A simple chicken and mushroom stew with a silky sour cream sauce, onions, and garlic. This Romanian dish is one I've made many times at home, especially when I want something warm and filling without much effort.
Ciulama de pui is often served with polenta or fresh bread, and it's one of those meals that feels even better the next day. The sauce is what makes it special - creamy, lightly thickened, and full of mushrooms and soft chicken.
📷 Recipe Snapshot
📌 Recipe: Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Stew (Ciulama de Pui cu Ciuperci)
⏲️ Time: 40 minutes (10 min prep, 30 min cook)
👥 Serves: 4 servings
🌏 Cuisine: Romanian
📝 Quick Summary: A comforting Romanian chicken and mushroom stew made with tender chicken, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and a rich sour cream sauce. Perfect served with polenta, bread, or mashed potatoes.
🌟 Main Ingredients: Chicken breast or thighs, mushrooms, sour cream, onion, garlic, olive oil, flour, and fresh parsley.
💡 Pro Tip: Lower the heat before adding the sour cream and stir gently. This keeps the sauce smooth and creamy without splitting.
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It comes together in about 35-40 minutes, making it a great midweek dinner when you want something homemade but not complicated.
The texture is creamy, soft, and rich from the sour cream, with tender chicken and earthy mushrooms throughout. It's the kind of dish that works just as well for a family dinner as it does for a quiet weekend meal.
Traditionally, this recipe is tied to seasonal cooking, especially when mushrooms were gathered from the forest. Many families would cook it right after a foraging trip or preserve mushrooms for winter meals. It's simple food, but full of memory and tradition.
If you are building a Romanian meal, this stew pairs perfectly alongside Traditional Romanian Polenta (Mămăligă), and a bowl of Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorba de perisoare) to start. For another mushroom-forward Romanian dish, Grilled Eggplant Salad (Salata de Vinete) makes a great side.
💗 Why this recipe works so well
Soft chicken, no extra steps. Cook it straight in the pan with the mushrooms. No pre-boiling, no separate browning in batches.
Mushrooms do the heavy lifting. They release liquid as they cook and that liquid becomes the base of the sauce. No stock needed beyond the cube.
Sour cream, not cream. The tang cuts through the richness and keeps the sauce from feeling too heavy. It's what separates ciulama from a standard chicken stew.
One pan, start to finish. Nothing to transfer, nothing to drain. The sauce builds in the same pan the chicken cooked in.
Better the next day. The sauce thickens overnight, and the chicken absorbs it. Worth making a double batch.
🥘 Ingredients
*See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Mushrooms: I use organic closed cup mushrooms. The most important step is how you prep them - remove the stem, peel the skin off each cap, then rinse under cold water. It takes a few minutes but makes a real difference to the texture. The skin can turn slimy when cooked; without it, the mushrooms stay firm and clean in the sauce. If you can get wild mushrooms in season, use them. The depth of taste is different entirely - earthier, more complex. In Romania, picking mushrooms from the forest in autumn was a family outing. We would come home with full bags, and my grandmother would start cleaning and sorting them immediately - some went into jars, some were dried for winter, some went straight into a pan with garlic and onion that same evening. If you have access to wild mushrooms, this is the recipe to use them in.
Chicken: Breast works well for a leaner result. Thighs stay juicier and have more taste - I often use thighs when I have them. Bone-in cuts like legs or wings work too; just add a few extra minutes cooking time and pull the meat off the bone before you add the sour cream. Traditionally, in times when chicken breast was not as common, this was made with whole chicken pieces, and the bones added richness to the sauce.
Sour cream: Use full-fat sour cream with at least 25% fat content. Lower-fat versions split when they hit the heat. In Romania, we use smântână, which is richer than American sour cream - if you can find Eastern European-style sour cream at a speciality grocery, use it. Otherwise, full-fat American sour cream works fine. Crème fraîche is a good substitute.
Flour vs cornstarch: One tablespoon of all-purpose flour is the traditional thickener. Half a tablespoon of cornstarch does the same job with a slightly cleaner, glossier sauce. Both work - just make sure to stir it fully into the pan before adding the sour cream so you don't get lumps.
Mushrooms have always been a staple in Romanian home cooking. When we collected wild mushrooms with family, some would go into dishes like this ciulama, while others were turned into spreads such as this homemade mushroom pâté.
Substitutes & variations
- Chicken thighs can replace chicken breast for a juicier result
- No meat version: double the mushrooms
- Greek yogurt: lighter alternative to sour cream
- Cornstarch instead of flour: gluten-free option
- Add dill: for a more traditional Romanian touch
- Wild mushrooms can be used for a deeper, earthier taste
- Add extra garlic if you like stronger seasoning
Claudia's Top Tips
#1 Don't rush the mushrooms. Let them release their liquid fully before you move on. If you add the sour cream while there's still moisture cooking off, the sauce turns watery instead of creamy.
#2 Lower the heat before adding sour cream. High heat makes sour cream split - you end up with grainy white lumps instead of a smooth sauce. Take the pan off the heat for 30 seconds if needed, then stir the sour cream in slowly.
#3 Add parsley at the end only. Parsley added too early loses its colour and turns dull. Stir it in just before serving.
Serving suggestions
- In Romania, ciulama de pui is most often served with warm mămăligă (Romanian polenta), which is perfect for soaking up the creamy sauce. If you've never made it before, my traditional Romanian polenta (mămăligă) recipe shows exactly how to prepare it.
