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The lights of the Eiffel Tower twinkling as the sun sets, romance in the air, champagne and silky French pate delighting your taste buds. My unexpected inspiration for how to make chicken liver pate.
Sounds like the perfect romantic evening, doesn’t it? It is.
You deserve a night like that! And while I can’t deliver the Eiffel Tower to your backyard, you can make this chicken liver pate recipe at home and enjoy a decadent and delicious evening with the flavors of Paris right at your kitchen table.
Inspiration for Making French Pate
We honeymooned in Paris. It was every bit as romantic and inspiring as you imagine it would be. And one of the things it inspired me to do was learn how to make chicken liver pate.
Our two week trip to France and Germany was filled with spectacular highlights, all backed by a detailed itinerary. But, one night in particular was so memorable that we plan to repeat it exactly next time we are there.
On my favorite evening of our trip, we had eaten dinner at a cozy family owned restaurant, most memorable for a heavenly French pate, then walked through the dreamy streets of Paris to the foot of the Eiffel tower.
As darkness descended upon the city and the Eiffel Tower lights began to twinkle on the hour, we opened a bottle of champagne, leaned against a small fence in the grassy Champs de Mars, and cuddled up together to watch.
It was a moment I’ll never forget… and one I can’t wait to have again.
In fact, we’ll be returning to Paris this fall, and repeating that wonderful night is absolutely in the plans. And if you get the chance, I highly recommend you try it, too!
That wasn’t the first time I enjoyed pate, however. Chicken liver pate has always been enjoyable to me; although it’s most well known as being classically French, Russians are no strangers to it either.
My grandmother used to make it with caramelized onions mixed in. It also wasn’t uncommon to eat it straight, alongside some Russian salads and smoked fish on special occasions.
As good as my grandmother’s chicken liver pate recipe was, when I tried pate in France I realized just how creamy, smooth, and decadent it can be. Right away it went on my list of recipes to attempt “someday”. And friends, someday has arrived!
This version of how to make chicken liver French pate is paleo, low carb, and gluten-free… and it just might be the creamiest, silkiest one ever. You’re going to love it. Seriously. Get over any presumptions you have about liver, and get ready for a tiny taste of Paris!
Ingredients for a Creamy, Paleo Chicken Liver Pate Recipe
Have you ever wanted to ask what pate is made of? It’s simpler than you might think, and even though we’re leaving out some of the traditional ingredients, you’d never know!
This is a surprisingly simple list of ingredients for such a decadent treat!
So what do you need to have on hand to learn how to make chicken liver pate? Just these few ingredients and some spices:
- Chicken liver
- Butter (or ghee)
- Coconut cream (or heavy cream)
- Water
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Salt and pepper
Traditional French pate recipes often use goose liver, which you can do if you can find it. But since chicken liver is much more accessible and less expensive, I went that route. Totally up to you!
Now, some paleo followers are okay with using grass-fed butter here, but ghee is totally fine to use instead if you’re not. Both will work well, so feel free to use whichever you are most comfortable with.
And if you’re not a paleo adherent or can’t have coconut, then you’re more than welcome to use heavy cream in lieu of the coconut cream. Both will give you that rich, silky texture that you want. But if you can do coconut cream, it really makes this a better healthy chicken liver pate recipe.
Lastly, if you’ve made liver pate before, you might have noticed something missing. Many recipes for French pate call for alcohol in the recipe, but we’re going to leave it out (and you won’t even notice!). This chicken pate is so rich and creamy, you simply don’t need it.
How To Make Chicken Liver Pate
The first step in how to make chicken liver pate is prepping the chicken liver. Once that’s ready to go, melt your butter, add in your aromatics, and cook until fragrant.
Add the chicken livers to the pan and spice along with the water, and cook. While this chicken liver pate recipe omits the alcohol, you can certainly swap out the water for brandy if you’d prefer.
Finally, move the ingredients to the food processor. And here’s where the magic happens.
The secret in this chicken liver pate recipe is adding the decadent flavor and texture of coconut cream as you blend it all together. Not only is it very healthy for you, it’s rich and creamy.
Because you’re using the coconut cream (or heavy cream if you prefer), you’re actually using less butter than a traditional French pate recipe but you still get the flavor and texture you’d find in Paris.
The chicken liver itself actually has plenty of nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6, riboflavin, folate, iron, zinc, phosphorus, and protein, among others which makes this chicken pate a treat to be enjoyed without guilt.
How To Serve Chicken Pate
After you’ve made this French pate in the food processor, you’ll put it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but overnight is even better. You definitely want it to firm up so that you can spread it atop your favorite crackers. Chilling not only lets it set, but also lets the flavors develop.
Personally, I think this healthy chicken liver pate goes perfectly atop some simple paleo low carb crackers.
In fact, I can’t wait to present this French chicken liver pate with paleo crackers to my husband for his birthday. He doesn’t know yet that I figured out how to make chicken liver pate. Seeing the look on his face will be priceless.
With a mini Eiffel Tower souvenir on the table, candles flickering, homemade chicken pate, and a bottle of champagne, this is as close as we’re going to get to recreating our memory of Paris at home.
What memory will you make with this special chicken pate recipe? Be sure to light a candle (or wear a beret!) and serve up this chicken liver pate on your favorite low carb crackers one night soon. You can imagine you’re in Paris and enjoy the taste of this iconic treat.
