This Chicken Francese recipe brings back so many memories! My dad would make it all the time growing up and not a drop would go to waste. Although it’s a thicker, buttery sauce, the white wine and lemon make it taste a lot lighter. Either way, the sauce is incredibly delicious and the aroma is next level.
Although Chicken Francese is amazing on it’s own, I love it served over a big bowl of penne pasta doused in the Francese sauce. Ugh… Be right back, going to dish myself some now!
Something you’ll notice that I do differently from most other Chicken Francese Recipes is that I do not simmer my chicken in the sauce. I really love the slightly crisp texture of the chicken after its been shallow fried in the butter and oil. When you simmer the chicken in the sauce, that crispiness and coating tends to become soggy and become mush… gross.
Then again, it comes down to preference and your own personal taste. I just feel that keeping the chicken separate, and spooning over a GENEROUS amount of that buttery delicious sauce over the crisp golden brown chicken slices when you’re ready to serve, makes for a much more delicious texture!
How to Make Chicken Francese
- Begin by slicing your chicken breasts. Pound the slices to make them flat and even.
- In separate bowls, prepare your flour mixture and egg. Set aside 1 ½ tbsp of the flour mixture for later.
- Heat a pan on medium-high heat with butter and olive oil.
- Coat the chicken slices in the flour mixture, then into the egg, and lay them into the hot pan. Cook on each side until golden brown and fully done and remove from the pan.
- Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan, and whisk until the alcohol has been cooked out.
- Add more butter into the pan, followed by the flour reserved earlier. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour in the chicken stock and whisk until smooth.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the sauce and whisk, and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. Salt and lemon pepper to taste, then mix in lemon slices and chopped parsley.
- When ready to serve, plate the chicken and spoon a generous amount of sauce over the top, garnish with fresh chopped Italian parsley, and enjoy!
Put your cooked chicken slices on a baking rack in the oven at 200°F to stay warm, while you make the sauce.
Buttery Chicken Francese Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast boneless and skinless
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt plus extra for sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper crushed
- ½ tbsp lemon pepper plus extra for sauce
- 3 ½ tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 lemon half for slices, half for juice
- ¼ cup italian parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Slice your chicken breasts on a 45° angle lengthwise into 3 slices per breast. Use a meat mallet / tenderizer, pound the thick side of the chicken breast slices, until they are flat and the same thickness throughout.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp crushed black pepper, and ½ tbsp lemon pepper. Set aside 1 ½ tbsp of this mixture for later. In a second bowl, beat together the eggs.
- Preheat a pan on a medium-high heat with 2 tbsp of butter and 4 tbsp olive oil in the pan. While the pan is heating, drop your chicken breast slices into the bowl with the flour mixture to flour them.
- Once the pan is heated, and the butter is fully melted begins to bubble, dip your floured chicken breast slices into the eggs to fully coat them. Let the excess egg drip off and carefully lay the chicken into the hot pan. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken develops a golden brown color and is fully cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Pour the white wine into the pan to deglaze (be careful, it will rapidly simmer and steam when it hits the pan). Once the wine has reduced, add 1 ½ tbsp of butter to the pan and allow it to melt fully. Then sprinkle the 1 ½ tbsp of the flour mixture you set aside earlier into the pan and whisk into the melted butter until there are no clumps. Then pour in the chicken stock and whisk until everything is fully combined and smooth. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and allow the sauce to come to a simmer and reduce. Once reduced to your desired thickness, add in lemon pepper and salt to taste. Finally, mix in slices of half a lemon and chopped parsley.
- When you are ready to serve, place the chicken on a serving plate and spoon a generous amount of sauce from the pan over the top. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley to garnish. Serve with your favorite pasta, side dish, or by itself. Enjoy!
So good!
Love how thick and creamy the sauce comes out..!
This is great especially when I want to make dinner ahead of time. My chicken francese sauce always came out too watery and chicken overcooked everytime I tried to make it before but this is fool proof ans comes out really delicious. I never thought to use lemon pepper but it works beautifully in this.