Braised Chicken with Tomatoes And Shallots

This easy recipe for Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Shallots skips the browning step yet the chicken thighs emerge from the oven with golden brown skin, super flavorful, and fall-off-the-bone tender. The wine-infused tomato and shallot sauce is utterly delicious spooned over a side dish of rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles.

Juicy chicken thighs, simmered in a wine-mustard sauce with tomatoes, shallots and mushrooms are at the heart of this quick, flavorful weeknight dinner. Part-braise, part-stew, they become fall-apart tender in under an hour. It’s an easy, hands-off dish to make any time of year and your entire family and friends will devour it.

In this post, you will find out why we are braising the chicken in the oven, why you don’t need to pre-sear the chicken, what braising meat is all about, and why this braised chicken with tomatoes and shallots recipe is a tried and true dish you will be making over and over again.

What Is Braising?

Braising is a cooking technique where meat, and/or hearty vegetables, are cooked in liquid over low heat until very tender. Typically, braising involves a combination-cooking method where the food is first lightly browned in a pan, then simmered, covered, over low heat.

In this recipe we are using bone-in chicken thighs which are great for braising. However, unlike the traditional braising method of cooking the meat covered, here the chicken thighs are cooked uncovered. Because chicken thighs don’t take very long to cook, as long as most of the meat is cooked in liquid while it cooks, the finished texture will be the same as if it had been braised.

Why This Is The Best Braised Chicken

I started making versions of this recipe when I found it quite few years ago in the New York Times Cooking section. At the time, it had about 3,000 5-star reviews. With bright, fresh flavors that jump off the plate, and impossibly tender chicken, it became an instant winner dish for our family and for entertaining.

The braised chicken dish is now up to almost 11,000 5-star reviews, and shows no signs of stopping. It truly is what I would call a next-level crowd-pleasing masterpiece. Not that the original recipe needs improving, but through the years I have modified it slightly, mostly to make the cooking process even easier.

For starters, I learned long ago that it is practically pointless to try and achieve crispy skin in a chicken that is cooked covered in a lot of sauce. So because I know you likely despise the mess from browning chicken as mush as I do, I have eliminated that step. Instead, we transfer the pan to the oven uncovered, with the chicken skin exposed, so we get chicken with fall-apart-tender meat and burnished golden skin.

In addition, I figured that while the shallots are caramelizing in foamy butter, mushrooms too could join in. I find them to be a delightful addition but you can of course leave them out if you wish.

Lastly, the NYT’s recipe calls for a whopping 2 cups of wine. Though delicious, it seems to evaporate too quickly in our oven-braised method leaving us with little sauce. I reduce it to 1 1/2 cups and add 1/3 cup of chicken broth. Combined with the savory chicken juices this makes a sauce you will want to drink all on its own.

Key Ingredients You Will Need

With less than 10 ingredients, and ease of preparation, this dish will astound you with its bold delicious flavors.

• Chicken: For best results when braising chicken, bone-in chicken pieces is the way to go. You can use chicken thighs, drumsticks, or chicken legs. If you prefer to use boneless, skinless thighs, I recommend using less liquid, and giving them a quick sear before adding the liquid. You will also want to reduce the braising time significantly so start testing it after 20 minutes. Chicken is cooked through when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. However, for bone-in chicken, I like to let it go to 170ºF-175ºF so the meat almost falls off the bone.
• Butter: The shallots and mushrooms are browned in butter which really adds some extra rich flavor to the dish. You can use olive oil, if you prefer.
• Shallots: This recipe calls for 8-10 shallots which I know is a lot but hey add wonderful aromatic flavors to the dish. They are also delicious to eat alongside the chicken. If you can find them in bulk, they will be a lot less expensive than the packaged ones.
• Mushrooms: Completely optional and I don’t add them if I’m in a hurry to get dinner served. But if you love mushrooms as much as I do, and have a little extra time to spare, they are absolutely wonderful in this dish.
• White wine: The wine makes the chicken and sauce super flavorful and we use quite a bit of it here. Any dry white wine will work. If you are avoiding alcohol, you can use 1 cup of chicken broth mixed with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, instead.
• Dijon mustard: The tangy, sharp, and mildly spicy flavor of dijon mustard truly makes this dish sing.
• Chicken broth: To ensure we have a really saucy dish. You can use all wine, if your prefer.
• Cherry Tomatoes: The cherry tomatoes in this dish are absolutely delicious. They go in towards the end of the cooking time and under the broiler they burst and become sweeter and slightly smoky.
• Fresh thyme sprigs or tarragon: The original recipe calls for tarragon. I’m not a huge fan of tarragon but I do love it in this dish. It can be hard to find so I usually opt for thyme sprigs instead which are always a great match with chicken and tomatoes.

