My quick and easy chicken a la king is a delicious combination of veggies, chicken, and velvety cream sauce your whole family will love! Using already cooked chicken and heavy cream really cuts down the cook-time of this easy skillet dinner!
An easy and delicious chicken dish featuring veggies and a dreamy cream sauce!
Chicken a la king is hands down one of my favorite recipes to make on weeknights when I’m not trying to hang out in the kitchen all evening.
My family loves it because it’s so rich and full of flavor, I love it because it only takes 15 minutes to make. So, we have chicken a la king regularly and we never get tired of it!
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Chicken a la king translates to “king-styled chicken” and is thought to be named for how downright indulgent it is. Traditionally, Chicken a la king calls for pimentos but this recipe uses red bell pepper in its place.
Rather than a slurry or roux using flour, we will use heavy cream to thicken the sauce. Not only is this faster, but I prefer heavy cream because it makes the sauce that much richer.
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
It’s quick! From start to finish, it only takes 15 minutes to make this dish!
It’s flavorful! The use of heavy cream and a bouillon cube makes the sauce velvety and full of flavor. Add in some tender pieces of chicken and veggies and it’s downright delicious!
It’s easy! If you’re using pre-cooked chicken, it’s as easy as sautéing the veggies and making the sauce all in one pan!
🥘 Ingredients
All the ingredients in this recipe are pretty standard and easy to find in a grocery store. Get your ingredients ready and grab a large skillet then you’re ready to get started!
- ½ cup Butter - One stick of butter used to saute your veggies and add a little flavor!
- 1 Red Bell Pepper - Chopped into small pieces.
- 8 ounces Mushrooms - Always wash your mushrooms before cooking. Mushrooms should be sliced.
- 1 cube Chicken Bouillon - I prefer to use the Knorr brand. If you have Better Than Bouillon, you can use that as well.
- 2 cups Chicken Broth - I use low-sodium chicken broth and salt the dish later to taste.
- 2 cups Heavy Cream - Thickens the sauce and gives it its silky consistency.
- 1 cup Frozen Peas - Rinse them before adding them to your skillet to start the thawing process!
- 4 cups Cooked Chicken - Chop it, shred it, or buy it pre-shredded!
- Salt & White Pepper - White pepper tastes slightly more earthy than it's counterpart. Season to taste.
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley (optional) - It makes the perfect garnish.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for ingredients, amounts & instructions!*
🍗 Cooked Chicken Options
The ease of this recipe hugely comes from the use of pre-cooked chicken. You can always grill up a batch of chicken breasts and freeze them for later, but if you’re like me and didn’t think that far ahead you can use one of these easy options.
- Rotisserie chicken – My personal favorite cooked chicken to use in Chicken a la King. Rotisserie chickens are fairly cheap, 8 dollars or so, and they are full of flavor and easy to shred. Plus, you can get a mix of dark and light meat if you’d like. Some grocers are now even offering their rotisserie chicken pre-shredded!
- Cooked frozen chicken – In the freezer section, you can usually find frozen grilled chicken breasts or chunks of chicken. Cook it according to its package and cut it into smaller pieces if necessary.
- Packaged pre-cooked shredded chicken – Often near the deli meat in my local grocery store they have pre-cooked shredded chicken. It is lightly seasoned and not fully shredded, so I am able to cut it into bite-sized chunks. I’ve tried it in this recipe, and it’s pretty tasty. If you are able to find it at your grocery store, give it a try!
- Baked Chicken Breasts – Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). On a lightly greased baking pan, lay out 3-4 chicken breasts and season each side with salt and pepper. Bake until cooked through (25-30 minutes).
- Boiled Chicken Breasts – Drop 3-4 chicken breasts in a large pot of boiling water or broth. Boil for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces or shred it.
- Simple Skillet Chicken – Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Season 3-4 chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place them in the skillet. Cook for 5-7 minutes per side. Chop or shred the cooked chicken.
No matter which you choose, this dish will turn out delicious!
🔪 Instructions
This version of chicken a la king is completed in just 4 easy steps. Prep your veggies ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use them!
- Saute. Using a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt ½ cup of butter. Start with sauteing ½ a red bell pepper for 2 minutes before adding in 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms and 1 bouillon cube. Stir the ingredients and break up the chicken bouillon cube for about 2 minutes while the mushrooms saute.
