by Holly
Not only is this quick 30-minute meal super easy, but Chicken ala King is delicious too!
This is a delicious chicken dish with fresh veggies simmered in a rich and creamy sauce! Serve this with rice or over biscuits.
Why We Love this Recipe
Quick: This recipe only takes 30 minutes to put together, start to finish.
Rotisserie chicken really adds to the simplicity of this dish, it’s great for a busy weeknight or to feed a crowd! Substutute leftover ham or turkey if it’s what you have on hand.
Mix it up: Chicken ala King is versatile. It’s traditionally served with puff pastry shells or biscuits, but you can also serve it over rice, egg noodles or even mashed potatoes!
This dish has mushrooms and peas but for some extra color and flavor, add any extra veggies you have!
Ingredients/Variations
The best Chicken ala King uses the freshest of ingredients!
CHICKEN Shredded rotisserie chicken makes this recipe so simple, but feel free to use any chicken you have on hand. Just make sure it’s cooked before stirring into the sauce!
VEGGIES I used fresh mushrooms, onions, peas, and pimentos in this recipe but any veggie will taste wonderful! Colorful peppers, corn, carrots or broccoli will really make this dish pop!
SAUCE Rich & creamy sauce made with chicken stock, seasonings, and cream is one of the best parts of this dish!
How to Make Chicken ala King
This recipe is so easy to make, and comes together so quickly!
- Saute mushrooms and onions in butter.
- Add seasonings (per recipe below) and flour.
- Whisk in chicken stock and cream.
- Stir in the peas, pimentos, and chicken.
Serve over fresh biscuits and with roasted green beans or oven-roasted asparagus!
Tips for Perfect Chicken ala King
- Be sure to cook chicken before adding to pasta if you’re not using rotisserie chicken.
- Chicken breast, chicken thighs or even tuna are all great substitutions!
- Freeze Chicken ala King without the rice, pasta, or bread since those items don’t freeze well with sauce added. Instead, ladle the Chicken ala King into zippered bags or an airtight container with the date on it and freeze flat.
- Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. Refresh the flavors by adding a little dash of salt and pepper and make new rice, pasta, or fresh bread to serve again!
Other Delicious Chicken Dishes
- Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta – a one-pot dish
- Chicken Alfredo Bake – a family favorite!
- Roasted Rosemary Chicken – simple to make!
- Chicken Cacciatore – fresh ingredients
- Chicken Mushroom Casserole – delicious comfort-food
Did you make this Chicken ala King? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Chicken ala King
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- 8 ounces white mushrooms sliced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup petite frozen peas
- ½ cup pimentos drained and chopped
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
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Instructions
- In a large high sided 12-inch skillet add butter and set over medium-high heat.
- When the butter is melted, saute mushrooms and onions until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Season with garlic powder, black pepper, and kosher salt.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir until a paste is formed.
- While stirring, slowly pour in the chicken stock and half and half. Stir to make sure no chunks of flour remain.
- Lower the heat to low and stir until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the peas, chopped pimentos, and rotisserie chicken.
- Serve over pasta, rice, or biscuits.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Almost there! Substitute some of your water with dry white wine. It’s the crux of the dish!
Mmmm, delicious recommendation Nikki! Thanks for sharing.
JFYI….pimento is simply red bell peppers. When this recipe was “formulated”, red bell peppers were not available fresh. (1880’s/Delmonico’s). You’ll save a lot if you buy a fresh one, use some here, and the rest in other recipes. The pimento flavor is what makes Chicken a la.. into Chicken a la King!
Pimentos are a smaller, sweeter, type of pepper than a regular red bell pepper. They can be found canned or jarred. You can see them here on Amazon.
Delicious! I left out the mushrooms and pimentos, and added some carrots, basil and oregeno. I also substituted veggie broth (mom’s a vegetarian, so I put the chicken in after dishing hers out). I served it over smashed potato and it was so good! My husband and youngest really enjoyed it, but my older 2 weren’t a fan.
I plan on making this again, and using pie crust and muffin tins to make mini pot pies! The older boys will have to make sandwiches that night! Lol!
I used a jar of roasted red peppers and it was just as yummy.
looks yummee will be attempting this recipe this weekend what is pimentos tho
Pimentos are a type of pepper, found canned or jarred. They’re red, and mild in flavor. You can see them here on Amazon. Enjoy the recipe Trisha!
Has to have 4 table spoons of worchester sauce
Made this tonight. It was so good. Everyone enjoyed it. It’s going in our rotation. Thanks!!!
first time ever making chicken a la king and it was yummy. i definitely will be making it again (: i also used fresh garlic instead of garlic salt and served on biscuits!
So good! Just like my grandmother used to make it! I added corn.
What can I use as an alternative for pimientos? Thanks.
You could add some cooked or roasted red pepper in place of pimentos.
I did not use any just peas
I made this tonight to use up some chicken bi had in the fridge and some biscuits it has flavor and it tasted great followed the recipe to the T.
Not the flavor profile I was looking for. Although it was tasty, it was a bit pasty and lacked in overall flavor. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of omitting the peas. I served over white bread toast. My husband, who loves about anything, enjoyed it, but I missed his normal rave. Still searching for that perfect recipe. Thx!
Thank you for your feedback Barbara.
Here’s how I made it: I cooked the mushrooms in the butter and skipped the onion. Then I removed the mushrooms with a slotted spoon. I added the flour and cooked the roux (butter and flour paste, with the spices) a good 10 minutes, even letting it brown a bit. Cooking the roux well is what will remove the pasty taste. After adding the chicken stock and cream and cooking till thick, I added the other ingredients. I found it needed another half cup or so of 1% milk to thin.
I also added a teaspoon of Worcester sauce and several dashes of Tabasco sauce to the roux. I would have added a tablespoon or two of sherry but didn’t have it on hand.
This is a very nice recipe.
Very delish, but of course it takes more than 10 min. to prep!! I served over baked potatoes, yum. Because it made a good amount, I took out half the sauce before adding the chicken, peas and pimentos and will use it to make a Welsh Rarebit of sorts. A very nice basic recipe with plenty of room for variations. Thanx
Perfect! I was concerned it might be too rich, but perfect amount of cream is in this recipe. I omitted pimiento and added cut carrots.
Superb chicken a la king recipe that will now become a classic in my family. Thank you.
This is a great recipe for chicken a la king. But the sauce was a bit thick until I added another cup of half and half.
This recipe is a keeper.
Do you use half and half or heavy whipping cream in chicken ala king recipe? Half and half is listed in ingredients, but in the instructions it says heavy whipping cream.
Apologies for the confusion. We use half and half, we did test with both types of cream and found the results to be similar but half and half is a bit lighter.
I’ve used whole lactose-free milk in the past with great results.
Will be making this recipe in a few minutes so I’ll report back.
Very easy to make and it was delicious!!
So happy to hear that Kristi!
Hello, what if I do not have pimientos? What substitute can I use?
Roasted red pepper or chopped red bell pepper.
I’ve been doing this for 65+ years & you need flavor. I’ve always used thinly sliced celery, & defi Some thyme. Cook your flour paste gently until the flour is cooked. It’ll be the color of a brown Paper bag. (Always do this when thickening with flour for your Roux. *Then* incorporate your half & half, whisking small amounts at a time! Voila, no lumps! If you want to take this dish up another notch, substitute a little of the half & half with a dry white wine! Also, it needs a rib of celery, & some thyme! 5 star retired chef.
Thanks for the tips Nikki!
What is half and half?
Find out more about half and half and how to make it here Judith.