Does This Chicken Have Crispy Skin?

If you are looking for crackly chicken skin, this is not the right recipe for you. In the original recipe, the chicken is browned until the skin is crispy. However, it is then cooked covered on the stovetop, in a lot of sauce, which means adios crispy skin.

I would argue you have a better chance of getting crispy skin with the oven-braised method we use here because the chicken cooks uncovered and we also blast it under the broiler. But the amount of sauce it cooks in makes it unlikely that the skin will stay crispy.

I will gladly trade in crispy skin for chicken that is juicy, crazy-tender and swimming in a rich, savory sauce. Once you try this braised chicken, you will not miss the crispy skin in the least.

So why should we keep the skin on the chicken at all then? Well, I’m glad you asked. The skin will help keep the chicken super moist and the fatty juices released will enrich the entire dish. In addition, even though the skin is not crispy, it will have a very appealing golden-brown color. Without the skin, the chicken pieces will look very pale and not as appealing.

Do note, however, that a great advantage to browning chicken skin is that it renders a lot of the fat which you can then remove from the dish so your sauce is not too greasy. The trick to preventing an overly greasy sauce when you don’t brown the chicken, is to trim the excess fat from the chicken really well. More on that below.

How To Make Braised Chicken with Tomatoes And Shallots

For this recipe, you will need a large heavy-bottomed skillet that can go from stovetop to oven. Cast iron, enamelled cast iron, or a good non-stick, will all work. Here’s an overview of the recipe with step-by-step, photos.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet melt butter over medium high heat until butter foams. Stir in the shallots and cook until they are starting to soften and get some color, about 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they lose their moisture and start to brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and add the wine, scraping any brown bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let this simmer for about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix the mustard and chicken broth and add it to the pan. Add the thyme sprigs and stir to combine. Nestle in the chicken pieces and transfer to the oven. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven, baste the chicken and add the cherry tomatoes tucking them in around the chicken pieces.

Cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, and the sauce has thickened. For extra color on the chicken, I like to place the pan under the broiler for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time. Watch it closely so it doesn’t burn.

Note: For exact amounts and detailed instructions, scroll down to the printable recipe card below.

What To Serve With This Braised Chicken 

It would be perfectly acceptable to serve the saucy chicken and veggies in shallow bowls with nothing more than crusty bread for dipping into the delicious sauce. But to make it more of a complete meal, I like to let the season dictate what gets served alongside.

During the spring/summer season, we enjoy it with brown rice, white rice, or barley and a simple leafy salad. When the squash is plentiful in the fall, simply roast chunks of delicata squash or butternut squash to go alongside. 

For chillier weather months, there is nothing better than serving it with a starchy mash such as this cauliflower puree, these mashed potatoes, or this creamy polenta. 

Orzo or pasta noodles would be fantastic any time of year. 

Storing Tips

Chicken thighs reheat really well without drying so leftovers come in really handy. Here’s how to store, freeze and reheat your leftovers:

• To store: Leftover braised chicken and sauce can be stored in the fridge, in a airtight container, for 4 to 5 days.  
• To freeze: Store cooled leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. For best results, thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
• To reheat: For best results, reheat chicken and sauce in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat until heated through. If you don’t have a lot of sauce, add a few splashes of chicken broth or water.

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