Home Chicken Dinners Coq au Vin
Becky Hardin
4.80 from 5 votes
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This Coq au Vin recipe is a classic French dish that comes together with simple steps. Chicken is cooked to tender perfection in a medley of veggies all mixed together in a rich red wine sauce. It’s so impressive, yet easier to make than you may think!
Why we love this French Coq au Vin Recipe
Coq au vin is one of my favorite recipes to make when I want to impress my dinner guests. Here’s why it always gets me tons of compliments:
- Classic: This French chicken recipe is truly timeless. While this recipe uses chicken (instead of the traditional rooster), it’s still very authentic.
- Easy: Yes! While it’s wonderfully impressive to serve, coq au vin is actually very easy to make.
- Tender: Baking in the oven for an hour ensures that the chicken meat is deliciously tender.
Variations on Ingredients
There are lots of ways to change up this classic dish.
- You can swap out the red wine for white wine for a lighter, fresher flavor.
- You could even make coq au vin blanc by adding heavy cream to the sauce for a luscious texture.
- If you’re feeling really adventurous, try making this dish with turkey or the more traditional rooster if you can find it!
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How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover coq au vin in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a Dutch oven set over medium-low heat until warmed through.
How to Freeze
Freeze coq au vin in an airtight container or Ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
Traditionally, this chicken dish is served with a simple potato side dish, I also like to serve it with a side of fresh greens. It will also sit well on top of pasta or rice. Try serving it with mashed potatoes, sheet pan scalloped potatoes, grilled asparagus, or sauteed carrots.
Why is my coq au vin purple?
If your dish turns purple, don’t panic! It’s just a result of the oxidation of the wine. Some varieties of wine, like Merlot, tend to dye the chicken purplish just because they contain so much pigment, while others will change the chicken’s color over time as leftovers sit in the refrigerator.
Why is my coq au vin bitter?
If you use a wine that is high in tannins, it could impart a bitter flavor to the dish. Opt for a wine that’s slightly sweeter in flavor to avoid this bitterness.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes We Love
- Chicken Paprikash
- Chicken Florentine
- Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Chicken Mole
- Chicken Piccata
- Spatchco*ck Chicken with Garlic and Herbs
4.80 from 5 votes
Coq au Vin Recipe
Coq au Vin is such a classic recipe, but due to that fancy name, many people think it's too complicated to cook at home. In reality it comes together really easily with a few simple ingredients.
Prep: 15 minutes minutes
Cook: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 people
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Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ stick
- 5 strips bacon sliced into ½-inch pieces
- 2 carrots
- 10-15 shallots
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- ⅓ cup brandy
- 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2½ cups red wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon salted butter room temperature (⅛ stick)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a Dutch oven.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Add the bacon and cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown, then remove and set aside on paper towels to drain.
5 strips bacon
Peel the carrots and shallots, then chop the carrots into bite-sized pieces.
2 carrots, 10-15 shallots
In the same Dutch oven, add the mushrooms and carrots, cook for 7 minutes.
1 cup chopped mushrooms
Deglaze with brandy, then remove the vegetables from the Dutch oven and set aside.
⅓ cup brandy
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat in the Dutch oven.
Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat, or until browned.
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks, 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Add red wine, chicken stock, and tomato sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes.
2½ cups red wine, 2 cups chicken stock, ½ cup tomato sauce
Add bacon, shallots, mushrooms, carrots, and thyme.
3 sprigs fresh thyme
Cover Dutch oven with the lid and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place on the stovetop on medium heat.
In a small bowl, mix salted butter and flour.
1 tablespoon salted butter, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Add a spoonful of the gravy sauce from the Dutch oven to the butter/flour mixture.
Mix well with a spoon, then add back in the Dutch oven and combine well with the rest of the gravy.
Notes
- I like to use a mixture of chicken thigh, drumsticks, and breast for this recipe to add texture and flavor, but you can just use one or two cuts if you prefer.
- Use free run / organic chicken that hasn’t been raised on antibiotics for the best tasting dish.
Storage:Store Coq au Vin in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
Coq au Vin Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 622Calories from Fat 288
% Daily Value*
Fat 32g49%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Trans Fat 0.5g
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g
Monounsaturated Fat 12g
Cholesterol 164mg55%
Sodium 563mg24%
Potassium 1090mg31%
Carbohydrates 20g7%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 37g74%
Vitamin A 3888IU78%
Vitamin C 8mg10%
Calcium 53mg5%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Author: Becky Hardin
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:French
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How to make Coq au Vin Step by Step
Melt the butter:Melt 2 TBSP of butter in a Dutch oven.
Cook the bacon: Add 5 strips of bacon to the pot. Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes, then remove. Set the bacon aside on paper towels to drain.
Prepare the onions and carrots: Peel 2 carrots and 12-15 shallots, then chop the carrots into bite-sized pieces.
Add veggies and brandy: Add 1 cup chopped mushrooms and the chopped carrots to the pot. Cook for 7 minutes. Then, deglaze with1/3 cup brandy. Remove the veggies from the Dutch oven and set them aside.
Sear the chicken: Melt 2 TBSP butter in the Dutch oven, the sear all chicken (2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 breasts) until browned.
Simmer: Add 2 1/2 cups red wine, 2 cups chicken stock, and 1/2 cup tomato sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes.
Cook the stew: Add the cooked bacon, shallots, mushrooms, carrots, and 3 sprigs of thyme to the Dutch oven, then cover it with a lid. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. Then, place the Dutch oven back on the stovetop over medium heat.
Make a thickener: Mix together 1 TBSP salted butter and 1 TBSP all-purpose flour. Add a spoonful of the gravy sauce from the pot to the butter/flour mixture.
Enjoy! Mix everything together well and keep warm on the stove until ready to serve.
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Meet Becky Hardin
Becky Hardin founded Easy Chicken Recipes in 2018. She has been creating trusted, easy, and delicious recipes on the web since 2012. Becky is known for simple dinner ideas, delicious crockpot recipes, creative chicken meals, and so much more. We have built a team of recipe developers, testers, and writers that love to create trust chicken recipes for every family.
