Dairy-Free Chicken à la King Recipe

Chicken a la King

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Total Time: 20 min
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Servings: 6

Nutrition Highlights (per serving)

190 calories
7g fat
14g carbs
17g protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving  
Calories 190
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g 9%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 44mg 15%
Sodium 471mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 4g  
Includes 2g Added Sugars 4%
Protein 17g  
Vitamin D 1mcg 5%
Calcium 85mg 7%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 354mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Ah, Chicken (or turkey) à la King—comfort food indeed. It's a dish made of chicken, cream, mushrooms, and sometimes sherry. Dairy-free and comfort food may not sound like they mix, but it is possible by simply substituting soy or almond milk for regular milk and cream. Combined with the flour and chicken broth, it makes the white sauce that is a signature part of this classic dish. Pimentos add a bit of unexpected flavor and a burst of color.

Chicken is an excellent source of highly digestible proteins, unsaturated fats, B vitamins including thiamin, vitamin B6, and pantothenic acid, and the minerals iron, zinc, and copper.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/4 cup onion (chopped)
  • 1 small green pepper (chopped)
  • 1 small (2-oz.) can mushrooms (or 4 to 6 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped)
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups soy milk (unsweetened or almond milk)
  • 1 1/4 cups chicken stock (or water with chicken Better than Bouillon or regular bouillon)
  • Salt to taste if using chicken stock (but not bouillon)
  • 2 cups chicken (cooked, diced or shredded; or turkey)
  • 1 (4-oz. jar chopped pimentos

Preparation

  1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onion for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the green pepper and mushrooms, and cook another 5 minutes or so, until softening. Add black pepper and combine.

  2. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

  3. Add soy milk and chicken stock. Add salt if needed. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

  4. Add cooked chicken or turkey and pimento. Heat through and serve.

Variations and Substitutions

While keeping this dish dairy-free, you can use coconut milk in place of soy or almond milk. It will not impart a coconut flavor to the dish but will make it nice and creamy.

Replace peppers and onions with carrots and peas if you prefer, or use any vegetables you enjoy.

This is an ideal dish to make when you have leftover cooked chicken or turkey or a fresh rotisserie chicken in the fridge.

Cooking and Serving Tips

  • Try topping with fresh parsley.
  • To keep this meal healthy and add some nutrition, serve this dairy-free Chicken à la King over "cauli-rice" or toasted flaxseed focaccia bread. Chicken à la King is traditionally served over rice, pasta, or bread.
  • As an alternative to pasta, try quinoa pasta or chickpea pasta.
  • This dish is best eaten fresh as soy milk doesn't freeze well, but if you'd like to freeze it, place it in an air tight container and freeze for up to one month for best results. Defrost before reheating gently over the stovetop.

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1 Source
Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Marangoni F, Corsello G, Cricelli C, et al. Role of poultry meat in a balanced diet aimed at maintaining health and wellbeing: an Italian consensus documentFood Nutr Res. 2015;59:27606. Published 2015 Jun 9. doi:10.3402/fnr.v59.27606

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