Chicken Fricassee For One - A simple yet elegant one-pot meal. Tender chicken in a rich, creamy sauce served over rice. Hearty and delicious single serving comfort food that cooks in less than 30 minutes!
Rich, creamy, and incredibly delicious, Chicken Fricassee is a meal that looks and sounds gourmet but is very easy to make. Similar to chicken stew, this dish is made with chicken that is simmered in a creamy sauce.
What Is Chicken Fricassee?
Chicken Fricassee is a cross between a stew and a sauté. This simple French stew is made with humble ingredients and everything cooks in one pan
Fricassee means to fry pieces of meat and cook them in a sauce. It is a method of cooking.
In a stew, the meat is cooked in a liquid (usually a broth). In a sauté, no liquid is used to cook the meat.
With Chicken Fricassee, the chicken is cooked first in butter, then the sauce is made in the same pan with onions and garlic. The chicken with its sauce is usually poured over rice or pasta.
Why This Recipe Works
- This version of Chicken Fricassee is made without flour so it can be a low-carb meal if served without rice.
- While this chicken recipe is simple in both technique and ingredients, it is not simple in terms of flavor. The sauce is so incredibly delicious and the entire dish comes together quickly.
- This recipe yields one delicious serving but the ingredients can easily be doubled to make more.
- This is a tested and perfected recipe. It has been on our site for several years and we've updated the instructions, added process photos, and included additional recipe information.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken breast or chicken thigh: Use 1 (5 to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless, chicken breast or thigh.
- Seasonings: Use salt, black pepper, and dried tarragon for great flavor.
- Butter: The chicken is cooked in 1 tablespoon of salted butter.
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil in this Chicken Fricassee recipe as well as in every other recipe on One Dish Kitchen that calls for olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed form of olive oil. It is an unrefined oil and the highest-quality olive oil you can buy. Because of the way extra virgin olive oil is made, it retains a more true olive taste. It also contains more of the vitamins and minerals found in olives. It’s my favorite type of olive oil to use but you may use light olive oil instead.
- Onions and garlic: For fabulous flavor!
- Chicken broth: I like to use low sodium chicken broth because it helps me to control the amount of sodium in the dish. You can always add a pinch more salt if necessary.
- Heavy cream: This ingredient is used for the sauce. As the cream heats, the sauce thickens beautifully.
- Peas: I use either canned or frozen and thawed peas in my Chicken Fricassee.
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
How To Make Chicken Fricassee For One
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Cut chicken thigh or breast into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all sides of the chicken pieces.
- Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces to the pan and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate, cover, and set aside.
- Add olive oil to the pan and cook the onions, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently for 30 seconds.
- Add broth and tarragon to the pan and bring to a boil.
- Add the chicken back to the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream and peas. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently for 1-2 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Serve over white or brown rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, or buttered noodles.
RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One
Expert Tips
- Read through the entire recipe before starting.
- Brown the chicken well. You do not need to cook the chicken through, just brown it before making the sauce.
- I buy the big bags of frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs from my grocery store and take out the amount I need when I'm ready to make a chicken dinner. It saves me from running to the store often and the chicken is always there when I need it. Just remember to defrost the chicken before you make this recipe - you can do this by taking out a piece of chicken and thawing it overnight in the refrigerator.
- Leave out the butter and cream for a lighter, non-dairy chicken fricassee.
Frequently Asked Questions
You might like to enjoy any one of these single serving side dish recipes with your chicken dinner:
Roasted Carrots
Cornbread
French Bread
Or serve Chicken Fricassee with:
Mashed Potatoes
Buttered Noodles
Cauliflower Rice - for a low-carb meal.
If you'd like to enjoy a glass of wine with this dish, a Chardonnay would be wonderful and if you prefer reds, a Pinot Noir would be lovely.
You can add almost any vegetable to chicken fricassee. Carrots, celery, and mushrooms are absolutely delicious but you can also add chopped butternut squash, green beans, or broccoli too.
If you have any chicken fricassee leftover, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep well for up to 4 days.
What To Do With Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this Chicken Fricassee recipe, you might consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Chicken broth: Rice Pilaf, Turkey Cutlets, Mediterranean Chicken, White Bean Soup
- Cream: Vanilla Ice Cream, Alfredo Sauce, Mini French Silk Pie, Cheesy Baked Eggs.
- Peas: Spicy Peas With Mint, Beef Stew, Fried Rice, Shepherd's Pie.
- Chicken thigh or breast: Chicken and Rice Casserole, Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Dried tarragon: Mustard Chicken, Baked Salmon
- Onions: Hush Puppies, Tortellini Soup, French Onion Soup, Lasagna
- Garlic: Bruschetta, Spinach Manicotti, Cioppino, Hamburger Casserole
Best Chicken Recipes
This Chicken Fricassee is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken. Here are a few of our other favorite single serving chicken recipes:
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried this Chicken Fricassee or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Chicken Fricassee For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (5 to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt , divided
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ cup peas , frozen and thawed
Instructions
- Cut chicken thigh or breast into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all sides of the chicken pieces.
- Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces to the pan and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate, cover, and set aside.
- Add olive oil to the pan and cook the onions, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently for 30 seconds.
- Add broth and tarragon to the pan and bring to a boil.
- Add the chicken back to the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream and peas. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently for 1-2 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Serve over white or brown rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, or buttered noodles.
Notes
- Read through the entire recipe before starting.
- Brown the chicken well. You do not need to cook the chicken through, just brown it before making the sauce.
- I buy the big bags of frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs from my grocery store and take out the amount I need when I'm ready to make a chicken dinner. It saves me from running to the store as often and the chicken is always there when I need it. Just remember to defrost the chicken before you make this recipe - you can do this by taking out a piece of chicken and letting it thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Leave out the butter and cream for a lighter, non-dairy Chicken Fricassee.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Nancy says
Tasted good. Had pre-made brown rice in refrigerator so heated it in microwave and served chicken over the rice. Sauce wasn't as thick as I like so added a little slurry of flour/water and after cooking a few more minutes it was just right. Your recipes are easy and good.
Kathi says
Great recipe as usual but made 2 little changes. Changed the peas (absolutely hate peas!) to diced frozen green beans; and used 1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon Chicken base in 1 cup of water instead of chicken broth. And then of course being Irish - severed it over mashed potatoes. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Donna says
The flavors in this dish are amazing. The rice for me was a bit too crunchy, I like a softer texture. How do I do this in the oven? My sauce was on the soupy side, is it surpossed to be that way, if not how do I thicken it??
Colleen says
I too, learned this recipe from Julia Child (Books). This version for "one" is delicious!
Joanie Zisk says
Thank you, Colleen. I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe.