Chicken Stew with Vegetables is an easy-to-make one-pot wonder. This hearty stew with its creamy base can be made ahead of time. In this time of rising prices, this chicken stew recipe is economical without sacrificing taste. I like to serve it with freshly made biscuits, but it is equally good on its own or with rice or potatoes.
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Is it a Stew or Soup?
In general, stews and soups contain the same basic ingredients – liquid, vegetables, and possibly some type of protein. What tends to distinguish a stew from a soup is the consistency. Stews tend to be thicker and chunkier than soups whereas soups tend to have more liquid.
This chicken stew recipe is certainly thick and chunky. However, with a bit more liquid, this recipe could easily be served as soup.
As this stew cools, it becomes thicker. Since this recipe makes a lot, one variation would be to serve it first as soup and at a later meal as stew when it has thickened a bit.
Either way, this recipe is a definite winner, bringing accolades from all who are lucky enough to have a taste.
Ingredients: Here’s What You’ll Need
- The Chicken: I like to use skinless and boneless chicken breasts in this recipe. However, I’ve also made it with skinless and boneless chicken thighs. Both are delicious. Often, I will brine the chicken breasts for about an hour to enhance their tenderness. I’ll include the brining instructions below in the actual recipe.
- The Vegetables: For the vegetables, I add onions, celery, carrots, and frozen green peas.
- The Liquid: I used store-bought chicken broth flavored with Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base. You could also substitute several chicken bouillon cubes for the Chicken Base. I also added a bit of heavy cream to add to the stew’s creaminess.
- The Rest of the Ingredients: I like to add flavor to the onions, celery, and carrots by sautéing them in butter. I use all-purpose flour as a thickener. The only seasoning that I add is freshly ground black pepper.
Steps in Making the Chicken Stew
This amazing Chicken Stew is easy to put together.
- I started by whisking together the chicken broth and Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken base.
- Next, I melted the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat and added the onions, celery, and carrots.
I cooked the vegetables, stirring occasionally until they started to become tender. This took about 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, I stirred in the chicken that I had cut into ½ to 1-inch pieces. I cooked the chicken until it was no longer pink. This took 5 to 7 minutes.
- I sprinkled on the flour and black pepper and gave the mixture a stir. I allowed the mixture to cook for about 2 minutes to eliminate the potential of a flour taste.
- Next, I added the chicken broth mixed with the Better Than Bouillon. I cooked the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until it was thick and bubbly.
I reduced the heat to medium-low, covered the Dutch oven, and cooked the stew until the carrots and celery were tender. This took 25 to 30 minutes.
- Once the celery and carrots were tender, I added the frozen green peas and a bit of heavy cream.
I stirred everything together and heated the stew for several minutes until everything was heated through. I don’t like my green peas to be overcooked so all that is necessary for me is to allow the peas to thaw in the stew. You could always cook the stew longer if you prefer the peas to be more cooked.
I like to serve Chicken Stew with Vegetables with freshly made biscuits. The combination is amazing. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
The Better Than Boullion comes in a jar and can be found next to the soup in a grocery store.
The Better Than Bouillon Roast Chicken Base adds an amazing depth of flavor to the stew. It also added just the right amount of salt. Rather than omitting it, I would recommend substituting one or two chicken bouillon cubes.
If you’re like I am, you get tired of tough chicken, especially tough chicken breasts. Brining makes a huge difference. I mix together one quart of cold water, ¼ cup of Kosher salt, and ¼ cup of granulated sugar. Once the salt and sugar have dissolved, I add the chicken that I’ve cut into pieces. I let the chicken sit in the brine for about an hour. Then, I rinse the chicken well and pat it dry before adding it to the stew.
One of the beauties of this stew is that it makes a lot. The leftovers are just as good the next day. However, as the stew cools, it tends to thicken. Therefore, when reheating the stew, you may need to add some additional chicken broth to achieve the desired consistency.
How To Serve Chicken Stew
I like to serve chicken stew with biscuits. However, the chicken stew is also delicious served with rice, mashed potatoes, or steamed baby potatoes.
For more of a variety, serve the chicken stew with puff pasty shells or as a filling to chicken pot pie.
For a real treat, spoon on Yorkshire pudding in the same way as you would add gravy to Yorkshire pudding.
Other One-Pot Chicken Recipes
If you’re looking for easy one-pot chicken recipes, look no further.
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Recipe
Chicken Stew with Vegetables
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (20-ounces) chicken broth (See Tip 1)
- 1 Tablespoon Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (See Tip 2)
- 6 Tablespoons (3-ounces) unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion (one large onion)
- 1 cup diced carrots (2 to 3 peeled carrots)
- 1 cup diced celery (3 to 4 stalks)
- 1 pound (16-ounces) skinless and boneless chicken breasts cut into ½ to 1-inch pieces (See Tip 3)
- 6 Tablespoons (1.875-ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (5-ounces) frozen green peas
- 2 Tablespoons (1-ounce) heavy cream
- Salt and pepper to taste (See Tip 4)
Instructions
- Whisk together the chicken broth and Better than Bouillon. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook for about 15 minutes to allow the vegetables to begin to tenderize. Add the chicken; cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add flour; stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the carrots and celery are done.
- Add the frozen peas and the cream. Heat for several minutes until everything is heated through. (See Tip 5)
- Serve over rice, biscuits, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, puff pastry shells, etc.
- Yield: 6 servings. (See Tip 6)
Chula’s Expert Tips
- I like to use low-sodium chicken broth, but you can use regular chicken broth.
- Better than Bouillon can be found next to the soup in the grocery store. It’s very concentrated and very salty. However, when added to a dish like this Chicken Stew, it adds an amazing depth of flavor and just the right amount of salt. You could substitute 1 to 2 bouillon cubes.
- If you’re like I am, you’re tired of eating tough chicken. The solution is to brine the whole chicken breasts in a simple brine consisting of ¼ cup Kosher salt, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and 1 quart of cold water for 2 to 6 hours. Then, before cutting into cubes, rinse the chicken breasts well. You’d be amazed at the difference that this makes.
- With the Better than Bouillon, you’ll likely not need to add salt. However, I like to add about ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
- I don’t like green peas that are overcooked. If you prefer your green peas to be more cooked, increase the heat to medium and cook the mixture until the peas are of the desired doneness.
- The Chicken Stew makes excellent leftovers. However, as the Chicken Stew cools, it tends to thicken. Therefore, when reheating the stew, you might need to add some chicken broth to achieve the desired consistency. You can also freeze the Chicken Stew with Vegetables.
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