This French tarragon chicken recipe is made with seared chicken thighs simmered in white wine, chicken broth, and a heavy cream sauce. Chicken tarragon is loaded with pearl onions and fresh tarragon.
Serve French tarragon chicken thighs with something that will soak up some of the sauce: wild rice, mashed or roasted potatoes, angel hair pasta, or cauliflower rice.
Variations on Tarragon Chicken Thighs
Don't like chicken thighs? Use seared breasts instead in this French tarragon chicken recipe.
However, the seared chicken breasts need to be added to the reduced tarragon sauce 5-10 minutes before serving.
Don't cook chicken breasts in the sauce for the entire time. Breasts are lean and will dry out if they are cooked too long.
Tarragon has a slight licorice taste. Ok - so let's say that you don't like tarragon or can't find it. Guess what? Just use another fresh herb like basil, rosemary, or thyme, but don't tell anyone I said that!
Chicken Tarragon Sauce Nuances
For a slightly thinner Tarragon Chicken sauce add ½ to ¾ cup more chicken broth. The result will not be as creamy, but the sauce is AMAZING and flavorful.
For a Tarragon Chicken without cream, omit the cream and add 2 cups of chicken broth instead of 1 ½ cups.
For a thicker and more creamy French tarragon chicken thigh sauce, reduce the chicken broth to 1 cup and/or add a little more cream. Cream will help to thicken the sauce, especially as it cools.
The broth for the tarragon chicken and the instructional video was a bright yellow giving the sauce a vibrant yellow color. I also added ½ cup more broth to the sauce in order to toss angel hair pasta in easier.
The added chicken broth resulted in a less creamy and thick tarragon sauce. However, it was a beautiful light sauce for pasta.
Color Differences in French Tarragon Chicken Sauces
There are a couple images here where the difference in the tarragon sauce color has to do with the sear of the chicken thigh, as well as the color of both the chicken broth and the butter used.
The brighter yellow sauce pictures and video are made with an uber vibrant yellow chicken broth (Better than Bouillon Chicken Base). The darker images were made with a generic carton of broth.
The color of the tarragon chicken thigh and sauce will vary from brown to yellow depending on these factors.
Either color tarragon sauce tastes absolutely amazing. Trust! Also, the tarragon sauce will brown over time. The yellow sauce was vibrant initially, but by the next day it had changed to a yellow brown sauce.
French Tarragon Chicken Thighs
EatSimpleFood.com
This French Tarragon Chicken Thigh recipe is made with boneless skinless chicken thighs simmered in white wine, chicken broth, and heavy cream sauce with pearl onions and fresh tarragon.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 chicken thighs (~ 2 lb), boneless skinless
- ¾ cup pearl onions, frozen
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- ⅔ cup white wine
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup tarragon, chopped
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Salt and pepper the chicken thighs.
- Bring a skillet to medium heat and add the butter and oil. When hot, add the chicken thighs (you may need to do this in batches - don't overcrowd the pan).
- Sear the chicken on each side for 3-4 minutes or until brown.
- Remove chicken to a plate, reduce heat, and add onions to pan. Cook ~3 minutes and add garlic. Cook 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add wine and simmer ~ 3-4 minutes or until reduced by half.
- Add broth and tarragon and return chicken and any juices back to pan.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered ~ 25 minutes, flipping once, or until chicken is done (internal temp = 165F and juices run clear).
- Stir in cream, bring to a simmer, and remove from heat. Let dish sit for 5 minutes (to thicken) before serving.
- Add salt to taste and garnish with any additional tarragon if desired. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Too much sauce? Next time reduce the chicken broth to 1 or 1 ¼ cup. OR serve it with some angel hair pasta or your favorite pasta.
- Too little sauce? Add a little more cream or broth to give you the desired amount.
- The color of the dish and sauce will vary from brown to yellow depending on the broth or butter / cream you use, how hard you sear the chicken thighs, and also the amount of time waited between cooking and eating. That vibrant yellow sauce turned brown after sitting in the refrigerator for a day. Don't worry about the color of the sauce, focus on the taste!
Things In My Kitchen:
- 3-Piece Glass Measuring Cup Set - glass, stackable, and made in the USA
- 12" non-stick skillet with lid - fits 2lbs of chicken thighs perfectly, durable, and PFOA free.
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Serving Suggestion
Serve this French tarragon chicken thigh recipe with a blood orange and beet salad, a microgreen salad, with an asparagus soup, or some vibrant green beans to round out your dinner.
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