Ultra tender flesh and super crispy skin smothered in a thick savoury sauce with vegetables. This Chicken Stew is slow cooked in the oven to develop deep, incredible flavours. The smell that fills the house when it’s in the oven is simply wonderful!
More chicken stew recipe options: Faster Chicken Quick Stew (using bite size chicken pieces), Coq au Vin and Chicken Fricasée (creamy French Chicken Stew, reader favourite!).
Chicken Stew – with crispy skin!
Anyone else here not a fan of slimy chicken skin??
I don’t care how long it’s been slow cooked. And whether it’s a stew, in soup or Hainanese chicken.
No chicken skin comes near my mouth unless it’s crispy or caramelised.
When my mother reads this, I know she’s going to roll her eyes and think”she’s so childish!!”
I don’t care. I love crispy skin. I want crispy skin. Give me all the crispy skin!!! 😂
Slow cooked in the oven for crispy skin!
Because I’m so anti-slimy chicken skin, I like to make my Chicken Stew in the oven rather than on the stove. And unless someone knows a magic trick, the only way to get crispy skin for a stew is in the oven.
Cook it covered for part of the time, then uncover it to let the sauce thicken, make the chicken flesh super tender, the surface of the veggies and edges of the stew caramelise, and – most importantly in my world – to get that chicken skin super crispy!
Don’t have the time to slow cook?
Try my speedier Chicken Stew – made with boneless chicken thighs, this is on the table in an hour but tastes like it’s been cooking all day!
OK, I think I’ve babbled on enough about the chicken skin. Let me move on.
Under the crispy skin -> tender flesh.
Smothering the crispy skin -> thick savoury gravy sauce.
Around the crispy skin -> tender soft vegetables.
😇😇😇
I’m lucky enough to have a big, shallow casserole pot / dutch oven which is absolutely perfect for these kind of stews that go from stove to oven. But if you don’t have one, don’t worry, just tip it all into a baking pan before popping it into the oven.
And – confession time. The reason I cropped out most of the bowl in the photo below is because I ate the chicken before I took this photo. The side you can’t see just has bones, picked completely clean.
I couldn’t resist! Don’t judge me! 😂 – Nagi x
More Stews
Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
Classic Beef Stew – fall apart beef in a deep rich sauce
Irish Beef and Guinness Stew – an incredible dark, rich sauce with incomparable flavour
Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff – fall apart beef in a creamy Stroganoff sauce!
Braised Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce – truly exceptional, restaurant quality!
Browse all Stew recipes
Classic dinners we’ll love forever
Meatloaf – a family favourite forever and ever!
Chicken Stew
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 kg / 3lb bone in, skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks (6 to 8 pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 onions , halved and cut into wedges
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 large carrots , cut thick end into 1.5cm / 3/5″ pieces, thin end 2.5cm/1″
- 4 celery stalks , cut into 2cm / 4/5″ chunks
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine (or water)
- 3 tbsp (35g) flour
- 3 cups (750 ml) chicken broth , low low sodium
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp Worscestershire sauce
- 3 sprigs thyme , or 1 tsp dried thyme (or other herb)
- 2 bay leaves (dried or fresh)
- 600 g / 1.2lb baby potatoes , halved (quarter large ones)
Serving (optional):
- Fresh thyme or parsley (chopped)
- Warm crusty bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Brown chicken on both sides until light golden, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Remove from pot. (Do in 2 batches if pot not big enough).
- If there’s too much oil in the pot, discard some. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add carrots and celery, cook for 1 minute.
- Add wine. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the brown bits into the liquid. Cook for 1 minute until liquid is mostly gone.
- Sprinkle flour across surface, stir.
- Add broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to dissolve tomato paste.
- Place chicken on top, keeping the skin above the liquid level as much as you can.
- Bring to simmer then cover. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven, remove lid. Add potatoes, pushing them into the liquid and rearranging chicken so they sit on top (for lovely crispy skin).
- Return to oven without the lid for a further 40 minutes until the chicken skin is deep golden and super crispy, the potatoes are soft and the sauce is thickened.
- Taste sauce and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with warm crusty bread on the side to dunk in the sauce – or go all the way with Garlic Bread! Optional: garnish with extra fresh thyme leaves or parsley.
Recipe Notes:
Originally published May 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters – no change to recipe.
Life of Dozer
Flashback to May 2018 when this recipe was first published when he tore his ACL and had to have a knee operation. Shaved rump, permanent “help me up” harness, and trapped in a play pen for weeks.
