This Chicken Stroganoff reminds me of being back in college, living in a big house with a bunch of other people, where we all took turns cooking for each other. Though the results were sometimes on the dubious side, it was always interesting. Dishes that featured wine and sour cream were highly featured on the menu rotation for some reason, a trend that was not at all a bad thing in my opinion. And while Greek yogurt is a trendier ingredient these days, I still prefer sour cream in recipes like this one.
I had always loved my Mom’s stroganoff, which was made with beef, but the price of beef is edging up to alarming heights lately, so I came up with this idea which still has a lot of the same flavor, but uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of beef.
Chicken thighs make a surprisingly good beef alternative – they take a bit longer to cook than white meat chicken does, which gives flavors like these time to meld. Plus, thighs stay nice and juicy, unlike chicken breasts which would turn dry and tough if you cooked them this long.
And while thighs take a little longer to cook, they take far less time than the tougher cuts of beef you would use in a typical stroganoff, so this is a meal that is ready for the table in under an hour, much of that time just simmering away – a huge plus on a busy day.
I made this when Lauren and Steve were here recently. They have moved from waaaaay down south, to just a few hours south, which we are very glad about. They were here on and off for a couple weeks while they looked for a new house, and we got to babysit their big lab-hound mix, which made Riley very happy, since he had someone to play with. Now we are all anticipating the arrival of their first baby – our third grandchild. Pretty exciting stuff!
- 5 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess far and cut into ¾ inch chunks.
- ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces fresh mushrooms - creminis or white buttons, cut into hearty slices
- 1 medium onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme [or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves]
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- maybe a little more salt and pepper - to taste
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon cream or half & half
- 1 cup sour cream - either full or reduced fat is fine [or use Greek Yogurt if you prefer]
- Wide egg noodles
- Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a wide saute pan, until it begins to shimmer.
- Brown the chicken in a single layer for a few minutes on each side - you just want a bit of color on it at this point. You may need to do this in a couple batches.
- Set the chicken aside in a small bowl.
- In the same pan, cook the mushrooms for a couple minutes, until the brown a little and give up some liquid.
- Cut the onion in strips [cut in half from top to bottom, lay each half cut side down on the cutting board, and cut strips, again from top to bottom, repeat with second half]
- Smash the garlic cloves and mince them up a bit.
- Add the onions and garlic to the mushroom and cook another minute or two, just to get everything going.
- Add the white wine and simmer for a couple minutes to reduce slightly.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, along with the chicken broth, thyme, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Mix to combine and then taste to see if you need any more salt and. or pepper, adding a bit if it does. Not too much - you can always add more later.
- Simmer, covered, for about 35 to 40 minutes, until chicken is very tender.
- At this point, you want to cook 4 servings worth of wide egg noodles, according to the package directions.
- Mix the cornstarch and cream in a small bowl until no lumps remain, then stir the mixture into the pan. Keep stirring gently as it returns to a simmer, and the sauce thickens.
- Measure the sour cream into a 2 or 3 cup bowl [you need room to stir] and mix it until it is nice and smooth. Add about ½ cup of the chicken mixture, a little at a time, stirring all the while. This ensures that the sour cream doesn't curdle and break the sauce.
- Stir the sour cream into the rest of the ingredients in the saute pan, and warm gently over low heat, stirring very frequently. You want it to be very warm, but don't let it boil, or it might separate.
- Serve over warm egg noodles with some chopped parsley for garnish.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
It is warm and satisfying and definitely company-worthy. Well, our company certainly thought so!
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