Chicken à la King (A Comforting Retro Classic!)
Chicken à la King is a comforting, retro dinner recipe featuring tender chicken breasts, garlicky mushrooms, sweet peas, zesty pimentos, and fresh parsley in a flavorful white wine sauce served over warm, fluffy biscuits!
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For more savory suppers, you'll also enjoy Pork Tenderloin Medallions, Chicken Pot Pie Casserole, or Ground Beef Stroganoff!
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my post the other morning whereby I was cracking open a bottle of white wine at 9:00 a.m. Turns out, food bloggers occasionally engage in some weird practices related to cooking and photographing dinner recipes during the peak hours for natural light. Anyway, for anyone curious as to what wine-kissed dish was bubbling away on my stovetop that morning, it was this mouthwatering Chicken à la King!
Not only does this Chicken à la King recipe taste divine, but I've always thought that cooking with white wine makes your kitchen smell heavenly (despite the fact that it was a rather odd juxtaposition that morning while sipping my coffee).
Maybe my affinity for this aroma arose from the fact that I was raised by a European mother who wasn't afraid to add a splash of wine to a variety of recipes. Nor was she afraid to add kirschwasser (cherry brandy) to her Black Forest Cake cherry filling, which she then packed in our school lunchboxes without giving it a second thought...but that's another story for another time. Fortunately, my brother and I lived to tell the tale and, as a bonus, were never carted away by CPS. 😉
What is Chicken à la King?
Chicken à la King is a retro recipe that's as easy to make as it is elegant. It's brimming with juicy poached chicken, savory mushrooms, plump peas, and zippy pimentos in a flavorful (aforementioned) white wine sauce, all topped off with fresh parsley.
But the best part is (perhaps I've mentioned my fondness for bread before?) IT'S SERVED OVER BISCUITS!!!
That's right...it's almost like a high-brow version of biscuits and gravy, plus some chicken and veggies thrown in for good measure. 🙂
Ingredients
I already highlighted the main ingredients above, but let's go into a little more detail, shall we?
- Large refrigerated biscuits. Y'all know that I love making kitchen staples from scratch, but I will freely admit to using jumbo canned biscuits for this recipe. That being said, I do buy the natural ones that don't have any wonky ingredients I can't pronounce. 😉 Immaculate Baking Company or Annie's are my favorite brands.
- Sweet paprika OR cayenne pepper. To pretty up those store-bought biscuits and give them a bit of extra flavor, to boot! Use paprika for mellow flavor or cayenne if you'd like to add some spice.
- Chicken broth OR stock. I like using low-sodium broth to give me more control over the ultimate saltiness of the dish. Feel free to use homemade if you've got some on hand!
- White wine. If you're not sure which white wine to cook with, you can't go wrong with a non-oaky chardonnay, a pinot grigio, or a sauvignon blanc. It should taste decent, but no need for it to be fancy or expensive. I actually sometimes keep a four-pack of mini wine bottles in my pantry for using in recipes when I don't want to open a whole bottle of wine. And if you'd like to make your Chicken à la King without wine, you may certainly do so. Simply swap it for additional broth, milk, or half-and-half.
- Bay leaf. To season the cooking liquid.
- Chicken breasts. Boneless and skinless. You'll need three or four chicken breasts, depending on size.
- EVOO + butter. For sautéing the mushrooms.
- Mushrooms. Cleaned and sliced.
- Garlic. Minced.
- Salt + freshly ground black pepper. To season to taste.
- Flour. To thicken the sauce.
- Chopped pimentos. For zippy flavor and color.
- Frozen green peas. For a pop of sweetness.
- Fresh chopped parsley. For garnish.
This recipe does not contain cream as written, because I honestly don't think it's missed. But if you'd like to add some, I included directions for doing so in the "Notes" section of the recipe card at the bottom of this post. 🙂
How to Make Chicken à la King
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
I've been making this Chicken à la King recipe for as long as I've been married. It's a family-favorite dinner and it's easy to make!
- Bake the biscuits. Sprinkle the biscuits with paprika or cayenne and bake 'em according to the directions on the can.
- Poach the chicken. In a Dutch oven or large skillet, combine the chicken broth and white wine. Add a bay leaf and the chicken breasts and gently simmer until cooked through. You may need to flip the chicken breasts halfway through, depending on the size of your pan and depth of the cooking liquids.
- In the meantime, sauté the mushrooms. In another large sauté pan or skillet, melt together the olive oil and butter. Add the mushrooms and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and their juices have evaporated.
- Sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and cook for another minute, stirring continuously, to remove the raw flour flavor.
- Once it's cooked, remove the chicken to a cutting board and chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Measure 2 ½ cups of the poached chicken cooking liquid into the mushrooms and give it a good stir.
