A delicious take on the classic Coq Au Vin, French chicken stew, braised in a succulent red wine broth, with cremini mushrooms, onions, carrots, and herbs. Gluten-free adaptable.
A classic in French cuisine, Coq au Vin is known for its deep, rich flavors. A recipe made popular in America by Julia Child; the taste is a complex blend of savory chicken, smoky lardon (bacon or pancetta), and a luxurious, velvety sauce with a subtle sweetness and acidity contributed by red wine and cognac.
The earthiness of cremini mushrooms, the sweetness of carrots, and the aromatic presence of onions, thyme, and bay leaves round out the dish.
What is Coq au Vin?
The literal translation of Coq au vin is “rooster in wine”. Older, tougher birds were cooked for hours in wine to tenderize the meat and infuse it with flavor.
You can cut up your own whole chicken for a more authentic take on this coq au vin recipe. We opt for bone-in thighs and legs for ease and to save time. The rich flavored dark meat remains tender during cooking. This version cooks up tender in under an hour.
Why You’ll Love This
- Rich, deep flavor! Seared savory chicken, smoky aromas, and a luxurious, velvety sauce. *Just the right amount of red wine without dominating all the flavors.
- Can be made in under an hour. Save time by using bone-in thighs and legs versus a whole chicken.
- A classic French recipe the whole family will love. Not only will your home smell amazing, but the dish is unbelievably comforting—and impressive!
Ingredients
- Chicken: Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks, or cut up a whole chicken. Pasture-raised if possible!
- Red wine: Burgundy wine like Pinot Noir, or a Bordeaux, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot blend. Whatever you prefer to drink.
- Pancetta or Bacon
- Vegetables: Crimini mushrooms, pearl onions (or use shallots, or both!), garlic cloves, and carrots, cut into large chunks.
- Cognac: Or brandy.
- Chicken stock: Or beef broth.
- Tomato paste
- Dijon mustard– adds a tang that really balances out the rich flavors.
- Balsamic vinegar– optional but enhances the broth.
- Herbs and spices: Fresh thyme sprigs, dried thyme, and bay leaves. Plus chopped fresh parsley.
- All-purpose flour: Or use tapioca starch for gluten-free with only 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Butter: Softened.
*See the recipe card for the detailed ingredient list.
How to Make Coq Au Vin (Instructions)
Prepare all of your vegetables.
Dry the chicken with paper towels or a washable kitchen cloth. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350F.
Cook the pancetta or bacon over medium heat, until brown and starting to crisp. Remove bacon, drain any excess grease.
In a large Dutch oven or large skillet, brown the chicken in a single layer, in a tablespoon of the bacon fat until the skins are golden brown and crispy. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon or tongs from the pot and set aside. Drain and save the oil, leaving just enough to cook the mushrooms.
Saute the mushrooms, and stir until lightly brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Saute onions, adding more of the drained oil if needed, until roasty and starting to brown, remove and set aside with the mushrooms. The pan may start to get crusty with stuck little bits but these will all add flavor and lift off as the liquid gets added.
Add garlic and saute for a minute and add the 1/2 of the bacon and all of the chicken pieces back in the pot along with the red wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, dijon, balsamic vinegar, fresh and dried thyme, bay leaves, carrots, kosher salt and black pepper. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350F degrees.
In a bowl mix together butter and flour (for the beurre manié). Remove the stew from the oven and set the pot on a burner to simmer. Add mushrooms and onions. Whisk the flour mixture into the red wine sauce and cook for 8- 10 minutes until thickened and luscious. Discard the bay leaves if desired. Garnish with the remaining bacon and fresh parsley.
Serve over garlic mashed potatoes, polenta, or wide noodles with crusty bread.
How to Serve Coq Au Vin
- Serve over egg noodles
- Serve with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Serve with crusty bread, like Sourdough Bread or Baguettes
- Serve a side salad, like Pear Salad with Vanilla Fig Dressing.
FAQs
Use a Burgundy wine like Pinot Noir, or a Bordeaux, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot blend. Pick whichever you prefer to drink!
Yes! The flavors taste even better when they have time to meld together. You can prepare this dish a day or two in advance. Complete everything through step 5, then let cool completely before storing. Keep the mushrooms and onions in a separate container.
Yes, this is a freezer-friendly meal! Once cooled completely, store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Storage
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat leftovers on the stovetop, stirring frequently, until warm all the way through.
This dish is perfect with potatoes, noodles, or bread to soak up all of the delicious sauce. While there are regional variations and personal twists one can add, Coq au Vin is a heartwarming meal, a celebration of flavor that brightens chilly evenings or any moment that calls for a sumptuous feast.
Perfect for Sunday supper when you have a little more time to be in the kitchen. Enjoy! Remember to rate the recipe for us and leave your comments below!
