Chicken Thighs With Mushrooms and Shallots

Quick and easy chicken thigh recipe. The thighs are browned and baked and served with a creamy mushroom, shallot, and tarragon sauce.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated May 17, 2022
Elise Bauer
chicken thighs mushrooms shallots recipe

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Chicken and mushrooms naturally love each other, especially with a creamy sauce. This recipe is quick and easy, and uses just a little bit of cream to pull everything together.

Most of the flavor comes from the chicken and mushrooms themselves, with help from shallots and tarragon.

Pro tip: tarragon loves both chicken and mushrooms! You want to add a special note to your chicken dish?

Add tarragon.

Want a mushroom soup recipe that will have your friends begging for the recipe? Add tarragon. Just don't add too much. A little is all you'll need.

Best Chicken Thighs Mushroom Shallots

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

In this recipe we are browning the chicken thighs skin side down first, then finishing their cooking in the oven.

Chicken thighs release a lot of fat, even if you've trimmed the excess at the start. Cooking the thighs this way allows you to monitor the amount of fat you want in the finished dish.

While the chicken pieces are cooking in the oven, we get rid of most of the rendered fat in the pan, and cook the mushrooms and shallots in the remaining pan drippings.

We add some stock, some white wine, let it boil down a bit, and swirl in some cream. When the chicken is done, so is the sauce. Easy!

More Recipes for Flavorful Chicken Thighs

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Chicken Thighs With Mushrooms and Shallots

Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings 3 to 4 servings

Be prepared for a little bit of splattering from browning the chicken. To avoid this you can dredge the chicken pieces first in a little flour. I wanted a gluten-free chicken dish so am not taking that step.

You can make this dish with skin-on chicken breasts, they will take less time to cook in the oven than thighs.

Even if you don't eat the skin, please cook the chicken with the skin on in this recipe. The skin protects the chicken from drying out.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 3 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 pound cremini or button mushrooms (plus a couple of sliced shiitake mushrooms if available for extra mushroom flavor)

  • 1/2 cup chopped shallots

  • 3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon, or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

  • 1/2 cup chicken stock

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Method

  1. Preheat the oven:

    Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  2. Brown the chicken on the stovetop:

    Heat olive oil in a large wide skillet on medium high heat. Pat dry the chicken pieces and lay them skin-side down in the pan to brown. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook without moving the chicken (allowing them to brown) until they are golden brown, about 7-8 minutes.

    browning chicken thighs in a skillet

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
    browned chicken thighs in a pan

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
  3. Bake the chicken in the oven:

    Place the chicken pieces skin-side up in a roasting pan. Roast in a 350°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165°F. (Cooking time depends on the size of the chicken thighs, and how long you've cooked them in the skilled first.)

  4. Sauté the mushrooms:

    While the chicken is roasting, thickly slice the mushrooms. Remove all but 1 Tbsp of the fat in the pan (do not put down the drain or you will clog your pipes). Heat the pan on medium high heat and add the mushrooms to the pan. Stir to coat with the fat in the pan.

    mushrooms sautéing in a pan

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
    cooked and seasoned mushrooms in a pan

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
  5. Add the shallots and tarragon:

    Cook for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms begin to brown and release some of their water. When the mushrooms are glossy, add the chopped shallots and tarragon and stir. Cook for another minute.

  6. Add the stock, wine, then cream:

    Add the stock and the white wine to the pan and increase the heat to high. Let the liquid reduce by half. Taste and if it needs salt, add 1/4 teaspoon or more of salt. Sprinkle with black pepper.

    making mushroom shallot sauce

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
    adding cream to mushroom shallot sauce for chicken

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    Stir in the cream. Lower temp to medium. Let simmer for a minute.

  7. Serve:

    To serve, place the mushroom shallot sauce in the bottom of a serving dish. Place the chicken pieces on top. If there are any drippings in the baking pan, pour them over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
271 Calories
16g Fat
11g Carbs
20g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories 271
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g 20%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 93mg 31%
Sodium 434mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 11g 4%
Dietary Fiber 2g 5%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 20g
Vitamin C 3mg 15%
Calcium 50mg 4%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 820mg 17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.