This is the faster way I make Chicken Stew – using boneless chicken thigh fillets cut into large pieces, simmered with vegetables until tender in a rich, dark stew sauce. It’s a Chicken Casserole made in an hour, but tastes like it’s been simmering all day!
More chicken stew options: Slow Cooked Chicken Stew, Coq au Vin and Chicken Fricasée (creamy French Chicken Stew, reader favourite!).
Chicken Stew – faster!
I feel like the word “stew” conjures up visions of slow cooked goodness that’s been simmering on the stove all day. And our patience is always rewarded with the deep flavours you can only achieve through slow cooking. Beef Stew, Guinness Stew, slow cooked Chicken Stew and Pot Roasts.
This speedier Chicken Stew is for all the days when you want the slow cooked flavour – fast! It takes under an hour to make, and it’s loaded with plenty of veggies and potatoes swimming in a rich stew sauce!
This speedier Chicken Casserole tastes like it’s been simmering all day… look at that rich sauce!!
Flavour Tricks
Here are the things in this recipe that ups the flavour quota even without slow cooking for hours:
boneless chicken thigh fillets which are juicy enough to withstand the simmering time needed for the sauce to develop beautiful flavours, but cook quicker than using bone-in chicken pieces;
beef broth (stock) instead of chicken broth – beef broth has deeper flavours than chicken stock AND it gives the sauce a deeper brown colour without having to slow cook for ages;
red wine – a good slug adds depth of flavour and again, adds to the rich brown colour of the sauce; and
BACON. Need I explain this point? 😂
There’s a decent amount of veggies in this, so you can serve it as a meal without extra veg sides
How to make Chicken Stew
The total simmering time here is 40 minutes, compared to 1.5 hours for classic Chicken Stew made using bone-in chicken pieces.
Nothing tricky or unusual with this speedier Chicken Stew – we start off browning the bacon and chicken to get all those tasty brown bits on the bottom of the pan which will form part of the flavour base for the sauce.
Then cook off the veggies, add all the stew sauce ingredients, simmer for just 30 minutes until the chicken is tender, then lastly add the mushrooms and greens which don’t take long to cook.
And this is what comes off the stove:
juicy pieces of chicken;
soft vegetables that have sucked up the flavour of the sauce;
little pops of bacon (the BEST bite!);
loads of thick, rich, dark, savoury, herb infused stew sauce.
Seriously. Just tell everyone you’ve been slaving away all day. They’ll totally believe you! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Stew (Casserole)
Ingredients
- 0.5 tbsp olive oil
- 150g/5oz bacon , chopped
- 750g/ 1.5lb boneless skinless chicken thighs , cut into 3cm / 1.25″ pieces (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
- 3 garlic cloves , minced (1 tbsp)
- 1 onion , sliced
- 3 carrots , peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced 1cm / 1/3″ thick
- 2 celery stalks , sliced 1cm / 1/3″ thick
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) red wine (Note 2)
- 4 tbsp flour
- 3 cups (750ml) beef stock/broth , low sodium (or chicken, Note 3)
- 400g/ 14oz crushed tomato , canned
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 350g/ 12 oz baby potatoes , halved
- 200g/ 6oz mushrooms , halved (large quartered)
- 150g/ 5 oz green beans , trimmed and halved
Instructions
- Place oil and bacon in a large heavy based casserole pot over high heat.
- When the oil is heated and bacon releases some fat, add chicken.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, until chicken and bacon is browned.
- Add garlic and onion, cook 1 minute.
- Add celery and carrot, cook 2 minutes.
- Add red wine, allow to simmer rapidly 2 minutes until the winey alcohol smell is gone.
- Add flour, mix until incorporated.
- Slowly pour in half the beef broth while stirring, then pour the rest in.
- Add tomato, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper.
- Stir, add potato.
- Cover, simmer 30 minutes.
- Remove lid, add mushrooms and green beans. Simmer without lid* for a further 10 minutes.
