The luscious sauce in this Creamy Chicken and Leeks is pure heaven. Easy enough for a weeknight, this is a comforting dish the whole family will love. Perfect with a mound of fluffy rice or mashed potatoes.
Easy Creamy Chicken You’ll Want To Eat Every Night – Pan Mopping Highly Recommended
This quick-braise quick braise chicken dish is a comfort food winner. It may look fancy but in fact has all the makings of a family favorite meal – succulent chicken, a creamy wine sauce, aromatic leeks, earthy mushrooms, and vibrant herbs that come together quickly in one pan. It’s kind of like chicken marsala meets Tuscan chicken meets a white coq au vin — In other words, delightful.
- Easy Creamy Chicken You’ll Want To Eat Every Night – Pan Mopping Highly Recommended
- Recipe Ingredient Notes
- Variations And Substitutions
- How To Make This Creamy Chicken And Leeks Recipe
- Notes And Tips From Sandra
- Serving Suggestions
- How to Store and Reheat
- More Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try
- Creamy Chicken And Leeks
Like most braises, this creamy chicken with leeks is just as good the next day. You can even make it all a day or two ahead — holding back the heavy cream and fresh herbs — then finish it when ready to serve.
The saucy chicken is absolutely terrific spooned atop warm rice, fluffy mashed potatoes, couscous, or a loaf of crusty bread. Sure, it’s a little indulgent, but you know what? I guarantee it will evoke feelings of contentment, and we all deserve that once in a while.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
Here’s what you’ll need to make this leeks and chicken recipe:
- Chicken – I prefer using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe. The burnished, crispy skin renders its fat and adds so much flavor to the dish. Not to mention, bone-in chicken will be more succulent and juicy. In a pinch, boneless chicken thighs, or chicken breasts will work, just make sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Leeks and garlic – This magical combo is essential for adding loads of aromatic flavor to the dish.
- Mushrooms – I absolutely love mushrooms so I use a lot more mushrooms than most recipes call for. Feel free to use less if you wish. White button mushrooms also work.
- Whole-grain mustard – This adds a flavorful kick to the sauce. Use regular dijon, if necessary.
- Heavy cream – Not surprisingly, heavy cream is what makes this dish so irresistibly luscious and delicious. You can use half and half but the sauce might split and it won’t taste as creamy.
- White wine – You will need some dry white wine for this recipe. Its great for deglazing the pan and for amplifying all the flavors in the dish.
- Chicken broth – You can also use a light vegetable broth, or even bone broth.
- Herbs: A mix of fresh thyme and parsley add herbaceous brightness to the dish.
**Note: The full ingredient list can be found in the recipe card below.
Variations And Substitutions
Leeks —> Farmer’s markets are still selling beautiful leeks and I truly believe they give this dish a wonderful flavor. If you can’t find any, use 3-4 chopped shallots.
Make it dairy-free —> Use full-fat coconut milk or cashew cream.
Add more vegetables —> Broccoli florets or chopped carrots would be wonderful cooked in this sauce. Add the carrots at the same time as the leeks, and the broccoli 5 minutes before the chicken is done cooking.
I need something green —> Add chopped spinach, kale or Swiss chard 5 minutes before the chicken is done cooking. Alternatively, serve the chicken on a bed of lightly dressed arugula or mixed greens — YUM!
We are avoiding alcohol —> Use 1/2 cup more broth plus 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
My kids won’t eat mushrooms —> More for you! Pick them out before they see them. If they like green beans, chop some up and add them to the pan 5 minutes before the chicken is done cooking.
Make it vegetarian —> Use more mushrooms plus a few more chopped veggies such as green beans, carrots, cauliflower and/or broccoli.
How To Make This Creamy Chicken And Leeks Recipe
Step 1: Brown Chicken
Pat the chicken thighs with a paper towels to get as much moisture off as possible. Heat oil in a large skillet that has a lid over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin side down in the hot skillet and let sear undisturbed, for at least 6 to 8 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and golden-brown. Transfer chicken to a holding plate.
