Sometimes making dinner is an exercise in You’re Not Going To Beat Me, Monday. Let’s acknowledge that it takes grit and fortitude to stand in the kitchen and hustle ingredients together at the end of a day. Sure, we can easily categorize dinner as a nighttime necessity, but I prefer to think of it as radical self-care… because anything that isn’t popcorn or scrambled eggs is me really taking care of myself.
This dinner is thoughtful in its ease and economy, making us very good at adults, if only for today.
Here we go. We’ve got dinner in about 40 minutes, with about 20 minutes in there to stand next to the stove, have a glass of wine, and space out while the chicken simmers.
This recipe is great with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Not only are they delicious and really easy to cook, chicken thighs are also super affordable. Could you make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breast? If you must… but slice a large chicken breast in two before cooking. Really though… go thighs.
The chicken thighs are seasoned generously with salt and pepper. Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper are preferred if you have.
Brown the chicken thighs in olive oil until golden and just slightly crisp on both sides. This isn’t about cooking the chicken through, it’s about caramelization.
Sliced onion, big chunks of potato, and whole cloves of garlic are tossed in to sautรฉ.
White wine is added to deglaze the pan, scraping up and flavorful bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. And chicken stock to be a simmer for the potatoes, chicken, and garlic.
Braised to tender in 25 minutes!
Those are the 20 minutes you should consider sipping wine and spacing out. The simmer does all the work.
The potatoes will be soft and moist, the chicken fall-apart tender, and the garlic softened to irresistible.
Serve with rice and buttered peas and pat yourself on the back for resisting the microwave popcorn siren song. Win.
Print
The Best Weeknight Chicken Dinner
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 40
Ingredients
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 2 red new potatoes, diced into large chunks
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- cooked white rice and peas
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add all of the chicken pieces, allowing to cook to golden, about 4 to 5 minutes before flipping and browning on the opposite side. When both sides are browned, add the onion slices, potato chunks, and whole peeled garlic cloves. Toss so that all of the ingredients begin to cook down, about 4 minutes more.
- Add the white wine and stir to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and bay leaf. Place the lid on the pan, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the mixture for 25 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken and potatoes to a platter. Discard the bay leaf. Simmer the sauce until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Serve with white rice and cooked peas, chicken, and sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
63 Responses
Hi Joy! I am curious – what kind of rice did you use? I normally use Uncle Ben’s but this looks more like a Carolina rice or something stickier!
I just finished making this. My grocery store was out of chicken thighs, and as I’m a devoted dark meat fan, I opted to go with drumsticks and simmered until it started to fall off the bone. At the end, the sauce wasn’t thickening, so I added some flour and thickened it that way. Delicious!
Winner winner chicken dinner! I just made this, ate it, loved it, now on the couch in a food coma. This was a winner of a dish. Way to go Joy! Adding another favorite to my kitchen repertoire.
Omg this recipe was DOPE. It was a perfectly easy situation to pull together and the turnout was a tender, buttery, bitchin’ chicken dish. Seriously therapeutic. Roasted asparagus makes for an amazing side and some nice color. Mad Props!
This sounds delicious, especially the spacing out and drinking wine portion.
Hi Joy:
Your recipe looks great! But at what point do you put in the bay leaf and is fresh bay leaf OK?
Thanks.
You add the bayleaf in step 4, easy to overlook. Fresh bayleaf will have a bit more flavor than the dried.
I made this last week and it was wonderful even though I didn’t have a bay leaf or peas on hand. I reheated the leftovers at work the next day and made my colleagues jealous. Thanks Joy!
Made this for dinner last night. Added some thyme and served it over couscous. I kept saying to my fiance…”this is the best f-ing thing I have made in awhile.” Thank you for sharing this!!!
I made this for dinner tonight – it was absolutely delicious, and so simple to make! The thickened sauce is so tangy, I couldn’t stop going back for more. I can’t wait to have it for lunch tomorrow. The only semi-issue I had was that I bought bone-in chicken thighs by accident; I’ll definitely use boneless next time to keep the cooking time short. Thanks for a great recipe, Joy!
loved this recipe! made it twice in 3 days thank you!
As usual your recipes do not disappoint. Made this last night and not a drop was left. Hard to find a meal that all three of my kids love, but this one was it! Thank you.
Thank you! I’ve needed a recipe like this for a long time!
This is seriously the BEST chicken!! I’ve made it so many times since you posted and I look forward to cooking/eating it again and again! Does not get old and tastes amazing everytime! Thanks SO much for this recipe post!! :)
This was SO GOOD. Super simple but delicious! Yes, to rice – carbs on carbs all day.
I make this at least once a week and it is our family favorite, easy and quick! Thank you!
I’m not usually a dark meat chicken gal but I’m eating this for dinner right now and ohhh my word, you’re changing my mind about dark meat chicken. So stupidly simple but the end result is so impressive and fancy! It was my first time cooking with wine, too. Makes me feel like a real-life adult. And it was so easy to half the recipe, since I’m cooking for myself. I’m definitely making this one again!
What is dry white wine?
I know rice and potatoes are often served together in some cultures, but I would have one or the other not both. There are just too many carbs, starches, in it. By the way, you do not have my permission to sell my email or send it to any other person, company, or store. I get enough spam.
Sounds good. Have used this method with other meats with much success. I would, however, not serve the chicken and potatoes with additional carbs like rice and peas. I might use shredded cauliflower or sautรฉed or steamed spinach and drizzle the pan juices over it for servings or just add chunks of carrots to the chicken after adding the broth.
After I made this (easy, yummy, and all three young boys ate it), I emailed the recipe to my MIL and my sister. Both tried it and replied back that their families loved it, too. THANK YOU for all of us!
I made this tonight with o little cooking sherry in chicken broth instead of the wine bc I didnโt have any. And I only used 4 thighs and one potato bc there is only 2 of us. It was great! I wasnโt sure about carb on carb, but the rice is key! We had it with steamed spinach (bc healthy, dang it lol)
Definitely a keeper recipe! I shredded up all the chicken at the end and put it back in the reduced sauce and then scooped it over the rice.
I love the sound of shredding the chicken and adding it back to the sauce to top the rice. Lol Iโm starving right now. Iโm going to try out this recipe this week. Thanks for the tip!!
Thank you for this recipe. I made it today and it taste great.
Joy,
Thank you. I’ve been making this exact recipe, or a variation of it, for five years now. It’s a go-to weeknight dinner for when all I have are chicken thighs. Though I usually follow it, sometimes I add herbs, skip the wine, and rarely take the chicken and potatoes out to thicken the sauce. It’s best with peas, but is excellent with any veggie – tonight I am using green beans tonight.
Just wanted to thank you for an easy and delicious recipe that my kids enjoy.
Best,
Emma
Great simple recipe. Instinctive really for anyone who’s cooked a bit. But I don’t understand why rice is a side dish with potatoes. A simple salad or other vegetables make more sense.
So glad you liked the recipe! A salad wold be delicious, too!
Amazing recipe! Loved every bite. To the critic who left a note about why do you have potatoes with rice, you clearly have never been to France.
I loved this. The flavor is delicious. My sauce did not thicken at the end, but it definitely being added to the dinner rotation!