- Serve with crusty bread, sprinkled with parsley if desired!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I’m so grateful that food doesn’t move…..😂😂😂
Made this tonight as it’s a bit chilly here in Brisbane; absolutely delicious! Will now become a winter staple. Thanks Nagi (and Dozer for supervising)!
Yes perfect for the cool nights Clare!
Oh my lordy!! Nagi – you are a COOKING GENIUS!!! Made this tonight and WOW!!! Absolute DELICIOUSNESS!!! I SO LOVE your cooking – THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING 🥰🥰
I’m so glad you loved it Helen!!
OMG!! We made this AWESOME stew tonight and it’s probably the best chicken stew we’ve ever had! Even better than mine! LOL
Hubster had 2 big bowls and he wants it again tomorrow night. 🙂 Seriously, Nagi, I don’t know how you create something so amazing from such simple, every day ingredients, but the Angel of Gourmet Cooking must be sitting on your shoulder, whispering these heavenly recipes into your ear! We’ve made some really great meals from your recipes, but so far, THIS ONE wins the gold medal! We are going to try it with beef next time! Thank you so much!! LOVE!!!!
Thanks so much Kin, that’s so lovely to hear!!
Hi Nagi
Can I ask the brand and size of the cooking pan you use. I have seen it in a few videos now and seems perfect size and all purpose. Ps I have made so many of your dishes for family and always a hit. I think the best thing about your recipes are the supper easy to follow and helpful VIDEOS. Thanks so much
I’m saving this one! Will do it next week for sure.
Tnx Nagi 🙂
I hope you love it Bec!
Hi Nagi
I can’t use pork in my cooking. What can I substitute for bacon.
Thnx for all your wonderful recipes!!
I can’t either so i use chicken kabana that you can usually get from the butcher.
Did the stew and was so delicious . Can you publish in your Recipetineats.com your ABC interview, I am in Southamerica and didn’t have the chance to see it.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-11/it-takes-two:-food-blogger-nagi-maehashi-and-her/11298694
Hi there hope this works for you. I just watched it and it is so good to see Nagi and her mother together. Would love to see more of them.
Thanks for posting the link, Brooke. I really enjoyed seeing Nagi and her mom…but where was Dozer? LOL
The stew is fabulous. We’ll be making a second (larger) batch for canning very soon. 🙂
Nagi, do you use shortcut low fat bacon or rashers?🌻
Loved seeing you and your Mum on the ABC last night. She’s rightly proud of you in spite of you being lazy when you were young. LOL
Am so glad I caught your and your Mom’s delightful TV appearance last night ; ; ; loved the fun banter and do hope it brought many new subscribers to your fold ! Love the classic chicken stew . . . methinks a good home-made beef stock makes many a dish and I cannot understand cooking anything like this without a well bodied wine . . .
This stew was amazing! My boyfriend had several bowls! Thank you for a flavorful stew that I was able to make in a little over an hour. We’ll be making this again soon.
Woah!! That chicken stew looks so yummy.. The color of that stew is spot on.. Absolutely lovely
Hi, thanks for all your good recipes. A question: I’m a Kiwi foodie and I’m in the USA at the moment. What are the items you always stock up on when you are in the USA?
Beef stick! How did I not think of that – my last chicken stew tasted fine but the sauce was pale. I wanted a sauce like beef stew – and you’ve just solved that problem for me!!
This chicken stew will be totally delicious in the winter, not so much though in the summer! 😂
It doesn’t look like winter in Australia N bc look at the beautiful blue water! Around here, it would be glare ice and below zero! Brrr! I think I’ll keep summer, as long as we can! 😀
Have a great rest of the week and weekend coming up N!
Once again, YUM! I have yet to try any of your recipes of which I do not love.
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
P.S.
Thank you for the Bento recipes. They are wonderful also.
Just about to see you on 7.30 report😍
Congratulations👍
This stew looks fantastic, can’t wait to try it! Just saw your interview on 7.30 report, well done and your mum is so lovely, congratulations on everything Nagi, you’re my fav foodie 🙂