Chicken Fricassee Recipe

closeup: French chicken fricassee in serving bowl with spoon

5 from 5 votes

My classic chicken fricassee recipe uses a whole chicken for the best flavor and texture, with dark and white meat cooked together until tender, finished with a silky cream sauce. The chicken is seared golden-brown, then gently simmered with mushrooms, aromatics, white wine, and stock, and finished with cream for a glossy, comforting sauce. Cozy French recipe for a weekend dinner!

Prep Time20

Cook Time50

Total Time1 10

Course: Comfort Food, dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: French

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: (serves 4-6)

Calories: 868kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

4-4 1/2 lb whole chicken or chicken legs or thighs
salt
cracked black pepper
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 shallots
2 medium carrots
2 celery ribs
8 oz baby bella mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
4 tbsp all purpose flour*
2/3 cup dry white wine like Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried parsley
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Breaking Down Whole Chicken:

Tips: after you break down the chicken, season it with some salt and pepper all around. Save the wings and back bone to make homemade chicken stock. Check here for detailed instructions and a video on how to break down a whole chicken.
Remove legs: Pull thigh away from the body, slice skin near the thighs, find hip joint, pop it, cut through. Repeat on other side. Split each leg at the knee into thigh and a drumstick save way: find the joint, pop it, and cut through.
Remove wings: Pull out the wing, slice skin by the wing, find shoulder joint, pop it, cut off.
Remove backbone: Stand chicken neck-side down; cut straight down through rib bones (using a large sharp knife, cleaver, or kitchen shears). (Save backbone for stock.)
Split breasts: Place breast skin-side down to see the keel bone; cut through center to separate. Halve each breast widthwise for even cooking; remove the wishbone.

Making Chicken Fricassee:

Prepare all your ingredients first.
Chop the vegetables and set it aside. Measure remaining ingredients and set them aside as well.
Preheat a large, 12-inch, cast iron skillet or a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Melt butter and sear chicken on both sides until golden brown, starting with skin side down. Take it out and set aside.
Add onion, carrots, and celery to the pan and let them sear as well.
Once you got some golden color on the vegetables, add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are softened.
Lower the heat to medium and sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir to coat them evenly.
Pour in white wine while slowly stirring and mixing the vegetables.
Pour in chicken stock and add seasoning.
Nestle chicken back into the pan, skin side up for breasts, cover, and cook on low heat for about 30-45 minutes. Chicken should reach 165°F internal temperature. Make sure to take the temperature of the thickest piece of chicken.
Once chicken is done, pour in heavy whipping cream and gently mix it in. Bring everything to a gentle simmer and take off heat!
Enjoy this dish with a side of fluffy rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes!

Video

Notes

*Gluten Free Notes: to easily make this chicken gluten free, simply use gluten free all purpose flour instead of regular one.
Storage: Refrigerate any leftovers in an air-tight food storage container for 3 to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing chicken fricassee because the sauce will become unpleasant when thawed and reheated.
Reheating: You can reheat everything at the same time of individual portions. For individual portions, reheat it in a microwave in increments of about 45 seconds, until heated through. You can reheat everything at the same time on stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through.

Nutrition