Classic Chicken a la King features cooked chicken, vegetables, and a rich cream sauce, creating a family-favorite recipe that is perfect for making after a holiday or whenever you have leftover chicken. Renditions of this recipe were first published over 100 years ago, and the flavors of the dish have stood the test of time. You’ll love serving this classic recipe over noodles, rice, puff pastry shells, or with your favorite bread, and it pairs beautifully with a glass of white wine.
The red pimentos, or red peppers, contrast with the green peppers and green peas, making this dish so much more festive than a typical recipe for leftover chicken. Because the meat is already cooked, this quick chicken dinner recipe is perfect for busy weeknights or whenever you’re short on time. Use light or dark meat, a mixture of the two, or even leftover turkey! For more chicken dinner recipes, try my chicken spaghetti, chicken divan, or chicken casserole recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Chicken – this recipe for chicken la king uses chopped pre-cooked chicken. You can use leftover baked chicken thighs or breasts, rotisserie chicken, or roasted chicken. This recipe also works well with leftover roasted turkey.
Butter – I always recommend using unsalted butter when sauteing vegetables and adding salt so that you have full control of the saltiness of a dish. Butter will add more richness than olive oil or another cooking oil.
Vegetables – use one chopped bell pepper, any color like a green pepper or red pepper, diced onion, sliced fresh mushrooms, and frozen peas. You can also use frozen mixed vegetables or substitute other vegetables you have on hand such as carrots or red onion.
Pimentos – pimentos are a bright red variety of peppers sold in a jar and can be found near the other jarred peppers or olives in most grocery stores. Drain the pimentos and dice them before adding to the pan.
Heavy cream – this recipe is known for its creamy texture, so I recommend using heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, and not swapping this ingredient out for lower-fat half-and-half or more whole milk. Combined with whole milk and chicken broth, this ingredient creates a velvety sauce.
How to Make Chicken a la King
1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the broth and milk until smooth. Add salt and black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the cubed chicken.
4. Add the heavy cream, peas, and pimentos and simmer until heated through about 5 minutes. Serve immediately over pasta, rice, buttermilk biscuits, or puff pastry shells.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Use a large pan. You’ll want plenty of space in the pan to cook the vegetables and add the chicken, so select a larger pan that will comfortably fit all of the ingredients once added.
- Stir the flour in well. The flour will combine with the butter already in the pan to make a roux, which will thicken the broth, milk, and cream to make the sauce. Stir the flour well so that it is evenly distributed among the butter and veggies.
- Optional: decrease flour for a thinner consistency. The mixture has a thick and creamy consistency. If you want a looser consistency, decrease the flour to ⅓ cup, or add more milk or cream to thin it out later.
- Slowly the broth and milk and mix until smooth. Give the flour time to thicken by slowly adding the broth and milk while stirring. If you quickly pour it in, the flour can clump and create a grainy or lumpy sauce. Maintain medium to medium-high heat as you add the cold liquids because the heat is essential to thickening the sauce.
- Use additional frozen vegetables as needed. If you are short on fresh vegetables or don’t have pimentos, you can use frozen carrots or a bag of mixed vegetables with carrots, peas, and green beans.
- Enjoy with almost any starch. This recipe goes well with virtually all bread, pasta, many types of rice, or even mashed potatoes. So, serve with a family favorite or what you have!
- Add liquid if the sauce becomes too thick. The cream sauce will continue to thicken as this recipe sits or is stored so stir in more milk, cream, or broth to thin it out as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave on medium heat and add a splash of milk or cream to thin out the sauce if it has thickened.
Yes, you can freeze leftovers in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop or in the microwave on medium heat.
Serve this recipe with a quick and easy side such as biscuits, rice, egg noodles, or puff pastry. It also pairs well with French bread or dinner rolls and is excellent with buttered toast or garlic bread.
The cream sauce is known for being rich and perfectly coating the chicken and vegetables. It is made with butter, all-purpose flour, chicken stock, milk, and heavy cream. Seasoned with just salt and pepper, this easy sauce is comforting and indulgent while being simple to make.
There is debate on the origin of the name for this recipe, but various claims attribute its name to a person who created it or whom it was first made for. If you’re wondering what the a la king refers to in cooking today, it typically means a cream sauce with meat and mixed vegetables.
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Chicken a la King
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113g)
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced (227g)
- 1 bell pepper seeded and diced (216g)
- 1 small onion diced (162g)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (60g)
- 1½ cups chicken broth (360mL)
- 1 cup whole milk (240mL)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 cups chopped cooked chicken (420g)
- ¾ cup heavy cream (180mL)
- 1 cup frozen peas (160g)
- 1 (4-ounce/113g) jar chopped pimentos drained
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the broth and milk until smooth. Add salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in chicken, cream, peas, and pimentos and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately over pasta, rice, biscuits, or puff pastry shells.
Notes
- Use a large pan. You’ll want plenty of space in the pan to cook the vegetables and add the chicken, so select a larger pan that will comfortably fit all of the ingredients once added.
- Stir the flour in well. The flour will combine with the butter already in the pan to make a roux, which will thicken the broth, milk, and cream to make the sauce. Stir the flour well so that it is evenly distributed among the butter and veggies.
- Optional: decrease flour for a thinner consistency. The mixture has a thick and creamy consistency. If you want a looser consistency, decrease the flour to ⅓ cup, or add more milk or cream to thin it out later.
- Slowly the broth and milk and mix until smooth. Give the flour time to thicken by slowly adding the broth and milk while stirring. If you quickly pour it in, the flour can clump and create a grainy or lumpy sauce. Maintain medium to medium-high heat as you add the cold liquids because the heat is essential to thickening the sauce.
- Use additional frozen vegetables as needed. If you are short on fresh vegetables or don’t have pimentos, you can use frozen carrots or a bag of mixed vegetables with carrots, peas, and green beans.
- Enjoy with almost any starch. This recipe goes well with virtually all bread, pasta, many types of rice, or even mashed potatoes. So, serve with a family favorite or what you have!
- Add liquid if the sauce becomes too thick. The cream sauce will continue to thicken as this recipe sits or is stored so stir in more milk, cream, or broth to thin it out as needed.
