Chicken à la King Recipe
A cozy, creamy Chicken ala King made from scratch in one pan—tender chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and peas in a silky sauce. Serve over noodles, rice, biscuits, toast points, or puff pastry for the ultimate comfort dinner.
Servings: 6
Cost: $15
Equipment
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- dutch oven or deep skillet
- whisk
- measuring cups
- measuring spoon
Ingredients
- 1½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced (about 1 cup)
- 8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper or chopped pimientos
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dry sherry or dry white wine optional
- 2½ cups low-sodium chicken stock room temperature
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup half and half or more stock
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or Soy Sauce
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- To serve: buttered toast points puff pastry shells, egg noodles, rice, or biscuits
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a wide skillet, deep skillet or dutch oven over medium-high. Sear the chicken in 2 batches until just cooked through and golden brown on all sides, 5–7 minutes total. Transfer to a plate reserving the juices and keep warm.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter to the pan cook until melted, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook 2–3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, cooking until they release liquid and begin to brown, 5–7 minutes. Stir in bell pepper or pimientos and garlic, cook 30 seconds longer.
- Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stir and cook 1–2 minutes until beginning to turn golden brown and smell nutty.
- Add sherry/white wine (if using), scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 30–60 seconds continuing to stir so the mixture doesn’t burn.
- Gradually whisk in the chicken stock. Simmer, whisking, until smooth and slightly thick, 3–5 minutes. Stir in cream, half and half, Dijon, onion powder, garlic powder and Worcestershire. Lower the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture seems too thick, adjust thickness by adding more stock, if needed.
- Return the chicken and any juices to the pan, simmer on low 3–4 minutes. Stir in peas, cook 1–2 minutes until bright green. Remove the pan from the heat and add parsley thyme, and lemon juice. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
- Serve hot. Spoon generously over toast, split puff pastry shells, egg noodles, rice, or warm biscuits.
Notes
- Wine optional: Skip the sherry/white wine and add extra stock; finish with a bit more lemon to brighten.
- Gluten-free: Use a 1:1 GF flour or thicken with a cornstarch slurry added at the end.
- Dairy tweaks: Half-and-half or milk + a touch more butter work; dairy-free options include cashew cream or coconut milk.
- Make-ahead: Sear chicken and sauté veg up to 1 day ahead; finish the sauce and combine before serving.
- Consistency control: Thin with warm stock/milk; thicken by simmering a few extra minutes.
- Serving ideas: Egg noodles, rice, biscuits, toast points, or puff pastry shells.
Nutrition
Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 805mg | Potassium: 867mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1253IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg