52p. That's what this meal costs per serving. A full plate — chicken chasseur in a rich tomato and herb sauce, proper crispy roast potatoes, glazed carrots and green beans. Not a bowl of pasta. Not beans on toast. A meal that restaurants charge twelve pounds for, cooked from scratch at home for under the price of a bus fare.
The trick is simple: buy chicken breast in a larger pack (significantly cheaper per gram than individual portions), use a tin of tomatoes and a stock cube as the base, and stretch three tablespoons of white wine into something that genuinely tastes like it belongs in a French bistro. Chicken chasseur is one of those dishes that looks intimidating and costs almost nothing to make. That combination is exactly what this site is for.
One note before the recipe: this version doesn't include mushrooms. If you want a fully traditional chicken chasseur, a small handful of sliced mushrooms goes in with the onions and adds roughly 20–25p to the cost, keeping you well under £2 per serving. Both versions work. The mushroom-free version is leaner and faster to prep.
Now, the costs.
Full Cost Breakdown — Every Penny
All prices are based on buying the minimum available quantity from Aldi or Tesco. Where a larger pack is used and only part of it goes in the recipe (like chicken breast), the per-recipe cost is calculated proportionally.
The Chasseur Sauce
| Ingredient | Amount Used | Cost | Where to Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | 300g | £2.24 | Aldi (large pack, price per 300g share) |
| Onion | 1 medium | 9p | Aldi / Tesco |
| Garlic | 1 clove | 4p | Aldi (bulb, cost per clove) |
| Tinned chopped tomatoes | 1 × 400g tin | 47p | Aldi own-brand |
| Tomato purée | ¼ tube | 18p | Tesco own-brand tube |
| Chicken stock cube | 1 cube | 12p | Aldi / Tesco |
| White wine | 3 tbsp | 43p | Budget cooking wine, Lidl or Tesco |
| Black pepper | 1 tsp | 4p | Any supermarket |
| Dried thyme | ½ tsp | 2p | Any supermarket |
| Dried rosemary | ½ tsp | 2p | Any supermarket |
| Chasseur Total | £3.65 | 3 servings = £1.21 each | |
The Vegetables
| Ingredient | Amount Used | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 200g | 18p | Any roasting variety — Maris Piper ideal |
| Carrot | 1 medium | 5p | Loose or bagged — both fine |
| Frozen green beans | 60g | 8p | Aldi or Lidl frozen — cost per 60g from a 1kg bag |
| Vegetable oil (for roasting) | 4 tbsp | 5p | Any own-brand |
| Veg Total | 36p | Shared across 3 servings | |
💷 Grand Total: £1.57 for the full meal (3 servings)
That's 52p per complete plate — chasseur sauce, roast potatoes, glazed carrots and green beans.
⚠️ Prices checked against Aldi and Tesco, April 2026. Costs may vary slightly by region and pack size. Flour, oil for frying, and butter for carrots are pantry staples not included in the total — typically pennies each if purchased separately.
What You Need
Everything is available in any UK supermarket. The white wine is worth noting — you don't need a bottle. Most supermarkets sell small 187ml bottles (the aeroplane-size ones) for under £1.50, and three tablespoons out of that will leave you most of the bottle. A mini bottle of cooking wine from Tesco's own range or Lidl works perfectly.
If you'd rather not use wine at all, a small splash of brandy (cooking brandy from any supermarket works — roughly 60p for a miniature) is actually more traditional and gives a slightly richer flavour. Or skip it entirely and add an extra 50ml of stock. The dish still works. The wine just adds a layer of flavour that makes it taste less like a weeknight tomato stew.
Chicken leg or thigh would also work here if you prefer bone-in cuts — they're often cheaper per kilo than breast, and the extra fat in thighs makes the sauce even richer. Just add 15 minutes to the oven time.
Step-by-Step Method
Total active time is about 20 minutes. Then the oven does an hour of the work for you.
Stage 1 — Prep and seal the chicken (5 mins)
Cut the chicken breast into pieces roughly an inch square. Not smaller — they'll dry out in the oven. Dust them in plain flour. You're not coating them heavily, just a light dusting that helps them colour and gently thickens the sauce later.