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Coq Au Vin Recipe
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: chicken
- Method: Stovetop + Baked
- Cuisine: French
Description
A delicious classic French Chicken Stew in a succulent red wine broth, with cremini mushrooms, carrots and herbs. Gluten-free adaptable.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 4 ounces pancetta or bacon, cut into small pieces
- 8 ounces crimini mushrooms, cut into quarters or thick slices
- 8 ounces pearl onions or use shallots cut into 1/4 inch slices (or use both!)
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup cognac or brandy
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, dried
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 carrots, cut into large chunks
- 1 –1 1/2 teaspoons salt, season to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or use tapioca starch for gluten-free with only 1 tablespoon of butter)
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes, with crusty bread and a green salad.
Instructions
- Dry the chicken with paper towels or a washable kitchen cloth. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cook the chopped pancetta or bacon over medium heat, until brown and starting to crisp. Remove bacon, drain any excess grease.
- In a large dutch oven, brown the chicken in a single layer, in a tablespoon of the bacon fat, over medium-high heat, until the skins are golden brown and crispy about 5-8 minutes per side. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon or tongs, from the pot and set aside. Drain and save the oil, leaving just enough to cook the mushrooms.
- Saute the mushrooms over medium heat, and stir until lightly softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Saute onions over medium heat, adding more of the drained oil if needed, until tender and roasty and starting to brown 5-8 minutes, remove and set aside with the mushrooms. The pan may start to get crusty with stuck little bits but these will all add flavor and lift off as the liquid gets added.
- Add garlic and saute for a minute. Now add 1/2 of the bacon and all of the chicken pieces back in the pot along with the red wine, cognac, chicken broth, tomato paste, dijon, balsamic vinegar, fresh and dried thyme, bay leaves, carrots, salt, and pepper. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350F degrees. The stew should be bubbly and carrots tender.
- In a bowl mix together softened butter and flour until a smooth paste is formed. Remove the stew from the oven and set the pot on a burner to simmer. Add mushrooms and onions. Push the chicken and veggies to one side and use a whisk to incorporate the flour mixture into the stock then stir around the chicken redistributing the ingredients evenly in the pan. Simmer on low heat, for 8- 10 minutes until thickened and luscious. Garnish with the remaining bacon and fresh parsley.
Serve over mashed potatoes or wide noodles with crusty bread.
Notes
You are going to get a lot more flavor by sauteing the veggies separately. Yes, you could shortcut and add raw to the stew but it gets watery and loses some of the depth of flavor. Another alternative would be to roast the onions, mushrooms, and carrots in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes.
For prepping ahead you can mix all the liquids together (red wine, cognac, chicken broth, tomato paste, dijon mustard, balsamic) in a pourable container.
Searing with the skin on the chicken gives flavor and browns better, but use skinless if desired.
Store leftovers in the fridge for 4 days in a sealed airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece of chicken + 1 cup broth & veggies
- Calories: 418
- Sugar: 6.6 g
- Sodium: 536.6 mg
- Fat: 8.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.2 g
- Fiber: 3.5 g
- Protein: 56.6 g
- Cholesterol: 175.5 mg
This was restaurant quality. Took me almost 2 hours from start of prep to table. But that’s because I’m slow and I like to pre absolutely everything before I start cooking. I’m not too good at doing some prep while other stuff in on the stove. But I followed the recipe exactly, and it tasted delicious. I also made the Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes from the blog to serve with, and a side of asparagus too. I’m telling ya, we were saying this taste like something from one of those fancy steakhouse places. It’d be great and easy dish to make for a group. This recipe would easily serve 4 adults.
So glad you enjoyed this Angie! Thanks for all your thoughtful notes.
This recipe turned out delicious!
It’s also super fragrant!
I missed some details on the recipe though, but it maybe just me who rely on more instructions!
For example, I didn’t know how things needed to be cut. I saw the picture that the bacon was cut in small pieces, but the recipe doesn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure how small to cut the mushrooms, but after saw a general note in the top recipe that vegetables should be cut in large chunks.
It would be nice to have a description on how to “brown” the chicken – is it high or medium high heat? How long does it take, more or less? How long to cook the onions? In the end the carrots and onions were a bit undercooked, so I removed them and cooked them more separately.
The flour with butter didn’t dissolve too well in the sauce.
When adding wine, cognac and other things, maybe it would be better to mixed them together before adding to the chicken.
Sorry for the long message, I missed some of these instructions, but the dish turned out really nice! Thank you!
Hi Nancy, Really appreciate you taking the time to comment! I have added all of your helpful suggestions into the recipe card.:) I’m so glad it worked out for you in the end!
Such a rich and flavorful comforting dish. Won’t be the last time I make this delicious recipe, thank you.
So glad you enjoyed Carole!
I don’t see where you add the cognac or brandy.
Okay in the instructions now! Goes in with the wine. 🙂
Good stuff, with noodles for me.I do sometimes with Vin Blanc and skip the tomato,I`m ready to make some now…
yum!
Sounds soooo good—I’ll be trying it soon!