Chicken Fricasse is an easy and delicious dish to make at home. Learn how to make this classic dish and say goodbye to boring chicken dinners.
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What is Chicken Fricasse?
Chicken Fricassee is a classic and timeless French chicken stew that braises browned chicken pieces in a delicious wine sauce. Fricasse means “brown meat pieces” and the use of this technique dates as far back as the 1300s and can be found in the medieval French cookbook Le Viandier. As a history lover, I love that we can see how far our food has come through the centuries.
What you need for this One-pot Chicken Fricassee
As always I try to make recipes relatable for everyone. This chicken fricassee is no different. I have aimed to keep this low cost and easy by making it all in one tall skillet. Good food can be simple to make at home.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can also use a whole chicken cut up and deboned as I did here.
- 16 oz pack of white mushrooms
- 2 cups of carrots cut into mid-size pieces or baby carrots cut in half.
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves whole and peeled
- 8 tbsp of butter
- 2 cups dry white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
- 2 cups chicken stock, bone broth, or chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- fresh thyme
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
Useful Tools
To begin, I made this list in case you are a beginner cook and don’t own many kitchen tools. Once upon a time, I too was a beginner homemaker and there is no shame in that. Learning how to cook homemade meals for your family and friends is a wonderful skill and an often neglected step on the journey to a healthier lifestyle. That being said, I do make a very small commission at absolutely no cost to you, if you choose to purchase any of the items through my link. Thank you in advance if you do! If you want, you can find my full disclosure here.
- Stainless Steel Saucier Pan
- Whisk– I mean, you need one using a fork just does not always work.
- Measuring cups for dry ingredients
- Measuring cups for wet ingredients. (Yes, there is a difference.)
- Flour sifter/mesh strainer – I like the fact that this has multiple uses.
- Wood cutting board
- Plastic Cutting board
- Good Knives
- Wooden Measuring Spoons
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How to make One-Pot Chicken Fricassee
To make this savory and delicious Chicken Fricassee start by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper.
Brown Chicken
Next, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it is hot add the chicken and brown on all sides.
Prepare the Vegetables
While the chicken is browning dice the onion, cut the carrots, and peel the garlic.
Next. prepare the mushrooms by quartering them. Do not slice them quartering works best for this dish to prevent them from getting soggy.
By this time the chicken should be done, remove it from the pan and set aside.
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Make the sauce
To make the sauce start by sauteeing the onion in the leftover butter in the saucepan. There will be some burnt-on pieces from the chicken and that is okay, it is what gives it flavor.
Once the onion is softened use the wine to deglaze the pan and add the mushrooms.
Reduce the wine by bringing it to a boil and simmering the alcohol. You will be left with the most savory sauce by cooking the wine down. This process is called a wine reduction.
Next, add the carrots and chicken broth.
Bring to a slow simmer and add the heavy cream and lemon juice. Do not skip the lemon juice. It adds balance to the dish by countering the heavy cream. Add the cooked chicken and bring back to a simmer.
Add the spices
To the simmering stew add the thyme, ground sage, and nutmeg, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
Thicken Sauce
To thicken the sauce use a mesh strainer or sifter to whisk the flour in as shown in the picture below.
By using this process you will be left with a silky smooth texture and no lumps. All the lumps will stay in the sifter as picture below.
Once you have added the flour allow the stew to simmer on low for about 45 minutes. This like many stews is a slow-cooked dish.
You will see the sauce thicken and darken in color. Serve hot with sourdough bread or French bread.
Enjoy!
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One-Pot Chicken Fricassee
A must-try chicken recipe to beat the midweek lull. Say goodbye to boring chicken dinners with this one-pot meal perfect for a weeknight meal. You will love this aromatic and creamy sauce paired with juicy chicken thighs and tender vegetables.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can also use a whole chicken cut up and deboned as I did here.
- 16 oz pack of white mushrooms
- 2 cups of carrots cut into mid-size pieces or baby carrots cut in half.
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves whole and peeled
- 8 tbsp of butter
- 2 cups dry white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
- 2 cups chicken stock, bone broth, or chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- fresh thyme
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by sprinkling the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Next in a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted add the chicken thighs or chicken pieces.*See notes
- Allow the chicken to brown on all sides.
- While the chicken is browning prepare your vegetables. Dice an onion, peel cloves of garlic, quarter the mushrooms, and dice the carrots. * see notes
- When the chicken is done browning take it out of the pan and set aside.
- To the pan add the diced onion and saute until softened.
- Once softened deglaze the pan by adding the white wine.
- When all the blackened burnt-on pieces are dissolved, add the mushrooms.
- Next, we will make the wine reduction by simmering the wine and cooking it down allowing the alcohol to cook out for about 5 to 8 minutes.
- When that is done add the carrots and broth to the pan and bring it back to a simmer.
- Now, to add some creaminess add the heavy cream, and to balance out the heaviness add the lemon juice. Do not skip the lemon juice it brightens the sauce.
- Add the chicken back into the pan.
- Next, add the thyme, ground sage, and ground nutmeg as well as salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir and bring back to a simmer, once it is simmering. Once simmering use a sifter to add the flour into the sauce by placing the sifter in the sauce and whisking until most of the flour is dissolved. See the pictures for reference.
- Cook on a low simmer uncovered for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Once the sauce darkens and thickens you know it is ready.
- Serve with bread, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles.
Notes
- The mushrooms should be quarter not sliced and the carrots should be bite-sized but not too small. If cut too small they will get too mushy. Baby carrots cut in half should work.
- I recommend using boneless skinless chicken thighs. However, I made this dish with a whole chicken I skinned and deboned myself. It turned out great. You could also leave the bones in I just prefer not to have to eat around them.
- I did not use expensive wine. I picked up a bottle of white wine from Aldi. You could use cooking wine for this but I find that it tastes better when I use a wine that was made to be drunk.
- We love just having this stew with good homemade bread but it could also be good with mashed potatoes, or egg noodles.
- Leftovers heat up well and they can be kept in a container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 979Total Fat: 57gSaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 361mgSodium: 933mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 72g
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