Heat a drizzle of oil in a heavy-based pan or casserole dish over low-to-medium heat. Add the chicken pieces. Let them sit without moving for a couple of minutes until they start to go golden on the underside. Flip. Another minute or two. They don't need to be cooked through — just sealed and lightly coloured on the outside. Take them out and set them on a plate.
Stage 2 — Build the sauce (8 mins)
In the same pan, add the chopped onion and garlic. No need to wash it — the floury, chicken-flavoured pan residue is useful. Fry gently until the onion softens, about 4–5 minutes. Don't rush this. Soft onion is sweet; crunchy onion in a braise is not pleasant.
Turn the heat down. Add the 3 tablespoons of white wine. It'll spit and bubble. Let it cook for a minute so the harsh alcohol smell cooks off, then add the tin of chopped tomatoes and the tomato purée. Stir well.
Mix the stock cube into about 250ml of boiling water and add it to the pan. The sauce should look quite liquid at this point — it'll reduce during the oven hour. Add the thyme, rosemary and black pepper. Stir. Taste a small spoonful (careful, it'll be hot). The seasoning should be assertive but not sharp.
Any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan from the chicken? Work them off with a wooden spoon — they add flavour and they'll dissolve into the sauce as you stir.
Stage 3 — Potatoes in, everything in the oven (5 mins)
Add the sealed chicken pieces back into the sauce. Stir once to coat. The pan goes into the oven at 160°C fan (180°C conventional).
While you're sorting that: peel and chop the potatoes into proper roasting chunks. Not too small. Par-boil them for 7–8 minutes until the edges are starting to go fluffy and rough. Drain well. Let them steam dry for a minute in the colander — this matters for crispness. Tip into a roasting tin with the vegetable oil, season with a little salt, and into the oven alongside the chasseur. Same temperature.
Both come out in an hour. Set a timer. You're done in the kitchen for now.
Stage 4 — Carrots and beans (10 mins before serving)
Peel the carrot and cut into batons — halved lengthways, then cut across into short lengths. Melt a small knob of butter in a pan, add the carrots, and cook over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. A pinch of dried basil and oregano goes in towards the end. They should be tender but still have a little bite, and slightly glazed from the butter.
The frozen green beans just need boiling or steaming for 4–5 minutes. From frozen. No need to defrost.
What If It Goes Wrong?
Sauce is too thin after an hour in the oven. Take the chicken out and set it aside. Put the pan directly on the hob over medium-high heat and boil the sauce hard, uncovered, for 5–8 minutes. It'll thicken quickly. First time I made this, it came out looking more like a soup than a chasseur. Twenty minutes on a high flame fixed it entirely.
Sauce is too thick or starting to catch on the bottom. Add a splash more stock or a few tablespoons of water and stir. Low oven temperatures shouldn't cause this, but oven variation can be significant — a cheap oven running hot will do it.
Potatoes aren't crispy. Usually means they weren't dried properly after par-boiling, or the oven wasn't hot enough for them. You can finish them off under a grill for 5 minutes if the outside isn't catching in the oven.
Chicken is dry. 300g of breast cut into 1-inch pieces should not dry out in an hour at 160°C in sauce. If it has, the oven is likely running much hotter than the dial says, or the pieces were cut too small. Chicken thigh is more forgiving if you're not confident about oven calibration.
Common Mistakes
- Skipping the flour-dusting. It's only a light coat, but it makes the sauce body noticeably better. Don't skip it.
- Not letting the wine cook off before adding the tomatoes. The sharpness stays in the sauce if you rush this. Give it a full minute after the wine goes in.
- Adding all the stock at once without checking consistency. Start with 200ml, see how the sauce looks, add more if it needs it. The transcript calls for 250ml which is about right — but your pan depth and evaporation rate may vary.
- Cutting the potatoes too small for roasting. Small pieces go soft before they crisp up. Keep them proper roast-potato sized — think golf ball, halved.
- Not par-boiling the potatoes first. Raw potatoes at 160°C for an hour come out pale and waxy. Par-boil them first, rough them up in the colander, then roast.
