Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice and Mushrooms ~ this earthy, stick-to-your-ribs chicken thighs and rice skillet is one pot comfort food for a busy weeknight. The whole family loves this meal.
When Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice and Mushrooms is on the menu, I look forward to dinner all day long.
When you say ‘comfort food’ this is the kind of thing that springs to my mind ~ tender chicken (crispy skin, of course!) with earthy mushrooms and wild rice swimming in that creamy sauce. Yum!!
Have you tried my creamy Tuscan chicken thighs? Or my chicken in lemon sauce with olives? Chicken just loves a creamy sauce, and so do I 🙂
It’s the combination of ingredients in this dish that gives it that restaurant quality, but happily there’s no extra effort involved. It’s a simple matter of using a shallot instead of an onion, deglazing the pan with Marsala wine, and using plenty of fresh thyme and heavy cream that elevates this dish and gives it a fancy vibe.
What you’ll need:
- chicken thighs ~ I use bone in skin on.
- shallots ~ a flavor builder.
- mushrooms ~ really any type you like.
- Marsala or other fortified wine like a dry sherry. This contributes much of the flavor to this dish, so don’t skip it.
- cream ~ or half and half.
- chicken broth
- wild rice
- flour
- butter, olive oil
- salt, pepper, and fresh thyme
Wild rice is one of my favorite fall ingredients…the long dark grains are actually a type of marsh grass native to the Great Lakes. Most stores carry it next to the regular rice, and it usually comes in a slender box.
How to cook wild rice
Use a ratio of 3 to 1 water to rice.
Bring the water to a boil, add rice, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for approximately 40-50 minutes, or just until tender. Be sure to taste to check, different types of wild rice cook differently.
Drain the rice. Use right away for chill for salads.
The rice should be characteristically chewy, so don’t over cook it.
Wild rice gives a boost of color and nutty flavor to lots of dishes. It looks really pretty and has a firm, chewy texture. Both my wild rice salad and basmati and wild rice with chickpeas are naturally vegan and gluten free and would be a fabulous addition to any fall or winter menu.
Cook’s tips for creamy chicken and rice
- To keep the chicken skin crispy, nestle the chicken into the sauce but don’t cover the top of the thighs with sauce.
- The sauce will thicken after chilling, so for leftovers, just thin with a little stock, milk, or cream.
- You can cut calories in this creamy chicken with wild rice and mushrooms by using half and half in place of the cream.
- You can substitute regular rice for the wild rice, if you like.
Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 8 bone in skin on, chicken thighs
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 large shallots, finely minced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (your choice, I used shitake and cremini)
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup Marsala wine
- 1 Tbsp Wondra flour
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth or stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
garnish
- more fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Set the oven to 400F
- Season the thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the thighs, skin side down first, for about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a baking sheet.
- Bake the chicken for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Set aside.
- Drain off any excess fat from the skillet, leaving a little behind in the pan. Saute the shallots for 3-5 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms and thyme leaves to the pan and continue sauteing for another 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and softened. Add the Marsala wine to the pan and bring up to a simmer. Remove the shallots and mushrooms to a plate and set aside.
- Melt the remaining butter in the pan and add the flour, stir to combine and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the stock to the pan and whisk to combine. Add the cream and stir while the mixture comes up to a simmer. Taste the sauce to adjust the seasonings.
- Put the mushrooms back into the skillet, along with the wild rice. Bring everything up to a simmer. Nestle the chicken thighs into the sauce, and heat until the chicken is warmed through. Serve garnished with more fresh thyme.
Nutrition
Step number one should be “cook rice”
Can I use chicken breasts on the bone?
For sure!
This looks delicious. What would you recommend to replace the wonda flour for a gluten free version?
Hi Elizabeth – many different gluten-free flours should work well to thicken the sauce, just make sure you are using something very finely ground so that it will dissolve into the sauce (so almond flour would probably not work, for example) Rice flour would be a good choice!
How can I make this in advance for a dinner party?
You might prep everything up to step 7, and then finish before serving. You don’t want to keep rice in a sauce overnight. If possible cook the chicken shortly before company comes, too, and then assemble and heat.
I couple of questions, Sue.
Could I use skinless boneless thighs? And would it freeze well? Thanks so much! I’m visiting my son, and with three children under 4, I’d like to leave them a few frozen meals..
Thank you for this delicious comfort food recipe! Here, in my mile high Northern Arizona home, it’s a balmy 20 degrees, and we just got 2 feet of snow, more on the way. This recipe hits the spot!
What other wine do you think might work (instead of marsala) in the cream chicken with wild rice and mushrooms?
Any dry white wine would work, as well as a dry sherry.
YUMMI:::::
WÜNSCH da no an feinen ABEND
bis bald de BIRGIT