Steak au Poivre is a steakhouse classic and it’s easy to see why. That peppery, creamy sauce could make anything taste good… so why not bring that same magic to chicken? I know, what took us so long, right? This Chicken au Poivre may be easy, but the flavor is elevated enough that it’s fit for company. We love it over mashed potatoes or pasta with a simple veggie side.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Chicken au Poivre?

You’ll need:

• Whole black peppercorns.
• Olive oil.
• Chicken thighs. (Boneless and skinless).
• Butter.
• A shallot.
• Chicken broth.
• Heavy cream.
• Lemon.

How Do You Make Chicken au Poivre?

The first step is to crack those peppercorns. Because this is all about that fresh pepper flavor, pre-ground pepper just won’t do. And neither will your pepper grinder, sorry. Take those whole peppercorns and roughly crush them in a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have one, you can put them in a ziplock bag and hit them with something heavy like a mallet or the bottom of a saucepan. That’s the first step and the flavor foundation of this dish!

The next step is to brown the chicken. You don’t have to worry about cooking it through here, you just want to get some nice color on both sides. Once that’s done, remove it to a plate while you star to build the sauce.

The sauce starts with butter and shallot, which you need to cook only briefly until it softens before you stir in the broth, heavy cream, thyme, and those cracked peppercorns. Cook that mixture for a minute or two, taking care to scrape up any flavorful stuck on bits from the bottom of the pan.

Nestle the chicken back in and let it cook through by simmering in that sauce. The time will depend on the thickness of the thighs, but it should take less than ten minutes for them to reach 165°F.

Remove the chicken one more time so you can thicken the sauce and stir in some lemon juice. Once the sauce has thickened up a tad, spoon it over the chicken and serve. Enjoy!