Adding a Cone of Shame was just rubbing salt into the wound, isn’t it?
I told him not to scratch the stitches. I warned him about the cone. He did not obey!!😂
Happy to report he is back to normal, chasing birds, leaping off jetties and generally living the high life!❤️ N x
Hi Nagi, chicken skin crispy✔️, chicken skin caramelised ✔️.Had this dish for dinner tonight, , actually had dinner early because I was so hungry and the oven smelt so good. Thank you my husband and I loved this dish. Also we have left overs , so good.
WHAT!!? You’ve made it already??!!! SO GLAD you enjoyed this one Alana 🙂 N x
Never mind Dozer hang in there ..the weeks will fly. .best wishes from your Canadian buddy luca🐕👍
Tks again for another delish chicken recipe 👍
Thanks Gillian! He will be absolutely FINE!! 🙂 N xx
Poor both you and dozer hope he’s on the road to recovery thanks for the amazing recipes
Thanks for the well wishes Deb!! He will be fine, just got to be patient! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi – Love your site and recipes as well as your posts about Dozer. He looks adorable.
The Chicken Stew looks great. Could I use a dissected 1.5 kg chicken ie including breasts? I note that your recipe calls for just thighs and drumsticks, (and I know everyone says thighs are the best), but breasts are a must in this household. Everyone fights over them with a baked chicken!!!
Speedy recovery Dozer
Hi Karen! Bone in breast will be terrific if you’re cutting up a chicken! It will be sooo nice and tender 🙂 N x
Poor Dozer, big hugs & smooches to him ❤️ Like you I love my fur babies so much and it’s awful to see them in pain but they are amazing creatures who don’t register their pain as we humans do and recover remarkably fast to the point you find yourselves having to stop them being too active and fun loving! Wishing him a speedy recovery x
You’re so right! They don’t understand pain, do they?? I can’t believe how well he has bounced back, the probably is keeping him still!!
Poor Dozer. So undignified for him. And hard on you too. Watching someone (especially a fur person) you love, suffer, is so hard. Even when you feel like smacking him for scratching).
Hope Dozer and dog “mom” are all up and on the go soon.
Looks like a super recipe. Going to try it soon.
Looks like something even my finicky grandkids will like.
I don’t know what it is about dogs and their forlorn face, but they do it SO WELL!!!😥
Poor Dozer I feel for him, he looks so sad, hope he gets better really fast and please give him a BIG cuddle from me xx
Passed on and lapped up – he is totally smoochy at the moment!
O my God , look the face so sad of Dozer , things will get better but try to explain this to your fur child , got to have a lot of visitors ,furry and un furry , love and kisses will do it ,
oh yes chicken looks good ,had to write to you right away ,,send blessings to your Mom too –lily gar.
He’s being such a girl at the moment. Totally feeling sorry for himself. He does an excellent forlorn face!!!
Oh Dozer! it won’t be long buddy and you will be up and around again in no time. 🙂
I have a sick Husband at home at the moment and I think that he is way worse then Dozer in the resting department.
I am going to have a crack at your Chicken Stew, I think that it might just hit the spot for the invalid. LOL xxxx
Ba ha ha!!!! Men when they’re down…. they are the WORST!!!
So glad Dozer came thru his surgery with flying colors.He looks like such a kind and gentle furry friend, with such a sweet face.Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.
Kin and furry – gentle?? Not so sure. He’s a bit of a boisterous boy!!! 😂
Awww poor Dozer with the cone….glad his beautiful tail is still in full fluff. He’ll recover before you know it – and has the best Mum. Shall have to try this – like you – can’t stand slimy skin.
I don’t understand, 20% of his body is shaved, he’s confined to a cage and yet there is more fur than ever all over the house!!!
Aww Dozer you are loved so much , my past baby had a huge hip operation years ago and he was a very big dog but considering his size he recovered well so Dozer the time will go fast and you have the best Mummy.
Oh yes the stew looks fantastic and such wonderful comfort food for this time of the year with the weather getting cooler 😜 Yum
Love ya Dozer 😘🐶
Ohhhhh nooo, I’m sorry to hear that. Did he recover ok?? Is he well now???
