Chicken and Mushrooms in a Creamy White Wine Sauce
Pan fried chicken and mushrooms simmered in a simple, quick and easy creamy white wine Béchamel sauce on a Sunday night in front of trash TV while everyone is on their way home, ravishing in hunger, complaining they’re starving as if they haven’t eaten anything in their lives. Ever.
I have a confession. Again. This is one of those dinners that takes me about 15-20 minutes to make: from start to finish. It’s my emergency go-to when the kids are screaming — okay, asking nicely with all manners intact — for heavy take-out pasta.
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I know, it’s probably not fair of me to give them this instead of the sometimes nauseating pasta we have bought twice, maybe three times before. But, I’m not exactly a fan of indigestion.
A reader from my Instagram account messaged me in private, asking if I had any creamy recipe ideas for her, dropping the subtle hint that she loves Béchamel sauce.
Game on.
I used to hide from any recipes containing Béchamel sauce. So scared of it, because every single time I made it, it would come out with lumps of flour that would turn into a mortifying paste with every second-or-so mouthful. I’d have to strain it a few times just to get it to resemble a sauce. After 10 years of trial and error, I finally figured out what the problem was. (Well, my problem.) Not enough butter and too much flour. When mixing the paste right from the beginning, if it’s too thick and almost crumbly, it just won’t work. Maybe for a chef it would, but for my non-professional home cook person, it never did.
After some tears of frustration, and more times than I can count of disappointing dinners, I finally finally figured it out. Seriously Karina? Seriously? MORE BUTTER! (Yes, I did yell this at myself.) The moment of clarity was like winning a Lamborghini . Okay, so maybe I’ll need to win one first to actually be able to compare it, but you get my drift.
Long story short, this is my secret weapon when I don’t have any cream lying around. Thick and creamy white sauce, spiked with a hit of white wine, garlic and parmesan cheese. There’s nothing like watching your kids burst through the front door; run through the house only to stop with full brakes and ask, “Um, what’s that smelllll? What are you cooking? Is it ready? I WANT SOME!” And then to see them inhale their food, stopping with ‘mmmm’s’ and savouring every creamy mouthful.
Best feeling in the world.
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- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 600 g | 21oz skinless chicken thigh fillets , cubed
- 1 head of broccoli , cut into florets
- 200 g | 7oz sliced mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves , crushed
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 level tablespoons flour
- 1 3/4 cups milk (plus extra if needed)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese to serve
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Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Brown the chicken; add the broccoli florets and mushroom slices; pan frying until the broccoli becomes vibrant in colour. Stir in the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Set aside.
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In a smaller saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove the pot off the heat; whisk in the flour until smooth. Return to the heat and pour in 1/4 cup of the milk first, stirring quickly to combine until smooth. Add in another 1/4 cup of milk, again stirring quickly until smooth. Slowly begin to pour in the remaining milk half a cup at a time while stirring continuously, until all of the milk is in. Keep stirring until the sauce begins to thicken. Mix the white wine through the sauce and continue to stir over low heat. If sauce becomes to thick, add in a little more milk at a time (about 1/8 of a cup), until reaching your desired consistency. We like ours thick and creamy.
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Pour the Bechamel sauce over the chicken and mix through. Sprinkle over some parmesan cheese and serve over pasta or rice or Zoodles!
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Amy says
Hey, my daughter has a dairy allergy, do you think this will work ok with her almond or soya milk? And obviously no cheese for her! Thanks x
Karina says
It will give a different thickness and consistency and taste. Let me know how it turns out and if you would recommend it! Thanks so much! XO
Tracey says
Would I be able to substitute chicken breasts for the thighs?
Karina says
Yes of course
Nicole Manning says
Hi Karina…I would have thought that pouring wine straight into the sauce would mean that none of the alcohol will be cooked off and also that would mean that it would taste very winey! I am a bit hesitant to try it that way because I don’t think my young boys would enjoy that……I was thinking of deglazing the pan with the wine with the chicken and mushrooms first before adding to the bechamel. What do you think?
Karina says
Hi Nicole. You can definitely deglaze the pan and cook off some of the alcohol. We actually prefer the flavour of wine in ours for this recipe, but either way works 🙂
911sherlock says
I love your recipes! Is there a substitute for white wine and broccoli? And parmesan? I can’t find it where I live.
Karina says
Any green vegetable can replace the broccoli; Romano cheese or cheddar could replace the parmesan (although parmesan cheese has a very unique taste), and there’s really nothing that can replace the white wine for flavour purposes unfortunately. You can leave it out, that’s not a [problem 🙂
Sara | Belly Rumbles (@bellyrumbles) says
Thick and creamy white sauce is my secret weapon too when cream isn’t in the fridge. I love how you have added the extra veggies into one of my favourite dishes.
Karina says
Hi Sara! I’m so glad we agree on white sauce. It’s a staple!
KevinIsCooking says
It’s raining outside and after having a light salad for dinner earlier I could mack on this in a heartbeat.
Karina says
Aw I’m sorry! I’m sure it was a yummy salad though!