Step 2: Sauté Mushrooms and Leeks
Add mushrooms and cook undisturbed until slightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir and cook 2 minutes longer. Remove to a small plate. If the mushrooms soaked up all the chicken fat, drizzle in a little oil. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the leeks and sliced garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are tender, about 5 minutes.
Step 3: Deglaze the pan
Add thyme sprigs and wine and let simmer, scraping up the browned bits, until liquid reduces by half, about 1 minute.
Step 4: Return chicken to pan
Whisk mustard with broth, then pour into pan and bring liquid to a gentle boil. Nestle chicken, skin side up, into the pan and pour in any accumulated juices from the plate. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 25 to 35 minutes.
Step 5: Add the cream
Remove chicken to a plate. Add cream to the pan, and stir. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to thicken slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning, if needed.
Step 6: Finish
Nestle chicken back into the pan, then remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes And Tips From Sandra
Use a large skillet: If cooking 8 chicken thighs, you will need a 12-inch skillet. Anything smaller might crowd the meat and the sauce won’t thicken properly.
Cook the chicken in batches: If you look closely at the photo of the browned chicken thighs, you will notice some look more golden brown than others. That’s because I get lazy and brown them all at the same time. For more evenly browned chicken pieces, sear them in two batches.
If you despise browning chicken: Skip it and use the oven! Then simply follow the recipe up to (and including) step #. Place chicken in a 425ºF preheated oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove skillet from oven, then finish as instructed.
Prep ahead: While this is easy enough to cook on a weeknight, it also makes an impressive dinner for company with bonus points that you can make it ahead. Cook the whole thing in advance, without adding the heavy cream. Let it cool, then place in the fridge, covered (I leave it in the pan it was cooked in). Gently reheat it on the stove, adding 1 cup broth. Once the chicken has warmed through, remove it to a platter and stir in the cream. Cook over medium heat until sauce slightly thickens. Nestle the chicken back in, heat a few more minutes, garnish with parsley and serve.
Serving Suggestions
I often serve this creamy chicken and leeks with noting more than a mixed green salad and some crusty bread for mopping up the juices. But we all know there is nothing better than something carb-y to soak up all the creamy deliciousness in this dish. We love this over fluffy mashed potatoes, cauliflower mash, wild rice, or creamy polenta. Boiled or roasted potatoes would also be fabulous.
As for veggies, roasted broccoli, broccolini, steamed green beans, or green peas would all be marvellous.
How to Store and Reheat
- Store. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat. Individual portions can be reheated gently in the microwave. For larger portions, heat 1/2 cup chicken broth in a large skillet, add the chicken and sauce and heat until warmed through.
- Freeze. It’s not ideal to freeze this dish because the cream sauce will likely split when thawed. It may also get grainy when reheated. That said, if you need to freeze it, let it cool completely then place in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat over very gentle heat, beating the sauce to emulsify it as much as possible.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try
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Creamy Chicken And Leeks
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
- 10 ounces button cremini mushrooms (or chopped if large)
- 3 medium sized leeks, washed, halved and sliced into half-moons (white and light green parts only)
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley, to finish
Instructions
- Pat chicken thighs with paper towels to get as much moisture off as possible. Season both sides with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet that has a lid over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin side down in the hot skillet and let sear undisturbed, for at least 6 to 8 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and golden-brown. Flip and let cook 1 minute. Transfer chicken to a holding plate.
- Add mushrooms to the pan and cook undisturbed until slightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir and cook 2 minutes longer. Remove to a small plate. If the mushrooms soaked up all the chicken fat, drizzle in a little more oil (butter would also be good). Reduce heat to medium and stir in the leeks and sliced garlic. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add thyme leaves and wine and let simmer, scraping up the browned bits, until liquid reduces by half, about 1 minute.
- Whisk mustard with broth, then pour into pan and bring liquid to a gentle boil. Nestle chicken, skin side up, into the pan and pour in any accumulated juices from the plate. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate.
- Stir cream into the pan, increase heat to medium and allow sauce to thicken slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Taste sauce and add a little more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Nestle chicken back into the pan, then remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
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