Have you ever wanted to capture the sun-drenched, rustic flavors of the South of France in a single, comforting bowl? Imagine a dish that’s heartier than a soup but not quite as heavy as a stew, packed with tender chicken, vegetables, and fragrant herbs. This incredible one-pot Chicken Provencal “Stoup” is your ticket to a delicious, easy, and soulful meal.
This recipe is a celebration of the simple, vibrant flavors of Provence. The clever “stoup” concept—a thick and satisfying soup—is the perfect vehicle for classic ingredients like zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. Finished with a spoonful of intense black olive tapenade stirred in at the table, this dish is a truly unique and memorable experience.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: A Trip to France in a Bowl
What makes this Chicken Provencal Stoup so special is its perfect balance of hearty texture and bright, herbaceous flavor. It’s a complete meal in a bowl that comes together in one pot, making cleanup a breeze. The final swirl of salty, briny tapenade at the end is a game-changing touch that elevates the entire dish from a simple soup to a gourmet experience.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 45 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 4 |
The Essential Ingredients for This French-Inspired Meal
This dish uses the classic pantry of the French countryside to build its unforgettable flavor. Here’s what you’ll need and why.
- Chicken Tenders: The perfect choice for a quick-cooking stoup. Chicken tenders are naturally lean and tender, and when diced, they cook through in just a few minutes in the simmering broth, ensuring they stay perfectly moist and succulent.
- A Medley of Fresh Vegetables (Carrots, Zucchini, Bell Pepper, Onion): This colorful mix creates the sweet, savory, and textural base of our stoup. They evoke the vibrant vegetable markets of Provence.
- Red-Skinned Potatoes: We use small, red-skinned potatoes because their skin is thin and delicate, which means no peeling is required! They become perfectly tender while holding their shape, adding hearty substance to the dish.
- Herbes de Provence: This is the signature aromatic heart of the dish. This classic dried herb blend typically includes rosemary, thyme, savory, oregano, and sometimes lavender. It instantly transports your senses to the sunny fields of southern France.
- Dry White Wine: A splash of dry white wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, is used to deglaze the pot. This simple step adds a crucial layer of bright, acidic flavor that lifts the entire dish.
- Black Olive Tapenade: This is the secret weapon that makes this stoup truly special. Tapenade is a rich, savory paste made from puréed black olives, capers, and anchovies. A rounded spoonful stirred into the hot stoup at the end adds an incredible punch of salty, briny, umami flavor.
- Crusty Bread: Absolutely essential! You need a good, crusty baguette or country loaf to pass at the table for dipping, mopping, and soaking up every last drop of the fragrant broth.
Step-by-Step to Your One-Pot “Stoup”
Follow these simple steps to create this rustic and comforting meal. It all comes together in a single pot for easy cooking and cleanup.
Step 1: Sauté the Vegetable Base First, get your medium-sized soup pot preheating over medium-high heat. While it heats, prep your vegetables. Chop the carrots into a small 1/4-inch dice.
Add the 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil to the hot pot. Add the diced carrots and the chopped garlic and stir them to coat in the oil.
Next, chop the zucchini, red bell pepper, and onion into a slightly larger 1/2-inch dice. Add them directly to the pot as you chop—this is called the “chop and drop” method.
Season all the vegetables generously with salt, pepper, and the tablespoon of herbes de Provence. Cook everything together for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the vegetables to soften and become fragrant.
Step 2: Deglaze and Add Liquids While the vegetables are cooking, cut your red-skinned potatoes into thin wedges.
After the vegetables have cooked for 5 minutes, pour the dry white wine into the pot. Let it bubble and simmer for about a minute, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pot. This process is called deglazing.
Now, add the can of diced tomatoes (with their juice), the cut potatoes, and all of the chicken stock to the pot.
Step 3: Simmer the “Stoup” Stir everything together, cover the pot, and raise the heat to high. Bring the stoup to a full boil.
Step 4: Cook the Chicken and Finish Once the stoup is boiling, add the diced chicken tenders. Stir them in, then reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer.
Let the stoup simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. This is just enough time for the potatoes to become tender and the diced chicken to cook through perfectly without becoming tough.
After 10 minutes, your stoup is ready. Taste it and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper if you feel it needs it.
Hearty Chicken Provencal “Stoup” Recipe
A hearty one-pot meal, this Chicken Provencal ‘Stoup’ is a thick soup or a thin stew, brimming with flavors of the French countryside. The dish features a medley of summer vegetables like carrots, zucchini, and bell peppers, sautéed with Herbes de Provence. Diced chicken tenders and potatoes are then simmered in a savory broth of white wine, chicken stock, and tomatoes. Each bowl is served with a spoonful of black olive tapenade stirred in at the table, a sprinkle of fresh parsley, and crusty bread for dipping.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Sautéing, Simmering
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 small to medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 medium yellow skinned onion, peeled and diced
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
- 1 1/2 pounds small red skinned potatoes, thinly wedged
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 quart plus 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 pound chicken tenders, diced
- 1 small jar (4 ounces) black olive tapenade
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Crusty bread, to pass at table
Instructions
- Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the diced carrots and chopped garlic and stir. Then, add the diced zucchini, bell pepper, and onion.
