Chicken Stew

$12.22 recipe / $2.04 serving
by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.88 from 179 votes
Pin RecipeJump to recipe โ†’

All recipes are rigorously tested in our Nashville test kitchen to ensure they are easy, affordable, and delicious.

Okay guys, this chicken stew recipe is definitely at the top of my list of all-time favorite recipes! Chicken Stew is thicker and heartier than chicken soup, but lighter than a beef stew. The flavor is absolutely on point, it’s totally cozy, and it’s just one of those things that I could happily eat for three meals per day and still want more the next day. In other words, you have to try this chicken stew!

Close up overhead view of a bowl of chicken stew

This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

What is Chicken Stew?

Chicken stew is like chicken soup‘s older cousin that is a little rough around the edges. It’s a little more rustic with a rich, thick, gravy-like broth. It’s packed full of vegetables and is a true meal in a bowl. It’s just the perfect comfort food for fall and winter. Oh, and you’ll definitely want some crusty bread for sopping up all that delicious gravy!

Ingredients for Chicken Stew

Here’s what you’ll need to make this incredible chicken stew recipe:

  • Chicken Thighs: Dark meat chicken thighs stay tender and moist in the stew and add just enough fat to make the gravy extra rich. We use boneless, skinless thighs to make it easy, although you could use bone-in and remove the bones later, if desired.
  • Flour: The chicken thighs are lightly coated in flour before browning to get even more of that delicious brown color and flavor, and it helps thicken the broth into a gravy.
  • Vegetables: A classic mirepoix mix of onion, carrot, and celery, plus a little garlic gives this stew a rich and hearty flavor, plus tons of color and texture. Small gold potatoes are added to make the stew even more hearty.
  • Butter: A little bit of butter combines with the flour in the pot to create a roux that helps thicken the broth into a gravy. It also helps make the flavor of the stew extra rich.
  • Herbs: A robust mix of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and sage give this stew a warm and cozy flavor. Not to mention, they make your house smell great while it cooks!
  • Broth: We use a combination of vegetable and chicken broth in the stew for maximum flavor and a deep golden-brown color.

Potato Options

I used small baby potatoes for my chicken stew, but if those aren’t available you can substitute red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes in their place. Just cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes so they cook in about the same amount of time as my baby potatoes.

Tips for Flavorful Chicken Stew

  • Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. Chicken thighs stay juicy and tender, even with a long cook time, and have TONS of flavor.
  • Make sure to brown the chicken well. All of the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot after browning the chicken (called “fond”) flavors the gravy and gives it a nice deep color.
  • Use good quality broths. Skip boxed broth and opt for something full-flavored. I like Better Than Bouillon, which really packs a flavor punch. Homemade broth is great, too!

How to Store Leftovers

This chicken stew gets even tastier the next day! Divide the stew into single serving portions, then refrigerate. The stew will stay good in the refrigerator for four to five days, or after chilling, you can transfer the portions to the freezer and store for about 3 months. Refrigerated or frozen chicken stew can be reheated using the microwave, or in a saucepot on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring often.

Close up of a pot full of chicken stew

Love Chicken Stew? Don’t miss our Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipe!

Share this recipe

Chicken Stew

4.88 from 179 votes
This chicken stew is a rich and hearty mix of tender chicken thighs, vegetables, and a light but flavorful herb-infused gravy.
Close up of a pot full of chicken stew
Servings 6 1.5 cups each
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 45 minutes
Total 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion ($0.28)
  • 3 ribs celery ($0.64)
  • 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
  • 1/2 lb. carrots ($0.32)
  • 1.75 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs ($6.52)
  • 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided ($0.02)
  • 2 Tbsp butter ($0.18)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
  • 1.5 lbs. baby potatoes ($2.89)
  • 1 tsp dried parsley ($0.10)
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary ($0.05)
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage ($0.05)
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
  • 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.26)
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional) ($0.10)
Email Me This Recipe
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Instructions 

  • Dice the onion and celery, mince the garlic, slice the carrots, and cut the baby potatoes in half before you begin.
  • Cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the flour over the chicken and toss until the chicken is evenly coated.
  • Add the butter and olive oil to a large pot. Heat the butter and oil over medium until they are hot and sizzling.
  • Add the flour-coated chicken to the pot with the butter and oil and allow the chicken to brown on all sides (avoid stirring until browned on the bottom). When the chicken is browned and there is a nice brown layer of flour on the bottom of the pot, remove the chicken to a clean bowl with a slotted spoon. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point, just browned on the outside.
  • Add the onion, celery, garlic, and carrots to the pot and continue to sauté until the onions are soft. Use the moisture released by the vegetables to dissolve and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
  • Once the vegetables are slightly softened, add the remaining 2 Tbsp flour to the pot and continue to sauté over medium for about two minutes more. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pot again.
  • Return the browned chicken to the pot. Also add the potatoes, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, pepper, chicken broth, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any flour off the bottom of the pot.
  • Place a lid on the pot and allow it to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium-low. Allow the stew to simmer over medium-low, without a lid and stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened.
  • Taste the stew and add salt if needed (I did not add any, but it will depend on the salt content of the broth you used). Add a tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley if desired, and serve hot.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.