It’s ok Nagi as I was talking about my beautiful boy that I had years ago and yes he did recover well but went to doggie heaven about 5 years ago but he was 13 years old and nearly as tall as a Great Dane but he had a wonderful life like Dozer does 😘
Hi, Nagi & Dozer,
Like so many others, I went to the “Dozer section” before checking out the recipe (which looks amazing in the photos, BTW). He looks so forlorn. Poor baby. :’-(
Fortunately for both of you, this accident happened in your Autumn, before you transition into Winter. At the end of the year while you are experiencing a hot summer, Dozer will be healed and ready to cool off at the beach. I know this is a huge disappointment for the sweet boy, but he has the best mummy, doesn’t he. 🙂 Sending lots of love and virtual hugs to Dozer. <3 As for that gorgeous chicken stew, we will make it this weekend. We still have some brisk, rainy and windy weather in the Pacific NW. I make chicken stew in the Instant Pot fairly often, but never tried the oven method. Crispy skin in a chicken stew? Oh, yeah! The hubby will be over the moon! Thanks for another STEWpendous recipe. 😀 (Giving you 5 stars because…well, look at the photos!)
The fact that he did this going into winter is the single considerate thing he has ever done in his entire life!!! 😂
Hi Nagi, loving your recipes just signed up my daughter who is starting to really enjoy cooking. Poor Dozer my loved fur baby Molly (Beagle) had both knees done, and the long crate rest, twice. Shortly after she had recovered from those surgeries, she had a disc prolapse, more surgery $$$$ LOL. Funny thing is, she LOVES her crate and whenever she gets afraid (thunder etc) That is where I will find her. Much love to Dozer x.
Oh nooooo Molly! 🙁 I’m so sad to hear that. And I’m so glad you mentioned how she loves her crate, I was getting worried about how Dozer now WANTS to go into the cage by choice. I thought that was weird!!
I cant wait to try this recipe tonight! Should i cover the ovenproof pot with an aluminium foil for step 9 since the lid is not ovenproof (im using happycall ceramic pots)
Oh look at that face! I immediately went to the Dozer button to get his news. I haven’t even looked at the recipe yet! Sending well wishes.
And I LOVE THAT!!! 😂
Nagi, you are not alone in the chicken skin department. I think non-crisp skin is awful, don’t eat it. Hope poor old Dozer recovers easily from his surgery.
Glad to hear from another fellow crispy skin lover!!! 😂
Any chance that I can make this recipe with chicken breasts? Looks so delicious but my family doesn’t enjoy dark meat!
Hi Sheila! I haven’t tried this with breast and to be honest, I don’t recommend slow cooking breast like this 🙂 What I would do is cut breast into large bite size pieces, brown per recipe but don’t cook all the way through, then set aside and make the sauce, adding the potatoes right at the start. Simmer rapidly on stove for 20 minutes then add the chicken in just for 5 minutes to cook through 🙂
I just checked out those soft cones and I think The Doze would look (and hopefully) feel a treat. The lion one would be most appropriate I feel, then the black and white one with what looks like a bowtie at the neck! Dozer deserves a whole collar wardrobe…might help ease the boredom of recovery. Could be fun for you too as you and he debate the “look” of the day.
Glad that you are still finding time from your nursing duties to post luscious recipes. Oven finish is just the ticket for crisping things up.
I got him one!!! Wait until you see today’s pic!!
I usually use my slow cooker for stews and soups, but because of the slimy skin issue, never use skin-on chicken in the crockpot. This looks like the best of both worlds– the crispy skin I love with oven-baked chicken and the moist juiciness of the meat that I get from the slow cooker. Thanks for the great idea, Nagi.
As for Dozer, my heart goes out to both of you. A FOUR-MONTH recovery? One day at a time!
Just an FYI for anyone who might be interested: When my dog needed to be “coned” for a few days, I bought a soft cone collar for her. So much better than the plastic ones, in my experience– comfy for them and cleans up great (even goes in the washer) for us! I also loved that she could see around her so much better than the plastic versions allow. And for those with short dogs (mine’s a corgi), you don’t have to see or listen to them walking around scraping that blasted plastic on the floor! Screech, screech… drove me nuts!
Here’s a link to some on Amazon, but Petsmart and such offer them as well: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dog+cone+collar+soft
I went straight to the pet shop the next day and bought one! But wait until you see the photo…. the pattern on it is RIDICULOUS!!! 😂
I just saw it on your next post. Boy, you’re not kidding! That is SOME pattern! Love it!
Hi Nagi, This Chicken Stew looks scrumptious. You are my Go To gal for dinner recipes. If I follow your directions they are always a winner. I can mess them up at all. 😉
Hugs to Dozer. Our dog , Buster was cone head when he had his cruciate ligament got torn 😢. All the best to Dozer. He has a good mama to take care of him.
Awww Buster! Did he bounce back ok??? N xx
Yes he did. Good as new!
Oops I meant I Can’t mess them up!
😂