This is the ultimate chicken stew with red wine, traditionally a French recipe called Coq au Vin – which just means chicken in wine, simple and you can’t go wrong. Full of flavour and full of wine this one is a sure fire winner. It is a little bit more involved than your typical stew, but it is most certainly worth the extra work.
You can call it Coq au Vin, or you can call it chicken stew with red wine – they are the same and both will wow any guests I have over for dinner! I love this recipe as anything French with chicken in it is always a hit at the dinner table. The fancy names definitely add to the experience if you feel like using them.
I’ll get straight into the full recipe card below after the brief introduction, so that you don’t have to scroll down to get the details.
However, after the chicken stew with red wine recipe card, there are tips and variations that are worth reading, so do scroll down to see those!
What makes a good chicken stew with red wine unique is the addition of a mirepoix. A mirepoix is a flavour base made by cooking very finely diced carrot, celery and onion in oil until the vegetables soften and release flavour.
The bacon and mushroom on the other hand, you want to stand out. So they are cooked separately and set aside right until the end, then stirred in just before serving. This keeps the bacon crisp and the mushrooms fresh tasting.
When I first made this chicken stew with red wine, I tried putting everything in at the start and cooking it all together like a normal stew. I also tried cooking it in a similar way in a slow cooker. Both options resulted in pretty boring stews; the chicken and veggies all tasted like each other and had a decidedly unappealing soggy texture. It is best to fry the ingredients separately, even though it’s tedious!
The great thing about this chicken stew with red wine is that all the different flavours come together at the end. The cooked veggies from the mirepoix become almost part of the gravy, the chicken is cooked in plenty of wine and the peas, bacon and mushrooms pop.
My favourite is to serve it over mashed potatoes or beside some buttery crusty bread … or both. Definitely both.
Chicken Stew With Red Wine (Coq au Vin)
Ingredients
- 3 pieces of short cut bacon, sliced
- 150g whole button mushrooms
- 600g chicken thigh fillets
- ½ cup plain flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, very finely diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and very finely diced
- 2 sticks of celery, very finely diced
- 1.5 cups red wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Heat a pan on medium heat, and add the sliced bacon and whole mushrooms. You shouldn’t need extra oil as the bacon will release oil as you cook it. Fry for five minutes, then take the bacon and mushrooms and place them on a plate and set aside.
- Slice the chicken thighs into 5cm thick slices and coat them in flour.
- In the same pan you used for the bacon and mushrooms, heat ½ tbsp of olive oil on medium heat and brown the chicken thighs on both sides, about five minutes per side until they have a nice golden brown colour. Take these out and place them on another plate and set aside while you make the sauce.
- In the same frying pan, add the other ½ tbsp. of olive oil, the butter, onion, carrot and celery. Cook this mixture on low-medium heat for ten minutes to make a mirepoix. It’s done when the veggies have softened.
- Add the wine to deglaze the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up anything that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan, you want all of that flavour in the mix. Simmer for one minute.
- Add the chicken stock and tomato paste then bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add in the browned chicken. Stir in the bay leaf and thyme. Season to taste.
- Cover the stew and simmer for half an hour. Then stir in the peas, and simmer uncovered for five more minutes.
- Add in the bacon and mushrooms and stir through for one minute, just to warm through.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 694Total Fat 35gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 23gCholesterol 221mgSodium 842mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 5gSugar 7gProtein 49g
Pair With
Traditionally this chicken stew with red wine is served with mashed potatoes or crusty bread. But to be perfectly honest I think you should serve it with both.
A good hack for saving time is to use pre-prepared frozen mashed potatoes. You can buy these in the frozen veggies section of the supermarket.
Here is a recipe for Spinach Mashed Potatoes you may love to use as a side, using frozen mashed potatoes.
Feel free to serve it alongside the rest of the wine from the bottle too!
Freezing and Storage
Store the stew in the fridge for three or four days.
You can also freeze the stew! Let it cool to room temperature first thought to prevent condensation, which can lead to freezer burn.
