Chicken Francese
Chicken Francese is a family favorite Italian-American meal. With its crispy coating and creamy lemon butter sauce, you will be going back for seconds and thirds! This to-die-for meal is ready in just 30 minutes!
There are few meals out there that we find ourselves quite literally licking the plate clean. Bad table manners? Definitely. But we’re not even sorry about it. It is that good. It’s all in that creamy lemon and butter sauce. It simmers and reduces and concentrates all of that goodness into one of the best sauces we’ve ever had. The best part about this is that all of that deliciousness is ready in just 30 minutes! Move over chicken piccata, there’s a new favorite Italian-American dish in the house!
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Chicken Cut Options for Chicken Francese:
You have a few options when it comes to what chicken you use. If you want to use chicken breasts, you want to be sure they are thin. There are a few options on how to do this:
- Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally, giving you 2 thin chicken breast pieces.
- Use chicken cutlets.
- Pound the chicken breasts thin.
Alternatively, you can always use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are typically thin enough that you shouldn’t need to pound thin.
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Doubling Recipe Instructions:
If doubling the recipe, be sure to add in extra butter and olive oil in between batches. You can add all of the cooked chicken pieces to a 9×13 pan and pour the sauce over the chicken and warm in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes for the final steps.
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Sauce Thickness:
This sauce is fairly thin. If you want a thicker sauce, sprinkle in 1-2 teaspoons of flour into the sauce and stir it in.
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White Wine:
Some home chefs love white wine in their Chicken Francese. If you are going to add in white wine, we highly recommend you use a good quality white wine. Cooking wine does not have the same flavor as standard drinking wine, and unfortunately just has a ton of salt. We do not recommend it. In a white wine butter sauce, you want to use quality ingredients.
Add 1/2 cup white wine when you add in the chicken broth. You will also need to reduce the amount of chicken broth down to 1 1/2 cups to account for the extra liquid.
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Serving Suggestions:
We believe nothing goes better with chicken francese than a large bed of mashed potatoes or pasta to soak up any remaining sauce.
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Fresh vs. Bottled Lemon Juice
When lemon is the star of the show in a sauce like francese, you really need to use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
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Storage and Reheating Instructions:
Chicken francese is best served immediately. However, you can store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious chicken dinner recipes:
Chicken Francese
Chicken
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons table salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced in half horizontally, to make 8 thin pieces
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 lemon thinly sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (approx. 2 lemons)
- 1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley , to garnish (optional)
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In a shallow bowl, stir together flour, salt and pepper.
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In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together egg, 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and parmesan cheese.
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Dip chicken breasts into flour mixture to coat and then dip into egg mixture.
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Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees and set aside into an oven safe dish.
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Add butter, minced garlic and thinly sliced lemon wedges to skillet. Sauté the garlic until it becomes a deeper golden color and the lemon slices have browned lightly. About 3-4 minutes
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Stir in chicken broth, remaining 1/2 cup lemon juice, lemon zest, heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of flour, stirring until smooth. Simmer together over medium heat for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens and reduces a bit.
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Pour sauce over chicken and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with a garnish of parsley (optional) and salt and pepper to taste.
If there are leftovers, remove the lemon slices and discard.