Enjoy these delicious lightly breaded boneless skinless chicken breasts, pan fried to golden brown, then served in a lemon butter wine sauce with a hint of cream for dinner. Chicken Francese is not only quick and easy to make, but it is an incredibly delicious recipe.
If you love Chicken Piccata or Lemon Pepper Chicken, you will love this Chicken Francese recipe.
Why this recipe is so great:
- Easy dinner. If you didn't have the foresight to start a crockpot recipe, this chicken is easy enough to throw together on a busy weeknight.
- Outstanding flavor. Even when breaded and pan fried, boneless skinless chicken breasts can lack flavor. The lemon butter wine sauce not only adds moisture, but incredible flavor.
- Fantastic leftovers. If there's any chicken leftover, store it in any remaining sauce. It reheats beautifully and also tastes great cold if sliced up and added to a salad.
Ingredients needed to cook the chicken:
Exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
- Chicken - boneless skinless breasts
- Egg wash - whole eggs and lemon juice
- Breading - all-purpose flour and freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Oil for frying - butter and olive oil
How to bread boneless skinless chicken breasts:
Detailed step by step instructions are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
- Prepare ingredients: If using two large chicken breasts, slice horizontally to create four. Combine the eggs and lemon juice in a shallow dish as well as the flour and parmesan in a separate shallow dish. Add salt and pepper to the chicken.
- Dredge: Press both sides of each chicken breast into the flour mixture and shake off any excess.
- Coat: Carefully coat both sides of breaded chicken in egg wash. Shake off excess.
- Dredge again: Set battered chicken breast back in flour mixture and coat both sides. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
Prepare the ingredients Dredge chicken in flour Coat in egg wash Dredge in flour again
Ingredients needed for the lemon cream sauce:
Exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
- Butter
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Dry white wine
- Chicken broth
- Heavy cream
- Fresh parsley
How to make Chicken Francese:
Detailed step by step instructions are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
- Fry chicken: Heat oil and butter in very large pan over medium high heat. Once oil is very hot, ideally around 350°F, add chicken. Allow to cook until beautifully golden brown on each side.
- Set aside: Transfer chicken to a paper towel lined plate and loosely tent with foil to keep warm. Discard excess oil.
- Make sauce: Using the pan you cooked the chicken in, make the sauce. It will thicken slightly, but is a generally thin sauce.
- Serve: Transfer chicken back to pan with sauce and heat through. Add parsley at the very end and serve.
Fry chicken breasts Set on plate Make sauce Add cooked chicken back to pan
Recipe tips for perfect results:
- For more tender chicken: Slicing the whole breast in half makes a thinner cut, which does make it more tender. But if you're wanting extremely fork-tender chicken, pound it thin with a mallet first.
- Sauce variations: If you're looking for a slightly lighter version of this recipe, you can omit the heavy cream. Likewise, if you're looking for a more decadent thicker sauce, you can omit the chicken stock. The alcohol in the wine burns off, but it can also be omitted, if desired.
- Too tart? If your sauce is a little too tart because of the lemon and wine, just add salt. Sprinkle in small amounts at a time, stir, taste, and keep adding until the flavors are balanced.
Serve this recipe with:
Chicken Francese is fantastic when served with a decadent side of potatoes or pasta, along with some kind of green vegetable. Here are some of my favorite recommendations.
- Homemade Pasta
- Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Wilted Garlic Spinach
- Kale Caesar Salad
If you’ve made this or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. I love hearing from my readers!
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Chicken Francese
Enjoy these delicious lightly breaded boneless skinless chicken breasts, pan fried to golden brown, then served in a lemon butter wine sauce with a hint of cream for dinner. Chicken Francese is not only quick and easy to make, but it is an incredibly delicious recipe.
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Hover to scale: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 ½ pounds boneless (skinless chicken breasts (4 small or two large sliced horizontally to create 4))
- ½ teaspoon salt (plus more for seasoning)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (plus more for seasoning)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (finely grated)
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
For the sauce:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ lemon (juiced)
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 to 4 tablespoons freshly minced parsley (amount varies based on preference)
Instructions
Cook the chicken:
- Prepare ingredients: Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl or flat-bottomed dish, whisk eggs and lemon juice together until blended. Place the flour and parmesan in a separate, but similar, dish. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
- Bread chicken: Lightly dredge the chicken in flour mixture and shake off any excess. Dip into egg batter, let excess batter drip back into the bowl. Dredge in flour again and shake off excess. Set on plate until each piece of chicken is ready.
- Fry chicken: In a wide skillet, heat olive and butter over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot but not yet smoking, add chicken to pan. Fry, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer cooked chicken to a paper-towel-lined plate and loosely tent with foil to keep warm. Discard any excess oil, leaving a thin layer and anything that stuck to the pan. Reduce heat to low.
Prepare the sauce:
- Add butter and garlic to pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a flat bottomed wooden spoon to release anything that may have stuck when cooking the chicken. Once garlic has cooked for several minutes and is fragrant, add lemon juice and wine. Stir well and cook for several minutes while it reduces. Stir in chicken stock and heavy cream. Stir well and cook until heated through and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust with additional lemon juice, salt and/or pepper if needed.
- Add cooked chicken back to the pan and simmer gently until the chicken is heated through, about 4 minutes. During this time, turn the chicken over to coat in the sauce. Just prior to serving, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve, spooning some of the sauce over each serving.
Notes
Nutritional info based on some of the cooking oil being drained off and all of the sauce being consumed.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Calories: 787kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 285mg | Sodium: 579mg | Potassium: 814mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1194IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 3mg
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Kathy Kendall
I made this today in honor of your birthday 😉
I cut the chicken breasts in half to make them thinner. I always think this is a good idea. My sauce "broke" a little but it was still delicious. The only thing I think I'd do different is not coat the chicken with sauce. It is so crunchy and golden and the sauce makes the coating fall off a bit. I think I'll serve it on the side next time. This was wonderful with cooked noodles and steamed broccoli. Thanks!
Krissy
thanks Kathy!
Dave
Turned out delicious! After the sauce was made and simmering, I added the leftover egg mixture, it thickened the sauce and added a little more lemon flavor. I used a little extra lemon in the egg mixture. Thanks!
Lisa Huff
One of my favorite dishes! So much better and less expensive making at home than overpriced Italian restaurants!
Jennifer
This recipe is fab! It was an easy meal to make and that sauce - we all licked our plates clean!
Helen
I think my family would love this! Thanks for the recipe.
Carrie Robinson
This definitely looks like a recipe that my family would love! Adding this to my weekly dinner rotation soon. 🙂
Dannii
We are always looking for new ways to eat chicken and this looks amazing.
Toni
It is so good and delish! Perfectly tasty and easy enough for weeknights!
Danielle Smith
Uber good, or should I say, tres bien. Will definitely make chicken frances again (used the recipe for 2).
Julie Gipson
What are your thoughts of using buttermilk instead of heavy cream in the sauce?
Krissy
I love cooking with buttermilk, but I have never used it to make a sauce more creamy. I would think a spoonful of sour cream might be a better option? You would most likely need to add more salt to balance out the tart.