Chicken fricassée, a classic French dish, is made with chicken, mushrooms, carrots, and onions in a creamy sauce. I've turned it into a 30 minute skillet meal while preserving the comforting flavor of the original.
Julia Child described fricassée in her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking as "halfway between a sauté and a stew." The brilliance of a fricassée is that it combines two methods to cook your chicken.
First, the chicken is sauteed in a pan to brown both sides. Then, it's braised in a creamy mushroom sauce until perfectly cooked and juicy.
The cream sauce is made with chicken broth, garlic, lemon juice, and heavy cream, along with the browned bits at the bottom of the pan from sautéing the chicken. It's light and creamy with an unbelievable savory flavor.
This quick chicken fricassee makes the perfect fuss-free weeknight meal. It's easy to pair with mashed potatoes or a side salad for a filling family dinner.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken - You'll need 16 ounces of boneless chicken breasts or thighs for this recipe. Chicken breasts should be sliced in half to reduce the cooking time.
- Vegetables - Carrots and mushrooms add flavor and bulk to the skillet. I don't recommend omitting either of these ingredients.
- Aromatics - Onion and garlic add flavor to the skillet. I highly recommend using fresh garlic rather than pre-minced garlic in a jar, which often has a harsh flavor.
- Seasoning - Salt and pepper enhance the flavor of the dish. Feel free to adjust to suit your tastes.
- Butter - Butter adds the best flavor to the dish, but it could be substituted with your preferred cooking oil if needed.
- Chicken broth - Can be substituted with vegetable broth. I don't recommend using a low or no sodium broth for this recipe. The broth adds a significant amount of flavor to the cream sauce. If you must use no sodium broth, I recommend adding a pinch of thyme, rosemary, or oregano to make up for the lost flavor.
- Flour - We're adding a bit of flour to the pan along with the butter to create a roux. A roux thickens the sauce. I don't recommend omitting the flour in this recipe.
- Heavy cream - Adds creamy richness and helps thicken the sauce. I don't recommend substituting or omitting it!
- Lemon - A bit of acid helps balance the richness of the sauce and adds a bright, fresh flavor. The fresh lemon juice really makes this dish, so I don't recommend omitting it.
- Parsley - A bit of fresh parsley used as a garnish adds a bit of brightness and peppery flavor.
Tips and tricks
Don't skimp on fresh ingredients - This recipe relies on fresh ingredients like carrots, mushrooms, and fresh lemon juice for a bright, fresh, and earthy flavor. Omitting these ingredients will compromise the flavor of the dish.
Use a meat thermometer - For perfectly cooked chicken breasts, use a meat thermometer and remove your pan from the heat as soon as they reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the center. This ensures your chicken doesn't turn out dry.
Use a whisk -Use a whisk to incorporate the broth and other liquids into the roux/veggie mixture to create a smooth, creamy sauce.
Storage
Leftover chicken fricassée will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
I don't recommend freezing chicken fricassée because the cream sauce is likely to break and can get grainy when thawed.
Frequently asked questions
I like to serve chicken fricassee with some creamy mashed potatoes. There's enough sauce in the pan that fricassee could be served over pasta or with a few slices of crusty bread for soaking up the sauce.
Fricassée is pronounced "frick-uh-see".
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Chicken Fricassée
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces chicken broth
- 4 ounces heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Carefully slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise to create two thin pieces (as if you were butterflying them, but continue slicing all the way through). Alternately, pound chicken breasts to a 1 inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper on all sides.
- In a sauté pan over medium heat, add butter. When melted and bubbling, add prepared chicken breasts. Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, or until lightly browned and they release easily from the pan. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add carrots and onions to pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned and onions are turning translucent.
- Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour and toss vegetables to coat. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth, heavy cream, and lemon juice to the pan, whisking and scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Nestle chicken breasts into the sauce and cook for another 3-4 more minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. (if using a thicker cut of meat or bone-in chicken, additional time will be needed to cook through.)
- Remove pan from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes to allow sauce to thicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used instead of chicken breasts.
- If using bone-in chicken, your cooking times will be extended. When adding chicken broth and chicken breasts back into the pan (step 5), cook chicken until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Thicker chicken pieces will take longer to cook.
- Lemon juice can be substituted with white wine.
Just finished eating dinner. It was a hit!! Absolutely amazing flavors. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Delicious!! Easy recipe and kid friendly
I just didn’t get the very rich flavor I was expecting. Maybe more cream or butter.
Made this for dinner Saturday night and got HUGE raves and (unfortunately for me) no leftovers. My only change was to substitute chicken tenders to save time and clean up. This was OMG delicious and so easy to execute that I felt guilty taking all those compliments... but I will! Thank you for sharing this recipe - it’s a treasure!
You can also boil a small turkey/ chicken instead and use the broth for the sauce, along with white wine. Served with french fries and freshly tossed green salad, it’s european style and absolutely yummy. Biscuits for the leftover sauce make it perfect!
Delish!