Coronation Chicken
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Coronation Chicken is a dish, originally created for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. This recipe is a recreation of the classic British Royal dish. It’s a curried chicken salad that is delicious and easy to make! It can be served as a salad, tea sandwich or in a lettuce wrap for a snack, or meal.
Table of contents
Originally created by the founder of the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school for Queen Elizabeth ii’s coronation in London, England, this dish has been recreated many times over the years. For this recipe, I stuck with the original recipe found on the menu at the Queens coronation, called Poulet Reine Elizabeth, now simply known as Coronation Chicken.
I was first introduced to this recipe by my friend Ivy. She hosted a fabulous tea party for her birthday and served coronation chicken tea sandwiches. I went back three times to get more of these delicious sandwiches, then immediately asked her for the recipe.
She told me the history of the recipe and I couldn’t wait to make them at home. Especially since my husband and I leave this week for our honeymoon in Europe, where our first stop will be London, during the King’s coronation at Westminster Abbey.
For the kings coronation ceremony, the signature dish will be a Coronation Quiche, created by royal chef Mark Flanagan. A recipe I’ll have to try when we come back from our honeymoon.
The thing I love most about this coronation chicken recipe is that it’s flavorful, with great texture, and can be served a number of different ways. My favorite way to serve it is as a tea sandwich for brunches and picnics. But it’s also tasty wrapped up in lettuce leaves for a fresh, light lunch. No matter how you serve it, I can’t wait for you to try this scrumptious royal recipe!
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Shallots – minced red onions will also work in place of the shallots.
- Bay leaf
- Curry powder – any mild, yellow curry powder found at the grocery store, in the spice aisle, will work for this recipe.
- Tomato paste – for this recipe, you’ll want to use a triple concentrated tomato paste. These usually come in a squeeze bottle (as pictured above) instead of a can, which is traditional what’s used in most American recipes.
- Chicken broth
- Lemon juice – I recommend juicing a fresh lemon for the best flavor.
- Brown sugar – just a hint adds a slight sweetness to the curry chicken.
- Salt + black pepper – to season the chicken.
- Mayonnaise
- Crème fraîche – use sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt if you can’t find creme fraiche. In a US grocery store, it’s usually located in the same area as the fine cheeses near the deli section.
- Dried apricots – this diced, dried fruit adds sweetness and texture to the dish.
- Cooked, shredded chicken breasts – to make this dish, I used this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe. After cooking and shredding it, I let the chicken cool before making the recipe. You could also use breast meat pulled from a cooked rotisserie chicken, found in the deli section of the grocery store.
- Slivered or sliced almonds
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add diced shallots, curry powder and a bay leaf to the skillet. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and chicken broth, them bring the curry sauce to a simmer. Add lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Remove the curry sauce from the heat and strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Discard the bay leaf and diced shallots left in the strainer.
- Add mayonnaise and creme fraiche to the curry sauce in the bowl.
- Stir to combine the curry sauce, mayonnaise and creme fraiche, until a smooth, creamy sauce has formed.
- Add shredded, cooked chicken, diced dried apricots, and slivered almonds to the creamy sauce in the bowl. Toss until the chicken is fully coated in the sauce. Serve immediately, or cover and place it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Ways to serve it
- As tea sandwiches – to make tea sandwiches with the coronation chicken, you’ll need white bread and butter lettuce, or romaine lettuce. I use a loaf of brioche bread to make these sandwiches. The sweetness of the bread pairs perfectly with the chicken. Place pieces of lettuce on a slice of bread, top with the coronation chicken and another piece of lettuce. Add another slice of bread on top, then remove the crusts of the sandwich. Cut the sandwich into halves or quarters, depending on the size of sandwich you’d like to serve.
- In a baked potato, or “jacket potato” – this is a common way to serve coronation chicken in England. Either bake large russet potatoes in the oven, or use these recipes for air fryer baked potatoes or Instant Pot baked potatoes, then slice the potatoes open and fill them with the chicken.
- As a salad – simply line a plate with lettuce, then top it with the chicken and eat it as a salad.
- On toast – for brunch, I like to toast a large slice of sourdough, then top it with the coronation chicken. Feel free to add fresh chopped cilantro on top for garnish.
- As lettuce wraps – fill butter lettuce leaves with the coronation chicken for a light, fresh and flavorful snack or lunch.
Additions and modifications
The recipe provided in this blog post is the original recipe served at the Queen’s coronation. Since making this recipe a few times now, I’ve made a couple of modifications that I enjoy. You’re welcome to try these yourself, or continue to follow the original, classic recipe provided.
- Omit the step of straining the sauce. I enjoy the texture of the cooked, diced shallots in the chicken salad, so instead of straining the sauce, I simply use tongs to remove and discard the bay leaf and skip the step of straining the sauce.
- Add more dried apricots. I really love the taste and texture of the dried apricots in this recipe, so I usually double the amount and add 4 tablespoons of diced, dried apricots, instead of the 2 tablespoons in the original recipe.
- Use golden raisins, or sultanas, instead of apricots. I’ve seen sultanas, known as golden raisins in the US, used in some recipes on the internet. But from what I can tell, dried apricots were used in the original dish. If you prefer golden raisins over apricots, feel free to substitute those into the recipe.
- Serve it cold, and wait an hour before serving it. While this dish can be served warm or cold, I enjoy it served cold, and after it’s set in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The longer the coronation chicken sits in the refrigerator, the more time it has to soak in all of the delicious flavors.
- Double the recipe. We love this recipe so much that we double it and eat it for lunches throughout the week. To double the recipe, simply click the “2X” button in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. It will automatically update the ingredient amounts in the recipe card to double the recipe. This recipe serves 4 people as a meal, or 8-10 as an appetizer or tea party snack.
- Make it gluten free. The coronation chicken recipe is naturally gluten free. Serve it on gluten free bread, in baked potatoes or lettuce wraps, to make a gluten free meal or snack.
Storage tips
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I do not recommend heating up the coronation chicken before serving. Instead, I recommend serving it cold, as a salad, lettuce wrap or sandwich.
More recipes for a tea party
Hosting a royal coronation watch party, or birthday tea party like my friend Ivy? Serve these other bite-sized recipes at your next tea party!
This recipe was #5 on the Top 23 New Recipes of 2023! Click the link to see what other delicious recipes made the list!
Coronation Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
- 1 teaspoon triple-concentrated tomato paste
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup creme fraiche
- 2 tablespoons dried apricots, finely chopped
- 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 3 tablespoons slivered almonds
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium heat.
- Add the shallots, bay leaf and curry powder, cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and chicken broth, bring to a simmer.
- Add the lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
- Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl.
- Add the mayonnaise and creme fraiche to the curry sauce and stir until it's smooth and creamy.
- Add the finely chopped apricots, cooked, shredded chicken and almonds. Toss until everything is coated in the curry sauce.
- Serve on top of butter lettuce, on toast, in a baked potato, or make the salad into tea sandwiches.
Notes
- This recipe will serve 4 people as a meal, or 8-10 people as an appetizer, or tea party snack.
- The coronation chicken recipe is naturally gluten free. Serve it on gluten free bread, in baked potatoes or lettuce wraps, to make a gluten free meal or snack.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I do not recommend heating up the coronation chicken before serving. Instead, I recommend serving it cold, as a salad, lettuce wrap or sandwich.
Nutrition Facts
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One Comment on “Coronation Chicken”
This is so unbelievably good. I made this after never hearing of this dish before. I usually make a curry chicken salad with celery, onion, grapes, mayonnaise & curry powder. This recipe was so stellar, it blew mine out the water. I can’t believe how much me & my family loved this. So so so good.