An easy recipe for chicken stroganoff, succulent chicken breast cooked in a rich sauce of onions, mushrooms and a touch of sour cream.
I made this recipe for the first time because I had no choice. My plan was to make beef stroganoff. But all I had in the fridge were boneless skinless chicken breasts.
So I thought, how bad could it be – succulent chicken breast pieces, cooked in a delicious sauce of onions, mushrooms, and sour cream? Perhaps Count Stroganoff would not have approved… but this dish turned out delicious, and I’ve been making it regularly ever since.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty chicken stroganoff recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Chicken: I use cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts when making this recipe. I’m fairly confident that boneless skinless chicken thighs would work too and might, in fact, be juicier. But I almost always have chicken breast on hand, so that’s what I tend to use.
Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use, or the dish could end up too salty.
Olive oil: I love cooking with this delicious oil. But if you’d rather use an oil with a higher smoke point, you can use avocado oil instead.
Chopped onion: I’m lazy, so I use the food processor when I need to chop onions. Sometimes I even buy pre-chopped onions at the store. Hey, whatever makes life easy, right?
Sliced fresh mushrooms: White mushrooms, Cremini, or baby Bella. All work equally well in this recipe.
Minced garlic: Mince it yourself, or use the stuff that comes in a jar. Both work. You already know that I’m lazy, so guess what I use…
Sour cream: I tried using Greek yogurt one time and thought it eas too tart. So sour cream is definitely the way to go!
How to make chicken stroganoff
It’s such an easy recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full details. But the basics steps are simple:
1. Your first step is to cook the chicken in olive oil, then set it aside.
2. Now, in the same skillet, cook the onions and the mushrooms in more olive oil until tender.
3. Add the garlic, then add the chicken and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. You don’t want to cook for too long at this stage since the chicken is already cooked.
4. The last step is to reduce the heat to low and mix in the sour cream. That’s it! Dinner’s ready.
How to serve it
Traditionally you would serve chicken stroganoff on top of cooked noodles. But for those of us on a keto or low carb diet, the starch is actually not necessary. This dish is very good on cauliflower rice, on spinach leaves, or even on some shredded lettuce.
It is also excellent on its own. I serve it with a spoon in addition to a knife and fork, so as not to waste the delicious sauce. Since this dish contains vegetables (onions and mushrooms) in addition to meat, it doesn’t really need to be served with side dishes.
What about leftovers?
Leftovers keep fairly well in the fridge, in a sealed container, for about 3 days. However, they’re not as good as freshly made chicken stroganoff.
I recommend reheating the leftovers very gently to avoid drying the chicken and curdling the sour cream. Use your microwave on 50% power, and heat them covered.
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Chicken Stroganoff
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt divided (not fine salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 16 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
INSTRUCTIONS
- Measure out the sour cream and remove it from the fridge, to allow it to warm up a little.
- Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- Brush 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the bottom of a very large, deep skillet. Heat over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken. Cook on all sides, until no longer raw, about 5 minutes total. Remove to a plate.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet. Add the onions and the mushrooms and sprinkle them with the remaining kosher salt. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the chicken back to the skillet and stir-fry 2 more minutes, to ensure all chicken pieces are cooked through.
- Reduce the heat to low and allow the skillet a few seconds to cool down a bit. Add the sour cream, mixing it in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don’t allow the sour cream to simmer or boil, to avoid curdling. Season with more black pepper and serve.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.