Chicken a la King

Chicken a la King is made with peas and pimentos and is served in a rich and creamy sauce for a classic and comforting meal. It’s a great recipe to use up leftover chicken and serves great with biscuits, toast, or egg noodles for a hearty and warming meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 463kcal

Author John Kanell

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.

Nutrition