Gordon Ramsay’s chicken ala king is poached chicken folded into a roux cream sauce with sautéed peppers, mushrooms and peas, served over fluffy rice. The whole thing takes 30 minutes and the sauce comes together in one pan.
I built this from the chicken pie filling in his cookbook: chicken poached in stock with thyme, diced and folded into a roux cream sauce with mushrooms. That filling is already most of the way to chicken ala king, so I added peppers and peas and served it over rice instead of under pastry. Ramsay says “the sauce should be thick and creamy,” and that is exactly what you are aiming for here.
The key technique is the roux. In his Cookalong Live white sauce video, Ramsay says “the most important part is not worrying about putting colour in it” and to add the liquid “one third at a time, whisking vigorously.” Rush the liquid and it splits. Add it gradually and it comes together every time.
Gordon Ramsay Chicken Ala King
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes20
minutes450
kcal30
minutesPoached chicken in a roux cream sauce with peppers, mushrooms and peas. Built from the chicken pie filling technique in Gordon Ramsay’s cookbooks and his white sauce method from Cookalong Live. 30 minutes, serves 4.
Ingredients
500g boneless skinless chicken breasts
500ml chicken stock
Few thyme sprigs
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
100g frozen peas
1 small onion, finely diced
40g butter
3 tbsp plain flour
150ml double cream
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve
Directions
- Poach the chicken: Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the thyme and chicken breasts. Poach gently for 10-12 minutes until just cooked through. Lift the chicken out and set aside. Strain the stock and keep it hot.
- Sauté the vegetables: Heat the oil and half the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the peppers and mushrooms, season well and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened.
- Make the roux sauce: Push the vegetables to one side. Add the remaining butter and stir in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually pour in the hot stock, one third at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened.
- Finish: Stir in the cream and bring back to a gentle simmer. Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and fold in with the peas. Cook for 2 minutes until heated through. Check the seasoning.
- Serve: Spoon over fluffy rice, scattered with chopped parsley.
Notes
- Roux cream sauce technique from Gordon Ramsay’s chicken pie filling. White sauce method from his Cookalong Live video. Poaching technique from the same pie recipe: chicken simmered in stock with thyme for 10-12 minutes.
FAQs
How is this connected to Ramsay’s recipes?
The cream sauce is the same method from his chicken pie filling: a butter and flour roux with stock added gradually, finished with cream. His pie starts with chicken poached in stock with thyme for 10 to 12 minutes, then diced and folded into that sauce with mushrooms. I kept the method and the mushrooms, added peppers and peas, and skipped the pastry.
His white sauce video on Cookalong Live is worth watching if roux sauces are new to you. He walks through the whole thing step by step.
Why poach the chicken instead of frying it?
Poaching keeps the chicken tender and gives you flavoured stock to build the sauce with. Ramsay poaches his pie filling the same way: breasts simmered gently in stock so they stay soft.
For ala king that soft texture matters because the chicken sits inside the sauce, not on top. Fried chicken would go firm and chewy after simmering in cream for a few minutes.
Can you use leftover chicken?
Yes, and it is honestly the best way to make this. Skip the poaching, use shop-bought stock for the sauce, and fold in shredded or diced leftover chicken at the end with the peas. The whole thing comes together in about 15 minutes that way.
What makes the sauce go lumpy?
Adding the stock too fast. Ramsay’s rule from his white sauce video: “One third at a time, whisk vigorously.” Pour it all in at once and the flour seizes into clumps that no amount of stirring fixes.
If it does go lumpy, push it through a sieve with the back of a spoon. And keep the stock hot before adding it, because cold liquid hitting hot roux causes the worst problems.
What should you serve this over?
Rice is the classic, and the sauce pools around the grains so every spoonful picks it all up. Toast points are the old-fashioned American way: thick sliced white bread, toasted and cut corner to corner. The bread soaks up the cream sauce, which is the whole point.
Mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles both work too if you want something more substantial.
What other one-pot chicken dinners work like this?
His chicken cacciatore has a similar energy: skin-on thighs braised with tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and red wine. Italian instead of American, tomato-based instead of cream, but the same one-pot approach that makes weeknight cooking easy.
The chicken stew is the British version of the same idea: pulled chicken simmered in stock with root vegetables, topped with coriander dumplings. All three are make-ahead dishes that taste better the next day.
