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.
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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!
Another winner! This was delicious and hearty enough. Despite the warning, I used chicken breast and it was still perfect. This will definitely be part of our regular autumn/winter rotation.
This was delicious. I’d recommend patting the chicken pieces dry before mixing with flour. I was in a hurry so I left the mixture wet, and it didn’t really brown in the pot because of all the moisture. Still turned out tasty though.
This looks amazing! I’m planning to make it for dinner tonight – do you think peas would be a good addition?
I added frozen peas at the end and it was great.
Can I freeze this??
I haven’t tried that yet, unfortunately! Soups usually freeze pretty well, but sometimes things that are thickened with starches (like the flour here) can separate when frozen and thawed.
This recipe has so much flavor for a relatively short cooking time. It was delicious and perfect for a chilly fall evening.
How could I give this a less consistency & more of a liquid form?
Try adding more broth. :)
I made this and it turned out pretty good i enjoyed it and will add this as a staple meal for myself. I didn’t have to add too much more salt. I will say next time, I will want to cut up the potatoes a lot smaller. Also I couldn’t really brown my chicken, but it still turned out good.
I have a question, Better Than Bouillon is a base. So did you use veggie broth, chicken broth and the base? If you did use the base also, how much did you use?
I use the base to make the amount of broth listed in the recipe. :) So the recipe calls for 2 cups of vegetable broth, for instance, and the instructions for the base are to combine one teaspoon base with one cup of water to make one cup of broth. So I used 2 teaspoons of the base and 2 cups of water to make the 2 cups of vegetable broth used in the recipe. I hope that helps!
Perfect! I had to scale down amounts of veg and broth as I could not find packaged chicken in the same weight. (I had just over a pound of chicken). I did not change the amount of seasonings or flour for the roux.
I ended up using 3 cups broth for same amount of flour listed in the recipe and then simmered with the lid off to thicken the sauce. I believe if I used 4 cups of broth, I might have added an extra half to full TBSP of flour to the roux as I like a thicker consistency. This is going to go in my recipe rotation for sure! I imagine parsnips would have been divine in this recipe and will add those next time.
This stew is so delicious! The only changes I made were I used 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (instead of half vegetable & half chicken). I also was a smidge heavy-handed on the spices. Everything came out really flavorful and tasty. I’ll definitely make this again!
Can’t wait to try this! Can it be made in a crockpot?
I’d need to test it out in the crockpot to see if it turns out well. You’d probably need to change up the method for thickening the stew, since you can’t brown the flour in a slow cooker.
This was delicious! I used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs- I cooked the skin at the beginning so I could use chicken fat in place of some of the butter, and put the bones in with the potatoes to add flavor. The broth was thick, and the stew tastes even more like chicken than if I had cooked the chicken thighs plain. If I wanted to add cabbage, do you know where I might put it in?
If you want the cabbage very tender, I think I’d add it at the same time as the potatoes and just let it simmer the whole time with everything. :)
Could this be adjusted to be made in a slow cooker?
I haven’t tried that yet, so I can’t say for sure, but you wouldn’t be able to do the browning steps, so that would definitely change the outcome some.
I loved this recipe so much, as did my family. Followed it to the letter, using russet potatoes in 1″ pieces as suggested since it’s what I had. It was rich and comforting, but not too heavy like stew can sometimes be. I’ll be printing this and making it on repeat–I can already tell. Thanks!
We love this stew. It will definitely be on the “make again” list. It’s hearty and very flavorful. I had to add just a smidge of salt to mine due to the fact that I probably didn’t use the best chicken stock I could find. I did use Better Than Bullion Vegetable Stock. The next time I think I’ll also use the BTB Chicken Stock. All in all I give this 5 stars. This recipe can only get better each time you make it. Thanks for sharing Beth.
This was fabulous! Delicious and just hearty enough. Perfect for a rainy day.