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With just a handful of everyday ingredients, this filling and simple chicken stew recipe is a soul-warming meal on a chilly day! It requires only 15 minutes of prep.
You may also want to try my Crockpot Chicken Stew or easy Hamburger Stew next.
Why you’ll love it
On a brisk day or when you’re under the weather, a piping hot bowl of this hearty chicken stew is one of the only things that will do the trick. It’s got plenty of vegetables, tender chicken, and a richly flavored broth. Total comfort in a bowl in just an hour.
What makes my chicken stew stand out from others is the delicate hint of cream. It’s the ideal way to give this simple chicken stew a velvety quality without being heavy. I definitely recommend trying it as the perfect way to enhance this tasty stew!
What you’ll need
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing
- Onion, celery, and carrots – a classic base for many soups and stews. I prefer Vidalia onions.
- Garlic – for more savory flavor
- Flour – to thicken up the broth
- Chicken broth – the base of the broth. Chicken stock works equally well.
- Heavy cream – just a little bit for that light, creamy touch
- Italian seasoning – I enjoy this versatile herb blend in a variety of my recipes
- Mushrooms – use either white or cremini
- Potatoes – Russets are a great pick for soups and stews
- Chicken – we’re using chicken breasts, and they cook right in the stew for ease
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I like to make soups and stews in my 5.5 qt Dutch oven.
- The easiest way to never overcook or undercook chicken is using an inexpensive instant read thermometer. Chicken is done at 165F.
- A classic chef’s knife makes prepping the veggies a breeze.
How to make chicken stew
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Sauté the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in a soup pot or Dutch oven in the butter and olive oil. Once softened, add in the flour and cook for a minute or so. Stir in the broth and make sure the flour is dissolved.
Pour in the cream, and add the Italian seasoning, chicken, potatoes, and mushrooms. Bring to a gentle boil, then decrease the heat and simmer, giving the occasional stir. Once the chicken is cooked, take it out and cut it up. Season with salt & pepper, and enjoy.
Substitutions and variations
- The cream in here keeps the chicken moist and gives the stew a slightly richer texture and flavor, but if you can’t have dairy, it should be ok to leave it out. I personally would keep it in if possible. It’s only 1/2 cup among six portions so not a big calorie concern. With milk or half-and-half, there’s a chance it’ll curdle due to the high heat and length of cooking time.
- If you’re not a fan of mushrooms, feel free to leave them out.
- You can easily make it a chicken thigh stew. Bonus: chicken thighs are less likely to dry out!
What to serve with chicken stew
- My favorite thing to serve with it is a freshly baked baguette, or choose your favorite kind of bread or a dinner roll. Garlic Bread is always a good idea.
- For a salad pairing, go for something comforting as well like a Classic Ranch Dressing or my personal favorite, this 10 Minute Caesar Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- This is one of those stews that, in my opinion, tastes even better the next day after it thickens up a bit more and the flavors meld together. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Simply reheat in a saucepan on a low heat until warmed through.
- This chicken stew can be frozen since there’s only a small amount of cream in it.
More cozy soups and stews
If the blog post didn’t answer your questions about this homemade chicken stew recipe, ask below. Please leave a star rating and a review if you made it! As always, you can find me on Instagram.
Easy Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled & sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups chicken broth/stock
- 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 8 ounces mushrooms (use white or cremini) sliced
- 2 large Russet potatoes peeled & diced
- 1.5 pounds uncooked chicken breasts
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the oil, butter, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to a Dutch oven or soup pot. Sauté over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and let it cook for about a minute.
- Stir in the chicken broth and ensure the flour has dissolved, then add in the cream, Italian seasoning, mushrooms, potatoes, and chicken.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the stew to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer with the lid slightly open for 25 minutes. You may want to stir it a couple of times to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot as it cooks.
- Take the chicken out of the pot and cut it up. Add it back in, then season the stew with salt & pepper to taste, and serve.
Notes
- This isn’t a super thick stew. It’s got quite a soupy texture (especially day 1). For leftovers it definitely thickens up a bit.
- I used 3 medium-to-large chicken breasts weighing around 1.5 pounds (anything in that ballpark is fine). Feel free to use chicken thighs. The meat is more likely to stay tender, especially after reheating.
- You don’t need to be exact with the potato weight. My two potatoes weighed 1.3 pounds total.
- This recipe is also in the soups chapter of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on January 12, 2020. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
This was so delish. I had to modify it to accommodate my son’s low FODMAP diet and that was just a simple as switching out the onions for leeks and green onions, garlic infused oil, gluten and lactose free. Unfortunately he’s limited for what type of mushrooms he could have so I had the canned on hand. Not the same, but I sautéed them early on in the garlic oil so it all came out good Glad I came across this at the start of the winter.
Glad it worked out, Ruth!
I wanted to try this recipe but due to not having some ingredients on hand I did some substitutions. Instead of heavy cream I used a can of cream of chicken soup and I added a bag of mixed vegetables since I was out of celery and potatoes.
Glad it worked out, Stacy!