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
- 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.
- Use dried tarragon leaves in place of fresh tarragon, so no trip to the grocery store is needed :)
- Replace the healthy dose of wine, with just a splash to de-glaze the pan after you sauté the mushrooms.
- 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).
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Get the Recipe: Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6-8 pieces skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, *or see Notes below for other options
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 8 oz whole button or cremini mushrooms, sliced or halved, or left whole if very small
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, 35% b.f.
- 2 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon grainy mustard, or regular Dijon, using a touch less
- 2 Tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped, (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon leaves)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed
To thicken (if necessary):
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) and have a baking sheet ready.
- In a non-stick skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Seasons and chicken and add to the skillet, skin side down and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side 2-3 minutes. Remove to baking sheet. Place in preheated oven to cook further while you make the sauce.
- Remove all but 1 Tbsp of fat from the skillet. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until golden, stirring often. Add onion and cook a minute or so more, or until the onion has softened . Add wine and cook over medium-high heat until only a few tablespoons remain. Add the chicken stock, cream, mustard and tarragon. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and allow to cook until the sauce is reduced by half, stirring occasionally (this may take 10 minutes or so). Taste sauce and add salt and pepper, as needed. *If it tastes like it "needs something", it's almost always salt, so add a bit more :)
- Note: If sauce is not thick enough, combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 1 Tbsp of cold water and add to the sauce, stirring until sauce thickens. Repeat as needed. (If serving over pasta or rice, don't make the sauce too thick, so that when spooned over, it seeps to coat the rice or pasta.)
- Test chicken for done-ness. It should register 160F internal temperature. (Bone-in chicken breasts will take longer than thighs). Remove chicken from oven and place on a serving platter or dish. Pour sauce over-top. Garnish with additional tarragon. Serve over buttered noodles, pasta,, rice or mashed potatoes.
Notes
More Tarragon Lovers Recipes!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Made this for the first time tonight and we did enjoy it though we felt it was missing something
I think next time I will up the wine and less broth and maybe add salt and pepper while cooking
So glad you enjoyed it, Denise. I always say if any time you taste something and it feels like it “needs something”, it’s almost always salt, so I would definitely try that first next time.
Just coming out of the oven in 10 minutes sauce cooking well. Always make this when chicken thighs on sale. Awesome dish.
Enjoy, Pat! I am a tarragon lover, so this is a favourite of mine, too :)
This is an amazing recipe. Now one of my top 10 favorites. Thank you for sharing. It is so delicious that I feel confident serving it at dinner parties. They always want more. :)
Linda D.
So glad to hear, Linda :) Thanks so much!
Made for the first time tonight, my husband requested this become part of our regular rotation. I swapped out leeks for the onion & fresh thyme for the tarragon.
Used heavy cream so sauce thickened nicely without needing cornstarch. Delicious !
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
An amazing meal, full of flavour. I made this for my family tonight. A few changes:
1. Could not find ANY tarragon at my supermarket, fresh or dried. So substituted for fresh parsley and chives.
2. Instead of placing the chicken thighs in the oven, I browned them first as per your instructions, removed them to make the sauce and then added them back into the sauce and simmered for.1 hour. They were tender and amazing!
I served with mashed potato as well as broccoli, eggplant and green beans sautéed in olive oil and garlic. No words except amazing.
Glad you enjoyed it, Rachel :) Thanks so much!
Can I use dry sherry instead of white wine.
Hi Mary, I think you could, if that’s what you have on hand. Probably one-for-one for the wine (or you could use part chicken broth/part sherry).
Hi Jennifer,
I’m going to make this for guests this weekend and want to prepare ahead of time. I’d like to prepare the chicken until almost done, place it with the sauce in a pretty casserole dish, and then put it in the refrigerator to reheat when the guests arrive. Would you recommend I put it in a low, maybe 300 degrees oven, for 30 minutes? BTW, I’m using boneless, skinless thighs.
Thank you! This dish sounds delicious!
Hi Janet and thanks! I’d take it out of the refrigerator 15 minutes ahead, just so it isn’t super cold when it goes in the oven. I’d probably do a touch warmer oven, maybe 325F-ish and you may or may not want to cover with foil for at least part of the re-warming. If uncovered and the sauce starts to simmer, it may cook a bit too much of the liquid off and get too thick. If you pop foil on it then, at least, it should help. Enjoy!
How long will it take the chicken to cook in the oven?
Hi Donna, it will vary, depending on how long you cooked on the stove-top and the size of your chicken thighs. They should stay in the oven until cooked through. Generally that is somewhere around 15 minutes, but they should be tested with a thermometer. They should be 165F internal temperature.
This chicken is delicious whether for an evening meal or for company. In it’s written form it is rich so the next time I would use half and half. A keeper for sure.
Glad you enjoyed it, Carole Ann! The heavy cream is generally necessary, due to the wine. Half and half is likely to split with the large amount of wine. For a less rich version, I’d suggest less cream/more broth instead, for the best quality of sauce, anyway :)
Several family members don’t care for tarragon, what herb could I substitute? Thank you, Christina. I enjoy your recipes, sooo tasty!
Hi Mary and yes, tarragon is a divisive flavour. You either love it or hate it :) For this one, thyme would be a perfect substitute and is a lighter herb flavour. I love fresh thyme, as it keeps well for a while in the fridge. Just rub the leaves off the stems and scatter a bit in the sauce (to taste).
Thanks so much for your prompt reply & everyone enjoys thyme!!😊
Can this be prepared in advance and warmed thigh in the oven?
Hi Trish and yes, I think it would stand up well to cooking ahead and reheating. I usually undercook it ever so slightly if I know it’s going to be reheated, just so it doesn’t overcook, but thighs are so moist, so not as much chance of that :)
This is only the second time I’ve cooked with tarragon and was very happy with this recipe. It’s a keeper and something quite different flavour wise. Thank you! Now I just need more tarragon recipes since my plant is going crazy! :)
So glad to hear, Sue :) I am a huge tarragon fan. The flavour is very unique and special, for sure. Thanks!
I made this for dinner this evening and it was really delicious. If never had tarragon before and definitely plan to use it in the future. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and working hard to make each dish. I’ve made numerous recipes of yours and keep coming back to your collection because the recipes are straightforward and well written. Thanks again!
Thanks so much, Rebekah and love that you loved the tarragon! It’s one of my favourite herbs :)
Made this for dinner tonight – lovely! Such a nice, easy recipe and much enjoyed. But then, I love using Tarragon in most any dish. I make tarragon mustard which is sublime.
Thankyou for another tasty dish! ?
So glad to hear, Mary and I’m totally with you on the love of tarragon. Especially with mustard, so I’m sure your tarragon mustard is sublime!