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
- Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff – fall apart beef in a creamy Stroganoff sauce!
- 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
Hi Nagi today I tried your chicken stew it was delicious I loved it really much thanks for making time to make this recipe.
Wow! Delicious. The gravy? Heaven. This is a keeper. Thanks Nagi! Glad Dozer’s better
Wahoo! Thanks so much Suzin! N x
Made this last night but had to substitute cooking sherry for wine. Delicious recipe. Can’t wait to try more
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know Janet! N x
Hi Nagi, my chicken is in the oven. I have 2 questions.
1) Oven temperature of 180 degrees – is that for fan assisted oven?
2) Why is it my skin sticks to the pot when I fry the drumsticks. Now my chicken is naked & I won’t have crispy skin chicken, just naked 😭😭😭
Hi Aas, yes 180 for all ovens (I will state the two different temperatures when required and when it makes a difference to a recipe). Your chicken is probably sticking to the pot because the pot isn’t hot enough – use a high heat and be liberal with the oil it ensure the skin gets crispy before moving it.
I’ll never make regular old chicken soup again, this is going into regular rotation! Satisfying and easy enough for a weeknight. The crisp skin makes the dish. Leftovers were just as good, the chicken crisped up again nicely. Didn’t do the tomato paste or Worcestershire this go-round, I’ll try that next time.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Magi! N x
Cooked this for dinner tonight. Wow, it was so delicious. I followed the recipe to a T and it was amazing. The whole family loved it, even my fussy daughter loved it. Thank you! Love Dozer, he is such a character!
Oh my, girlfriend, where have you been my whole adult life. Found your website on a random search for “chicken stew”…. Without a single doubt, the VERY BEST EVER. Love everything about the recipe. It is delicious, love how you explain the science behind it and all the tips.
That’s great to hear Lisa, thanks so much!! N x
What can I use instead of Worcestershire sauce as I find it a bit too sweet ?
P.S love your recipes
Hi Di, just leave it out. Enjoy!! N x
I like to try and make raised dumpling to put in the last 2o minutes of cooking, or so. Would that work instead of potatoes?
I haven’t tried Tina – would love to know if it works though! N x
Delicious recipe. I’ve also made with chicken breasts and in the slow cooker which works out just as nicely.
That’s great to know Fran! I love an easy slow cooker meal ❤️
How well would the crispy skin chicken freeze? Sort of thinking skin off and maybe shredding the kitchen may freeze better
Hi Jennie, you can freeze it but it wont be crispy when you thaw. I’d suggest removing the skin – N x
I just finished this recipe and it smells divine, the chicken is so tender and I can’t wait to eat it. I needed to add a little more salt and pepper, worchestshire and some wine. It’s perfect. Also, I thought browning the chicken on high was too hot.
Hi Mimi, I’m so glad you gave it a go! Just turn down the heat a little if you find your chicken browning too much 🙂
yummy tyvm
Recipe is deadly. So thank you. Added more broth, cause it’s best part.
It’s so addictive with some nice crusty bread for dunking 🤤
Husband loves this so it’s on my repeat list. Thanks for your beautiful recipes x
Hi Nagi – how does this change if I want to use boneless/skinless chicken thighs? Don’t need a shorter cooking method just prefer those chicken pieces.
Hi Nagi!
I was trying to figure out a Sunday dinner yesterday in which I already had all or at least most of the ingredients found this gem. I have it in the oven for the 45 minutes as of now waiting for my timer to add my potatoes and I must say – this bad boy is sounding off the entire house! It hasn’t been feeling like the holidays to me until the warm and comforting smell of this dish. Can’t wait to try it out with the crusty bread I’m baking after!
Ok to use chicken breasts in the chicken stew? Just as good as thighs? Thank you
My go-to chicken stew. Beautifil every time.
That’s great to hear Lou, thanks os much ❤️
I have a instapot and a slow cooker. What are the instructions if I use these?
Hi Tara, you could definitely transfer this to a slow cooker if you wanted but it would be extra steps. You’d need to transfer back to the oven in the next to get that crispy skin – N x
Nagi, Seems like a great recipe! Planning on making it this holiday for family…large group of 10-12. Tried using your scale, but it seems to become inaccurate as you quadruple recipe. Any advice on how to more accurately scale recipe. Thanks.
Hi Robert, if you scale the recipe up to 12 servings, the ingredients will scale up for you – N x