- Romanian House Bread (Paine de casa) is the other traditional option. Thick-crusted, good for mopping up the sauce. Any crusty white bread works.
- Mashed potatoes for a heavier meal
- It also works well with simple cucumber salad or pickled vegetables on the side.
If you enjoy comforting Romanian-style chicken dishes, you might also like my creamy chicken soup with lemon and egg, another family favorite that comes together in about 30 minutes.
❓ Chicken and Mushroom Stew FAQs
Yes - it keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The sauce thickens as it sits. When reheating, add a small splash of water or extra sour cream and warm it slowly over low heat, stirring to bring the sauce back together. Don't boil it - the sour cream can separate at high heat.
Two common reasons: the sour cream was low-fat, or it was added to a pan that was too hot. Use full-fat sour cream (at least 25% fat) and lower the heat before you stir it in. Keep the heat at medium-low once the cream is in and don't let it boil.
Yes - soak them in warm water for 20-30 minutes first, then squeeze out the excess liquid and use them the same way. Use the soaking water in place of plain water when cooking the chicken for extra depth. Dried porcini work especially well here.
Ciulama is specifically a white, creamy sauce dish - the white color and sour cream base are what define it. It is thickened lightly with flour or cornstarch rather than being a broth-based or tomato stew. The taste is mild, garlicky, and creamy rather than rich or heavily spiced.
It is possible but the sour cream sauce does not freeze well - it tends to separate and turn grainy when thawed. If you want to freeze it, do so before adding the sour cream, then add it fresh when reheating. The chicken and mushroom base freezes fine.
More Chicken Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Stew (Romanian Ciulama de Pui)
Ingredients
- 1.2 lb chicken breast or chicken thighs diced
- 1 lb fresh mushrooms sliced
- 1 chciken stock cube
- 1 cup sour cream (at least 25% fat)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves grated or minced
- 1 tablespoon flour or ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 small bunch parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5-10 minutes until lightly browned and mostly cooked through. Add a splash of water if needed.1.2 lb chicken breast or chicken thighs, 2 tbsp olive oil, Salt, Black pepper
- Add chopped onion and sliced mushrooms, and crumble the chicken stock. Stir well, cover with a lid, and cook until the mushrooms soften and release their juices, then reduce down.1 lb fresh mushrooms, 1 onion, 1 chciken stock cube
- Add garlic and mix through. Let it cook for another minute so the aroma builds.4 garlic cloves
- Sprinkle in the flour (or cornstarch) and stir well so it dissolves into the sauce.1 tbsp flour
- Lower the heat and add sour cream. Stir until everything becomes smooth and creamy. Let it cook for another 2 minutes.1 cup sour cream (at least 25% fat)
- Finish with fresh parsley and a pinch of nutmeg if using. Serve warm.1 small bunch parsley
Laura says
This creamy chicken mushroom stew is rich, cozy, and full of comforting flavor. Perfect for a warm, satisfying meal on a chilly day!
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
The sour cream sauce is what makes it for me too. Glad it hit the spot!
Lizzie says
This Romanian chicken and mushroom stew has that rich, home-cooked flavor that feels so satisfying. The silky sour cream sauce makes it creamy without being too heavy.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
That's exactly it — the sour cream keeps it rich without making it heavy. Happy you noticed that balance.
Elaine says
Chicken and mushrooms has long been a favorite dinner combo for me. I really like this Romanian version with sour cream. Tastes even better the next day!
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Always better the next day. The sauce thickens overnight and the chicken absorbs everything. Good call saving some.
LisaLisa says
OMG, let me grab a bowl because this looks absolutely delicious! The creamy mushroom sauce, tender chicken, and rich flavors sound like the ultimate comfort food, especially served with fresh bread to soak up every last bite.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Fresh bread is the move here, you're right. Nothing left in the bowl!
Charlie says
This stew was a hit with my family. Personally, I love everything that includes mushrooms, so it was a win-win!
Imperfectly Wabi Sabi says
This looks so delicious and easy to make! can't wait to try this.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
It really is one of the easiest ones to pull together. Hope you enjoy it when you try it!
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
A mushroom lover will always do well with this one. Glad the family approved!
Cora says
I made this for my Romanian friend and he really loved it. Said it tasted like home! Thank you for the recipe.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
That comment means a lot — "tasted like home" is exactly what this recipe is supposed to do. Thank you for making it for him.
Isa says
SO creamy and delicious!
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Thank you! The sour cream sauce is hard to argue with.
Jill says
This creamy chicken and mushroom stew is so incredibly delicious!
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Thank you Jill, so happy you enjoyed it!
Alicia says
This creamy chicken and mushroom stew is such a delicious one! It is comforting and the whole family enjoyed.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Family approval is the real test. Really glad it worked for everyone at the table.
Victoria says
This chicken and mushroom stew is so delicious! I lovw how comforting it is.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Thank you! Comfort food at its simplest.
Timmi says
Simple, yet so decadent and really quite impossible not to have seconds. Both my husband and I loved this dish at the first spoonful! Perfect with your polenta recipe too!
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Having seconds is mandatory with this one. And yes — the polenta is the perfect match, so glad you tried both together!
Jill says
This chicken and mushroom stew sounds warm, creamy, and so comforting. The sour cream sauce with onions and garlic makes it simple but full of flavor.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
Simple is often the best way with Romanian cooking. The sour cream and garlic do most of the work.