Mom's Italian Braised Chicken is a dish from my childhood. Chicken breasts, potatoes, carrots, celery and seasonings are stewed in tomato soup for the perfect comfort food dish.

I was a super picky eater as a kid and my mom wasn't a fan of cooking, so we ate a lot of the same meals. This is one dish I'll always remember, the huge cast iron pan that she cooked it in and how it felt like it had to simmer away forever before it was done.
My mom makes this recipe using bone-in chicken breasts, but I'm weird about my food having bones in it so I've adapted this recipe to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead. I've also upped the seasonings for a more flavorful dish and changed the cooking method oh so slightly.
What is Mom's Italian Braised Chicken?
This is such an easy recipe! Boneless skinless chicken breasts are pan-fried and then cooked low and slow on the stove with carrots, celery and potatoes. Canned tomato soup makes up the sauce in this recipe.
🥘 Ingredients for this recipe
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- potatoes
- carrots
- celery
- canned tomato soup
- garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
- bay leaf
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
🔪Instructions for this recipe
- Start off by seasoning both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large bowl toss the potatoes, carrots and celery together with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Add olive oil to a large skillet and cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Then remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Next, add the vegetables to the skillet and cook until just softened.
- Then nestle the chicken back into the vegetables, pour the tomato soup on top and stir in, along with the water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until veggies are fork-tender and chicken is cooked through.
- Use two forks to gently shred up some of the chicken.
Serving Suggestions and Substitutions
- Serve this dish with Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls, garlic bread and/or a salad.
- Replace boneless, skinless chicken breasts with bone-in. You'll need to increase the cooking time by at least 15 minutes. Chicken thighs and drumsticks can also be used.
- Replace one can of tomato soup with your favorite red wine.
- Onions, red pepper flakes, parsley, basil and balsamic vinegar would all be great additions to this dish.
- This recipe can be made in the slow cooker: Add in all of the ingredients and cook on for 6 hours. Optional: pan-sear the chicken and veggies before adding to the slow cooker for more flavor.
FAQ's for this recipe
- What is braised chicken? Braising is a two-step cooking process where the meat (chicken) is fried or seared and then simmered in a liquid (typically, wine or broth but in this case, soup) until finished cooking. As a kid, we called this recipe 'stewed chicken'.
- How much liquid do I need to braise meat? You want the meat to be submerged, but not covered. Covered would be considered boiling.
- Do you braise with the lid on or off? On! Once the chicken is covered in the tomato soup, bring it up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
- What are other commonly braised recipes? Chicken cacciatore, pot roast, and coq au vin are popular braised recipes.
Recipe
Mom's Italian Braised Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups potatoes diced
- 1 cup carrots cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup celery cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 10.75 oz cans tomato soup
- 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, carrots and celery with 1 tablespoon olive oil, italian seasoning and garlic powder.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the chicken until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the vegetables to the skillet and cook until the carrots and celery and just softened, about 10 minutes. Nestle the chicken back into the skillet and pour the tomato soup on top. Fill each soup can with water and add that to the skillet, along with the bay leaf. Stir until everything is covered.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 F.
- Remove the bay leaf. Use two forks to shred the chicken.
- Divide onto plates and serve.
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