Upgraded Chicken A La King Recipe

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Chicken à la king is just about as traditional as comfort food can get. The origins of this dish, like many turn-of the-20th-century classics, began at high-end restaurants with opulent ingredients and fancier production methods. As popularity increased, chicken à la king was modified over time for home cooking ease. Even once it became a little easier to make for the home chef, the core essence of the dish remained the same: chicken simmered in a velvety cream sauce with an assortment of tender veggies and a healthy glug of liqueur or wine for balancing flavor.

I've always loved those old-school creamy chicken classics, like tetrazzini, divan, and of course, chicken à la king. Their versatility and accessibility make them beloved by the busy folks looking to whip up something that's both tasty and a little bit elevated. I kept that ease of preparation with this upgraded chicken à la king recipe, simply enhancing the ingredients for an Italian twist and modifying prep for a more gourmet presentation.

Instead of the cubed or shredded chicken, which is what you'll typically find in the iconic dish, I opted for a pounded chicken cutlet heartily seasoned with earthy Italian herbs. For the creamy sauce, I merged some mother sauces, blending béchamel and velouté bases for a super savory and velvety finish. The vegetable additions, a traditional accompaniment to any good à la king recipe, provide a more Italian-American flair: cremini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, and plenty of garlic. Finally, I opted to serve the whole thing over focaccia bread for a heartier, rustic, more elevated final plating.

For prepping the chicken, you'll need boneless skinless chicken breasts, dried Italian herb seasoning, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Meanwhile, for preparing the sauce, you'll need salted butter, cremini mushrooms, yellow onion, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, garlic, marsala wine, all-purpose flour, chicken broth, heavy cream, and peas.

For plating and serving, I went with hefty slices of pre-made focaccia instead of the classic white bread toast. Feel free to use mashed potatoes or cooked pasta noodles.

Sandwich the chicken breasts in between sheets of plastic wrap.

Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken until each piece is approximately ½-inch thick.

Season the chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Once hot, working in batches if necessary, add the chicken and sear until golden brown on both sides.

Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add the butter.

Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, and garlic. Stir to combine and saute for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Deglaze the skillet with marsala wine, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine has mostly evaporated.

Sprinkle the veggies with flour and stir to combine the roux. Cook for 1 minute more.

Add the broth and cream to the skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.

Cook the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Return the seared chicken to the skillet, submerging as best as possible into the sauce. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the peas to the skillet and cook for 1 minute more.

To serve, divide the sliced focaccia between plates.

Top the focaccia with chicken and sauce before serving.

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There are a variety of options when it comes to prepping and cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Since store-bought chicken breasts are often quite large, for this recipe, I butterflied two breasts in half (lengthwise) to create four more approachable, manageable portions. I then pounded the chicken for uniformity and even cooking, reducing the risk of overcooking. You can use a meat mallet, if you have one. If not, a heavy-duty saucepan (something with a good bit of weight) will do the trick. To keep the work station clean and tidy, I like to sandwich the raw chicken in between sheets of plastic wrap. This will keep raw chicken bits from flying all over your kitchen.

When you are ready to sear the pounded chicken cutlets, work in batches, making sure to give your chicken plenty of room to evenly brown. If you notice that your cutlets are puffing up in the center, use a smaller skillet as a weight to gently press the chicken into the skillet and continue browning.

Sherry is the wine most classically used in chicken à la king dishes, but for this recipe, I wanted to switch things up and use marsala wine instead. Marsala is a type of fortified wine that, like most fortified wines out there, is best used for cooking and has a slightly higher alcohol content than your average table wine. Marsala often has subtle nutty notes to it along with a little bit of sweetness and possibly fruity depth, all flavors that help enhance this chicken à la king recipe. Other notable fortified wines that would work really well in this recipe are Port, sherry, Madeira, and vermouth. Port and Madeira, in particular, are also very popular options for creamy recipes like these, imparting nuttiness and subtle baking spices.

If you want to use something a little less robust, dry white wine (like the type leftover from a bottle you cracked the other night) will work just fine. For a non-alcoholic option, substitute the wine or fortified wine with some additional broth. Spike the broth with a teaspoon or two of vinegar or lemon juice for added acidity.

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