How To Make Chicken Liver Pate (Paleo, Low Carb Recipe)
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Tools To Make Chicken Liver Pate
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- Skillet – You can use a regular one like this, or a saute pan with higher sides.
- High-power blender – Makes the pate extra smooth!
- Food processor – Another great option for blending the pate.
- Ramekins – This size is convenient for many uses.
How To Make Chicken Liver Pate (Paleo Low Carb Recipe)
Learn how to make chicken liver pate with this healthy, easy chicken pate recipe. Easy and extra creamy, thanks to a secret ingredient!
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Instructions
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- Trim the white connective tissue from the chicken livers.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots. Cook for one minute, until fragrant.
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Add the chicken livers, sea salt, black pepper, thyme leaves, and water to the pan. Turn up the heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer for 4-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the livers are light brown on the outside and barely pink inside.
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Turn off the heat. Leave the livers covered in the pan for 5 minutes, then drain the liquid from the pan.
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Transfer the liver mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree, gradually adding the cream and remaining butter, until smooth. (Feel free to add additional cream to make it creamier.) Blend in additional sea salt and black pepper to taste.
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Transfer the pate to ramekins. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, with the plastic touching the top of the pate (try to avoid having air in direct contact with the top). Secure the plastic wrap around the ramekins with rubber bands to keep air out. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours, or overnight, until firm.
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27 Comments
Nyasha
I love your recipes and would do so even more if you enabled us to switch to metric measures without having to open a conversion table on another website – thanks
Wholesome Yum D
Hi Nyasha, At the top of the recipe card you can switch the recipe from US Customary to Metric.
Natalie
Can I use evoo instead of butter?
Wholesome Yum D
Hi Natalie, Yes that would work.
Lisa
Just made this YUM!!! So easy to make & came out delicious!
Sara
Haven’t tried it yet, looks great! I wanted to comment on the wrapping after cooking.
I used to make pate with my mum and she would flatten the top of each container of pate and put a thin layer of melted butter over the top that would harden and make an air tight seal. That way you can just use the normal container lid, a wax wrap etc instead of plastic.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Sara, That’s a great tip! Thanks❤️
KM
Hi there – wondering if it’s possible to make this dairy free?! What can I substitute for ghee or butter (I don’t eat margarine either). Would love to know if there’s a good substitute?! thank you
Wholesome Yum M
Hi KM, The best and most flavorful substitute for butter in this recipe would be schmaltz (chicken fat).
Lou Lou
Very similar to my chicken liver pate recipe, but mine calls for a bit of mace (related to nutmeg) and some cognac. Try it, it’s delicious that way! I always use my cuisinart food processor for making mine (rather than a blender or immersion mixer). Otherwise you might wind up with chunks. I never add water to the pan when cooking though – I think that would dilute flavors. Just butter and the cream when processing. BTW: I’ve seen this made with bits of black truffle…totally decadent.
Carolyn
I used ghee in this recipe. After leaving it in the fridge overnight, a lot of the ghee had floated to the top and congealed. Even overflowing and sticking the ramekin to my shelf. I scrapped off the ghee. Taste was wonderful!
Barbara Hilow
I recently retired to Mexico and I experience ingredient problems from time to time. One is coconut cream, which, around here I cream of coconut with sugar and a boat load of additives. Do you think full fat coconut milk would work? A friend of mine raises chickens and he just gave me 15 free range birds-worth of livers!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Barbara, Yes, you can use full-fat coconut milk. Just put the can in the fridge overnight, and the cream will rise to the top, then you can just skim that off.
Te
I would like to incorporate more liver into our Keto diet and I’ve had and enjoyed pate in the past so am interested in trying your recipe. I am wondering though, can it be made using a regular blender or immersion blender? I have both, which are fairly new but not specifically “high powered”. I don’t have a food processor.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I haven’t tried it with either of those. It might work, it just might be more effort and time to get it smooth.
Beth
Would coconut oil work in place of butter, do you think? I am not paleo, but I do keep kosher and would like to try this recipe.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Beth, It probably would, but the flavor would be different. I listed the recipe as paleo since many following it are ok with grass-fed butter, but understand that is not your concern. My understanding is butter can be kosher as long as it’s labeled as such, so you can try looking for that. Otherwise please let me know how it goes if you try the coconut oil!
Beth
Hi Maya,
Thanks for the reply. In the Kosher dietary laws, meat products and dairy products may not be mixed at all regardless of their individual status. I’ll figure something out.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Sorry, of course you are right! I forgot about that. Please let me know how it goes if you try the coconut oil version!
Jamie
If she uses the type of coconut oil that doesn’t have the coconut taste—I believe the Soectrum brand and one that Trader Joe’s carries don’t have a coconut taste—it could probably work. I would add a dash of salt to it.
Valerie
I think chicken fat might work. At least my kosher grandmother used it.
Pate Toe
What is a serving size? It lists nutrition facts but I’m not sure how many servings I had. 😉
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hello! One serving would be 1/8 of the entire recipe. 🙂
Denise Regina
How long will this keep in the refrigerator? Do you think it could be frozen?
Maya
Hi Denise, It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week (maybe longer – a week is the longest I have tried). It can be frozen as well, and you can thaw it in the refrigerator. Hope this helps!
Tasha
Stunning photos! Pinned!
Maya
Thank you so much, Tasha!