Okay guys, this chicken stew recipe is definitely at the top of my list of all-time favorite recipes! Chicken Stew is thicker and heartier than chicken soup, but lighter than a beef stew. The flavor is absolutely on point, it’s totally cozy, and it’s just one of those things that I could happily eat for three meals per day and still want more the next day. With nearly 200 5-star reviews, you have to try this chicken stew!
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No but why is this seriously one of the best stews I’ve ever made? I’ve made it many times now and each time it is SO delicious, hearty and cozy. It is definitely one of my go-to’s. Simple and so good.
Courtney O
Thank you!
What is Chicken Stew?
Chicken stew is like chicken soup‘s older cousin that is a little rough around the edges. It’s a little more rustic with a rich, thick, gravy-like broth. It’s packed full of vegetables and is a true meal in a bowl. It’s just the perfect comfort food for fall and winter. Oh, and you’ll definitely want some crusty bread for sopping up all that delicious gravy!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this incredible chicken stew recipe:
- Chicken Thighs: Dark meat chicken thighs stay tender and moist in the stew and add just enough fat to make the gravy extra rich. We use boneless, skinless thighs to make it easy, although you could use bone-in and remove the bones later, if desired.
- Flour: The chicken thighs are lightly coated in flour before browning to get even more of that delicious brown color and flavor, and it helps thicken the broth into a gravy.
- Vegetables: A classic mirepoix mix of onion, carrot, and celery, plus a little garlic gives this stew a rich and hearty flavor, plus tons of color and texture. Small gold potatoes are added to make the stew even more hearty. If they aren’t available, simply cut Yukon gold potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
- Butter: A little bit of butter combines with the flour in the pot to create a roux that helps thicken the broth into a gravy. It also helps make the flavor of the stew extra rich.
- Herbs: A robust mix of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and sage give this stew a warm and cozy flavor. Not to mention, they make your house smell great while it cooks!
- Broth: We use a combination of vegetable and chicken broth in the stew for maximum flavor and a deep golden-brown color.
Storage Instructions
This chicken stew gets even tastier the next day! Divide the stew into single-serving portions, then refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this stew in a large container or single-serving portions for up to 3 months. Make sure to label and date! Refrigerated or frozen chicken stew can be reheated using the microwave, or in a saucepot on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring often.
Recipe Tips
- Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. Chicken thighs stay juicy and tender, even with a long cook time, and have TONS of flavor.
- Make sure to brown the chicken well. All of the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot after browning the chicken (called “fond”) flavors the gravy and gives it a nice deep color.
- Use good quality broths. Skip boxed broth and opt for something full-flavored. I like Better Than Bouillon, which really packs a flavor punch. Homemade broth is great, too!
Serving Suggestions
This chicken stew is a total one pot meal, but I like to serve it up with a little bread to sop up all that soupy goodness once I’ve emptied the bowl. Classic dinner rolls are so good, or try my no knead focaccia bread!
Chicken Stew
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.28)
- 3 ribs celery ($0.64)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1/2 lb. carrots ($0.32)
- 1.75 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs ($6.52)
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.18)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1.5 lbs. baby potatoes ($2.89)
- 1 tsp dried parsley ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried sage ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
- 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and celery, mince the garlic, slice the carrots, and cut the baby potatoes in half before you begin.
- Cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the flour over the chicken and toss until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Add the butter and olive oil to a large pot. Heat the butter and oil over medium until they are hot and sizzling.
- Add the flour-coated chicken to the pot with the butter and oil and allow the chicken to brown on all sides (avoid stirring until browned on the bottom). When the chicken is browned and there is a nice brown layer of flour on the bottom of the pot, remove the chicken to a clean bowl with a slotted spoon. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point, just browned on the outside.
- Add the onion, celery, garlic, and carrots to the pot and continue to sauté until the onions are soft. Use the moisture released by the vegetables to dissolve and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Once the vegetables are slightly softened, add the remaining 2 Tbsp flour to the pot and continue to sauté over medium for about two minutes more. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pot again.
- Return the browned chicken to the pot. Also add the potatoes, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, pepper, chicken broth, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any flour off the bottom of the pot.
- Place a lid on the pot and allow it to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium-low. Allow the stew to simmer over medium-low, without a lid and stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened.