- Using dried herbs in the wrong quantity. Dried herbs are stronger than fresh. The half-teaspoon each of thyme and rosemary here is the right call. More than that and the rosemary dominates the sauce.
Yes. Unambiguously yes.
52p per serving for a meal this complete and this flavoursome is genuinely hard to beat. The preparation time is short — under 20 minutes of actual hands-on work before the oven takes over. The result is a proper dinner, not a budget approximation of one. The sauce is rich and well-seasoned. The chicken stays moist. The roast potatoes work properly. It's the kind of meal that would be unremarkable if you paid twelve pounds for it at a pub, which is exactly the point.
The only caution: this is a 90-minute meal start to finish because of the oven time. It's not a 30-minute weeknight quick-fix. Plan it for a Saturday when the hour in the oven costs you nothing because you're doing something else anyway. In that context, it becomes one of the most efficient meals you can make on a budget.
Storage and Leftovers
The chasseur sauce keeps well. Into a sealed container in the fridge and it's good for up to 3 days — the flavour actually improves overnight as the herbs and tomato continue to develop. Reheat thoroughly in a pan over medium heat, adding a small splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much in the fridge.
It also freezes well. Portion it out before freezing — labelled bags or airtight containers, flat-frozen if you're short on space. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat fully. The texture of the chicken after freezing is slightly different but the sauce remains excellent. Useful if you want to batch-cook and have three ready-to-go portions in the freezer.
The roast potatoes don't freeze well. Make those fresh. The leftover chasseur is just as good served over mashed potato or rice if you prefer not to roast again on day two.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
Yes. Brown the chicken and soften the onions first, then everything goes into the slow cooker on low for 4–5 hours. The sauce may be thinner than the oven version — thicken at the end by turning to high with the lid off for 20 minutes, or adding a teaspoon of cornflour mixed with cold water.
What can I use instead of white wine?
Cooking brandy (a small miniature is enough) works well and is arguably more traditional. Alternatively, skip it entirely and add 50ml extra stock — the dish still tastes good, just slightly less complex. Grape juice with a teaspoon of white wine vinegar is a common alcohol-free substitute if you prefer.
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breast?
Yes, and thighs are often better value. Bone-in thighs are particularly good in braises — the bone adds flavour. Allow an extra 15–20 minutes in the oven. Boneless thighs work exactly as the breast does in this method, just with a richer result from the higher fat content.
Should I add mushrooms?
If you want a traditional chicken chasseur, yes. A small handful of sliced button mushrooms goes in with the onions and adds roughly 20–25p to the total cost — still well under £2 for the full meal. The mushroom version has more texture and a slightly earthier sauce. Both work.
What's the difference between chicken chasseur and British "hunter's chicken"?
Very different dishes despite the same name translation. British pub-style hunter's chicken is typically a grilled chicken breast topped with bacon, barbecue sauce and melted cheese. Chicken chasseur (Poulet Chasseur) is a French braised dish in a tomato, wine and herb sauce. This recipe is the French version.
Is 200g of potato really enough for three people?
It depends on your portion sizes. 200g is roughly 65g per person of par-boiled weight, which gives a reasonable side-portion. If you prefer a more generous serving of potatoes, double it — adding another 18p to the total and keeping you firmly under £2.
About the Author
Vinod Pandey researches and documents budget recipes from real UK home cooks. Every recipe on Baking on Budget is sourced from verified UK cooking sources, with ingredient costs checked against current Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl pricing. No guesswork — exact pence, every time.
Questions or corrections? Get in touch · LinkedIn
The recipe is straightforward — your specific next step is to check you have a stock cube and a tin of tomatoes in the cupboard, then pick up the chicken next time you're passing Aldi. That's the only planning this meal needs. If you're already buying chicken in larger packs for the freezer (which you should be, at this kind of saving per gram), pull out 300g the night before and you're most of the way there.
If this kind of meal interests you, the vegetable pasties at 33p each are worth a look for a different weekday option — entirely different technique, similar budget principle. And if you're cooking chicken regularly and want to get more out of a single bird, the Budget Recipe section has more along these lines.
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