- Bring to a simmer for a few minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Add the peas, pimentos, and diced chicken, and then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir to combine and allow all of the ingredients to heat through for a couple minutes. Finish with fresh parsley.
- Serve your Chicken à la King hot over the baked biscuit halves. Enjoy!
Chicken à la King is a quick, wholesome, straightforward recipe that's also special enough to serve to company. And sometimes, it's just fun to eat a dinner with a retro twist!
Make it, love it, add it to your repertoire.
You can thank me later! 😉
More Quick and Easy Dinners
- Homemade Sloppy Joes
- 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna
- King Ranch Chicken Casserole
- Loaded Mexican Cornbread Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Chicken à la King (A Comforting Retro Classic!)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 can jumbo refrigerated biscuits, 8-count
- Sweet paprika or cayenne pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth OR stock
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 large (OR 4 small) boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons chopped pimentos
- 1 ½ cup frozen green peas
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Arrange biscuits on a baking sheet, sprinkle tops with paprika or cayenne, and bake in a preheated oven according to package directions. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- In a Dutch oven or large skillet, bring chicken broth and white wine to a boil. Add bay leaf and chicken breasts. Reduce to a simmer and gently poach chicken until cooked through (but not overcooked...juices should run clear and there should be no pink in the centers). This could take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how large/thick the chicken breasts are.
- While chicken is cooking, preheat another large, deep saute pan over medium heat. Melt together oil and butter in pan, and then add mushrooms, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Sprinkle mushrooms with flour and cook for one more minute, stirring continuously.
- Once chicken is cooked, remove to a cutting board and dice. Discard bay leaf and pour 2 ½ cups of the broth/wine cooking liquid into the cooked mushrooms; whisk together. (If there's less than 2 ½ cups of cooking liquid remaining, add a bit more chicken broth to make up the difference). Bring to a simmer and cook for a minute or two to allow the sauce to start thickening. Add peas, pimentos, and diced chicken to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer for just a couple more minutes until peas are heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the majority of the parsley, reserving a small amount for garnish.
- To serve, slice open biscuits. Place the bottom of a biscuit on a plate, top with hot chicken mixture and sauce, and cover with the biscuit top. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
- If you're not sure which white wine to cook with, you can't go wrong with a non-oaky chardonnay, a pinot grigio, or a sauvignon blanc. It should taste decent, but no need for it to be fancy or expensive.
- I sometimes keep a four-pack of mini, screw-top bottles of wine on hand for cooking, in case I don't want to open a new full-sized bottle when making a recipe.
- If you'd like to make your Chicken à la King without wine, simply swap it for additional broth, milk, or half-and-half, but keep in mind that the flavor will be altered.
- To increase the decadence of this recipe, feel free to incorporate some cream. Instead of stirring 2 ½ cups of broth/wine cooking liquid into the sauteed mushrooms, substitute 2 cups broth/wine + ½ cup heavy cream instead.
- You may need to flip the chicken breasts halfway through the poaching process, depending on the size of your pan and depth of the cooking liquids.
Nutrition
Adapted from Food Network. Post originally published on January 29, 2015, and updated on February 3, 2021, and January 22, 2024.
I was just thinking about making Chicken a la king yesterday after not having for many, many years. This looks amazing!Thanks for reminding me that I need to get it back into my life.
I hope you love this if you have a chance to try it, Thao! Chicken a la King is definitely an oldie but a goodie... 😉
I'd forgotten all about this favorite from my childhood! Being English we would never have eaten it with biscuits, in England the nearest thing would be scones which are very similar and totally unlike scones in the US. We used to have chicken a LA king with either roast potatoes or rice both of which I loved. We also eat chili with rice so very different to what I'm still getting used to here in upstate NY! After 2 years here is getting easier!
Really looking forward to making my old new favorite again (and looking for your BFF recipe! )
Ooooo, I bet this would be delicious over roasted potatoes or rice, Helen...I'll have to try that sometime! And I'm so glad that this recipe has reminded you to revisit an old favorite. I hope you have a chance to try it and that it takes you back to your childhood! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to comment...have a wonderful week!
Tuna a la king was the first recipe I brought home from hone economic class at least 65 years ago. Surprisingly my dad loved it snd it became a fairly regular dish at home. Thinking back, my mom probably liked it because I could make it. I was hoping this post might have had a good recipe for biscuits. I haven't been able to find a successful one for many years. Here in Australia we have no such thing as canned biscuits. I would love a good recipe that makes big biscuits, even though I am now a widow, I will still make this or chicken a la king from time to time, just for myself.
Hi Jennifer! I've never tried the tuna version of this recipe, but I'm sure it's tasty as well! I hope you enjoy this Chicken a la King if you have a chance to try it. 🙂