- Season the vegetables with salt, pepper, and the herbes de Provence. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the vegetables cook, cut the potatoes into thin wedges.
- Add the white wine to the pot and let it reduce for a minute or so.
- Add the diced tomatoes, potato wedges, and chicken stock to the pot. Cover the pot and raise the heat to high to bring the stoup to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the diced chicken. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- To serve, ladle the stoup into shallow bowls. Let each person stir a rounded spoonful of black olive tapenade into their bowl.
- Top the soup with chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread on the side for dipping.
Notes
- ‘Stoup’ is a term for a dish that is thicker than a soup but thinner than a stew.
- The black olive tapenade is added at the table as a finishing garnish, not cooked into the stew, to preserve its fresh, pungent flavor.
- This is a one-pot meal, which makes for easy cooking and cleanup.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe (without bread)
- Calories: 450-550
- Sugar: 12-18 g
- Sodium: 1000-1300 mg
- Fat: 18-25 g
- Saturated Fat: 3-5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40-50 g
- Fiber: 8-10 g
- Protein: 30-35 g
- Cholesterol: 70-90 mg
Assembling and Serving Your Chicken Provencal Stoup
The presentation of this dish is part of its rustic charm and interactive fun. Ladle the hot, hearty stoup into shallow bowls.
The most important step comes at the table. Serve the stoup with the jar of black olive tapenade on the side. Instruct each person to stir a rounded spoonful of the tapenade directly into their hot bowl of stoup. The intense, salty paste will melt into the broth, transforming the flavor and adding incredible depth.
Top each bowl with a sprinkle of fresh, chopped parsley. Be sure to pass plenty of warm, crusty bread at the table for dipping.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
This stoup is a fantastic meal to make ahead, as the flavors will continue to develop and deepen in the refrigerator.
- Storage: Allow any leftovers to cool completely. Store the stoup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: This stoup freezes very well. Let it cool completely, then portion it into freezer-safe containers or bags. It will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Thaw frozen stoup in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat it gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is warmed through.
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Creative Recipe Variations
This rustic stoup is a wonderful base for your own culinary creativity.
1. Add White Beans For an even heartier and more traditional French country-style stoup, add one 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans or Great Northern beans. Stir them in along with the chicken stock.
2. Use Boneless Chicken Thighs For a richer, more succulent flavor, you can substitute the chicken tenders with 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized chunks. They are more forgiving and may need a few extra minutes of simmering time to become tender.
3. Serve with a Rouille Garnish For a different but equally French finish, skip the tapenade and serve the stoup with a dollop of rouille. Rouille is a classic saffron-and-garlic mayonnaise-style sauce, often served with fish stews like bouillabaisse. Its spicy, garlicky flavor is a fantastic complement to this stoup.
Enjoy Your Trip to Provence!
You’ve just created a wonderfully rustic and comforting meal that captures the heart and soul of the French countryside. This Chicken Provencal Stoup is a testament to how simple, fresh ingredients can be combined to create something truly special and delicious. It’s a perfect one-pot meal for any season.
We hope this dish brings warmth and joy to your table. Bon appétit!
If you loved this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who appreciates the simple, delicious flavors of French cooking!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What exactly is a “stoup”? “
“Stoup” is a clever portmanteau of “soup” and “stew,” a term popularized by celebrity chef Rachael Ray. It describes a dish that is thicker and heartier than a typical brothy soup but not quite as thick and slow-cooked as a traditional stew. It’s the perfect middle ground and a complete meal in a bowl.
Q2: What is in Herbes de Provence and can I make my own?
Herbes de Provence is a classic dried herb blend from the Provence region of France. It typically contains savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Some blends also include lavender flowers. You can easily make your own by mixing equal parts of those dried herbs.
Q3: What is black olive tapenade?
Tapenade is a traditional French dip or spread made primarily from finely chopped or puréed olives, capers, and olive oil. The most common version uses black olives. It has an intense, salty, briny, and deeply savory flavor. It’s a brilliant “secret ingredient” to have on hand for adding a punch of flavor to many dishes.
Q4: Can I make this stoup vegetarian?
Yes, this dish can easily be made vegetarian. Omit the chicken and use a high-quality vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. To make it just as hearty, add one or two cans of drained and rinsed cannellini beans or chickpeas along with the potatoes.
Q5: Why is the chicken added later in the cooking process?
We add the diced chicken tenders towards the end of the cooking time because they cook very quickly. If we were to add them at the beginning with the vegetables, they would simmer for too long and become tough and dry. Adding them for the last 8-10 minutes ensures they are perfectly cooked, tender, and juicy.