Easy Chicken Legs with Creamy Mushroom Sauce – delicious, easy recipe that uses just a few simple ingredients. A perfect weeknight dinner!
The sauce I made for these easy chicken legs is so good – you will have a hard time keeping yourself away from it. I made the sauce by simmering everything in one skillet: mushrooms, garlic, chicken legs, chicken stock, and then adding heavy cream at the very end. And, of course, make sure to add just the right amount of salt and pepper.
It’s been a long time since I cooked whole chicken legs last time. In fact, I think it’s been years. I am so glad I finally made something with them – this easy chicken legs recipe is one of the best ways I ever cooked chicken. So juicy! And, you’ll love creamy mushrooms, too!
What is chicken legs, by the way?
Chicken legs are often confused with chicken drumsticks, while in fact whole chicken legs are the combination of BOTH drumstick and thigh. Chicken legs are pretty large. For example, these 3 chicken legs in the photo are total 2 lb in weight:
This recipe is perfect for those days when you are busy and want something quick, yet delicious and nice looking – try these easy chicken legs with creamy mushroom sauce and you’ll love it!
I used regular white mushrooms, sliced in half and cooked with minced garlic in olive oil:
Here are a few photos showing you how to cook chicken legs in a skillet on stove top. First, coat the chicken in flour mixture (flour, salt and pepper):
Next, brown chicken legs on high-medium heat in olive oil:
Then, remove chicken legs from the skillet, add mushrooms and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes:
Next, add chicken stock, add chicken legs back, add extra salt, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes until chicken legs are completely cooked through.
Finally, remove the chicken from the skillet, make the cream sauce by adding heavy cream, add the chicken back, and your easy chicken legs are ready!
If you love chicken and mushroom combination, you might enjoy these 2 recipes:
Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Rice
Chicken Thighs with Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce
If you want an easy recipe with just a few ingredients that tastes really good and looks fabulous - look no further and try these Easy Chicken Legs with Creamy Mushroom Sauce.
- 1/4 cup flour (you can use gluten free flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 lb chicken legs (about 3-4 large chicken legs)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 10 oz mushrooms (each sliced in half)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (if needed)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
In a small bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. On a large plate, dredge chicken legs in this seasoned flour mixture.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken legs skin side down and brown for about 4 minutes until the skin turn nice golden color. Flip chicken legs over to the other side and brown the other side for about 3 minutes. Remove browned chicken legs and set aside. Also remove those parts of olive oil that got too dark from browning the chicken with flour mixture.
To the same, now empty skillet, add mushrooms (sliced in half) and minced garlic, add extra tablespoon of olive oil (if needed) and saute them together on medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add chicken stock to the skillet, scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and stir.
Place chicken legs back in the pan.
Bring the chicken stock to boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer on low-medium. Simmer chicken legs for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through and the juices run clear when chicken is cut in the middle.
Remove the cooked chicken legs to a plate and keep warm.
Turn heat under skillet to medium-high, and simmer the mushroom sauce for about 4 minutes until it is reduced by about a third. Stir in the 1/2 cup heavy cream into the mushroom sauce and simmer for another 2 minutes on low-medium heat, constantly stirring and scraping from the bottom of the skillet, until the sauce gets thicker.
Add chicken legs back to the skillet to warm them up. Serve
You could use Creme Fraiche which is a great substitute for heavy cream and a lot less fat. I use it for Alfredo.
Simple and amazing flavours.
Didn’t have many mushrooms so used canned champignon. Canned champignon is not always loved by people, I thought they were perfect in this recipe. So if you were going to try them for the first time, thiis recipe is perfect to try them in.
Put a cornflower slurry in to thicken sauce. (1 tablespoon of cornflower and 1 tablespoon of water stired and added).
This recipe has made it in our rotation of yummy recipes. Thanks Julia
Hi it looks like it has parley… should I add it to the recipe???
I made this dish yesterday and it was a hit! Thank you Julia.
I wanted a recipe that had some type of sauce that I could put on mashed potatoes and I came across this recipe. IT IS AMAZING! I did do some things different, I didnt have mushrooms, so I took those out and I added some different spices to make up for the lack of mushrooms. And I used regular milk instead of heavy cream. (Lockdown and didnt want to go to the store).
But very very tasty and will 100% make again.
What spices did you use since you didn’t have mushrooms
These are leg quarters, the drumstick is the little “leg” on the wings, a chicken leg is just the leg. Funny how different geographical areas have different ideas. Regardless, this recipe sounds fantastic. Can’t wait to try it!
Can I use greek yogurt instead of the heavy cream?
I have not tried it with Greek yogurt, but the texture would be different from the heavy cream. I would use heavy cream or half-and-half.
It won’t turn out right. You need heavy cream to make an alfredo sauce which is what this is.
Absolutley delishes, only thing was my husband asked is there more. Lol
The best compliment to the cook is when people ask for more! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!