Creamy au poivre sauce over crispy chicken thighs, caramelized mushrooms and roasted potatoes. It's comfort on a plate—great for a weeknight because everything comes together in one pot, but also fancy enough for a casual dinner party. Your guests will be raving about the sauce!
Speaking of, this creamy au poivre sauce is made with a secret ingredient: creme fraîche. Flavour-wise it adds a subtle tangy nuttiness that you don't get from traditional recipes that use heavy cream. But what I like most is that it's a more versatile ingredient that can be used in a bunch of other dishes, whereas with heavy cream I can't tell you the amount of times I've tossed a half-used container after using it for a single recipe. Creme fraîche is also fermented, bringing added health benefits, which I'll never say no to!
Why I love this recipe
- Comfort Food Classic: It’s warm, hearty, and packed with nostalgic flavours that transport me to France!
- One Pot Wonder: Yes, everything comes together in one pot but you wouldn't be able to tell from the presentation—it's restaurant quality with minimal cleaning up.
If you're on the cozy train, you'll also love my one pot honey nut squash lasagna. It has all the layers of traditional lasagna with half the work. And if you're looking for more recipes to use up that creme fraiche, I really like it with my lemon-y leek and chicken soup but you can seriously dollop it on just about anything (especially roasted potatoes! js!)
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Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make one pot chicken with French pepper sauce at home:
- chicken thighs
- potatoes
- mushrooms
- shallots
- garlic
- thyme
- peppercorns
- butter
- creme fraîche
- wine or chicken broth
- salt
Most traditional recipes use heavy cream, which has a neutral and sweet flavour profile. But I prefer creme fraiche for it's subtle, nutty tang. You might be tempted to substitute for Greek yogurt or sour cream, but while they're similar in texture they differ in richness and flavour. Creme fraiche has a higher fat content (similar to heavy cream), so it doesn't curdle when added to hot dishes. It's also naturally fermented making it thick and creamy without the sour taste.
Instructions
- Step 1: Prep shallots, garlic, thyme and pepper corns for the au poivre sauce.
- Step 2: Bake chicken with potatoes and mushrooms until roasted, golden and caramelized.
- Step 3: In the same pot make French pepper sauce.
- Step 4: Serve warm on crispy chicken and enjoy!
Hint: Start the chicken skin-side down in a cold pan with just a little bit of oil (about ½ tbsp). Heat the pan to medium and continue cooking until golden. This technique will slowly render out the fat, naturally releasing the chicken from the bottom, and leaving you with perfectly crispy skins.
Equipment
If there's one piece of cookware I can't live without it's my enameled cast iron braiser. It easily transfers from stove top to oven, making it incredibly versatile. And it's easy on the eyes, too—I keep mine displayed on the counter most days.
Storage
Store the sauce separate from the chicken, mushroom and potatoes to keep it fresh and saucy when reheating.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 400°F. While you wait, lay 4 chicken thighs skin-down in a cold skillet and heat on medium-low. Let cook, untouched, until the skin is golden brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. In the meantime, cut 400g potatoes into 1-cm thick pieces and tear 150g mushrooms into bite-sized pieces. Back in the skillet remove the chicken, deglaze with ¼ cup wine and add in cut potatoes and mushrooms. Season generously with salt and place the chicken on top. Bake at 400°F for 40 minutes.
- While that bakes, dice 1 shallot and 2 garlic cloves. Remove thyme leaves from 5 sprigs and discard stems. Finally, use a mortar and pestle° to finely crush ½ tablespoon peppercorns, ensuring there are no large chunks. Set everything aside.
- Transfer the chicken, potatoes and mushrooms to a serving platter and heat pan on medium. Add 2 tablespoon butter and let melt, once foaming add diced shallot, garlic and crushed peppercorns. Cook until the shallots are soft and your kitchen smells like toasted pepper and garlic, about 3 minutes. Deglaze with remaining ¼ cup white wine and stir in 120g creme fraîche and thyme leaves until well incorporated. Once the sauce is warmed through, finish with a squeeze of lemon (about ½ tbsp) then taste and add salt if needed until it's tasting so good you don't want to stop.
- Serve the warm pepper sauce over the chicken with potatoes and mushrooms, taking a moment to enjoy all the yummy caramelized bits.
Notes
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