The Cozy Cook

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Chicken a la King

This Chicken a la King recipe is made from scratch with a creamy mushroom sauce, peas, pimentos, and juicy chicken. Serve this with rice, egg noodles, biscuits, or pastry!

A Dutch oven filled with Chicken a la King with a wooden spoon in it.

Chicken a la King

When you need some cozy comfort food vibes, this Chicken a la King is where it’s at! This recipe features a classic, creamy mushroom sauce with juicy bites of chicken, peas and those signature pimentos! This is a fantastic recipe to serve with rice, egg noodles, biscuits, or over puff pastry! 

My version is made easily from scratch with no canned soup. It has a little bit of a “brothy” vibe to it, while still being thick enough to hold it’s own as a sauce. I absolutely love serving this over my buttermilk biscuits. It’s cozy cooking heaven!

Be sure to check out my pro tips below!

How to Make It

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear in olive oil for 3 minutes/side. Let rest, then dice and set aside. It will finish cooking in the sauce, which will add even more homecooked flavor to the dish.

A plate of seared chicken breast next to a plate of diced chicken.

Deglaze the pot with wine, then add the mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Soften for 5-6 minutes.

Deglazing a dutch oven with wine next to a pot of cooked onions and mushrooms.

Add the butter/flour to make a roux and cook for 2 minutes. Add the sauce mixture (half and half, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and seasonings) in small splashes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back and simmer for 10 minutes.

Adding cream, seasonings and chicken to a roux with mushrooms for Chicken a la King.

Add the peas and pimentos and simmer for 5-10 more minutes, or until desired thickness is obtained. Serve over egg noodles, rice, puff pastry, or biscuits.

Adding peas and pimentos to a pot of filling for Chicken a la King.

Pro Tips

  • Wine: I like to use Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Blanc in this recipe, but Sherry is a traditional wine choice for this recipe as well. Chicken broth can be used if you don’t cook with wine.
  • Chicken: 4 cups of leftover/rotisserie chicken can be used if needed. It won’t be quite as flavorful as making this with fresh chicken.
  • Pimentos: Pimentos are a classic staple in this dish, but finely diced bell peppers (red or green), can be used instead!
  • Serving Options: This is great over my Buttered Noodles, Buttermilk Biscuits, or Cheddar Bay Biscuits!

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. 
  • Cream-based sauces don’t reheat as well the second time around, but that doesn’t stop me!

Chicken a la King in a white bowl with a biscuit on top.

Tools For This Recipe

(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.

  • 4.5 Quart Dutch Oven– The perfect size for almost any soup recipe.
  • Better Than Bouillon– This is what I always use for broth in my recipes. It takes very little space and makes it easy to measure out customized amounts of broth.
  • Measuring Spoons– I have these magnetic ones which stay nice and organized in my utensil drawer.

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Chicken a la King in a green Dutch oven with a wooden spoon.

Chicken a la King

5 from 6 ratings
This Chicken a la King recipe is made from scratch with a creamy mushroom sauce, peas, pimentos, and juicy chicken. Serve this with rice, egg noodles, biscuits, or pastry!

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 ¼ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, see notes
  • salt/pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup dry white wine, see notes
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, can sub white button
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 3 cups half and half
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce, I use Franks hot sauce
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • ¾ cup peas, I use frozen
  • 4 oz. drained pimentos

Seasonings

  • ½ teaspoon EACH: dried basil, parsley, thyme, onion powder, mustard powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground sage
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper, paprika

Instructions

Prep Work

  • In a large measuring cup with a spout, combine the half and half, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and seasonings and set aside. Measure out remaining ingredients before beginning.

Cook the Chicken

  • Pat the chicken dry and season each side with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a 4 ½-quart soup pot over medium-high heat.
  • Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes per side, until a brown crust has developed. Remove from heat. The middle will still be uncooked.
  • Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces. The chicken will finish cooking in the sauce, which will also add even more homecooked flavor to it.

Make the Sauce

  • Add the wine and set the heat to medium. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the pot. Add the mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until softened.
  • Add the butter and flour and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the half and half mixture (from step 1) in small splashes, stirring continuously. Scrape up any remnants from the bottom of the pot as you do so. Add the chicken bouillon.
  • Set heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
  • Add the peas and pimentos. Simmer uncovered for 5-10 more minutes, or until desired consistency is obtained. The longer it simmers, the thicker it will become.
  • Remove from heat and serve over egg noodles, pasta, rice, biscuits, or pastry.

