Creamy French Chicken Stew

It was a cold snowy night that called for stew. I did not want to venture out and was happy that I had all the ingredients to make the creamy French chicken stew on hand. I like lots of vegetables so I increased the amount of carrots, celery, onion and mushrooms and I did not chop finely but left them all in chunky bite size pieces. I added salt and pepper while browning the chicken and when sautéing the vegetables and still added a little more at the table.

This was an easy, quick meal to prepare and uses ingredients commonly found in the fridge and pantry. The sauce thickened nicely and the addition of just a little heavy cream gave the sauce a rich smooth flavor. I will make this again but will add garlic along with more thyme or rosemary to make this a more savory and flavorful dish. I served this with rice as recommended but it would also be nice with a big fluffy dumpling or a cheddar biscuit. Definitely comfort food!

Winters in Iowa can be terrible. Terribly cold, terribly windy, and terribly dark. BUT there are recipes like this creamy French chicken stew that feels like a hug helping us forget that the back door is frozen shut. Our grocery store was out of mushrooms (it’s fine!) and cream (use whole milk!), but no one was the wiser during dinner. It was a hit with buttered orzo and peas. Comforting. Quick. Hearty. Leftovers are great too, which is always a big deal in our house. Next time, I’m going to serve it over my favorite mashed potatoes.

When the temperature outside is in negative degrees, it’s time to fire up the stove and this recipe was just what I needed. As the description stated it was a “comforting meal that comes together quickly” and with a couple of adjustments I would rate it a 10.

When I make any stew or soup I usually prefer my vegetables chunky, so I was a little skeptical that finely dicing would not be a positive, but I was wrong. Having the vegetables that size worked perfectly because it allowed a nice scoop of saucy vegetables with every bite of chicken. The sauce was rich and creamy with a subtle thyme flavor. A sure sign it was good, was when I tried to scrape up every bit off my plate.

I know a recipe is good when my husband/son will eat leftovers the next day. This is a basic but very comforting dish. I’ve made other similar recipes and this one is very good as well as easy to prepare. I had all the ingredients available in the pantry, so a good choice for a cold, dreary day. I used boneless chicken breasts as stated in the recipe, but it could be prepared with rotisserie or leftovers.

This stew is decadent without being overly rich… it’s almost confusing to the palate how vibrantly it embodies that “cooked all day” richness with a lightness not found in heartier fare. It’s a dichotomy I’m here for.

I used chicken tenders because I had them on hand. The cook time for the chicken and vegetables was accurate. After adding the flour and the initial 1 cup of stock, the sauce thickened almost immediately. It took 15 minutes of simmering to produce a watery stew after the addition of the second cup of stock. Once the cream joined the mix, an additional 5 minutes of simmering produced a stew that passed the “nappe” test. I tasted it and found it woefully lacking seasoning – probably because I reached for the sea salt initially. I added 1 tsp kosher salt and a few more grinds of pepper and this was enough to awaken the flavors.

This is a great recipe, easy to follow, easy to make. It’s kind of like a chicken pot pie without the pie, but heartier and creamier. I served this with rice and it was delicious!

This creamy French chicken stew was one of those meals that seem to taste better with every bite that you take. So good, in fact, that both my partner and I found ourselves standing over the pan at the stove to get just a couple of extra bites. This recipe was simple to put together and was definitely comfort food at its finest. We loved its vegetable goodness and chicken creaminess, especially paired with some plain rice. This is one of those recipes that we’ll probably make over and over again.

I expected the flavor of this blanquette to be very mild and had to resist adding chile flakes or garlic during the vegetable sauté. The stew was far more flavorful than expected, and just right for a cold winter’s week. While the prep took some time, the recipe was easily doubled in a Dutch oven, and dinner was done for the next few nights. I added a little more stock and cream when reheating, and extra thyme and parsley each night. This paired beautifully with basmati rice, and we had it with broccolini one evening, green beans the next, and frozen peas at the end.