Beer Braised Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner. Chicken thighs and onions are browned on the stovetop, then baked in a flavorful beer and broth mixture.
Simple Chicken Recipes like this one make easy and delicious meals. For more hassle-free chicken dinners try Oven Baked Rotisserie Chicken Breast and Coca-Cola Chicken.
BEER BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS
If you’re looking for an easy dinner that’s sure to be a new favorite, then you’ve come to the right place. These chicken thighs come out crispy on the outside with a juicy and tender center. Using skin-on chicken thighs gives you the crispy outside without having to add breading. Plus, the beer adds a tangy flavor that the chicken absorbs beautifully. Giving the chicken time to slowly braise makes fall-off-the-bone meat that you won’t be able to get enough of.
Making this Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs is a simple matter of searing the chicken and the onions on a skillet, then whisking together the beer and chicken broth. Add all the ingredients to your baking dish and let the oven do the rest of the work.
That’s right, all you need as a sauce for this chicken is beer and chicken broth. The beer cooks down in the oven to make a rich sauce to serve with your cooked chicken and mushrooms. It comes out wonderfully juicy and full of warm flavors.
This isn’t the first time we’ve used beer to flavor meat. Try our Beer Braised Pot Roast and Bacon, Beer and Cheese Sloppy Joes for more richly flavored dinners.
WHAT KIND OF BEER TO USE
The best kind of beer to braise chicken in is a dark beer. A dark stout will work wonderfully, but if you prefer a lighter beer you can use a brown ale or lager. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, use a non-alcoholic beer or double up on the chicken broth.
MORE CHICKEN RECIPES
Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts
Vertical Roasted (Beer Can) Chicken
Easy Grilled Chicken
Perfect Simple Roast Chicken
HOW TO THICKEN THE BEER SAUCE
The braising liquid will cook down on its own during the cooking time. However, if you’d like to make the sauce thicker and more similar to a gravy, that’s easy to do right before serving your Beer Chicken Thighs.
- Put the cooking liquid in a saucepan.
- Mix in 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. Add more chicken broth if needed.
- Continue to whisk the sauce ingredients together until they’re smooth.
- Cook it on the stovetop fro 3-4 minutes until it’s thickened.
ONE-POT BEER CHICKEN
If you want to make this into a one-pot dish, sear the chicken thighs in an oven-safe pot like a dutch oven. After browning the chicken and onions you can add the other ingredients and put the dutch oven straight into the oven to bake the Beer Chicken.
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VARIATIONS ON BEER BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS
- Grilled: To grill chicken thighs, you can prep the chicken in a marinade the night before. Put the beer mixture in a ziplock bag and let the chicken sit in it overnight. When you’re ready to grill remove the chicken from the liquid and grill the chicken thighs as normal. You can use flour to thicken up the marinade and serve it with the grilled chicken as a sauce.
- Cooking liquid: There are lots of different cooking liquids you can braise your chicken with instead of beer. Try using red wine, white wine, or red wine vinegar. You could also mix in a tablespoon or so of barbecue sauce or mustard with the cooking liquid for extra flavor.
- Flavor additions: For some extra flavor in your Beer Braised Chicken Thighs try cooking some minced garlic cloves, chopped shallots, or parsley with it.
- Spice rub: To make a sweet Beer Chicken recipe, try making a brown sugar dry rub. Combine ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon ground mustard, and ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper to make a sweet and spicy rub. Use a paper towel to pat the chicken dry then add the rub over it. Use your hands to work the rub into the meat, then prepare the dinner as usual. The rub will give your beer chicken some extra sweetness and spice. This rub is also great if you’re grilling the chicken.
INSTANT POT BEER BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS
- Set your instant pot to sauté mode, and add extra virgin olive oil to the base.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then place the chicken skin side down and brown the chicken. You may have to do this in batches.
- Remove the chicken and cook the onions until tender.
- Turn off sauté mode and put the chicken back in the instant pot.
- Add in the mushrooms, beer, broth, and thyme.
- Seal and pressure cook for 11 minutes, then quick release.
SIDE DISHES TO SERVE WITH BEER BRAISED CHICKEN
Easy Mashed Potatoes
Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese
Roasted Broccoli
Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes
HOW TO STORE BEER BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS
- Serve: Don’t leave cooked chicken at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: You can keep your chicken, mushrooms, and onions in an airtight container in the the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat the meal put it on a baking dish in the oven on low heat.
