The Best Chicken Murphy Recipe (2024)

This Chicken Murphy recipe is a tasty chicken dinner that blends sausage, vinegar, pepper and potatoes with chicken in a spicy tomato sauce. Perfect to serve at family gatherings.

Authentic Chicken Murphy Recipe

Growing up in New Jersey, I was lucky to have been exposed to a variety of regional dishes. Chicken Murphy is one of those incredible dishes.

If you’ve never heard of it, Chicken Murphy is a popular dish served in red and white checkered tablecloth Italian restaurants throughout New Jersey, including the Jersey shore, and the most popular being the iconic Belmont Tavern in Belleville, NJ.

Despite its name, Chicken Murphy is not an Irish recipe, nor is it affiliated with Papa Murphy’s Pizza Restaurant. It is a typical Italian dish that you will find in the New Jersey, New York area. The opinions about how this Italian chicken dish was named are widely debated.

Some say Murphy was the name of the person who invented this dish (Murphy’s chicken); others say that Murphy refers to the potatoes.

Regardless of how it was named, I’m sure that you will agree after one bite of this delicious New Jersey classic, that this is a dinner that you will be making more than once.

Some chicken murphy recipes are made without tomatoes and hot peppers, but I’ve been told many times this recipe for chicken murphy is the most authentic one with tomatoes and hot peppers.

You might also want to try Disco Fries and a Jersey Burger for two more New Jersey favorites.

Here is what you will need to make chicken murphy

This is an overview of the ingredients and steps to make this easy roasted potatoes recipe. Scroll down for a printable recipe card with exact measurements and detailed instructions.

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How to make the best Chicken Murphy

Get all of the ingredients ready: Cut the potatoes, onions and peppers into large pieces. Dice the garlic cloves and measure the tomatoes, pepperoncini and brine.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet.

STEP 1: Once the pan is hot, add the sausage and cook until it begins to brown. Remove it from the skillet and set it aside to cool.

STEP 2: Next, brown the chicken breast meat until it turns golden on the outside, and remove it from the skillet.

STEP 3: Reduce the heat to medium heat, and saute onion and garlic for a few minutes just until they begin to soften. Remove them from the skillet and set aside with the meat.

STEP 4: Cook the bell peppers until they begin to turn soft, and remove them from the heat.

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STEP 5: Place the mushrooms in the pan and cook for a few until they begin to turn soft and start to release some liquid. At this point, you can scrape the bottom of the pan to remove the brown bits.

STEP 6: Increase the heat to medium-high and add a little more oil. Place potatoes in the pan and cook in the hot skillet until they begin to turn golden brown on the outside and remove them from the heat.

STEP 7: By this time the chicken and sausage should be cool. Slice sausage links into thick chunks and chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the sausage slices and chicken cubes back to the skillet or place them in a casserole dish.

STEP 8: Top the meat in the skillet with the green pepper, red bell pepper, onions, garlic and mushrooms.

STEP 9: Add the pepperoncini, diced tomatoes, and brine. Cover the pan and place it into the preheated oven and bake.

Note: This recipe takes time to make; each ingredient is quickly seared in a skillet separately. If you have a large skillet, you can saute the garlic, onions, peppers, and mushrooms together.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Chicken – Chicken murphy is typically made with boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken cutlets. Chicken tenders can also be used as well as boneless chicken thighs.

Potatoes – Any potato can be used to make this recipe. We like yellow potatoes, red potatoes, or baby potatoes the best for their thinner skin. If you like to peel your potatoes, you can use russets too.

Tomatoes – I like to use fresh diced tomatoes when they are in season, and when they are not, I use low-sodium canned diced tomatoes.

Some versions of Chicken Murphy are made without tomatoes. If you don’t like tomatoes, you can add 1/2 cup of chicken broth instead.

Pepperoncini I use pepperoncini instead of cherry peppers because it’s easier to find brined pepperoncini than it is cherry peppers. If you have hot cherry peppers, you can use an equal amount.

If you don’t care for hot food, you can cut back on the number of hot peppers or just leave them out.

Pepperoncini can be substituted with another type of hot pepper, such as banana peppers, or jalapeno peppers. The key is to add some heat, which balances all of the flavors.

Sausage – Hot or mild pork, turkey, or chicken Italian sausage links can be used in this recipe.

If you are looking for a less spicy version of Chicken Murphy, try this Chicken Giambotta recipe, a similar, milder tomato-free chicken recipe.

How to make chicken murphy ahead of time

Chicken Murphy can easily be made ahead of time. You can brown all of the ingredients and place them into an airtight container. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

To serve, bring the browned ingredients to room temperature, and place them into an oven-proof dish or slow cooker.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or slow cook for 2 hours.

How to store leftover chicken murphy

Store leftover chicken Murphy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat leftovers in a covered oven-proof dish or on top of the stove over low heat.

Serve leftover chicken Murphy in a sandwich in a crusty baguette or your favorite hard roll.

Recipe variations

Low-Carb Chicken Murphy – Leave the potatoes out and 1/4 pound more chicken.

Leave out the sausage – If you don’t like it, leave it out and add an extra 1/4 pound of chicken.

Low Sodium Chicken Murphy – replace the pepper brine with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar.

Shrimp Murphy – Replace the chicken with shrimp which should be sauteed in garlic and oil and added to the Murphy mixture just before serving.

Pork Chops Murphy – Replace the chicken with boneless pork chops and prepare following the recipe instructions in the card.

Chicken Murphy Pasta – Serve chicken murphy over your favorite pasta. You can cut back on the number of potatoes or leave them out if you are counting carbs.

Tomato-Free Chicken Murphy – Replace the tomatoes with a cup of white wine or chicken broth.

Peppadew Chicken Murphy – For a mild and sweet chicken Murphy, replace the hot peppers with peppadew peppers.

Serving suggestions

Serve chicken Murphy with a hunk of Italian bread and a salad like this Spinach Salad with Basil, steamed green beans or Green Beans and Bacon, and a loaf of crusty bread.

Chicken Murphy also tastes great served over a bed of zucchini noodles.

Recipe FAQs

You might also like these dinner ideas

• Sausage and Kale Pasta Bake
• Tuscan Sausage Soup with Kale and White Beans
• Slow-Cooked Chipotle Chicken
• Chicken Giambotta

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