The Well Plated Cookbook is now available for pre-order! Chicken Stroganoff
The most cherished cookbook in my collection is a spiral-bound, home-printed collection of my grandma’s recipes. I flip through it often, as much to search for new recipe ideas as to remember her. Today’s creamy Chicken Stroganoff is inspired by her classic stroganoff recipe on page 22.
This recipe is sponsored by McCormick.
My grandma was a mother of nine, seven of them boys. She cooked from scratch every night, and the family ate dinner at an enormous, sturdy round table that my grandpa specially designed to serve the hungry crew.
Decades later, their dozens of grandchildren, including yours truly, ate in their same kitchen, at the very same table.
My grandma and grandpa are no longer with me, but when I read my grandma’s cookbook, I am transported back to the hours I spent in the kitchen with the two of them, my grandpa leaning quietly over his plate and my grandma fussing over something or other on the stove (did she ever sit?).
About This Chicken Stroganoff
My grandma’s recipes reflect a Midwestern sensibility that I suspect one must develop when feeding nine hungry kids. Like this Chicken Stroganoff, her recipes are decidedly unfussy, stick-to-your-ribs comforting, and will appeal to even the pickiest of palettes.
My recipe today for a lightened-up, healthy Chicken Stroganoff does vary from my grandma’s more-decadent original, but it maintains every bit of its warming spirit and nostalgia.
This Chicken Stroganoff also shares my grandma’s practicality and good common sense. The entire recipe cooks in a single pan, including the pasta, and is ready in 25 minutes flat.
Chicken Stroganoff is ideal for both the approaching change in seasons and for a season that has already begun in many parts of the county—Back to School.
Cooler weather demands comfort food, and busy school nights necessitate recipes that strike the sweet trifecta of quick, easy, and healthy. This Chicken Stroganoff is all of the above.
It had been years since I’d had stroganoff—beef, chicken, or otherwise—and until I made this recipe, I’d forgotten how delicious it truly is. The sauce is the right amount of creamy to be comforting but not overwhelming, the noodles are hearty and soothing, and the mushrooms give the stroganoff a complexity of flavor that suggests you spent hours making it, instead of minutes.
How to Make One Pot Chicken Stroganoff
My biggest healthy hacks are to swap ground chicken for the beef, whole wheat egg noodles for the white, and low-fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream. It’s a trick I’ve applied to both this Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff and this Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff, and it works brilliantly in this Chicken Stroganoff recipe too.
Because ground chicken is fairly bland on its own, to give the dish plenty of pizzazz, I used a blend of spices you will always find in my pantry: black pepper, dried thyme, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. The first three are classic in many stroganoff recipes, and McCormick smoked paprika is the secret to this Chicken Stroganoff’s extra somethin’ somethin’.
One of the biggest cooking lessons I’ve learned over the years is that all spices in the grocery store are not created equal. I use McCormick, because the spices are well sourced, fresh, and pack more flavor teaspoon for teaspoon than other brands I’ve tried. Good cooking begins with good ingredients. Using fresh, good-quality spices will make your recipes taste better every time.
What to Serve with Chicken Stroganoff
One of the questions I receive most often is what side dish I’d recommend to go with a particular recipe. For Chicken Stroganoff, my pick is oven-roasted brussels sprouts. They are coming back into season, and they cook in the exact same amount of time you’ll need to make this Chicken Stroganoff. Destiny!
Preheat your oven and prep the sprouts first. Then, as soon as they are in the oven, start on the Chicken Stroganoff recipe. The two should finish in about the same amount of time.
For those who, like me, love their leftovers, Chicken Stroganoff reheats like a dream. Warm the leftovers gently in the microwave or on the stovetop with a splash of extra chicken stock, then dive in and enjoy the bonus serving of healthy comfort food.
One Pot Creamy Chicken Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon McCormick Thyme Leaves
- 2 1/2 teaspoons McCormick Smoked Paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon McCormick Ground Black Pepper
- 16 ounces cremini baby bella mushrooms, - sliced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups unsalted chicken stock - I used Kitchen Basics
- 8 ounces whole wheat egg noodles
- 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt - at room temperature*
- Chopped fresh parsley - optional
Instructions
- In a large, deep skillet or a dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil over medium. Once hot, add the chicken, thyme, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until it is fully browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the sliced mushrooms. Continue to cook until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the top, then stir so that it coats the chicken and mushrooms.
- Add about one-third of the chicken stock. Stir and work the flour off of the bottom off the pan. Add the rest of the stock and the egg noodles and cover the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil, then immediately remove the lid and stir the pan. Re-cover, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Let simmer until the noodles are al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 7 minutes, stirring the noodles and replacing the lid every few minutes. If at any point the liquid drops below a gentle simmer, increase the heat slightly.
- Once the noodles are tender, remove the pan from the heat and let sit 1 minute to cool slightly. Stir in the room-temperature Greek yogurt. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve hot.
I am sharing this post in partnership with McCormick. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands and companies that make it possible for me to continue to create quality content for you!
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