Notes

Pro Tips:
  • Wine: I like to use Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Blanc in this recipe, but Sherry is a traditional wine choice for this recipe as well. Chicken broth can be used if you don't cook with wine.
  • Chicken: 4 cups of leftover/rotisserie chicken can be added in step 4 of "make the chicken" if needed. It won't be quite as flavorful as making this with fresh chicken.
  • Pimentos: Pimentos are a classic staple in this dish, but finely diced bell peppers (red or green), can be used instead!
  • Serving Options: This is great over my Buttered Noodles, Buttermilk Biscuits, or Cheddar Bay Biscuits!
Storage:
  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. 
  • Cream-based sauces don't reheat as well the second time around, but that doesn't stop me!

Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 453kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 129mg, Sodium: 444mg, Potassium: 833mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 1392IU, Vitamin C: 32mg, Calcium: 162mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you try this recipe?Mention @TheCozyCook on Instagram or tag #thecozycook!

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18 comments on “Chicken a la King”

  1. Excellent recipe.  

  2. When I make chicken and dumplings I always have the left over creamy sauce.  I sometimes add green chilis instead of the pimentos.  simply add your ingredients and it cuts the time in cooking tremendously!
    Great recipe!  Thank you!

  3. My recipe is similar to this but no onion, no garlic or other seasonings except paprika, salt and pepper. The left over chicken or turkey or rotisserie chicken has plenty of seasoning. I use sherry and just before serving I beat an egg, temper it and mix it in. My recipe came from my mother who when young worked in the Dunlop Tire Company kitchen in Buffalo NY. The cafeteria chef often made this for lunch and it was very popular.

  4. I was just talking to my brother the other day telling him I missed our grandmas chicken Al la king she use to make for us when we were kids and then ironically I saw your post on this recipe and I had to make!! 

    This was soooo yummy and so full of delicious flavor. Took me back to my childhood days. 

  5. Love your recipe!❤️❤️

  6. I have not made this recipe yet. However, I remember my mother making Chicken Ala King when I was a young girl. Our house smelled deliciously divine while it was stewing on top of the stove. She would cook it on Saturday so we could have it for the next day; that way all the flavors of the ingredients would have a chance to complement one another. The taste was so fabulous that I still remember it to this very day as if it were dancing on my pallet now as I am writing this comment, and I haven’t experienced the taste in over 20 years. That is how much it has stayed a memory in my mind. My mother, God rest her soul, would have it for Sunday brunch right after church. We would have it over freshly made buttermilk biscuits and it took all my mite to remember my manners and not pick up the plate to lick it clean after our family had sat down and devoured the meal. It certainly was a meal that our family requested regularly. Thank you for the walk down memory lane. My mother added a few other things to hers, but I know yours will be just as fantastic.

  7. This came out so good. My son is allergic to peas so I used broccoli. I cut up a broccoli crown into small pieces, put it in my air fryer, and brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. Ran the air fryer for 6 minutes at 400 degrees

    • Hi Carlene! I’m so happy that you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing your tips on the broccoli substitution as well as taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! ❤️

  8. I had leftover turkey and I used this recipe to make turkey a la king.  It was delicious.  Loved the mushrooms and pimentos in the perfectly seasoned sauce.  What a great way to reinvent leftover turkey or chicken.  I’m sure it would taste even better if you cooked the chicken as per the recipe.  Maybe next time I’ll do it that way.  

    • Hi Renee!! WOW I am sooo happy that you gave this a try, what a great way to make use of leftover turkey!! Thank you SO much, as always, for the review- I appreciate you so much!! -Stephanie

  9. This recipe was delicious! We ate it on your homemade biscuits as you suggested (which are equally awesome btw). It wasn’t just a simple cream sauce as I had anticipated…it was packed with so much flavor that we couldn’t get enough of it. Little by little we kept going back until the pot was basically gone. The kids all loved it too and I’ll be making it regularly going forward.

    • I’m so happy it was such a success Vera! I know what you mean, this one has a way of “disappearing” lol. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💖

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