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This poule au pot is a wonderfully comforting and delicious meal – it’s the classic French “chicken in a pot.” At its heart, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a whole chicken roasted with caramelised leeks and onions, hearty chicken stock, creamy cannellini beans and orzo. Finished off with a swirl of cream, Dijon mustard and some tarragon, it is just the perfect one-pot meal.
This modern version keeps all that rustic French charm but I’ve added creamy cannellini beans, orzo for texture, and tarragon to round it out and make it a complete meal in one pot. It’s not entirely traditional, but it is so good. I find it’s as perfect for Sunday lunch as it is for a cold midweek supper. You might also like my creamy leek, mushroom & chicken pie, garlic butter turkey and ham pie, or my one pan Greek chicken.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- One-pot cooking – everything cooks in the same pot for minimal fuss and washing up.
- The dish is wholesome and nourishing, full of protein and veggies.
- It’s a well-balanced dish, with the mustard and tarragon cutting through the richness.
- Poule au Pot is adaptable – you can cook it in the oven, on the slow cooker and swap in different ingredients.
What is Poule au Pot?
Literally translating to “hen in the pot,” poule au pot is one of the classics of traditional French cuisine. The story goes that King Henry IV of France wanted to make sure every worker and their families could enjoy “a chicken in their pot” on Sundays , a sign of France’s prosperity at the time.
In its original form, the dish used a hen slowly simmered with vegetables to make a hearty broth. Over time, it’s evolved into a gentler, chicken-based dish that sits somewhere between a soup and a stew.
Poule au Pot vs. Pot-au-Feu
They’re often mentioned in the same breath, but poule au pot is all about the bird, while pot-au-feu traditionally uses beef. Both involve gently poaching meat with vegetables but one with chicken and one with beef.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Whole chicken – ideally, a whole chicken, giblets removed, around 1.2-1.5kg. You could make this with a larger or smaller chicken; it will just need more or less time in the oven until it’s fully cooked and no pink remains.
Orzo – orzo absorbs the broth to thicken the poule au pot. You could also use ditalini or fregola, any small pasta shape really.
Cannellini beans – tins/cans of beans are great here but a jar always is a level above, as they are so creamy and soft.
Double cream – also known as heavy cream. I like to add a splash at the end to really make the dish creamy and rich, but the blended up beans also do add enough creaminess that you can skip this if you wish.
Substitutions and Variations:
Double cream – add a dollop of creme fraiche instead of double cream, if you’d rather. Single cream works too.
Cannellini beans – I find these have the best texture and turn the creamiest. But you could also use butter beans.
Tarragon – if you don’t like tarragon, swap for fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley or even basil.
Vegetables – you could also add some diced carrots, fennel, or celery to the base of this dish.
Here’s how to make Poule au Pot:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion and leek and cook for 5–6 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for a further minute.
TWO: Pat the chicken dry and season all over with salt, pepper, and the mixed herbs. Cut the lemon in half and place it inside the cavity.
THREE: Nestle the chicken into the pot with the vegetables and pour in the chicken stock. Cover (with a lid or foil) and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until nearly cooked through.
FOUR: Stir in one tin of cannellini beans (left whole) and the orzo around the chicken. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes until the orzo is tender and the chicken fully cooked.
FIVE: Blitz or mash the second tin of beans until smooth. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to rest. Stir the mashed beans into the broth along with the Dijon mustard, chopped tarragon, and double cream (if using).
SIX: Carve the chicken and serve on top of a bed of creamy beans. Top with flakey salt, black pepper and more fresh tarragon leaves.
Cooking Tips:
Start with good stock: a rich homemade chicken stock gives unmatched flavour but who really has time for that? So instead, you can now buy good chicken stock, either in cartons/cans or even the gelatinous stock pots that dissolve in boiling water are great.
To brown the chicken: when you add the orzo and the beans, drizzle the top of the chicken with olive oil before returning to the oven uncovered. This browns the chicken so it looks a little more appealing than when it’s pale (which is still delicious but we do eat with our eyes, after all!).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! For a slow cooker, cook on low for 7–8 hours or high for 4–5 hours before adding the beans and orzo for the final 30 mins. Cook until orzo is soft, then finish as above with the blitzed bean mixture, mustard, and cream.
Poule au pot uses a whole chicken, while pot-au-feu is made with beef. Both are classic French “boiled dinners,” but the flavours, textures, and cooking times differ. Poule au pot is lighter, fragrant, and broth-forward, while pot-au-feu is richer and heartier.
It will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat gently on the hob with a little added stock or water. The beans and chicken can be frozen for up to three months.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you liked this Poule au Pot recipe, I have lots of other French recipes you will like. You should try my Gratin de Courgettes (it’s a cheesy courgette bake) or my Ham and Cheese Pithivier. For a nice French pudding to serve afterwards, I suggest my Clafoutis aux Cerises, it’s a crisp custard-like pudding, filled with juicy cherries (or other fruit can be swapped in!)
Kitchen Basics Recipes
Easy Homemade Chicken Stock
Comfort Food
Creamy & Easy Pastina
Sandwiches
The Best Coronation Chicken Sandwiches
Christmas Recipes
Leftover Garlic Butter Turkey and Ham Pie
If you tried this Poule au Pot or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Poule au Pot (Classic French Chicken in a Pot)
Ingredients
- 1.2-1.5 kg whole chicken
- 1 lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 1 large leek, sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 litre chicken stock
- Olive oil
- 300 g orzo
- 2 × 400g tins cannellini beans, about 500g drained weight
- 1 small bunch tarragon, about 20g, leaves stripped
- 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
- 80 ml double cream, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
- Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion and leek and cook for 5–6 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for a further minute.
- Pat the chicken dry and season all over with salt, pepper and the mixed herbs. Cut the lemon in half and place it inside the cavity.
- Nestle the chicken into the pot with the vegetables and pour in the chicken stock. Cover (with a lid or foil) and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the chicken is pretty much cooked through.
- Remove the pot from the oven and stir in one tin of cannellini beans (left whole) and the orzo around the chicken. Drizzle a little olive oil on the chicken to encourage it to turn brown and return to the oven, uncovered. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the orzo is tender and the chicken is gorgeously golden.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to rest. Blend up the second tin of beans until smooth, (or roughly mash up with a fork as well as you can). Stir the creamy beans into the broth along with the Dijon mustard and double cream (if using). Add the chopped tarragon, season generously with salt and pepper.
- Carve the chicken and serve on top of a bed of creamy beans. Top with flakey salt, black pepper and more fresh tarragon leaves. Or you could shred the chicken and stir it back into the pot for a more rustic, stew-like version.
- The video below will help with this recipe although don't add the oil to the chicken at the start- it doesn't need it.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is an easy poule au pot recipe that is full of flavour. It’s so delicious and warming, perfect for a weekend lunch.
hi there, this looks yummy and comforting. My only question would be the amount of oil left behind in the pot from the cooked chicken. Any idea how to skim that oil off before you finish this dish or is it really not too oily once cooked? Thank you so much!
Hi Elizabeth, it’s not too oily once cooked as what you can see is the broth and the chicken juices in the pan. Once it’s all mixed together with beans, it’s delicious. If needed though, just use a large flat spoon to skim off any oil from the top but remember the fat comes from the chicken so it is full of flavour, so you don’t want to remove all of it! Let us know how you get on 🙂