Chicken Alexander

This Chicken Alexander has a luxurious thick, creamy sauce that’s kept fresh and bright with plenty of parsley and chives. Veg wise, it has a mix of sweet peppers and mushrooms, which compliment the sauce perfectly. This family dinner can be ready in just 30 minutes!

The secret to this quick family meal? The sauce is actually tinned soup! I found adding a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and a of Cream of Chicken Soup made just the best quick, luxurious shortcut sauce for this meal. Sometimes us mum’s need a helping hand on busy weeknights, don’t we?!

What is Chicken Alexander?

I first had Chicken Alexander years ago. Right before I had my son, I knew I needed to not worry about making dinner every night, so I packed the freezer with COOK meals and this was our favourite of them all. Ever since I had been wanting to recreate it and I finally did! Chicken Alexander was actually created by COOK’s co-founder and is made using sherry and white wine, but I wanted my version to be alcohol free so we don’t need to worry about sharing it with our kids (my version is suitable for 12 months +).

For more on sharing this Chicken Alexander with a toddler or fussy eater, see here >

The Stars of my Chicken Alexander

I’m using as many shortcuts for this recipe as possible to keep the prep and cook times down.

The Chicken

Definitely go for a pack of pre-diced chicken breast, that will save you a chunk of time. And I’d recommend sticking to breast meat. If you end up using chicken thighs instead, it will change the flavour of the meal as really breast meat is better suited to the creamy, mushroomy sauce. 

The Mushrooms

You want to go for pre-sliced mushrooms, it will save you time and energy as you don’t need to scrub all the dirt off and then chop them up. I find pre-sliced mushrooms are usually the same price as whole mushrooms.

The Sauce

Yes this is a full on cheat’s way to make a sauce, but we need to keep the prep and cook time down and we need to ensure it’s got a ton of flavour like COOK’s original version (and remember we aren’t adding alcohol to keep it extra kid friendly). I use Heinz brand soups but you can use supermarket own make which is cheaper if you prefer. You’ll need 400g can’s of Cream of Chicken Soup and Cream of Mushroom Soup. Don’t go for condensed cream soups as they will not give you the right sauce volume of sauce or consistency.

The Herbs

This is what most your prep time will be spent on as there is no substituting fresh herbs for dried in this meal! You’ll need most of a 30g pack of chives and parsley, and yes you’ll need to wash and chop all that. But I promise it’s worth it, those fresh herbs really lift the thick creamy sauce and keep it feeling light and bright.

The Peppers

Personally, I like to use yellow and red bell peppers, but you can use any red, yellow or orange peppers you have in the fridge.

FAQ’s For My Chicken Alexander

What should I serve this with?

We love this meal with white rice, but I think it would also go great with mashed potato.

Can I prepare this Chicken Alexander in advance?

We are using pre-diced chicken and sliced mushrooms already, but you can certainly prep the flour and chop the peppers and herbs in advance. Just store the veg and herbs in the fridge until ready to use.

Can I feed more people with this recipe?

Yes, so long as you have a nice big pot to cook it in! You can use the buttons top right of the ingredients list in the recipe to scale it up.

How can younger children help make it?

They can help chop the herbs if you have a mezzaluna. So long as they are holding onto it with both hands, they can chop them safely under your supervision.

Can I Store Chicken Alexander leftovers?

You can store any Chicken Alexander leftovers in an air-tight container or resealable food bag in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). Leftovers can also be frozen, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat in the microwave, stirring halfway, until steaming hot all the way through. While you are reheating the leftovers you might notice the sauce looks like it’s separated, but don’t worry, it will come back together when you stir it once it’s steaming hot.

More on safe food storage and reheating.

What diets is this recipe suitable for?

My Chicken Alexander is nut and egg-free. It’s not suitable for diary or wheat free diets as the soups will contain both those food groups.

Adapting My Chicken Alexander For Your Family

Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Chicken Alexander recipe for sharing with a toddler or a fussy eater, which will help make it easier to eat together as a family.

Keeping Fussy Eaters Happy

If you have a young child or picky eater that doesn’t seem to like creamy sauces, dish their’s up using a slotted spoon and allow most the sauce to drain away. My daughter is not what I would call a fussy eater but even so, she doesn’t like creamy sauces so this is what I always do for her.

Making My Chicken Alexander Suitable for Toddlers

Because shop-bought soup has salt in it, this meal is not suitable for babies under 12 months. For your toddler you may want to dish their portion up with a slotted spoon so they don’t get much of the sauce. Cut their cooked chicken, peppers and mushrooms into bitesize pieces and serve with a spoon and fork.

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