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
Is it a dish I could part prepare the day before or does it hav to be on the day?
I made it yesterday and the broth tastes even better today, but you lose skin texture.
Just made this and it’s delicious, the taste just gets better and better as it cook. Didn’t add potatoes but made some mash to go with it instead and it was awesome. Great recipe
Made this for a crowd of 10. They all loved it. Turned out way better than I expected!!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Kid friendly as well!!!
I made this as written and served it with homemade cheese biscuits. My family raved! Definitely will be on my supper rotation menus. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent flavor. The only thing I added was rosemary just because it’s my favorite herb
I made this recipe and my family loved it, will be making it again.
My oven broke. Can I make this stovetop?
I’ve made this today on a stovetop. I substituted 45+40 minutes of baking with 45 minutes of stewing (15 minutes chicken alone and 30 with potatoes). It turned tender and flavourful, but, of course, the crispy skin didn’t survive
Really delicious – the crusty loaf is a must! I used the gravy the next day to dress some steamed veggies and it was so yummy,
Can it be made earlier in the day and warmed up
Another fantastic recipe. Thank you!
Amazing!
I almost never post comments about online recipes, but I simply have to say that your Chicken Stew was fantastic. That crisp skin makes all the difference. I was a little worried that the sauce might be too bland, so I added a couple of tablespoons of Dijon mustard along with the tomato paste. The result was delicious, but I think it might have been just as delicious without that addition. This recipe is definitely a keeper, but its name is a huge undersell. You should hold a competition to come up with a new name. My suggestion: Miracle Chicken.
Made this a number of times.
Awesome!!
Not a big fan of celery so sub for more carrots or potatoes.
Not too picky re. crispy skin so make a large batch and freeze. Freezes REALLY well .
A must side, IMO, is crusty toasted bread.
Soooo delicious and scrumptious!
You had us a crispy skin! My husband can only eat chicken with crispy skin. This was delicious! Normally I change Recipes. The only thing I did Different was doubled the garlic. Fantastic dish
This is a perfect dish. Nagi, I think you should change the name as it doesn’t do it justice. Restaurant quality. Beautiful taste. Passed it onto at least 10 people but had to convince them because of the name – ‘stew’. Highly recommend.
I literallyove this recipe! I make it regularly and my husband loves it too. If you don’t have a dutch oven, it’s worth the investment just to make this stew!
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Lisa!!! N x
Sorry I’ve commented on this recipe before but I had to again. It’s A-MAZING. It’s the only recipe I ever feel really confident about. I know it will always turn out good and be delicious and always requested. I am grateful for it! Been making it for years. So thank you!!! (and bonus – it can be easily made gluten free, but STILL perfectly tasty).
Hi Nagi, can I make this in a slow cooker? I’m cooking for a family of 8 and I’m thinking… there is no pot big enough to get into the oven so I’m gonna have to forgo the crispy skin regardless.
Or any other readers who have made this in a slow cooker?!
Thanks
This one isn’t suitable for the slow cooker sorry as you need to reduce the stock whilst simmering – N x
Made this on a cold rainy day and it was delicious and comforting. I added a sprig of rosemary and button mushrooms because I already had them in the fridge and it came out wonderfully. Thanks Nagi!
Thanks Nagi! This is one of your best recipes yet. Absolutely loved it, so flavoursome. I added some sweet potato as well which gave it an extra sweetness. This is going on the winter rotation