Chicken à la King

At a glance

What stands out: Chicken à la King pairs a rich creamy sauce with tender diced chicken, mushrooms, and peas for a hearty comfort food dinner.

How long it takes: 40 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet
Servings: 4

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Chicken à la King is one of those recipes that’s retro in a standby possible way. Not retro like gelatin molds filled with green olives, celery, tuna, and canned peaches, but retro like from-scratch green bean casserole—rich, creamy, and full of comfort food vibes. This is the reliable meal to cozy up with on a chilly evening.

If you’ve never had it before, chicken à la King is kind of like an especially thick chicken stew, or a chicken casserole without the baking part. Diced chicken is combined with mushrooms (and sometimes other vegetables) in a creamy sauce; it’s served over rice or noodles, or with bread.

Chicken à la King has many origin stories and no one agrees on which is accurate, but we do know it’s been a staple in American homes for over a century. With that combination of creamy sauce and tender chicken, it’s straightforward to see why!

Homestyle Chicken à la King

Hearty and satisfying. In addition to the tender chunks of chicken, mushrooms, onions, and peas bulk up this recipe and make it more filling. Since it’s usually served over rice, pasta, or biscuits, it’s pretty much a complete meal in a single dish!

Straightforward to mix. If you start with leftover chicken or pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, this recipe comes together quickly and easily. There’s nothing complicated here!

Kid-friendly. This is a recipe that (usually) works for hard-to-please picky eaters. Even if the mushrooms are a non-starter, the chicken and creamy sauce are guaranteed to be a hit. Later on in the post, we'll give you ideas for how to vary the recipe so it’s a reliable fit for your family.

What goes in

• Butter: You’ll cook the vegetables in the butter, then it also forms the base of our roux.
• Onion: A yellow onion from your pantry is reliable for chicken a la King. Chop it finely and evenly so it softens and becomes nearly invisible in the sauce.
• Mushrooms: You can use white or baby bella (cremini); save some prep time and buy them already sliced.
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper makes the flavor of the sauce pop.
• Garlic: This isn’t a particularly garlicky sauce, but we want enough garlic to add some oomph without dominating. If you prefer to skip the garlic, that’s fine.
• All-purpose flour: The flour is used to thicken the sauce. Although we haven’t tested it myself, we believe a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour would also work.
• Chicken broth and half-and-half: Rather than using whole milk, we use a combination of chicken broth and half-and-half, which makes the sauce much more flavorful.
• Cooked chicken: Chicken à la King is an excellent recipe for using up leftover roasted bone-in chicken breasts or air fryer chicken breasts—or a rotisserie chicken.
• Pimentos: Use pimentos from a jar or substitute finely diced red bell pepper; you can cook this with the onions and mushrooms.
• Frozen peas: There’s no need to thaw them first. Peas add a little bit of sweetness, color, and nutrition to the dish.
• For serving: Choose what you like: cooked rice, pasta, noodles, or biscuits, along with parsley for garnish.

How it comes together

Cook the vegetables. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onions and mushrooms and season with the salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are softened—not browned—and then stir in the garlic. Cook, stirring, for a minute or so.

Add the flour. Once the garlic is fragrant, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables. Stir to coat and cook for another minute or two, continuing to stir—this toasts the flour to eliminate its raw taste.

Make the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Slowly stream in the chicken broth and half-and-half while stirring. We like to pour in a small amount and then once it’s fully incorporated, add a bit more; once that’s also incorporated, then we start streaming in the rest at a steady pace. (Starting slowly is a precaution to keep the flour from forming lumps!)

Simmer. Let the mixture come to a simmer and continue to cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Bring it all together. Stir in the chicken, pimentos, and frozen peas. Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes more, or until the chicken and peas are warm.

Finish. Season to taste, then serve over rice, pasta, or biscuits. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Ways to change it

• Adjust the consistency of the sauce. For a thinner sauce, you can add more half-and-half at the end of the cooking time. For a thicker sauce, use a bit less chicken broth when you make the sauce.
• Try it with turkey. Leftover herb roasted turkey breast works great as a substitute for chicken in this recipe. Add this recipe to your post-Thanksgiving menu!
• Add more (or different) vegetables. Choose finely diced carrots or celery. Frozen green beans are fine, too. You could stir in baby spinach to add greens. Use whatever your family likes or what you have on hand.
• Deglaze the pan with wine. Before you start streaming in the half-and-half and chicken stock, pour a splash of sherry or dry white wine (like pinot grigio) into the pan and scrape up all the browned bits at the bottom. You’ll love the flavor that wine adds to the sauce.

Serving Ideas

• Bread. Serve the chicken à la King over toast points for a classic option, or with Parker House rolls.
• Pasta. Egg noodles are fantastic with the creamy sauce!
• Rice. Make a batch of Instant Pot brown rice while this recipe cooks on the stovetop.
• Vegetables or Salad. Bulk up your dinner by serving chicken à la King with a side of house salad or roasted green beans.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (we don’t recommend freezing this recipe, as it will be quite thick after freezing, thawing, and reheating.)

Reheat: Warm the chicken à la King in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir occasionally until heated through. Add a splash of half-and-half or chicken broth if needed to thin out the sauce.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #95. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.

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• Yield: 4
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced (white or baby bella mushrooms)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 cups cooked chicken, diced (see notes for directions using raw chicken)
• 1 jar (4 oz.) diced pimentos, drained
• 1 cup frozen peas
• cooked rice, pasta, or biscuits for serving
• chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Method

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cook until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook for another 1 minute or until fragrant.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables in the skillet. Stir well to coat the vegetables in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.
4. Turn heat to medium-low and slowly pour in the chicken broth and half-and-half, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Bring the mixture to a simmer (do not boil) and cook until it thickens, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Add the diced cooked chicken, pimentos, and frozen peas to the skillet. Stir to combine and increase heat to medium. Continue to simmer the mixture for another 5 minutes, or until the chicken and peas are heated through. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
6. Serve hot over cooked rice, pasta, or biscuits. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired, before serving.

Notes

Pimento substitution: Instead of canned pimentos, add ½ cup finely diced red bell peppers in with the onions and mushrooms.

With raw chicken: Cut 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.25 lb) into bite sized pieces (½ inch). Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper (in addition to what the recipe calls for). Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through. Remove from pan and place on a clean plate. Set aside and continue with the recipe as written.