- Add liquids. Add 2 cups chicken broth and 2 cups heavy cream to skillet. Bring to a low boil. Then, turn the heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add 1 cup of frozen peas and 4 cups of cooked chicken. Season with salt and white pepper to taste and stir. Simmer just long enough to warm up the chicken (about 2-3 minutes).
- Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from heat. Serve over white rice, biscuits, toast, or noodles and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
The warm, creamy nature of chicken a la king makes it great for chilly nights if you're getting tired of soups and stews. I love to whip up some easy air-fryer biscuits and ladle a hefty serving of Chicken a la King right on top!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Frozen peas are preferred to canned or fresh peas because they keep their color, shape, and flavor better when cooked!
- You can replace the 4 cups of chicken with 4 cans of tuna (well drained) if you want to make Tuna a la King!
- If you have other veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, celery, etc.) that you need to use up, they will taste delicious in this saucy dish! You can certainly toss them in with the bell pepper and saute them all together!
- If the mixture gets too thick, you can mix in ¼ cup of chicken broth at a time until it is satisfactory.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Store any leftover chicken a la king in the refrigerator. Place it in an air-tight container once it has cooled off and it will keep for three days!
In fact, I think this dish tastes better the next day after being refrigerated because the flavors really have time to meld.
Freezing
Chicken a la king can be prepared and frozen for later. First, allow it to cool to room temperature. Then, ladle the chicken a la king into freezer bags.
Squeeze out all the air and lay them flat on a baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, you can remove the baking rack and stack the bags easily in your freezer.
Chicken a la king should be consumed within a month of freezing.
Reheating Chicken a la King
If frozen, place your chicken a la king in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
You can reheat this dish by microwaving individual portions until heated through (usually about 2 minutes).
Alternatively, you can reheat the whole batch on the stovetop in a skillet over medium heat. Remove it from heat as soon as it is warmed enough.
If it has thickened too much, add small amounts of chicken broth until it reaches your desired consistency.
🐔More Easy Chicken Dishes
- Crockpot Chicken & Gravy
- Bisquick Oven Fried Chicken
- Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
❓ Recipe FAQs
If you need to make your dish dairy-free, use coconut milk in place of the heavy cream! No, it won’t make the dish taste like coconut, but it will give it that creamy texture you don’t want to miss out on! You can also substitute the butter for 3-4 tablespoons of canola oil if needed.
Sure! Most veggies will taste good in this dish. I would try adding sliced carrots in their place for more of a deconstructed chicken pot pie! Saute them at the same time you saute the red bell pepper since they are thick and take longer to soften.
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe Card
Chicken a la King
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
- 8 oz mushrooms (washed, sliced)
- 1 cube chicken bouillon (Knorr brand)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cups frozen peas (rinsed)
- 4 cups cooked chicken (chopped)
- salt & white pepper (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped, optional garnish)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium-high heat add the butter. Once melted, add in the chopped red bell pepper. Allow the bell pepper to saute for 2 minutes before adding the sliced mushrooms and bouillon cube to the pan. Using your spoon or spatula, break up the bouillon cube. Allow the mushrooms to saute for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth and heavy cream into the skillet and bring it to a low boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often.
- Add the rinsed frozen peas and chopped chicken to your skillet. Season with salt and white pepper. Then, stir everything together until well integrated. Allow to it to simmer for an additional 3-4 minutes, just enough to heat the chicken.
- Remove the skillet from heat. Serve over biscuits, noodles, or rice and garnish with parsley if desired.
Gina Roda says
this is one of the best dinners i’ve ever made!! i reduced the heavy cream by 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup of whole milk, a tad less butter, and added some flour to the butter. and it paired beautifully with red lobsters honey butter biscuits (boxed from the store) thank you! can’t wait to make it again.
Samantha Lewis says
I made this last night it was good. I didn’t change anything. I made refrigerated biscuits & plain white rice. I baked my chicken breasts. Boyfriend had it on biscuits he liked it. I ate mine on rice because I’m gluten free. It was something different. Pretty good I might make again sometime.
JB says
I used portabella mushrooms to add a little more flavor. This was delicious. Great Recipe. I had to thicken the sauce with a little rue. I highly recommend as you will not be disappointed.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the chicken ala king!