Recipe video above. A recipe from our chef JB (yes, he's French!), this traditional French dish is essentially a quick chicken stew with a creamy white mushroom sauce. It's a bit like a white sauce version of the famous French Coq au Vin – but it's much faster to make!This is a wonderful rustic family meal that's quick enough for midweek, or to elevate to restaurant level by using homemade chicken stock.
Season chicken: Pat chicken dry with paper towels then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Brown thighs: Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet or heavy based pot with a lid. Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute then remove to a plate.
Brown drumsticks: Then brown the drumsticks, as best you can. I do 3 sides, about 2 minutes each. Then remove from skillet.
Sauté mushrooms and onion: Add mushrooms, onion, bay leave and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes until mushroom is lightly golden - they won't go deep golden brown.
Garlic and flour: Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
Wine and chicken stock: Add wine, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir, scraping the base of the pot to dissolve the brown residue stuck to the pan ("fond") into the sauce.
Return chicken to sauce: Return chicken back into the sauce with the skin side up.
Simmer covered 10 minutes: Once it comes to a simmer, adjust heat so it's bubbling constantly but not rapidly (see video) - medium-low on my stove. Cover with lid and simmer 10 minutes.
Uncover 20 minutes: Remove lid and let it simmer for a further 20 minutes. Chicken will be cooked - internal temperature 75°C/167°F or slightly higher.
Creamy sauce: Remove chicken to a plate. Add cream and stir. Once it comes up to a simmer, taste sauce (I know, big ask!), and add more salt if desired..
Serve! Return chicken into the sauce then remove from the stove. Sprinkle with parsley and serve! Traditionally served over mashed potato or rice. Also ideal with short pasta like penne, ziti or macaroni.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 792 kcal
Carbohydrates: 22 g
Protein: 43 g
Fat: 57 g
Saturated Fat: 25 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 284 mg
Sodium: 1185 mg
Sugar: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 27 g
Reviews
Deana on 2026-05-17 (5 stars): I made this last night as part of a multiple course French meal for my in-laws and it was perfect. My husband doesn't like mushrooms but loved the sauce. Definitely a keeper.
Helen Morgan on 2026-05-16 (5 stars): Sooooo good.
Made this for guests last week..huge hit and making it again tonight because I'm totally craving it. Will definitely be my go to if I need to impress. Thanks JB and Nagi!
Michelle Kolesnik on 2026-04-14 (5 stars): This might be the best recipe I have ever made ! Thank you
Joan OConnor on 2026-03-15 (5 stars): I made this lots of times when The recipe 1st appeared in my inbox, utterly delicious. Kinda forgot about it & just fancied the idea again today so fished out your recipe Nagi. As usual, faultless. Dozer in the shower pictured in the notes brought equal tears & giggles. Hope you're doing ok pet, love from 1 of your many Irish fans
Jennifer on 2026-03-15 (5 stars): Loved the recipe, how long do the left overseas keep? Can you freeze them?
Michelle on 2026-02-20 (5 stars): This was the best creamy chicken! Can’t wait to cook it again!
Clade on 2026-02-10 (5 stars): Soo delicious
MARY P KNOWLDEN on 2026-02-09 (5 stars): We ALL loved this! I cooked it for my son and his family. The 11 year old and 6 yr old told me earlier in the week that HATED mushrooms. Needless to say, I didn't tell them about the mushrooms and they ate everything down to even licking the plate.
Jim on 2026-02-04 (5 stars): Thank you for this delightful recipe! It may be the best meal I have ever made.
Chachacha on 2026-01-18 (5 stars): Made this using a massive wok. Lot easier because I didn't have to batch cook the chicken. All went in one go. Tasty recipe. I used a whole chicken and chopped it. The sauce was just enough for 1 whole chicken. Also, I didn't take the chicken out before adding the cream. I was able to mix it in ok because it was in a wok. But if in a normal pot, I wouldn't skip that step, would be hard to mix.
MINDY CLARK on 2025-12-13 (5 stars): Got a bag of boneless/skinless chicken thighs and was googling different ways to make them. I came across this recipe and decided to go for it. I used all chicken stock instead of the alcohol and followed the recipe EXACTLY... When I say this was worth the trip to FOUR stores to find bay leaves... YA'LL! This was DELICIOUS!!! I added a pound of orzo at the 15 min mark before removing the chicken and adding the HWC. My nieces/nephews asked me why I had never made this before lol .. WILL MAKE AGAIN! AND AGAIN! MMMMM
Anne-Marie Menezes on 2025-12-01 (5 stars): This is one of the first recipes I made in my kitchen after getting married. It is DELICIOUS and crazy easy. I highly recommend. And make it with oven roasted potatoes!
JustJess on 2025-10-27 (5 stars): This has become a staple in our house! It's absolutely delicious. We don't eat mushrooms in this house, but everything else we prepare the same and it is rich and flavorful. We've served with rice, egg noodles, and potatoes and our favorite is rice. Potatoes were also a close second.
Suzanne M on 2025-10-13 (5 stars): Absolutely stunning and really fun to make, such a gently delicious sauce that has such a lovely flavor!
Suzanne M on 2025-10-13 (5 stars): Absolutely stunning and really fun to make, such a gently delicious sauce that has such a lovely flavor!
Phillip on 2025-09-29 (5 stars): I made this for my wife's birthday dinner. She loves mushrooms, but generally refuses to cook with them because she knows nobody else in the family is a fan of them. A creamy mushroom sauce with bone-in chicken sounded perfect to really cater to her taste -- and she loves mashed potatoes.
Also, her favorite dish at Thanksgiving is green bean casserole, which also features a creamy mushroom sauce and onions, so I served it with roasted green beans.
I didn't get the sauce to fully thicken, even after adding extra time to cook it down with the lid off. That might be because I accidentally started the simmering part with the lid off for 10 min, then realized my mistake and put it on for 10, them took it off for another 10 (instead of on for 10 then off for 20). When it wasn't thick after adding the cream I added another 10-15 min at boiling to cook it down a bit more, but it still wasn't as thick as in the video.
But despite that, it was delicious, and my wife said it was the best birthday dinner I've ever made for her. The kids were kids about it. Two liked the sauce, but not the chicken, and one liked the chicken, but not the sauce. I really liked it despite not really liking mushrooms.
Well done, and great instructions and video!
