Chicken Fricassee
Chicken Fricassee is a decadent French dish with chicken bathed in a creamy, rich sauce infused with bacon, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. It’s the ultimate treat yourself meal. But with a simple trick, it is one you can make in about half an hour, and not sacrifice on flavor at all.
Serve over rice or pasta and alongside a delicious Garlic Bread Twists Recipe and a delectably rich Chocolate Pie for a great meal.
I love this recipe because it gets you out of the dinner rut, with common ingredients prepared in a different way. Chicken Fricassee will elevate any weeknight meal.
While I love a classic dish like Roasted Chicken Thighs, sometimes I want a dish that is going to make me feel like I have transported my kitchen to another place. And this french inspired chicken dish is decadent, easy, and flavorful. And it pairs well with so many sides. I love it with Steamed Peas in Vinaigrette and Freezer Corn!
What You Need to Make Chicken Fricassee
I can’t wait for you to try Chicken Fricassee. So, let’s get those necessary ingredients so you can eat this decadent dish tonight. Most are common ingredients, many of which you likely already have. The rest can be found at any supermarket.
- Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Thighs: Use the thighs, as they stay moist and tender better than breasts.
- Salt and Pepper: A classic duo.
- Bacon: Use whatever your preference, but try not to get any kind of maple or sweetener added to the bacon, as this can change the flavor of the finished dish.
- Vegetable Oil: Feel free to sub another oil, you just want one with a high smoke point so you can saute the veggies without the oil burning.
- Onion: Adds so much flavor, a white or yellow onion is best for this recipe.
- White Mushrooms: You can sub baby bella as well if you want, but I have found the white compliment this dish best.
- Garlic Cloves: Like the onion, it adds so much flavor.
- Unbleached All Purpose Flour: You can sub corn starch or potato flour here as well, as it is used as a thickener for the sauce.
- Dry White Wine: A cooking wine, or your favorite.
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth: Better because the bacon adds so much saltiness, but if you can’t find low sodium, that is ok.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy whipping cream gives this a decadent, creamy finish you don’t want to miss, but you can use half and half if you’d like.
- Minced Fresh Parsley: Brightens up the dish and makes for the perfect garnish.
How to Make Chicken Fricassee
This dish is so easy to make, and requires just a few steps. One of which is to take a short cut and start cooking your chicken in the microwave. Now, don’t let this scare you, the recipe has been tested over and over, and not only does this speed up your cooking time, but it still leaves you with tender, juicy, delicious results. As an overview, here is how you make chicken fricassee, Cook prepared chicken in the microwave and meanwhile, following step by step instructions, cook other ingredients in the Dutch oven. Once chicken is done and other ingredients are simmering, add the chicken and continue to simmer. Stir in cream and parsley, cooking briefly. Lastly, season and serve.
Step One: Trim and Season Chicken.
Trim chicken thighs and season with salt and pepper. Chicken thighs stay nice and tender in this recipe, but you want to remove all the excess fat that is usually found on them, and liberally season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Place it in a casserole dish.
Step two: Cook Chicken in the Microwave.
Once again, I know this sounds terrible, but it is actually the perfect trick, so place thighs in a single layer in a microwave safe casserole dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. The key here is to make sure they are tightly covered so they steam and don’t dry out. Then you want to microwave for 15 minutes on 50 percent power. If you do not know how to set your microwave to 50% power, google it for your model, as this is an important part in not ruining the chicken. It is way easier than you probably think.
Note: If you are morally opposed to cooking your chicken in the microwave, you can simply steam it partially, sear it on a stove top skillet, or simmer it in the sauce for longer, just add some extra liquid, and keep a close eye on things so it does not burn, use an instant read thermometer to insure proper cooking to 165 degrees F.
Step three: Cook Ingredients in a Dutch Oven.
Bacon: Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until the fat begins to render, about 2 minutes.
Mushrooms, Onion, and Salt: Stir in the mushrooms, onion, and ¼ tsp of salt and cook for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned.
Garlic: Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Step four: Add Flour and Liquid to the Dutch Oven.
Add Flour. Stir in flour, and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
Stir in WIne. Slowly add wine to the pan, stirring as you add it and scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
Incorporate Broth and Simmer. Stir in broth. Bring to a simmer.
Step Five: Add Chicken and Simmer.
Reduce the heat to low and add the chicken, as well as any juices in the casserole dish. Then cover with a lid and cook on low. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through to 165 degrees F.
Step six: Add Cream and Parsley.
Remove the lid, and stir in cream and parsley. Return to a simmer and briefly heat through.
Step seven: Season and Serve.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy.
Tips and Tricks
Making this recipe is Eazy Peazy…
- Don’t forget to cover the chicken in the microwave: If chicken is not covered it will dry out.
- Be careful when taking chicken out of the microwave: Chicken will be very hot.
- No skin is best: While you can leave the skin on the chicken when making this dish, the skin will lose its crisp, and just be rubbery and gross. That is why I prefer skinless. If you are going to keep the skin on, make sure you sear it really well, and get a nice golden crisp on it before adding it to the sauce.
- Add additional Veggies: You can add further variety if you prefer. In addition to mushrooms, feel free to add celery, broccoli, carrots or any other veggies, if your heart desires. I love serving this dish with a side of vegetables like these Roasted Carrots or Roasted Greek Vegetables.
- Use a meat thermometer: When in doubt, test the temperature of the chicken by using a meat thermometer. The internal temp should read 165 degrees F. Trust me you don’t want to eat underdone chicken. And overcooking it will dry it out. So measure the temp, and if necessary, remove the chicken from the pot while finishing the sauce in order to not overcook, then add it back in.
Make Ahead and Storage
How to make this recipe ahead of time:
Freezer Meal:
Cream based dishes don’t always do well being frozen. Often the cream will separate. The integrity of the dish can become compromised.
If you really want to freeze it, skip the last step where you add the cream and parsley.
- Follow directions like normal, but don’t add the cream.
- Let Chicken Fricassee cool completely.
- Transfer to a gallon sized freezer bag.
- Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- When ready to eat, defrost in the refrigerator the night before.
- In a Dutch oven, reheat over the stove. Add in the cream and parsley at the end of the reheating process.
- Eat and enjoy!
Storage:
Store Chicken Fricassee in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or over the stove on medium heat.
Get ready for your new favorite meal and all the compliments you are going to get when you make Chicken Fricassee.
Other Great Recipes:
- Skillet Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- Skillet Garlic Lemon Chicken with White Wine Sauce
- Skillet French Onion Chicken
- Skillet Greek Chicken
- Healthy Lemon Skillet Chicken
Easy Chicken Fricassee
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 slice bacon minced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion minced (about 1 cup)
- 10 ounces white mushroom quartered
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Trim chicken thighs and season with salt and pepper.
- Place thighs in a single layer in a microwave safe casserole dish.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on 50 percent power for 15 minutes.
- While the chicken cooks, add the bacon and oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook until the bacon fat begins to render, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the onion, mushrooms, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook 8-10 minutes until lightly browned
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the flour, and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- While still over the heat, slowly add the wine to the pan, stirring as you add, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in broth and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, and add the chicken into the pan, as well as any juices in the casserole dish.
- Cover with a lid, and cook on low, simmering for about 10 minutes until chicken is tender.
- Remove lid, and stir in cream, and parsley, then bring back up to a simmer, briefly to heat through.
- Taste, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Notes
Be sure to cover chicken in microwave so it does not dry out.
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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