Coq au Vin is a cozy and rustic French stew made with hearty bone-in chicken thighs, deeply flavored red wine, aromatic herbs, and a base of vegetables that’s all slow simmered to rich, glorious perfection!
Traditional Coq au Vin is a centuries old dish and a staple in French cuisine. It’s an incredibly hearty and comforting dish built with a bit of time and layer upon layer of flavor.
The foundational ingredients are all browned in batches first, then red wine and seasoned broth are added while scraping up that flavorful fond (the browned bits at the bottom of the pan), then it’s all slowly braised over a low heat until everything is tender and infused with rich flavor. From there the sauce is thickened with a roux (flour and butter mixture), and the bacon is added back at the end to maintain its crispness.
It’s such a memorable dish with full bodied flavor. There’s a reason it’s become a world renowned dish!
Serve it with one of the many options listed below. I would say you can never go wrong with mashed potatoes to complement its rustic, homestyle goodness.
Coq au Vin Recipe Ingredients
- Bacon: This adds and extra layer of richness to the dish
- Chicken thighs: Use bone-in skin-on thicken thighs to stick to the authenticity of the dish.
- Mushrooms: Cremini mushrooms or white button mushrooms are both good options.
- Yellow onion: This is a critical ingredient that builds a lot of base flavor in the dish.
- Carrots: These add a nice pop of color, and hints of sweet fresh flavor.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic will be the best option.
- Tomato paste: A little tomato paste goes a long way. It a concentrated paste of reduced tomatoes.
- Dry red wine: Commonly you may find a full bodied burgundy wine used, though personally I like using Pinot Nior or Cortes du Rhone varieties since a large portion of wine is used so the flavor isn’t overpowering but rather melds well into the sauce.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: Homemade chicken stock is the best option here if you have some stored in the fridge for freezer, whether using homemade or store-bought just be sure it’s a low sodium option since the sauce will reduce and the saltiness of the broth will become more concentrated.
- Salt and pepper: Season the dish lightly with salt, adding more at the end as needed. You likely won’t need much.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley are the perfect blend here.
- Butter: Olive oil could be used instead.
- Flour: If needed you can use a 1:1 gluten free blend to make a gluten free Coq au Vin.
How to Make Coq au Vin
Cook bacon: Heat a large pot or a braiser over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until just crisp, transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain and refrigerate. Leave bacon fat in pot.
Brown chicken: Dab chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Return pot to heat, add 4 chicken thighs skin side down and sear until golden brown on bottom, about 4 minutes, turn and brown 2 to 3 minutes longer.
Transfer thighs to a plate and repeat process with remaining 4 thighs, then transfer to the same plate.
Saute vegetables: Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms and saute 3 minutes, add onion and saute 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds.
Add tomato paste and cook and stir for 30 seconds.
Add liquid and seasonings: Pour in red wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom.
Stir in chicken broth, thyme and rosemary. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
Add chicken, simmer stew: Return chicken to pot along with carrots, stir. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, gently stirring once halfway through.
Make a roux: During the last few minutes of chicken cooking, in a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook and stir for 1 1/2 minutes. While whisking ladle out and pour about 1 1/2 cups of the liquid from the chicken mixture into the butter flour mixture, while whisking. It should thicken quickly.
Add sauce and bacon: Pour that thickened sauce mixture into the chicken mixture along with the bacon and stir
Plate and garnish: Serve garnished with parsley over the top.
Helpful Tips
- Oak aged wines: I don’t recommend using wines aged in oak here as it can add an overpowering, bitter and harsh taste as the sauce reduces.
- Wine cost: You don’t need to use an expensive wine here. For cooking I usually just use something around $15.
- Browned mushrooms: If you’d prefer mushrooms to have more of a browned flavor and less softness to them you can brown these separately near the end and add them to the dish with the bacon.
- Deboning chicken to serve: A helpful option to serve this dish to guests is to remove the bones and skin from the chicken thighs after it’s all been cooked. It will look a bit more rustic and the thighs will break down into smaller pieces as you remove the bones but it is a more polished serving option.
What to Serve with Coq au Vin
Here are some great side dish options to serve with this popular French dish.
Storage and Reheating
- Coq au vin can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Store in an airtight container.
- It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Rewarm this stew dish in a pot, braiser or saute pan, over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.
- Individual servings can be reheated in the microwave on a microwave safe dish on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring between, until warmed through.
More Braised Dishes and Stew Recipes to Try
16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)
Coq au Vin
A comforting and rustic French stew made with hearty bone-in chicken thighs, deeply flavored red wine, aromatic herbs, and a base of vegetables that’s all slow simmered to glorious perfection!
Servings: 8
Prep30 minutes minutes
Cook1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Ready in: 2 hours hours
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Heat a large pot or a braiser over medium heat, spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Add bacon and cook until just crisp, transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain and refrigerate. Leave bacon fat in pot.
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Dab chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Return pot to heat, add 4 chicken thighs skin side down and sear until golden brown on bottom, about 4 minutes, turn and brown 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer thighs to a plate and repeat process with remaining 4 thighs, then transfer to the same plate.
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Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms and saute 3 minutes, add onion and saute 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook and stir for 30 seconds.
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Pour in red wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom. Stir in chicken broth, thyme and rosemary. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
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Return chicken to pot along with carrots, stir. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, gently stirring once halfway through.
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During the last few minutes of chicken cooking, in a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook and stir for 1 1/2 minutes. While whisking ladle out and pour about 1 1/2 cups of the liquid from the chicken mixture into the butter flour mixture, while whisking. It should thicken quickly.
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Pour that thickened sauce mixture into the chicken mixture along with the bacon and stir.
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Serve garnished with parsley over the top.
Note that nutrition estimate includes chicken skin if not consumed this would reduce the calorie count.
Nutrition Facts
Coq au Vin
Amount Per Serving
Calories 598 Calories from Fat 369
% Daily Value*
Fat 41g63%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Trans Fat 0.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 8g
Monounsaturated Fat 17g
Cholesterol 191mg64%
Sodium 347mg15%
Potassium 758mg22%
Carbohydrates 12g4%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 33g66%
Vitamin A 4560IU91%
Vitamin C 10mg12%
Calcium 54mg5%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