- Freeze: You can freeze your chicken for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating it.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 chicken thighs , bone in and skin on
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 yellow onion , sliced
- 8 ounces crimini mushrooms , sliced
- 12 ounces beer
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and add vegetable oil to a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet skin side down.
- Sear the chicken until browned, about 3-4 minutes then flip over and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Remove chicken, lower heat to medium and add in the onions, cooking for 4-5 minutes until translucent.
- Place chicken into baking dish with the onions and mushrooms.
- Mix the beer, broth, spicy brown mustard and dried thyme and pour it over the chicken.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, uncovered until the sauce has cooked down and the chicken is browned and crispy.
Nutrition
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We liked this recipe a lot, and I will make it again! Super easy with only a few ingredients, and I used the same cast iron pan on the stove to the oven. I had a bottle of flat Yuengling to use up and 4 breasts which I seasoned with steak rub. I seared them a little less, and they only need 45 min. in the oven. The sauce was a little thin and would have reduced had it been in there longer, but it was flavorful and didn’t taste like beer. I didn’t want to overcook the chicken, and the braising method kept them super moist. I served it over egg noodles with steamed veg. Leftovers tonight, yum, will be even better! Thank you, Sabrina!
Love the feedback and You’re Welcome Kay! Thanks so much for the 5 stars!
I don’t usually bother writing reviews for recipes online, but this was fantastic! My boyfriend said it was one of the best dishes I’ve made. I didn’t even marinate the chicken over night it still came out so flavourful!
Oh wow, I’ll bet the flavors in this are out of this world, making it this week!
Enjoy!
Incredible! Who knew that beer could add such wonderful flavor to chicken? Wow!
Thanks for the 5 stars, Betsy.
This looks so delicious and full of flavor! I can’t wait to give this a try! My family is going to absolutely love this recipe!
I hope you all enjoy it, Beth.
Made this tonight with truffle butter mashed potatoes and sweet and spicy green beans. Prepared recipe just as written and was delicious! I did find that the liquid in my pan didn’t reduce as much as expected, but as Sabrina wrote- you def could thicken it a bit after the fact if you wish (I didn’t). This was a big hit with the whole fam and will for sure be made again. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kendall. I appreciate the 5 star rating.
Tasted great – recipe never gave the oven temperature to cook at. Also, no mention of what to do with the mushrooms!
So sorry about that. I’ve edited the recipe card to read completely now. So glad you were able to figure out even through my half writing.
What temperature should the chicken be baked at in the oven?
375 degrees, sorry about that, fixed the recipe card.
Hi, I do not see in the recipe when to add the mushrooms and it doesn’t say what temperature to put the oven on.
You’ll put them in with the mushrooms. I hope you enjoy the dish!
I agree with everyone… you left out to much info especially for a novice cook I think it maybe a good idea to pretend you’re addressing cooks without the kind of expertise you have. And I think if you treat all people as beginners, it would help build confidence in their cooking. It’s Not rocket science.. it’s just cooking and shouldn’t intimate anyone. Merci for listening.
Looks great and was about to make it, but I don’t see what temperature to set my oven to to bake it.
I’ve edited the recipe card to include the 375 degree oven temperature now. Thanks for letting me know it was missing. Enjoy!
Oven temp?
350 degrees 🙂
Making it and your recipe does not say when to add Mushrooms or at what Temp to bake the chicken
I’ve fixed the recipe card. You want to add the mushrooms in with the onions.
When do mushrooms go in and at what temp do you bake it?
350 degrees and the mushrooms go in with the onions. Thanks so much for letting me know those were missing. Enjoy!
What is the temperature of the oven when baking
You’ll want to bake it at 350 degrees. I hope you enjoy it.
The recipe does not seem to include a temperature for the baking time?
350 degrees. Enjoy!
When do I add mushrooms?
With the onions. 🙂
What type of beer did you use as it will make a big taste difference?
You’ll want to use a darker beer, like a stout. If you prefer a lighter beer, then I suggest using a brown ale or lager. Hope this helps!
Hello Sabrina, are the Cremini mushrooms dded to skillet at the same time as the onions?
Yes 🙂
Enjoy!
What happened to the mushrooms?
Add them in with the mushrooms 🙂