If you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner option, this cream cheese chicken and mushroom stew will not disappoint. Chicken breasts are marinated in soy sauce and cooked in white wine. The addition of cream cheese makes the dish creamy while also adding to the overall flavour, for a simple but tasty chicken stew.
Unlike red meat or pork, chicken does not require long simmering to become tender and flavourful. So the wonderful thing about chicken stew is that it comes together in just over a half hour. Moreover, you can actually make this cream cheese chicken recipe in a skillet, so if you don’t have other pots on hand you can get away with this dish as a chicken skillet stew.
The use of cream cheese makes the dish creamy, while also lending a tangy and salty taste. The final flavour is bolder than if we had only used cream. Plus, we all have a box of cream cheese in the fridge all the time, right? Time to use it in cooking and not just on sandwiches or cheesecakes.
How to make cream cheese chicken stew
Here’s a list of ingredients you will need to make this delicious chicken and mushroom stew:
- Skinless chicken breasts – chicken breast is often considered less appealing than thighs for its texture and milder flavour, but in this recipe it’s just perfect as it cubes great and it will absorb all the flavours from the other ingredients.
- Mushrooms – my go-to mushrooms are baby bella or button mushrooms. I like to choose the smallest I can get.
- Cream cheese – it will only be added at the end, but it’s what provides the creaminess and distinct taste here.
- Soy sauce – used to marinate the chicken, it makes the dish salty while also giving chicken breasts a nice colour.
- White wine – added to deglaze the pot and create the foundations for a lovely sauce.
- Butter – this is the cooking fat for this recipe, but olive oil can work equally well.
- Garlic & thyme are the flavourings we are using.
- Optional: breadcrumbs for thickening.
Recipe overview
Here comes an overview of the steps to follow to make this cream cheese chicken and mushrooms recipe. Detailed quantities and tips are found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Cut the chicken breasts into cubes. Place in a bowl with the soy sauce and marinate 15 minutes.
- In a heavy duty skillet or Dutch oven melt the butter on medium heat. Halve the garlic cloves and add them to the butter. Cook for 3 minutes stirring the garlic around until the butter becomes frothy and fragrant from the garlic.
- Drain the chicken from the soy sauce and add it to the pan. Cook on medium-high heat stirring to distribute the heat, 4 minutes.
- Pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Increase the heat to high to let some of the wine evaporate. Add the minced fresh thyme.
- Quarter the mushrooms and add them to the pot. Lower the heat to medium and cook covered 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium-high to reduce the sauce some more. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream cheese. If the sauce is still too runny for your taste, bring back to a simmer and stir in a couple tablespoons of breadcrumbs (optional).
How to serve cream cheese chicken and mushrooms
Add your favourite carb or veggies on the side and you have a wonderful dinner option that doubles as fantastic lunchbox material. This dish reheats great and pairs with a multitude of sides!
- Pasta – if you’re short on time, just cook some pasta and serve it together with the creamy chicken stew. I personally prefer to toss my pasta in the stew, using it as a pasta sauce, but you can also just add a sprinkle of olive oil to your cooked pasta and have it on the side.
- Rice – boiled rice is sure an option, but a simple risotto ups the cheese factor and makes this cream cheese chicken stew really stand out. Go for something simple like zucchini cheddar risotto or a simple red wine risotto.
- Polenta – this has to be my favourite way to serve my chicken stew. A side of cornmeal is hearty and delicious and I just love the texture combination. If you’re in for a bold flavour, try polenta concia!
- Vegetables – whether it is a leaf salad or cooked veggies, a side of vegetables is a healthy and low-carb choice to enjoy as side to your chicken stew. I particularly like sautéed carrots or sautéed cabbage as they possess a sweetness that pairs really well with the salty stew.
You may also like
Like the chicken-mushroom-white wine combination? You may want to try these recipe that call for some of these ingredients:
- Reindeer stew with mushrooms – a creamy stew made with frozen reindeer meat known as renskav. Inspired by a Sami recipe and made with white wine.
- Prosciutto wrapped chicken involtini – cooked in white wine and flavoured with salty prosciutto and fresh sage.
- Lentil stew with crispy bacon – a lentil and mushroom stew inspired by Italy, it uses white wine and is topped with crunchy bacon bits.
- Swedish meatballs in cream sauce – another creamy meat dish that is surprisingly flavourful and that will remind you of your trips to Ikea!
As always, please let me know if you have enjoyed this recipe leaving a comment. I always appreciate hearing from you. If you’re planning to make this recipe later, here’s a pin for your recipe board:
This recipe was originally published in January 2019 and has been updated with new pictures and a recipe card in March 2021.
Cream cheese chicken mushroom stew
Ingredients
- 700 g chicken breast boneless, skinless
- 100 ml soy sauce
- 250 g button mushrooms
- 40 g butter
- 2 garlic cloves
- 100 ml white wine
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
- 150 g cream cheese
- 1-2 tbsp bread crumbs optional
Instructions
- Dice the chicken and place it in a bowl. Add the soy sauce, stir to distribute evenly and let marinate for 15 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a heavy-duty skillet or Dutch oven on medium heat. Peel and slice the garlic cloves in half. Add the garlic to the butter and sauté for a couple of minutes, until fragrant. Drain the chicken from the soy sauce and add it to the pan. Increase the heat and sauté the chicken on medium-high heat for 4 minutes, stirring often.
- When the chicken has cooked through, pour in the white wine. Stir to deglaze and keep on medium-high heat to evaporate some of the wine. Stir in the minced thyme and cook uncovered 2 more minutes. Remove the garlic cloves at this point if you wish.
- Quarter the mushrooms and add them to the chicken. Lower the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Simmer for 4 minutes, then uncover and stir. Increase the heat if the mushrooms have released a lot of water and reduce the sauce some more.
- When the mushrooms are tender, remove from the heat and stir in the cream cheese. If the sauce is still too liquid for your taste, add a couple of tablespoons of bread crumbs and bring to a boil. This is a quick way to thicken a sauce when you don't have time to let it reduce some more.
Notes