French Chicken Casserole
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The coziest, most wholesome meal. With golden brown chicken, tender potatoes, white wine, fresh rosemary + thyme.
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Say hello to the coziest meal of 2020. Perfectly-seared golden brown chicken thighs, tender baby golden potatoes, juicy mushrooms, and a fresh herb-white wine sauce that you can basically guzzle down all day and night. Put it on a shoelace and it will hit just right.
It’s truly perfection on a crisp 55 degree Fall day – or let’s be honest, any day of the week. It’s rustic, it’s cozy, and it’s just so darn good. Easy to whip up on those busy weekdays or those weekends for a fancy night in.
tips and tricks for success
- Use a heavy pot. A heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, is ideal here for slow cooking and even heat distribution.
- Bone-in is ideal. While boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts can be used, bone-in will be juicier and have extra flavor.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
what to serve with french chicken casserole
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
French Chicken Casserole: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
If you prefer white meat, bone-in, skin-on breasts or boneless, skinless breasts can be substituted but cooking times will need to be adjusted.
Mushrooms can be omitted completely if it’s not your thing. Eggplant or zucchini can be substituted, if desired, as it can absorb all the good flavors and mimic the texture of mushrooms.
Additional chicken stock can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
A lid or cover is not required here. Uncovering allows the chicken to brown and crisp here, and helps reduce the amount of liquid in the finished dish.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
French Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
- 3 large shallots, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 pound baby gold potatoes, halved
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Season chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
- Add mushrooms, shallots and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and browned, about 5-7 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in chicken stock, potatoes, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Return chicken to the Dutch oven.
- Place into oven and bake until potatoes are tender and chicken has completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 40-45 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Delicious! Reminds me of thanksgiving almost! I boiled my potatoes a bit in the sauce before sticking it in the oven. I didn’t add the cream at the end, and I don’t think you’ll miss it honestly!
Next time I’m going to keep the garlic whole in smashed cloves instead of minced. And I might add more wine because I love a strong wine flavor in my gravy. Perhaps a fresh squeeze of lemon on the chicken to add some brightness and acid.
This is 100% going into my monthly rotation.
This looks amazing and am planning to make this weekend! Quick question, are we supposed to cover the pan once it’s in the oven?
Made a few substitutions with what I had on hand. Boneless thighs dried oregano pinch of thyme, onions cut fine browned in butter, mushroom soup and left out cream, whole potatoes cut up. Added carrots julienned. The wine makes the gravy very special. Made in Dutch oven,, lowered the temp,, and baked covered longer.. Making again for neighbor. Wanted to try 1st, there is none left. Shared recipe with other family members.
Delicious and filling!!
I used these subs bc I didn’t want to go shopping for things I already had, and it worked perfectly fine:
4 breasts + 5 drums
3 large russet potatoes, quartered
Regular white mushrooms, halved
1 large yellow
Yellow onion*
This was delicious!!! I saved every little bit of the sauce and put it over rice and broccoli the next day for lunch!!!
Delicious. Mushrooms, potatoes, and sauce were so addicting
Made this for my boyfriend and we both loved it!!
I made the French Chicken Casserole this past weekend and it was wonderful. The flavors in this dish were so amazing and with a crusty loaf of bread, this was the perfect dish for a dreary fall day here in Indiana.
Always enjoy your recipes and this was a 5-star winner. Thank you!
The sauce is delicious and flavorful. If I make it again, I think I would skip the baby potatoes and either make mashed potatoes or rice for the yummy sauce to soak into.
This recipe is so delicious that I know I would make it for company. H sauce is addicting. It’s not difficult to make and you can customize it to your likes and dislikes. I’ve sent this recipe to friends and family.
So you mean to say we will put the heavy cream after the chicken is done frm baking?
Thanks
All your meals are delicious!! Thank you for sharing!!
This was “damn delicious” and I even forgot to buy the mushrooms! The sauce is so delicious. My only issue was the potatoes didn’t cook all the way through. Next time I’ll microwave them for a couple of minutes before adding to the dish and putting in the oven. My husband and I just about licked our plates 🙂
so I was not sure about it being covered or not, I used a dutch oven since that’s what it looks like was used on the photo even though it said skillet? and I covered it to be sure but that was a mistake because it didn’t reduce 🙁 I also had to cook it a bit longer to get the potatoes and carrots cooked, perhaps because it was a dutch oven?
Mine wasn’t creamy and more soupy even after leaving it lid off in the oven at 356 for another 30 minutes. :/
It was really good though, did take me a little longer to prep but that’s the case with every new recipe.
The recipe doesn’t call for ANY carrots!!!
Made it last night with boneless chicken thighs in a 5 quart dutch oven–excellent! Substituted half and half for cream. Potatoes cooked perfectly. I will make this again. Just reading the ingredients and you know you can’t go wrong! Thank you!!!
did you use boneless/skinless thighs?
Making this tomorrow night with some simple sauteed French green beans! (see a theme here???)
Looks yummy! Is there a white wine you recommend?
My family loved it! It was a hit. It was a little time consuming for a week night dinner but everyone loved it.
I haven’t made this yet but it looks delicious. I just wanted you to know how much I love your site. I always check your site first when looking for a new recipe or for instant pot hints. Thank you so much!!
I tried the recipe,and I loved it!!
Wonderful delicate flavor and so pretty especially with the orange from carrots. The sauce is definitely crusty bread worthy. Had no wine so I used vermouth and it was great!
Thank you for the recipe!