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Succulent chicken with cremini mushrooms is slowly simmered in white wine and a splash of cream. I present to you Coq au Vin Blanc! Quintessential French cooking, but in your own kitchen.
Serve this delicious chicken recipe with Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes for an unforgettable meal!
One thing that I’ve learned from blogging is that nothing is more popular than chicken recipe. That goes doubly true for chicken cooked in a delicious sauce to carry that beautiful flavour even further.
And so this recipe is my gift to you! It has everything I know you’ll love – succulent chicken thighs and legs soaked in a stunning, creamy sauce made with white wine, bacon and mushrooms. It combines the best of French cooking in one amazing pot, and I know you’ll love it!
French cuisine
If you are looking for a bit of comfort food with a touch of elegance, this French recipe for chicken, slowly simmered in white wine, is for you.
When people think of French cuisine, images of perfectly and beautifully plated food immediately come to mine. Well, this recipe is nothing like that. Fear not…it is simple and quick. It requires a very few ingredients that you most likely have on hand.
This braised chicken recipe is one of the finest examples of French country cooking. Far, far away from classically trained chefs. Just skilled home cooks creating rustic, beautiful and delicious food for their families.
What is coq au vin blanc?
The legendary Coq au Vin is a French braised chicken dish made with red wine, along with mushrooms, bacon lardons and a simple spread of other ingredients.
There are various legends about how far back this stew recipe goes, with even Julius Caesar getting a mention. But it was only truly documented last century so it’s really anyones guess how and why it was invented.
I’ve adapted the classic Coq au Vin to a version I’m fond of using dry white wine. It keeps the essential elements of the classic version but with a different range of flavours showing through.
It’s really a wonderful dish when you want to appear to have worked endless hours on dinner without having to really stretch yourself all that much! To add to the simplicity of this chicken braised in white wine, there is also a convenience factor.
This dish is cooked in one pan and boasts tender succulent chicken thighs and legs swimming in creamy gravy like sauce. Did I also mention that there is bacon involved?
As I mentioned earlier, all you need is a handful of ingredients but how, you might wonder, it can possibly develop such deep and gratifying flavours? My answer is simple and as old as the world. Wine and slow cooking.
This recipe might be a bit more hands-on than you’d like to invest in for a regular weeknight dinner. It will take you approximately one hour to make.
However, do save this chicken recipe for a weekend because you will absolutely fall in love with the complex flavours and will cook it again and again!
Cooking with wine
You can use any dry white wine for this recipe. I’ve used Chardonnay but Sauvignon Blanc or dry Riesling will also work beautifully. I do not recommend using cooking wine.
The reason I recommend dry white wine is because sweetness in wine tends to concentrate when it’s cooked down. So if you start with sweet wine, you will end up with very sweet dish after 40 minutes of simmering.
Unless you abstain from alcohol for medical or religious reasons, I would encourage you to give cooking with wine a try. The reason it works is because adding wine is like adding a concentrated flavour boost to your food.
Wine makers have worked long and hard to develop those flavours. All you have to do is to pour it in, sit back and let it simmer happily for 40 minutes for all that flavour to transfer to your dish.
If you are concerned about cooking with alcohol or feeding your children “winey” chicken, don’t be! Alcohol will cook out of the dish in the process of simmering! There will be traces left but truly negligible amounts.
All you will be left with is creamy sauce and scrumptious chicken as acid from the wine permeates it and makes it irresistibly tender.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- The recipe can be made ahead and frozen to serve later. Just make sure to add about 1/2 cup/125ml to 1 cup/250ml of chicken stock when reheating it as you are bound to lose some sauce in the process.
- Choose a dry white wine to cook with. I used a dry Chardonnay, but other varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio will also work well. Be careful not to use a sweet wine!
- Yes, you can use chicken breasts instead of thighs but the sauce will be less flavourful. Choose what is more important to you… deep flavour or convenience and proceed accordingly.
- The recipe uses bacon lardons, which are diced pieces of thick cut bacon. Lardons are typically only lightly smoked, so they do not overpower the dish. They are commonly used in French cooking.
- For a more varied flavour experiment with different types of mushrooms. The more interesting the better! If you want to learn more about them, here is a helpful article, which outlines various flavour profiles of mushrooms.
- At the end of the cooking process you should end up with a reduced sauce, so simmer your chicken uncovered.
Serving Suggestions
For a full French inspired dinner, serve this coq au vin with mashed potatoes or sweet potato and rutabaga mash if you are feeling more adventurous and a salad on the side. This apple, walnut and blue cheese salad will do nicely.
