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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.
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!
Made it, love it!!!
Yay!! 😀
Hi – Can I substitute cornstarch for flour? I have a gluten allergy.
Hi! Yes, adding in a cornstarch slurry at the end should be fine.
Going to substitute the heavy Cream and mushrooms for a can progresso can of cream of mushroom soup.
Can I use half/ half instead of whipping cream?
Hi Allyson! Check out the Substitutions and Variations section of the blog post. 🙂
Hi – how would you alter this if I prepared it in a slow cooker instead? Hoping to have it all ready ahead of time! Thanks so much!
Hi! Would it be possible to just reheat it when needed? I haven’t tested it in a slow cooker, and so I am not exactly confident about guessing here as there’s searing steps and flour and cream don’t always fare so well in the slow cooker. With that said, I’d probably still do the searing steps on the stove then transfer to a slow cooker. Add the cream in at the end. Chicken thighs may work better as they’re less prone to drying out. And you may want to add a cornstarch slurry at the end if you want it a bit thicker instead of adding the flour at the beginning. I’d do the standard 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.
Hi Natasha,
Your chicken stew was WONDERFUL! A surprising delight from my homemade chicken soup. Your ingredients elevated the broth. This one is a keeper!
Thank you for sharing,
Sandy
Aww you’re very welcome, Sandy!! 😀 Thanks for your kind review.
Wonderful meal. I had to sub the celery with leeks (no celery!!) & it worked. So tasty & everyone had seconds. I will be making this again. Thank you 🙏
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! 🙂
This chicken stew is super easy and so satisfying. Every recipe I have made on this website has been absolutely wonderful and are permanent recipes for me. A friend referred me to this website and I could not be happier.
Aww I’m thrilled to hear that, Wanda! Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for coming back. Thank your friend for me too! 🙂
Easy to make and very delicious.
Thank you, Deb!! 🙂
Hi! Can you use rotisserie chicken instead?
You can, but I would add it in towards the end of cooking time so you don’t completely dry it out.