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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Can I sub cornstarch for the flour?
Fantastic flavor, easy recipe, made with ingredients right in your cupboard, and a real crowd pleaser.
I’ve made this recipe twice as written and have never been disappointed. I can’t understand why anyone would want to add rice or pasta to the recipe when it already includes a starch, i.e. baby potatoes. Kudos to another delicious recipe!
We made this on Thanksgiving. It was delicious! Thank you!
This is an excellent dish. Great for company.
I want to make this for company. Has anyone made it a day ahead and reheated it?
Any suggestions?
Excellent recipe. I doubled the sauce because we love to dip French bread into it and I also added carrots for flavour and color. Great for a dinner party because everything is done ahead of time and in the oven.
I’ve made this twice now. It is delicious! I love the gravy/sauce. The fresh herbs and mushrooms add a delicious earthy flavour. When my husband says it’s a “keeper” recipe, you know it’s good! Next time I’ll add some fresh crusty baguette to sop up all that delicious sauce.
Great recipe! I used left over turkey and it was delicious. Thanks
Made this today, it was amazing! Thanks for such a flavorful recipe.
Love this recipe. Used a leek instead of shallots. Can this be frozen successfully?
Another home run. My Francophile guy and I loved it.
Definitely serve this with bread, as dipping it into the heavenly sauce might be your favorite part of the meal.
Delicious! After making it as written, I have since tweaked this for crockpot using carrots instead of mushrooms, and a can of cream of mushroom soup for the mushroom flavor and reduced the stock to 1 cup. Obviously you don’t get the same crispy/carmelized skin but still delicious!
Can this be served over wide noodles?
This was so delicious! My Dutch oven was in use so I cooked everything in my family skillet and transferred to a casserole with a lid. I ended up putting it back in the oven uncovered at 350 degrees to reduce the sauce a bit and brown the chicken potatoes a bit more. The flavor is amazing. Can’t wait to have it again tomorrow. I am sure the flavors will be even better!
Delicious! Followed recipe as you wrote it. I didn’t cover and the chicken browned a little more. Perfect! Another favourite in our home.
What else can I use besides heavy cream?
Full fat coconut milk for a dairy free option.
Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. I did not cover the Dutch oven when I put it in the oven on the suggestion of another reviewer. The chicken browned more and the sauce was the perfect gravy like consistency. Next time I will try chicken breasts and reduce the cook time. This is a good weekend dinner and also company worthy!
Delicious! I did it in a crockpot this time…adding the heavy cream at the very end, and the flavors were just as amazing as the stovetop version! It was a little too watery, so if I do it in the crockpot again I would reduce the stock.
I am hoping to make this in the crockpot today! Did you brown the chicken first? Skin on or off? How long did you cook it in the crockpot?
Very good one dish meal. Excellent cold weather treat.