Creamy chicken and mushroom stroganoff with a sour cream sauce featuring a hint of brandy, mustard and paprika that's quick and easy to cook.
When I say this dish is quick, it involves a fairly simple 10-minute preparation time, and cooking is done and dusted in under 20 minutes.
Quick and Easy Stroganoff
Stroganoff is a dish with a pretty long history that has morphed into many things as it has traversed the world.
Both my beef and mushroom stroganoff and vegan mushroom stroganoff recipes play with fairly traditional ideas from Tsarist Russia. Dishes where the sauce is primarily a reduced beef stock thickened with a roux and flavoured with mustard.
Modern versions are much more closely associated with sour cream and paprika, and to my mind, they are very similar to Hungarian chicken paprikash.
Now I am a pluralist when it comes to food and deeply distrust anyone who claims there is only one way to do anything.
As a result, my chicken and mushroom stroganoff is all about the sour cream and paprika flavours.
It is very much modelled on the flavours used in my pork stroganoff recipe.
It's quick too, it will go from your fridge to your table in a shade under 30 minutes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken thighs?
Yes, if you wish, they have a wonderful flavour and add a slightly richer fat content to this recipe.
Why do you fry the chicken before frying it?
The aim of frying the chicken is to get a nice colour and, as a result, flavour on the surface of the chicken.
Doing this with the chicken breast whole happens quicker than if you dice the chicken. This means that the meat does not overcook, and it results in both tastier and juicier chicken.
Do I have to use chestnut mushrooms?
No, you can use any old mushrooms you like in this recipe.
Oyster mushrooms are particularly good in this recipe, as are field mushrooms; they can both be cut to mimic the shape of the chicken strips.
Can I use low-fat or no-fat sour cream?
There is a risk that low-fat or no-fat sour cream will split when you are cooking this recipe.
I usually advise against it. But if it is important to you, you can temper the sour cream by adding some of the hot liquid from the pan to the sour cream to temper it before pouring it into the pan.
Alternatively, you can stir the flour in the recipe through the sour cream to stabilise it whilst it cooks.
Neither of these options are guaranteed to work!
Serving Suggestions
I have a love of serving all of my stroganoff recipes with some form of crispy potato, and this chicken and mushroom number is no different.
Crispy fried potatoes are also a fairly traditional side for stroganoff in its homeland of Russia.
In these images, I have served them with my crispy fried new potatoes, but you could just as easily go with some straw potatoes or my crushed roasted new potatoes.
Rice or even pasta is a common choice as a side for stroganoff, although neither option particularly excites me.
If you want to be particularly indulgent, some creamy mashed potato would work well too.
One final spud option, this stroganoff is awesome spooned over a big jacket potato with plenty of butter.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/Stovetop.
- 25cm or 10" frying pan.
- Kitchen tongs.
- Stirring and serving spoons.
- A mixing bowl and a fork to make the sauce thickener.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- A combination of weighing scales, measuring jug, cups and spoons.
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Skinless Chicken Breasts 350-400g Total
- 150 g Small Chestnut Mushrooms ~1½ Cups
- 125 g Sour Cream ½ Cup
- 2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1½ tablespoon Sweet Paprika
- 75 ml Chicken Stock ⅓ Cup
- 50 ml Brandy 3 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 35 g Softened Butter 2 tablespoon
- 1½ teaspoon Flour
- ½-¾ teaspoon Salt
- 50 g Gherkins ⅓ Cup
Instructions
- Mash half of the butter with the flour and set this aside, we will use this to thicken the sauce later.
- Heat a 25cm or 10" pan over a high heat and add the cooking oil and the remaining butter.
- If your mushrooms are larger than bite-sized, cut them in half or into quarters.
- Once the butter begins to foam, season the chicken with around half a teaspoon of salt, then sear the chicken on both sides in the pan. Then remove and set aside, you don't need to worry about the chicken cooking through, it will finish in the sauce, but you are looking for a nice golden colour. This will take a couple of minutes on each side.
- Reduce the heat of the pan to medium-high and add the mushrooms, then saute them for 4-5 minutes.
- Pour in the brandy and reduce it by half.
- Reduce the heat to low, add the sour cream, chicken stock, paprika, and Dijon mustard and stir to form a sauce. Have a taste here and add more salt if required.
- While the sauce is coming to temperature, cut the chicken into strips 1cm (just under ½" thick) and add it to the sauce, cook for 3 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through.
- Whilst the chicken is cooking, cut the gherkins into a small (5mm or ¼") dice.
- Finally, stir in the flour and butter mix that you made at the start of the preparation and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked.
- Serve the stroganoff with, sides of your choice and then sprinkle over the gherkins.