A classic recipe for the traditional creamy gravy made with leftover chicken or turkey served over toast, biscuits or rice that cooks up perfect every time.
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Families have funny names for food. My Pa called ice cream tunkey. To this day, nobody can tell me why.
Not long after Mama and Daddy were engaged, they and my grandparents went to town to run some errands and Pa asked, “Does anybody want some tunkey?” Without hesitation, my mama (a Yankee transplant from Maryland) said, “I DO!”
Daddy leaned over and whispered, “Carol, do you even know what tunkey is?” To which she replied, “No, but I’ve never heard of half of what you eat down here, and I haven’t tasted anything I didn’t like yet so YES, I want some tunkey!”
Husband’s family calls Chicken à la King, Chicken à la Flin Flan. But I do know where this name came from.
My mother-in-law, with a family of eight to feed, never let anything go to waste and often made leftovers into other meals (as do I). Leftover chicken and turkey most often became Chicken or Turkey à la King and she must have made it a lot because the kids would gripe and complain that they were having it again.
One night she told them it was something NEW! That they would love it! That it was Chicken à la Flin Flan! I don’t know if they took to it better, but I do know the whole entire family still calls it Chicken à la Flin Flan some forty years later!
I think everybody makes this a little different. When I called my MIL the other day to ask if she used fresh bell peppers in hers or jarred pimientos (she uses fresh btw), she pulled out her old recipe and read it to me.
I love reading old recipes with ingredients like oleo and scalded milk so when she said, “1 Oxo cube”, I smiled because I figured that must mean a bullion cube.
Her recipe also has curry powder and an unholy amount of nutmeg. My point being, there’s no right way to make this. So long as you end up with chicken or turkey in a creamy sauce that has either bell peppers or pimientos in there somewhere, you’re in the right ballpark.
8 FAQ ABOUT CHICKEN A LA KING
1. Doesn’t it have peas? Not the recipe I grew up with but you can certainly add them if you’d like! I’d use about 1 cup frozen peas and stir them in with the chicken. Actually, that’s not true… I’d never use English peas because I hate them but that’s my best guess!
2. Can I use pimientos instead of red bell pepper? Yep! I definitely prefer using fresh red bell pepper in this but you can substitute with pimientos if you’d like.
3. How many chicken breasts do I need for 2 cups cubed chicken? One fresh large boneless, skinless chicken breast yields about 2 cups. Frozen chicken breasts are usually smaller so you’d likely need two.
4. Can I use leftover turkey? Heck yes, you can! Turkey à la King is perfect to make with leftover turkey!
5. Is canned chicken OK with this recipe? I’ve never tried it, but I bet it would be great! They’ve come a long way with canned chicken (white meat, at least) and I think it would work great with this recipe.
6. Do I have to use onion and celery? I’m of the opinion that any great creamed sauce starts with the classic Mirepoix (onion, celery and carrots) or the Holy Trinity (onion, celery and bell pepper) so I think the onion and celery are important but if you’re out of either, just season with onion powder and/or celery salt or celery seed.
7. Can I add corn, mushrooms or carrots? You can put whatever you want in your Chicken à la King, girl. You do you! If using carrots, I’d finely dice them and sauté with the other vegetables. Mushrooms, I'd add halfway through sautéing the other vegetables. If adding corn, just drain then stir it in with the cooked chicken.
8. Can I use green, yellow or orange bell peppers instead of red? Sure! Two things, though… 1) green bell peppers have a stronger taste than the others so you may want to use a little less and 2) the red bell peppers (or red pimientos) are hallmarks of classic Chicken à la King.
HOW DO YOU SERVE CHICKEN A LA KING?
Chicken à la King is a thick, chunky creamed sauce so it’s perfect to ladle over something. It’s too thick to eat like a soup and too saucy to serve alone.
Chicken à la King is typically served over the following:
- Toast (my favorite!)
- Biscuits
- Rice
- Noodles
- Puff Pastry Bowls
Recipe for How to Cook Chicken à la King
Chicken à la King
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup finely diced celery
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1.5 cups milk
Instructions
- Sauté onion, red pepper and celery with butter in a large skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. 1 c. onion, 1 red pepper, 1 c. celery, 1/3 c. butter
- Stir in salt, remaining spices and flour then continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes. 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, Pinch cayenne, 1/3 c. flour
- Add chicken broth then stir well, making sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet. When broth starts to bubble, stir in milk. 2 c. broth, 1.5 c. milk
- Cook and stir 5 minutes or until thickened per your preference.
- Stir in cooked chicken then continue cooking 5 minutes. If necessary, add more milk, 1/4 cup at a time, if sauce thickens more than a pourable gravy would be. 2 c. cooked chicken
- Serve over toast, biscuits, noodles or rice.
Notes
- I definitely prefer using fresh red bell pepper in this but you can substitute with pimientos if you’d like. Stir in 8 ounces drained, diced pimientos with the chicken in Step 5.
- Use all-purpose or self-rising flour (either is fine).
- Any questions you may have are likely answered in the FAQ section above the recipe card.
Can you use cornstarch? I need gluten free recipes and always prefer cornstarch to flour for gravies anyway.
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