- Taste the stew and add salt if needed (I did not add any, but it will depend on the salt content of the broth you used). Add a tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley if desired, and serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Chef’s Knife
- Garlic Press
Nutrition
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How to Make Chicken Stew – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, slice ½ lb. carrots (3-4 carrots) and 3 ribs celery, and mince 4 cloves garlic.
Chop about 1.5 lbs. potatoes into 1-inch pieces. I used baby potatoes, so they only needed to be cut in half.
Chop about 1.75 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour over the chicken pieces and toss until they’re coated.
Add 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large pot. Heat the butter and oil over medium until they are hot and sizzling. Add the chicken thigh pieces and let them cook until browned on all sides (the chicken does not need to be cooked through, just browned on the outside). Avoid stirring too often, as that will prevent browning. You want the flour to brown a bit on the bottom of the pot. Remove the browned chicken to a clean plate or bowl.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pot after removing the chicken. Continue to sauté over medium for about 5 minutes, allowing the moisture released by the vegetables to dissolve some of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Once the vegetables are slightly softened, add 2 more tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Continue to sauté for about 2 minutes more. The flour will again begin to coat the bottom of the pot.
Return the browned chicken to the pot along with the potatoes, 1 tsp dried parsley, ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp dried rosemary, ½ tsp dried sage, about ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, 2 cups chicken broth, and 2 cups vegetable broth.
Stir everything to combine and dissolve any flour off the bottom of the pot.
Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come up to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium-low. Allow the stew to simmer over medium-low, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened.
Give the stew a taste and add salt, if needed (I did not add any, but this will largely depend on the salt content of the broth you used). Add some freshly chopped parsley, if desired.
Don’t forget to make some crusty homemade bread to dip in that amazing stew!
I definitely enjoyed how comforting this dish was. Personally, I needed quite a bit of salt added to my dish after cooking. I used generic broths—might be why? I’d hit it with a squeeze of lemon juice as well. Other than that, nourishing and lovely!
It was okay! Defiantly not my go-to choice, I found it very bland. Just my opinion :)
I just made this and it’s great! I’m not a chicken thigh person normally, but it was really good in this stew. The only real change I made was to add a little more of all the herbs, except salt (I can’t have too much). It’s very filling and so flavorful.
So good!
Chicken prices have risen quite a bit on the west coast of Canada. Those chicken thighs would be more like $12 now.
Delicious!!
Best Chicken Stew we have ever made.
Thank you for sharing this with us. My husband and I had a blast making it together.
If you use already cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken, how much would you put in?
That’s up to you, it just depends on how much chicken you’d like in there. Probably around a pound or so. But I actually don’t suggest using pre-cooked chicken for this one because you’re going to be missing all of the flavor that happens when you brown the chicken in the beginning.
Omggg this recipe was amazing! So flavorful and hits the stew spot. I couldn’t wait to get home from work to eat leftovers. I’m excited to make this again!
Wow, this looks amazing, but given what food prices are doing now, I bet the ultimate cost will be two to three times what you suggest. However, this is still a great looking dish at a comparitively reasonable price, so it is going into my file!
The cost of each item was pretty spot-on for me and I didn’t buy anything on sale.
Made this today and it was delicious. The spices gave this stew an outstanding. My family said it was “excellent”. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe.
Absolutely delicious!!
Thank you so muchx Beth Moncel! Great recipe! Clear and easy to follow instructions. It tastes so good, my family and I enjoyed it!
This is a good basic recipe. I found that 1/4 cup flour was not enough to thicken 4 cups of liquid. And the 2 T. sprinkled on the chicken was not enough to form any kind of crust on the bottom of the pan. Also, I enriched the flavor with 2 T. of tomato paste and a splash of wine. But this is a good starter for your own creativity.
If the flour on the chicken wasn’t forming browned bits on the bottom of the pan, it’s likely that the pot wasn’t quite hot enough so the moisture coming out of the chicken was preventing the flour from browning instead of the water evaporating quickly and allowing browning. :)
My sister is always talking about her Chicken Stew, but when she tasted this one, which I now call Paulette’s Chicken Stew, she just looked at me and asked why my cooking always tastes so much better. 😉
I’ll be having some surgery so I’ll probably make some ahead of time and freeze it w/o potatoes so all my husband will have to do is make some mashed potatoes or serve over a baked potato.
How long with this last in the fridge and can it be frozen?
Can this be done in the slow cooker?
Potentially, but you’re not going to as good flavor or color without browning the meat first and then deglazing the pot to lift all that flavor into the gravy.