Chicken ala King
It’s time for Sunday Supper again and our theme for it is Retro Foods from the 50’s, 60’s, or 70’s. I loved this dish back then and totally forgot about it until I started to think what was I going to make this week. I wanted to do something that I could update to be made a little easier than it was back then. I loved those puff pastry cups it was served in. Much to my surprise when I opened the package I had 24 little puff pastry cups instead of the larger ones my mom used. Not wanting to run out to the grocery store again I decided to use them as garnish and loved them this way. They stayed crispy and it was the perfect touch!
At first I thought I would make something in the tupperware molds that everyone used back then. I was so tempted because I had the perfect props for them for pictures. This is an ad for Jello-O from the 1930’s. I had always intended to get it framed and somehow never have. I love all kinds of this type of memorabilia and buy it whenever I can. The things that they put in these salads back then really make me wonder how in the world they thought these salads were good.
To make this chicken ala king back in the day they would of boiled the chicken. I decided to use a rotisserie chicken to save time, leftovers if you have them would work great also. I can tell you it sped up the time of the dish to under 45 minutes from start to finish.
- 2 1/2 cups chicken pieces - I used a rotisserie chicken
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup celery - diced
- 1 cup carrots - cut into circles
- 1 cup mushrooms - sliced
- 1/2 cup sweet peppers - diced
- 1 cup peas
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or milk
- salt
- pepper
- Puff pastry cups
- Mashed potatoes
- Bone the chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Set aside in the refrigerator.
- Add the chicken broth to a pan. Add the celery, carrots, peppers and mushrooms to the broth. Cook for about 15 - 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Mix the water with the flour and stir until smooth. Add to the broth and stir until thickened. Add the cream or milk.
- Add the chicken back into the pan. Cook 5 more minutes.
- Just before serving add the peas.
- Bake the puff pastry cups 20 minutes before dinner. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Today’s event is being hosted by Heather of Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks! Here is our list of retro recipes, have fun!
Bodacious Breakfasts and Appetizers:
- Classic Chex Party Mix from Peanut Butter and Peppers
- Healthy Green Goddess Dip from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
- Homemade Doughnuts from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Made in the Shade Main Dishes:
- Bacon Wrapped Individual Meatloaf from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Chicken ala King from Recipes Food and Cooking
- Chicken Rice Casserole from Curious Cuisiniere
- Chicken in a Basket from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Chicken Parisienne from Carrie’s Experimental Kitchen
- Chicken Pot Pie from Whole Food | Real Families
- Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast from FoodieTots
- Creamy Baked Pork Chops from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Individual Beef Wellingtons from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
- Mom’s Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuits from Simply Healthy Family
- Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie from Momma’s Meals
- Ravioli di Magro from Manu’s Menu
- Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy from Webicurean
- Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs from Palatable Pastime
- Tuna Noodle Casserole from Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Uptown Goulash from Family Foodie
Swell Side Dishes:
- Creamy Lime Gelatin Salad from Magnolia Days
- Harvard Beets from Take A Bite Out Of Boca
- Retro Crock Pot Crabby Soup from Seduction in the Kitchen
- Roasted Broccoli Cheese Casserole from NeighborFood
- Seven Layer Salad from Lifestyle Food Artistry
- Wedge Salad from Our Good Life
Dreamy Desserts:
- Bananas Foster from The Redhead Baker
- Creamsicle Jello Mold from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Frosty Chocolate Dream Bites from Wallflour Girl
- Hummingbird Cream Cheese Cookies from Dandelion Greens
- Jello Poke Cake from The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch
- Mom’s Heath Bar Cake from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
- Old Fashioned Banana Pudding from Pies and Plots
- One, Two, Three Jello from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Original Mayonnaise Chocolate Cake with No Cook Fudge Frosting from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Eat, Drink and be Tracy
- Raspberry Crunch from Peaceful Cooking
- Tunnel of Fudge Cake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
The Bee’s Knees Beverages:
- Blood Orange Sidecar from Nosh My Way
- Crème de Menthe Parfait from Food Lust People Love
- Vanilla Bean Old Fashioned from The Texan New Yorker
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement
Want to join some talented food bloggers at the Food and Wine Conference this summer? It’s being held at Rosen Shingle Creek in beautiful, sunny Orlando Florida July 17-19 and we want you to be there with us! Use the promo code FWC15SeavME to get a $50 discount on your full 3-day conference ticket. You don’t want to miss this event!
http://foodandwineconference.com/#tile_registration
Here are a couple of my other Sunday Supper posts.
Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken
Cheesy Chicken Corkscrew Casserole
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Such a great retro classic! I love that Jello ad too. Sea Dream Salad – HA!
That ad is so cool, I have a couple of them. Thanks for stopping by!
My mom used to make a version of this and I always loved it. Guess I need to try it again!
I know I had forgotten about it too! I loved this theme, it brought back a lot of memories.
So someone once made me Chicken ala King and it did not look that good. Definitely going to try with my family.
Hi Laura, this one tastes good.
Mmmm This brings back memories! We always had Chicken al King on toast (we didnt have mash potatoes) that creamy goodness, Mmmmm
Thanks Deanna! I think we had it on toast also sometimes too but my favorite was the puff pastry cups.
Yum… this looks delicious! Talk about a homey and comforting dish. And I love the old ads. This one from Jell-O is very convincing :-)
Thanks Diane for stopping by. I love those old ads also.
Looks fantastic!
Thanks Constance!
You have to have the puff pastry! Love this classic dish!
I agree! Mom used to serve it in the puff pastry. As soon as I opened the box I knew I had an issue and this was the best way I could think of to handle it. I kind of like it because it stayed so crispy.
Bill’s aunt used to make this for family dinners! I loved it!!! Yours looks perfect, Mary Ellen.
Thanks Liz! We had it sometimes for Sunday dinner. I always loved it to.
I have never had Chicken ala King and looking at your recipe it is kind of like a deconstructed pot pie….looks delicious….thanks for sharing.
That is pretty much what it is. Thanks for stopping by!
The voul-au-vents make this recipe special!
Thanks Sue!
There is nothing retro looking about your dish. I would eat it today just the way you made it.
Thanks Marlene. They used to put sherry in it, I didn’t. It is rich enough without it.
Thank you for the walk down memory lane! My grandmother made this for us. Yum.
Mine did too Terri. Such good memories!
I remember eating this as a kid and LOVING it! This looks delicious, I’ll have to try it again soon.
We had it too when I was young. It is really a good budget recipe. Hope you do try it!
My Mom made this too but served it over toast! :)
I can’t believe I’ve never had this dish! I’m going to have to try it — it has everything I love! Your plating is beautiful too!
Thanks Valerie! I hadn’t made it in forever. I am going to be making it more often now. I’d forgotten how good it is.
A friend and I were just discussing this dish the other day … she said if she picked up the puff pastries, could I make the a la king? I *love* that you’ve given me another use for the rotisserie chicken–this is going on the menu this week!
I love rotisserie chicken. Sometimes I buy an extra one to bone. Then I make broth out of the bones and freeze it all for nights when I need something fast and good. There is so much you can do with it.
What a comforting dinner! Perfect as we inch into spring.
Do you believe I have never had Chicken ala King?? I so need to rectify that by making your version ASAP!
LOL we had as kids. It was a special thing because of the puff pastry cups. LOL
I’ve never heard of Chicken ala King before, but it looks like a deconstructed chicken pot pie – yum! Great call on using a rotisserie bird too, I bet it provided extra flavor.
It is close but chicken ala king usually has sherry in which would of made it different. I omit it as I like it without.
Definitely an oldie but a goodie, I love it!
It sure it! Thanks Julie for stopping by.
When you say “until thickened” after adding the water and flour mixture…how thick? I have been cooking and stirring fifteen plus minutes after adding it to the broth mix and it’s still very watery. How long does it usually take to thicken up? I’m waiting to add milk and chicken to it. Thanks. Excellent recipe by the way!! So excited to try it!
I made my husband extremely happy with this meal! And of course to me it was absolutely the best I’ve ever had! I did half heavy cream with half evaporated milk, and didn’t have mushrooms or peppers in it. This is a favorite and a keeper recipe, I will be making this for my company coming soon!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Omg, I found your recipe today after looking at alot of recipes. I made the dish almost as printed except I didn’t have sweet red peppers or carrots on hand…I sauteed my chicken in butter to brown a bit, then sauteed the celery and mushrooms a few minutes before adding broth. It was so delicious, just like I remembered. Not having sweet peppers or carots didnt subtract from the taste at all. Thank you for the newfound memories!
So happy you enjoyed it Carla. My grandmother made it often while I was growing up so it brings back good memories for me also.
Fantastic chicken ala King recipe. One of my childhood all time favorites