This creamy chicken thighs and asparagus is a hearty and delicious meal, with mini red potatoes, leeks, asparagus and peas for lots of green goodness, too! A great early Spring dinner!
This creamy chicken thigh dinner channels my nostalgic love of creamed peas and potatoes, put together with crispy chicken thighs and some more green goodness with the addition of Spring asparagus and leeks. It’s a delicious, all-in-one skillet dinner, sure to satisfy everyone!
Ingredients and substitutions
Chicken Thighs – I started with bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs, but bone-in/skin-on chicken breasts would also work (with a bit longer cooking time). If you want to adapt this recipe with boneless chicken breasts or thighs, simply reduce the cooking time.
Potatoes – mini potatoes are specified, but you could certainly cut up a larger potato.
Asparagus – start with fresh asparagus, trimming off the woody ends.
Leeks – leeks are a nice addition to this dish. Be sure to clean them well! If you don’t have or want to use leeks, simply replace them with a little onion.
Peas – fresh or frozen peas will work here.
White Wine – If you don’t have or want to use wine in this recipe, simply replace it with additional chicken broth.
Recipe tips!
- Don’t forget to season your sauce at the end of cooking, as needed. The proper amount of seasoning will bring out all the great flavours in this dish!
- I started out with a stainless steel skillet, but switched to a small roasting pan, to comfortably fit all the ingredients. Unless your skillet is quite large and deep, you may wish to go that route as well. A roasting pan has the added benefit of being able to be used on the stovetop at the end as well, without switching pans again.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
This dish is best enjoyed freshly cooked, so I don’t recommend making it ahead. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 days.
Creamy sauces don’t freeze well, as they tend to get grainy from the freeze/thaw process. In a pinch, you could freeze leftovers to avoid wasting, but the sauce may suffer in texture (though it will still taste fine).
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Get the Recipe: Creamy Chicken Thighs and Asparagus
Ingredients
- 5 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 leek, root end trimmed, thinly sliced white part only, well rinsed
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb red potatoes, small, about 1-inch diameter
- 1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut in to 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. (regular bake setting/not fan-assisted).Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large, oven-proof skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet, skin side down and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook the other side for about 5 minutes, as well. Transfer chicken to a plate. (If there is a lot of fat in the pan, spoon off most of it and discard.)
- Reduce heat to medium. Add leeks and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and allow to simmer about 1 minutes, or until most has evaporated. Add the chicken broth and potatoes, along with a sprinkling of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then return chicken to pan, skin side up. (*Note: If your skillet is small, you may wish to transfer it all to a small roasting pan, for more room).
- Place in oven and allow to cook in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, add the asparagus and peas. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil and return to the oven until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes more. Remove from oven. Remove chicken to a plate and place skillet/roasting pan over medium heat on the stove-top. Mix heavy cream with cornstarch. Stir into pan sauce to stir to combine. Simmer briefly to thicken the sauce. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, as necessary. Spoon pan sauce onto a plate with chicken and serve.
Notes
More Chicken Thigh Recipes to Love!
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!
This site is now my #1 favorite. Every recipe I’ve made has been delicious. I really also love the option of choosing 1/2 a recipe; with only 2, albeit hungry, adults to feed, it’s the perfect way for me to avoid leftovers. I have an aversion to leftovers from my childhood, when my granny would make 2-3 pounds of spaghetti and jarred ragu sauce on Sunday and make us eat it for the next 5 days for lunch. Nope, over that. Anyway, this recipe in particular is my favorite. I use the 1/2 measures, but use a whole leek and more asparagus, plus 2 very large (and one very small) chicken thighs. I also add some red bell pepper chunks and always sautéed mushrooms these days. There is typically sauce left over, although the potatoes are always gone. So I reserve the small thigh and the sauce for, gasp, a leftover pasta sauce the next day. I debone and shred the small thigh, put it and the leftover sauce in a pan, add a bit of chicken broth and heavy cream until it’s looking like a chunky Alfredo, heating it all up very gently and then serving it over pasta, whichever type we have on hand. A nice sprinkling of parm on top is nice, too. Depending on the size of the asparagus bunch I purchased for the initial recipe, I sometimes sauté a bit in butter and serve it on the side. One time I didn’t put it on pasta, but instead put some in each of 2 ramekins and put a “lid” of pie dough on each and baked until the top was brown. Also very yummy. Thank you, this site is genius!
Thanks! So glad you are enjoying it and I love your creative leftover uses! I am cooking for two here, as well, and we are not great leftover eaters (plus my fridge and freezer is always full) so I prefer to have one-and-done meals whenever possible :)
First of all, I accidentally thawed out chicken legs. I followed everything but used the legs. Had to cook them a little longer but everything came out really good. I will definitely make this again but will use the thighs.
.
So glad to hear, Barbara :) Thanks!
This was such a delicious meal, full of wonderful flavours.
I loved that it was a whole meal with chicken, potatoes and asparagus.
Really enjoyed making this lovely meal.
Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Kind regards
Julie
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Julie :) It’s one of my favourites for this time of year. Thanks so much!