This Coq au Vin Blanc recipe is a take on the classic French recipe of braised chicken in a creamy white wine sauce with bacon, onion, and mushrooms. The chicken is succulent and flavorful in a velvety sauce that you will want to drink by the cupful! Serve it up over creamy mashed potatoes or buttered noodles with crusty bread on the side for sopping up those flavors. I cannot imagine a more comforting meal that is elegant enough for the holidays, but simple enough for a cozy Sunday at home.
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Coq au Vin & Braising
Thanks to its French name, which literally means “chicken in wine”, by the way, Coq au vin never feels unimpressive. Even just pronouncing it (say it like you can’t be bothered to completely pronounce the word—it’s the French way) makes people ooh and ahh. The reality of this ultra-cozy and comforting recipe is that it’s very easy to throw together.
A little searing and chopping and a whole lot of wine and the oven does most of the work as it turns humble chicken legs and thighs into a wine-soaked masterpiece with a whole lot of pan sauce—so perfect for piling on buttery noodles or mashed potatoes.
Unlike it’s red wine counterpart, the white wine keeps this recipe feeling light even though it’s absolutely packed with flavor and texture. The key to this recipe, and all braising in general, is to make sure the chicken gets a really good sear to crisp up the chicken. Then it goes into a creamy white wine broth cooks low and slow in the oven.
The resulting braised chicken is melt-in-your-mouth tender! And I love this technique so much, I literally wrote the book on it! Braising is truly the ultimate technique for cozy weather cooking.
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Key Recipe Ingredients
full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Bone-in chicken. I think that using leg quarters looks really elegant in terms of presentation (and it’s extremely affordable!) but you could also swap in bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
- White wine. You want something dry and acidic here to balance out the fat of the dish. My favorites are sauvignon blanc (from France, not California!), Chardonnay, or White Bordeaux.
- Bacon. Thick cut bacon works best here, but any bacon really will work.
- Mushrooms. I prefer cremini (or baby bella) mushrooms for their heartiness, but white button mushrooms can also work.
- Yellow & Pearl onions. Fresh pearl onions are best, but frozen can be swapped in a pinch.
- Bay leaves. If you can find fresh bay leaves, those are best.
- Dijon mustard. My favorite is the Trader Joe’s dijon because it has a really piquant flavor.
- Thyme. Fresh thyme is classic here! I tie mine in a bundle with kitchen twine.
- Heavy cream. Heavy cream adds body and richness to the sauce, I don’t recommend swapping in a lighter dairy product.
The Simple Method for Making Stunning Coq au Vin Blanc
- Prep the chicken. I like to remove any piece of the rib bones than may still be attached to the chicken. Don’t throw them away though! I save these in a bag in the freezer for the next time I make homemade chicken stock. After that, pat the chicken dry, season it all over, and let it hang out in the fridge uncovered for a while. This helps dry out the skin so it gets crispy and browned when you sear it off.
- Render the bacon and sear the chicken. The best method for rendering bacon is to cook it over medium-low heat and only stir it once in a while. This gets the bacon crispy and causes it to release its fat. Then, we sear the chicken in the bacon fat until the skin is super golden and crisp–talk about flavor!
- Sear the onions and mushrooms. This step also builds flavor in the sauce! You want to sear the mushrooms and onions at a high heat and don’t add any salt until the very end so that you can get a nice golden brown color on the mushrooms and pearl onions without them releasing their water.
- Build the braising sauce. After you’ve got the mushrooms and pearl onions seared, remove them from the pan and add in the butter, diced onion, and garlic and saute until they’re soft. Then, add the wine and bring it to a simmer for a few minutes. Add in the cream, bacon, mushrooms and onions, and nestle in the chicken with the thyme and bay leaves.
- Braise the chicken. While normally cooking chicken to 165°F is fine, chicken thighs and legs benefit from cooking the meat a bit longer to really make it extra tender. Plan for the internal temperature of the meat to be about 185°F. We do a mix of covered and uncovered cooking here. Covered to bring the chicken most of the way, then we remove the lid so the skin can crisp back up.
What to Serve with Coq au Vin
As with most braises, I love serving Coq au vin blanc over creamy mashed potatoes! It’s perfect for catching all that beautiful white wine pan sauce. For a vegetable side dish, I like adding some simple buttered peas or sautéed green beans or even creamed spinach!
If I’m serving a salad as a first course, my little gem caesar salad or my wedge salad would pair perfectly. Always serve some crusty baguette and French salted butter on the side!
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Stunning French Recipes to Try
Beef Bourguignon
Steak Tartare
French Onion Soup
Steak au Poivre
Creamy French Tarragon Chicken
Easy Raclette Dinner
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Coq au Vin Blanc Recipe (Chicken in White Wine)
Video
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken leg quarters, or 6 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2-3 tablespoons flour
- 4 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
- 1 ½ cups pearl onions, peeled*
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 8 sprigs thyme, tied into a bundle with kitchen twine
- kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper
- chopped parsley, for serving
Instructions
- *Ingredient note: *Fresh pearl onions are absolutely best if you can find them. Peeling them is a little bit of a pain, but it’s worth it in the finished dish. Otherwise, you can use frozen pearl onions but be sure to defrost them and pat them really dry on paper towels before searing.
- Prep the chicken. Remove any excess skin hang over from the chicken legs. If there is any rib bone attached, cut that away (keep it in the freezer for your next batch of chicken stock!). Pat the chicken very dry all over and season well with the salt & pepper all over. Evenly sprinkle the chicken with the paprika and onion powder and transfer to the fridge uncovered for 4-8 hours.
- Preheat an oven to 350°F.
- Render the bacon & sear the chicken. In a large braiser or oval dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until it’s crispy and has rendered its fat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a small bowl. Remove the chicken from the fridge and dust it with the flour all over, shaking off any excess. Increase the heat to medium and sear the chicken skin-side down until deeply golden brown, about 6-8 minutes. Sear for 1-2 minutes on the other side, then transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Saute the mushrooms and pearl onions. Add the mushrooms and pearl onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms and onions are browned all over. Transfer them to a bowl.
- Build the sauce. Melt the butter in the pan and add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft. Stir in the dijon mustard and the white wine and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the bacon and heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the mushrooms and pearl onions and then nestle the chicken into the skillet, skin-side up. Nestle in the bay leaves and thyme and cover.
- Braise the chicken. Braise. Transfer to the oven for 30 minutes. Then, remove the lid and cook for another 35-40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and discard the bay leaves and thyme. Let the chicken rest in the sauce for 15 minutes. Then, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.
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