Nutrition

Serving: 1.5cupsCalories: 355kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 30gFat: 12gSodium: 802mgFiber: 4g
Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!

Video

A ladle full of chicken stew held over the pot

You might also like our homemade Chicken and Dumplings recipe!

How to Make Chicken Stew

Chopped vegetables on a cutting board

Dice one yellow onion, slice ½ lb. carrots (3-4 carrots) and 3 ribs celery, and mince 4 cloves garlic.

cut baby potatoes on a cutting board

Chop about 1.5 lbs. potatoes into 1-inch pieces. I used baby potatoes, so they only needed to be cut in half.

Flour coated chicken thigh pieces on a cutting board

Chop about 1.75 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour over the chicken pieces and toss until they’re coated.

Browned chicken thighs in the pot

Add 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large pot. Heat the butter and oil over medium until they are hot and sizzling. Add the chicken thigh pieces and let them cook until browned on all sides (the chicken does not need to be cooked through, just browned on the outside). Avoid stirring too often, as that will prevent browning. You want the flour to brown a bit on the bottom of the pot. Remove the browned chicken to a clean plate or bowl.

Vegetables added to the pot

Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pot after removing the chicken. Continue to sauté over medium for about 5 minutes, allowing the moisture released by the vegetables to dissolve some of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

More flour being added to the pot

Once the vegetables are slightly softened, add 2 more tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Continue to sauté for about 2 minutes more. The flour will again begin to coat the bottom of the pot.

Chicken, potatoes, herbs, broth added to the pot

Return the browned chicken to the pot along with the potatoes, 1 tsp dried parsley, ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp dried rosemary, ½ tsp dried sage, about ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, 2 cups chicken broth, and 2 cups vegetable broth.

Chicken stew before simmering

Stir everything to combine and dissolve any flour off the bottom of the pot.

Simmered chicken stew in the pot

Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come up to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium-low. Allow the stew to simmer over medium-low, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened.

Close up side view of chicken stew in the pot

Give the stew a taste and add salt, if needed (I did not add any, but this will largely depend on the salt content of the broth you used). Add some freshly chopped parsley, if desired.

Overhead view of a bowl of chicken stew

Don’t forget to make some crusty homemade bread to dip in that amazing stew!

Overhead view of finished chicken stew in the pot
Share this recipe

Posted in: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

Leave a Comment
  1. This is probably the best dinner I’ve made myself in a long time. I followed the recipe and I actually doubled it. Which I think is a good amount for one person plus leftovers. I also made Dumplings for the stew. Perfect flu meal or winter meal.

  2. We love this! I’ve made it two time already and I know it will be a regular during cold weather. My husband doesn’t like the texture of celery so I just sub more carrots.

  3. Need some help with this one. Could someone rework the measurements for this recipe again? They are very inaccurate when you actually weigh out the ingredients by mass. My comment earlier was deleted. This recipe ended up working out and tasting amazing if you halve the vegetables and chicken and double the broth. Cheers!

    1. Hi Alex! So sorry you had a hard time with this! This is one of our most popular recipes and countless people (including myself) have made it repeatedly without those issues. It sounds to me like there was an unfortunate miscalculation somewhere along the way! All of these amounts are pretty standard for a pot of soup. The only weight amounts given are 1.5 lbs. baby potatoes, 1.75 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and .5 lb of carrots, which, again, aren’t exorbitant amounts of food. Could you have possibly used a smaller pot than you thought or had your scale on a different setting? I wish I could help more, but this a pretty atypical result from this recipe!

  4. This recipe is SERIOUSLY wrong. I donโ€™t believe anyone has actually made this according to the written recipe. As written, this would require something like a 12QT stockpot due to the sheer amount of food (yes – I measured everything with a kitchen scale). After prepping all of the veggies and the chicken, I had to HALVE everything to fit in my 5qt pot. Then comes the problem with the liquid. Even after halving the ingredients, the 2 cups veggie + 2 cups chicken broth were NOWHERE near enough liquid, so I doubled that to a total of 8 cups, ie 2 QUARTS, of broth. So the recipe should call for 2+2 quarts if you donโ€™t halve the chicken and veg.

  5. I’m sitting eating it right now and I love it so much. Wonderful soup/stew, wonderful for fall and winter. Make it now!

  6. I made this tonight for my young granddaughters- usually critical of a new dish.
    This was delicious! I made it as directed and they ate it with no criticism!
    I look forward to making this again and doubling the recipe for them!

  7. Your prices are WAY off. You must have typed this recipe in the 70’s. The recipe looks tasty though. I think I’ll use chicken “legs” to save more money.

    1. I think the prices are done by how much you actually use/measurements. Most packs of chicken thighs in my area are around $3.99 per lb. She has a 1 1/2 lbs of chicken thighs at ~$6.50. This really isn’t too far off. So considering how much you are actually use for each product, this appears reasonable.

  8. Had some leftover chicken and this was perfect for it. I did increase the broth and added some string beans and squeezed some tomato paste; other than that I followed the recipe. Really good. Thanks for posting๐Ÿค™๐Ÿผ

  9. No but why is this seriously one of the best stews I’ve ever made? I’ve made it many times now and each time it is SO delicious, hearty and cozy. It is definitely one of my go-to’s. Simple and so good.
    Thank you!