Portion it out in airtight containers, if you like add a side like the mashed potatoes in there too. Fill to a 3/4 full but leave a bit of space at the top as liquids expand when frozen. Store in the freezer for about three months.
Coq Au Vin Origin
The Coq au Vin origin is interesting to note. Coq au Vin, or chicken stew with red wine, is a classic French dish that translates to ‘rooster in wine’, so it just means chicken stew with red wine. Things always sound better in French, don’t they?
It originates from rustic French cuisine and was traditionally a way to tenderize tough cuts of meat, particularly older roosters, by slow-cooking them in wine with aromatic vegetables, herbs, and sometimes mushrooms and bacon (lardons).
The dish has been associated with the Burgundy (Bourgogne) region of France, where it is typically made with red wine (often Pinot Noir), but variations exist across France using different regional wines, sometimes made with white wine, some even with champagne. Some believe coq au vin even dates back to ancient times, possibly to the era of Julius Caesar.
Chicken stew with red wine is such an all round comfort food that it belongs in fancy French restaurants, pubs, and can be used as a weekday dinner anytime at home as well.
Best Wine For Coq Au Vin
But how do I choose the best wine for Coq au Vin, you ask? Well, the best answer is don’t overthink it. Traditionally Pinot Noir was used a lot, and it is my favourite one to use. However, different wines were used in different regions in France, and they all have their benefits.
Generally, you can’t go wrong, as the chicken stew with red wine (or white wine!) is cooked for awhile the taste will be good even if you use wine that is not great. If you have a bottle you’ve been wanting to use up, this is a great way to use it. If you’re going out to buy wine for this stew, don’t buy the cheapest one available, but buy an affordable one. I often get wine at Aldi, they have a very nice range that is affordable as well.
Coq Au Vin Without Wine (Gasp)
If you would like to lose the wine altogether, and make Coq au Vin without wine, you can use chicken stock instead of the wine in the above recipe, or you can use alcohol free apple cider. This will still taste amazing, don’t worry!
In this case of course, we wouldn’t call it chicken stew with red wine, just tell your friends it is called French Chicken Stew!
Duck Coq Au Vin
Duck Coq au Vin is a variation of the classic Coq au Vin, where duck replaces the traditional chicken or rooster. Since duck has a richer, more flavorful meat, this version adds a deeper, more indulgent taste to the dish. This is then, of course, called Duck au Vin.
If you want to try Duck Coq au Vin, use the above recipe but instead of chicken get 4 luck legs, and you will need to simmer them longer than you would chicken thighs, so simmer for about an hour, that will make sure the duck legs are cooked through and tender.
Duck has more fat content than chicken, so if you see fat collecting on the surface of the sauce during cooking, skim it off with a spoon.
If you want to play with the flavours of the duck a little more, you can try adding some orange zest into the stew, or a splash of cognac.
Vegan Coq Au Vin
To make a Vegan Coq au Vin, don’t use the chicken and bacon in the recipe. Instead us a can of lentils, and also up the amount of mushrooms to 400g total.
So with the above recipe, you would fry 400g whole button mushrooms in a 1/2 tbsp of olive oil for 5 mins, then take them out of the pan and set aside.
Then in the frying pan, you would put 1 tbsp of vegan butter (or more olive oil), and add in the onion, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about ten minutes, which creates the mirepoix.
Then add in the wine to deglaze the pan, cook for 1 min, add in vegetable stock and tomato paste and bring to the boil, stir in the bay leaf and thyme and 1 can of lentils (rinsed and drained). Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour, then add the peas, simmer for 5 more minutes, then add in the mushrooms, and stir for one minute to warm the mushrooms through.
Vegan Coq au Vin is so super yummy, you should definitely give it a try!
Chicken Stew With White Wine (Coq Au Blanc)
You can use white wine in this recipe instead of the red wine, to make chicken stew with white wine, traditionally called Coq au Blanc. Simply replace the red wine with white wine in the above recipe. Some places in France traditionally make the dish with white wine, or even champagne. Use white wine instead of red if you prefer a lighter taste.
Both chicken stew with red wine and chicken stew with white wine are a wonderful comfort food, so maybe try both!