Good quality baguette or sourdough bread is also highly recommended so soak up all that amazing white wine sauce! I also like to add a sprinkling of fresh parsley, both for added colour and a bit of fresh flavour.
Storage and leftovers
It’s best to reheat any leftovers by setting the stovetop on low, and heating in a pan with a splash of water or stock to your pan to keep the sauce loose. Cover with a lid or foil to keep the coq au vin blanc from drying out and heat for approximately 15 minutes or until the meat is hot in the middle.
It is possible to freeze any leftovers for up to three months in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container.
More French chicken recipes
- French Chicken Casserole a la Normande
- Chicken Provencal
- Chicken in Wine and Mustard Sauce
- Chicken Fricassee
- Creamy Tarragon Chicken and Potatoes
Coq au Vin Blanc (Chicken in White Wine)
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4-5 strips of bacon/pancetta, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 8 chicken pieces on the bone, thighs and legs
- 250g / 2 cups Cremini mushrooms, whole or halved
- 500ml / 2⅓ cups dry white wine, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, approximately 2/3 of a bottle
- 250ml / 1 cup double/whipping cream
- salt & pepper, to taste
- handful flat leaf chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook bacon or pancetta in a tablespoon of olive oil. Skip oil if bacon is too fatty. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and brown them in bacon fat over medium-high heat. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Cook chopped onion over low heat for 5-7 minutes, add garlic when the onion is tender and translucent and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove cooked onion and garlic to the same plate as chicken and bacon.
- Add mushrooms to the pan and brown them for 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat. Return chicken, onion, garlic and bacon to the pan, pour wine all over, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Add cream and simmer for 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.
Notes
- Use a dry white wine like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio. Avoid anything sweet or your sauce will taste off.
- You can swap in chicken breasts, but thighs give you much deeper flavour. Choose what matters more to you: richness or convenience.
- Lardons are more than regular bacon bits. They are thick-cut and lightly smoked so they add flavour without taking over. They are a staple of French cooking and are often found in classic recipes.
- For a more interesting flavour, try mixing up your mushroom varieties. Shiitakes, oysters, cremini – the more diverse, the better.
- For the best sauce, simmer uncovered so the sauce reduces and concentrates into something truly luxurious.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have used this recipe several times and it is absolutely heavenly!! The only thing I do differently is deglaze the pan before the onion mixture with a splash of Sauvignon blanc to get all the bits from the pan. I also put on some traditional French music while cooking. I put this over brown rice after cooking. Thank you so much!!
What a lovely comment! Thank you Becky!
Very tasty dish. Worth mentioning that there is at least 30 minutes of prep (cooking bacon, chicken, onion, garlic, mushrooms) before you get to the 40-minute simmer phase.
Hi Stephanie, glad you enjoyed the recipe. The prep you mentioned is accounted for in the cooking time. For me prep is getting ingredients out, peeling and chopping. Everything that requires a stove is cooking.
So so good! I cut it in half and used 2 legs, 1thigh, 1 breast (took the breast out at 20 minutes and cooked in 375 oven instead of stovetop) and my partner and I wished I had cooked the whole chicken! Forget the other “Marry Me Chicken” this one might get you a ring.
Really looking forward to Cooking this Recipe.
I plan to cook this for company this evening. Can I do it ahead and reheat it? Or should I just cook it until the simmer part and then finish it when people come?
You can definitely cook this ahead of time and then reheat.
OMG! I’ve been making coq au vin with white wine for three decades and this is BY FAR the EASIEST, and BESTEST recipe ever! Seriously mouthwatering! Thank you so much!
My pleasure, Amy!
Just made it with fresh parsley from the garden! Great dish! One question is I got the chicken pretty crisp but it softened a ton in the last 40 min… my husband loves watching all the chef shows and he’s a fantastic cook. He said I should’ve had them crisper. Hoping I didn’t do something wrong lol
Hi Ari, I am pretty sure you didn’t do anything wrong. The chicken can only be so crispy when it’s been simmering in the sauce for 40 minutes. If you like crispier chicken, you can finish the dish in the oven instead of the stovetop at 180C/350F.
Hi Ari, I enjoy Coq au Vin and I would also suggest the thinnest layer of flour sprinkled over the chicken and sear it that way. That can create a more “crispier” chicken. Hope that helps!
I made it and loved it. Thank you.
I only have an oval cast iron dutch oven or a 6 qt stainless steel pan. Which would you recommend?
I would go with the pan.
The recipe is lovely, but I don’t consider a cup of cream a “splash.” Or it isn’t to me.
I am glad you like the recipe, Meg. One cup isn’s a splash but when spread over 6-8 servings it becomes one. 🙂