Comforting Chicken Stew is always a dinner favorite. Tender, poached chicken with fresh herbs and hearty vegetables in a light, creamy broth. A delicious lunch or dinner any time of the year.
When you need quick and good for you comfort food, recipes like this chicken stew are the answer. Sometimes there’s not time for Homemade Soup from scratch, but this soup is a close second!
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Stew Recipe
We’re a huge soup loving family, there is no doubt about that. And there is no exception when it comes to this easy Chicken Stew recipe! The base of the soup is a little thicker than broth, but not quite as thick as a chowder would be. Flavored with white wine and fresh herbs, it’s completely addicting!
Another reason we love this chicken stew is that it uses potatoes instead of pasta, so it’s perfect for reheating leftovers or meal prepping during the week. Everything tastes just as good as when you first made it.
Ingredients For Chicken Stew
- Chicken Breast: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but can also use chicken thighs.
- Vegetables: Onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, garlic
- Fresh Herbs: Rosemary and thyme.
- Salt and Pepper:
- Flour: Used to thicken the broth.
- White Wine: Used to deglaze the pot and adds tons of flavor.
- Chicken Broth or Stock: Find the best quality broth, one with a robust chicken flavor.
- Heavy Cream: Optional, but we love a splash at the end to round out the hearty broth.
How To Make
Start by adding celery, carrots, potatoes and fresh herbs to a soup pot. Cook them down until softened, season and then add flour to make a roux. Once the flour is cooked down, pour in white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
Now, pour in the best chicken stock that you can find. We use Trader Joe’s Free Range Chicken Broth because it’s literally the best. Look at the color of that broth, it’s the closest to homemade stock that I’ve found so far.
Poach the chicken in the broth for 20 minutes. When tender, remove the chicken and place it on a board. Shred the chicken with forks and then add it back to the stew.
Simmer for 5 minutes to let the shredded chicken absorb the flavors in the stew. You can let the stew simmer longer if you have the time, or keep it on warm until you’re ready to serve
Variations
We think this recipe is pretty perfect as is, but there’s always room for variations. Stew and soup recipes are great for cleaning out the refrigerator, so do use up what you have.
- Chicken Thighs: Try using chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. Again, it’s really up to your preference and what you have on hand. Since the chicken is poached in broth, either one is going to be juicy and tender.
- Leftover Chicken or Turkey: If you have leftover chicken or turkey, go ahead and use that in this chicken stew, just skip the poaching step.
- Different Vegetables: Any kind of vegetable is going to work here. Use up chopped broccoli, fresh spinach, diced or stewed tomatoes, peas or green beans.
How To Store Leftovers
This Chicken Stew recipe is good for about three days in the refrigerator. Make sure to store in an air tight container to maintain freshness. After that, you can transfer any leftovers to the freezer for up to four months.
We love making a double batch of this stew since it freezes well for easy meals in minutes. Reheat the stew easily in the microwave or on the stove top.
Is Canned or Boxed Chicken Broth Better?
So as we covered above, you can use a canned or boxed chicken broth. Just make sure to do a little research if you don’t have a favorite already like we do.
Some store-bought chicken broth or stock can be very watery and have very little flavor, which wouldn’t make for a good chicken stew. If you have a batch of homemade rotisserie chicken stock in the freezer – even better!
Looking For More Soup Recipes?
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Beef Barley Soup
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Pork Egg Roll Soup
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Chicken Stew Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeComforting Chicken Stew is always a dinner favorite. Tender, poached chicken with fresh herbs and hearty vegetables in a light, creamy broth. A delicious lunch or dinner any time of the year.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 pound baby yellow potatoes, halved (if using a larger size, cut down into smaller pieces)
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic, along with the carrots, celery, potatoes and the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Season with salt and pepper and then cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
- Sprinkle in the flour, stirring to coat the vegetables and cook for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up the bottom. Pour in the chicken broth, stir again and bring to a simmer.
- Cut the chicken breasts into strips (2 or 3 strips, depending on how big the chicken breasts are), then place them into the broth. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring in between to make sure the vegetables aren’t sticking.
- Remove the chicken and place onto a board or plate. Shred the chicken and then stir the it back into the stew. Simmer the stew for 5 minutes to let the flavors combine. Add the cream, if desired, and serve.
Recipe Notes
Store: Store leftover stew in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Make sure to store the stew in an air tight container to maintain freshness.
Freeze: This stew can be frozen for up to 4 months in an air tight container or a freezer bag.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Made this tonight…it was a big hit! Excellent!
Can I use already cooked rotisserie white meat chicken?
Yep, just follow the directions as is, skip where you would add in the chicken and then add the cooked chicken in at the end.
Can this be made in the crockpot? Any adjustments needed?
I”m sure that it can be adapted to a slow cooker but I don’t have those instructions for you, sorry about that!