Chicken fricassee is a popular dish in Germany that combines juicy chicken, wholesome vegetables, and the most delicious creamy sauce. Served with rice and parsley, it makes for an incredibly flavorful and tasty meal!
If you have never tried German chicken fricassee, then this is your call to make it! It is creamy, flavorful, and super tasty. Plus, it is super easy to prepare!
What is chicken fricassee?
Chicken fricassee is a French type of ragout that typically consists of white meat, vegetables, and a white sauce. All ingredients are usually cut into bite-sized pieces so they are easy to eat.
This chicken fricassee recipe is the traditional German version. It is usually made with chicken, chicken broth, heavy cream, and vegetables, such as peas and carrots.
It is one of my favorite German dishes as the sauce perfectly complements the chicken and vegetables. It’s also very simple to make which makes it perfect for a quick and delicious meal!
Ingredients
To make this German chicken fricassee you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Chicken breasts: Juicy and tender chicken breasts are perfect for making this dish. You could also use rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breast.
- Vegetables: A classic combination for making German chicken fricassee is onions, carrots, mushrooms, and peas.
- Liquids: Chicken broth and heavy cream make for the best white sauce ever! This combination is absolutely delicious.
- Butter: Butter is used for sautéing the ingredients. Please don’t substitute it with vegetable oil as butter really adds to the taste of this dish.
- Flour: Flour is needed to thicken the sauce.
- Bay leaf: Don’t forget to add a bay leaf! It adds so much flavor to this chicken fricassee.
- Lemon juice: A little lemon juice lends the sauce some brightness and enhances its flavor.
How to make chicken fricassee
Preparing chicken fricassee is super simple! Just follow these steps:
- Sauté the onion: First, melt some butter in a pot over medium heat. Then sauté the onion until it turns translucent.
- Add the flour and liquids: Next, add the flour and stir everything. Then slowly pour the chicken broth and heavy cream into the pot while continuously stirring.
- Add the chicken breasts and bay leaf: Add the chicken breasts and bay leaf. Cover the pot and let everything simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetables: Now add the carrots, mushrooms, and peas. Cover the pot and let everything simmer for 10 minutes.
- Chop the chicken: Next, take out the chicken and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Then add the chicken pieces back to the pot.
- Add lemon juice and season: Take out the bay leaf, thin the sauce with water if needed, add some lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
Cooking tips
- Stir while you add the liquids to the pot. This ensures that the chicken fricassee is mostly clump-free. And if there are some clumps, don’t worry about it! They usually don’t change the flavor of this dish and the consistency of the sauce should be fine, too!
- Thin the sauce in the end if you need to. When you add the vegetables, the sauce is still a little thick and the vegetables’ liquid usually thins the sauce so that it’s perfect by the end of the cooking time. But if for some reason the sauce is still too thick, just add a little water or chicken broth until it has the right consistency.
- Use rotisserie chicken if that’s easier for you. The sauce will taste great, even if you don’t cook the chicken with the fricassee! Just make sure you add it in the end so it doesn’t dry out.
Variations
There are a few bonus ingredients you can add to make this dish extra delicious.
- Nutmeg: A little nutmeg goes really well with the fricassee sauce! I just omitted it in the recipe as I like to keep things as simple as possible. But feel free to add it to the sauce. Just a tiny amount is more than enough!
- Parsley: Chopped parsley enhances the flavor of any creamy chicken stew, so definitely feel free to garnish this chicken fricassee with it.
- Asparagus: Another vegetables that you can often find in chicken fricassee is asparagus. Feel free to add some if you like it!
- White wine: I intentionally kept this recipe alcohol-free. But if you like to cook with wine, I recommend substituting about ¼ cup of the chicken broth with white wine. It tastes super good!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken fricassee is usually served with white rice. It’s also my favorite way to enjoy it. So cook some white rice while the fricassee is simmering and serve it with this delicious German chicken stew!
Yes, you can! Just omit the flour and use cornstarch to thicken the sauce. To do so, mix cornstarch with water in a small bowl. Add some of the cornstarch slurry a few minutes before the fricassee has finished cooking. Let the sauce simmer and add more cornstarch if needed until the sauce is thick enough.
You can store the chicken fricassee in an airtight container for 3-4 days in your refrigerator. When you reheat it, you might have to add some liquid to thin it a little.
More delicious and easy chicken dinners
If you love chicken recipes, you might want to check out the following dishes. They are all super tasty and simple to make!
- Thai Chicken Curry
- Chicken Yaki Udon
- White Bean Chicken Chili
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Mexican Chicken Soup
Chicken Fricassee
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tablespoons butter
- 1 onion finely diced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup sliced white mushrooms
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First, preheat the butter in a pot over medium heat. Then sauté the onion until it turns translucent.
- Next, add the flour to the pot and stir everything. Slowly pour the chicken broth and heavy cream into the pot while continuously stirring until the flour dissolves and the sauce starts to simmer.
- Now add the chicken breast and bay leaf. Cover the pot and let everything simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add the carrots, mushrooms, and peas. Stir everything and cover the pot. Let the chicken fricassee simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, take out the chicken breasts and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Then add them back to the pot.
- Now take out the bay leaf, thin the sauce with water if needed, add the lemon juice, and season the chicken fricassee with salt and pepper.
Notes
- When you add the vegetables, the sauce should be a little thicker. The vegetables' water thins the sauce and makes it perfect by the end of the cooking time. If you need to thin the sauce more, add some water or chicken broth.
Caroline F
I think this recipe is a good base, but you definitely have to make it your own. It was a little bit bland as written, so I added a bouillon cube, some red pepper flakes, and a bit of sour cream. Delicious! I'm glad I found this recipe, it's easy and perfect to modify to your taste.
Beri
I'm happy that you liked the recipe after adjusting it a little to your taste! 😊