Chicken Fricassee Recipe

This chicken dish encompasses wonderful rich favors of butter, white wine, and cream thickened with flour. The chicken is soft, tender, and has an amazing flavor from braising in the white wine cream sauce for little less than an hour.

What is Chicken Fricassee?

French cuisine has always been one of my absolute favorites because of the rich and exquisite dishes that they’ve created. (Think Coq Au Vin!) The recipes are often complimented with notes of butter, wine, cream, cheese.

• This is a traditional French chicken stew that combines tender braised/stewed chicken with vegetables and a rich white wine cream sauce!
• The French word fricassee actually has two meanings. First, it describes a method of cooking that falls somewhere between braising and stewing.
• Fricassee is also the name for the dish itself. In this case, you first sear chicken and vegetables at high heat and then slowly cook them in liquid, similar to a stew. Finally, you finish the dish with cream to make an amazing, velvety chicken dish!

Ingredient Notes For Chicken Fricassee

Chicken – Traditionally, you would use a whole chicken and break it down yourself. (Learn how to break down a whole chicken yourself here!) It’s best to use bone-in chicken for fricassee, so if not using a while chicken, opt for chicken drumsticks or bone-in thighs.

Vegetables – Onions, carrots, and mushrooms are traditional vegetables. Feel free to swap out some of the vegetables, but don’t use anything soft or that releases a lot of liquid when cooked.

Heavy Cream – heavy whipping cream is a key ingredient since the essence of the dish is that velvety finish.

White wine – Because wine a very specific flavor to the sauce, no replacement will taste quite the same. However, if must, additional stock or a lesser amount of white grape juice can be used to make this dish alcohol free.

Flour – use regular all-purpose flour to thicken the dish and if you need to make it gluten free, use gluten free all-purpose flour.

Substitution Options

• No wine? Use 2/3 cup extra chicken stock and 1-2 tbsp apple juice or white grape juice.
• Gluten‑free? Swap in a 1:1 gluten‑free all‑purpose flour.
• No mushrooms? Omit or replace with leeks or extra of other veggies.
• No shallots? Use 1 small sweet onion instead.
• Lighten it up: Use half and half or whole milk but .
• Herb swaps: Tarragon, thyme, or parsley all work; add a bay leaf to the braise for depth.

How To Make Chicken Fricassee

PRO TIP: For best results, use a heavy Dutch Oven or cast iron pan for a better sear and steadier simmer, yielding richer fond and a silkier sauce.

Preheat your pan. This recipe works best in a Dutch oven or large cast iron skillet since both retain heat better and cook more evenly than other cookware. It’s important to heat the pan before adding the chicken in order to get a nice sear.

Season & prep: Pat the whole chicken pieces very dry. Season all over with salt and cracked black pepper.

Brown the chicken: Heat butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high until foamy. Add chicken in a single layer (work in batches) skin side down for breasts. Sear until deep golden and you see mahogany fond on the pot. Transfer to a plate; keep fat in the pot.

Sauté aromatics: Reduce heat to medium. Add shallots, carrots, and celery, with a pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables soften and golden in color (scrape up some fond as they release juices). Next, add the mushrooms and cook undisturbed until soften and get a sear on the bottom. Stir and cook a couple more minutes.

Make the roux: Sprinkle in 4 Tbsp flour all over vegetables and stir to coat. Cook, stirring, about a minute until it smells toasty and looks moist, not dry.

Deglaze & reduce: Pour in dry white wine. It should boil on contact and scrape up all fond at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Note that slowly stirring the vegetables while pouring in wine will prevent the flour from clumping.

Add liquids & seasonings: Stir in chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme, and parsley. Return chicken (and juices) to the pot, skin side up. The liquid should come about halfway up the pieces.

Covered simmer to tender: Bring just to a simmer, then cover and cook over low heat. Aim for a gentle simmer (small, lazy bubbles, not a rapid simmer). Cook until chicken reaches 165°F at the thickest part and is tender to a fork (30-45 minutes).

Finish with cream: Take off the lid, gently stir and scrape the bottom of the pan. Stir in heavy cream. Warm gently by simmering, do not boil, for a minute or two, until glossy and silky. Taste to adjust salt and pepper.

Rest & garnish: Let the fricassee rest a couple of minutes to settle. Sprinkle with parsley (and/or a little tarragon). Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or crusty bread.

Storing, Reheating, and Make Ahead Tips

• Storage: Refrigerate any leftovers in an air-tight food storage container for 3 to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing chicken fricassee because the sauce will become unpleasant when thawed and reheated.
• Reheating: You can reheat everything at the same time of individual portions. For individual portions, reheat it in a microwave in increments of about 45 seconds, until heated through. You can reheat everything at the same time on stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through.
• Need to prep ahead? If you know you’ll be short on time, you can chop all of your vegetables the day before and store them covered in the refrigerator. You can also break down a whole chicken at any time and freeze the pieces for later. Just pull out what you need the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator.
• Need to Freeze? Do NOT freeze finished chicken fricassee as the cream will break down when thawed. To freeze: cook through Step 10 (before cream), cool to room temperature, freeze everything in a air-tight freezer container up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and reheat in a Dutch oven, then add cream.

What to Serve with Chicken Fricassee?

• Chicken Fricassee is best to serve with parmesan rice, rice pilaf, noodles or other pasta, mashed potatoes, or gnocchi.
• Don’t forget the Baguette to soak up all that wonderful sauce!
• If you want something a little lighter pair it with roasted cauliflower or mashed cauliflower. 

Recipe FAQs

PIN THIS RECIPE

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!

More Similar Chicken Recipes To Try

If you loved this chicken fricassee, try these other comforting chicken dinners: Restaurant Style Chicken Stroganoff and Chicken Stroganoff both bring creamy, mushroom-filled goodness (one’s the fancy version, one’s the quick weeknight hero), while Chicken Paprikash offers another Eastern European classic with rich paprika flavor. Chicken Alfredo delivers that indulgent creamy pasta fix, and for garlic lovers, both Garlic Parmesan Chicken Meatloaves and Garlic Chicken pack serious flavor. If you want creamy with a kick, Creamy Chipotle Pepper Chicken Thighs brings smoky heat that’s absolutely addictive.