Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Chicken

This delicious tarragon chicken with creamy mushroom sauce is one of my favourite dishes. Crispy chicken thighs are combined with a lovely, creamy mushroom sauce, flavoured with a bit of tarragon and grainy mustard. Simple enough for weeknights, but also a great dish for entertaining!

This delicious chicken recipe is one of my all-time favourites. The flavours in this sauce are fabulous – licking the plate fabulous! The healthy addition of white wine, the fresh tarragon, the grainy mustard and the cream make this the perfect dish for a special meal or entertaining!

I love these flavours so much, that I’ve found ways to adapt this recipe so it’s a bit lightened up and streamlined for a quick and delicious weeknight meal, too.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Chicken – I’ve used bone-in, skin on chicken thighs here, but bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts will also work, with extended cooking time.

Tarragon – tarragon can be a divisive herb. You either love it or hate it. It is a dominant flavour in this dish, so hopefully you are in the lover camp :)

Mushrooms – white button mushrooms are specified, but cremini mushrooms will also work just fine.

Heavy Cream – Heavy cream is recommended, as the high fat content prevents the cream sauce from splitting with the acidic wine sauce. If you don’t have heavy cream, or you don’t want to use it, substitute a lightly cream and increase the thickening at the end. You could also use some full fat, Greek Yogurt.

White Wine – use any white wine you enjoy drinking. If you don’t have or want to cook with wine, simply omit and increase the chicken stock to 2 cups.

Grainy Mustard – This dish uses grainy mustard. Look for it in with the Dijon mustards at your grocery store. It’s the one that’s full of mustard seeds. I’m a fan of Maille’s Moutarde a L’ancienne. It’s much more kid-friendly, at least it was in my household, as it’s not nearly as assertive as regular Dijon mustard. The mustard seeds also add great texture to the dish. If you can’t find grainy mustard or don’t have on hand, go with regular Dijon mustard, but reduce the amount to taste.

Variations

1. Use boneless chicken breast or thighs and cut in to bite-sized pieces (or try it with butterflied boneless breasts). Cook completely in the skillet and remove to a plate rather than in to the oven.
2. Use dried tarragon leaves in place of fresh tarragon, so no trip to the grocery store is needed :)
3. Replace the healthy dose of wine, with just a splash to de-glaze the pan after you sauté the mushrooms.
4. Replace the heavy cream with a lower fat cream (half and half). You may need to increase the amount of thickening at the end.

Recipe Tips

Looking for a dairy free option? Try a bit of coconut cream (the thick part at the top of the can) instead of the heavy cream.

Be sure to taste the sauce at the end of cooking and add more salt and pepper, as needed. If the sauce tastes flat or you feel like “it needs something”, it’s almost always salt!

For a special meal or entertaining, allow 2 thighs per person, or go for a bone-in/skin on breast instead. Keep the sauce on the thinner side and spoon in to a shallow bowl, over a bit of lovely al dente pasta. Or thicken the sauce a bit more, plate the chicken, spoon sauce over-top and serve alongside a wild-rice blend. Fresh, French green beans, broccolini, rapini or asparagus would also be pretty on the plate.

What to Serve with Tarragon Chicken Thighs

Serve this over simple steamed white rice or pasta, or even mashed potatoes. Add a green vegetable (broccoli or green beans are always a good choice).