’m going to turn into a sauce for pasta or a pot pie. Thanks as always, Nagi.
Sounds amazing Katharine!
Made this to christen my brand new Le creuset pot – it was amazing amazing amazing!!
Exactly what I wanted on this cold melbourne night ❤️❤️
Thanks nagi!!
Perfect Adi!
One word. Yummm..
Even in warm weather, I made this recipe today after some difficult family news. It warmed our cold and broken hearts. Thank You.
I’m so happy you loved this dish – sending my love! – N x
Oh my gosh! Epic yum!
Woot!!
Made this yesterday and it was delicious! Perfect for the melbourne weather
Wahoo!
Hi Nagi and Dozer,
Made this for supper yesterday. It was delish. Like you, I can’t stand slippery, flabby, chicken skin. This delivered as promised. I will definitely be keeping this in my rotation. Thanks Nagi!!!
Woot! So glad it was a hit Becky!
I made this last night and it was incredible…. just like you said. The chicken skin was super crispy and chicken was moist and delicious.
Great Edward!
Forgot to rate it. All your dishes are 5 stars worthy 🙂
Thanks so much Mita!
I had company last night and made this, it was a hit. So delicious, really an ultimate comfort food. The chicken was falling off the bones. Such an easy recipe, this could very well become a regular Sunday dinner recipe for us. I look forward to your videos on YouTube 🙂
Wahoo! Great Mita!
Its a rainy day today and this was a perfect meal to warm the house. It was absoulutley delicious! So savory. The crusty bread was the perfect accompaniment!
What is the size of your dutch oven? Would a 4.5 quart pot work or does it need a bigger one?
Hi Mita, a 5-6 quart pot would be perfect – N x
Made this last night and wow is it awesome. Not a leg fan so used thighs only, best chicken recipe ever, hands down!
That’s awesome to hear John!
I love stews and made this recipe on 3-31-2019. It was absolutely delicious. I ate a lot and was miserable. I like that the flavors are savory with little or no salt.
Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Andi, I’m so glad you loved it!
This was phenomenal! The stew was the perfect consistency and the chicken was crispy perfection! I definitely needed to add salt when I tasted it in the end, but it was the most delicious and healthy comfort food. Thank-you!!!
That’s so great to hear Nala!