Chicken Francese with Lemon Butter Wine Sauce
By Pauline Ortiz
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Total
35 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Chicken Francese makes four cutlets, so I cook the full pan when I want dinner sorted and a few later plates in mind. The chicken gets a thin flour and egg coating, then a lemon-butter white wine sauce that stays bright against the browned cutlets on the table for dinner.
I pound the chicken to an even ¼-inch thickness before it goes near the flour, and it cooks quickly that way, with every cutlet finishing at the same time. Pat it dry first, shake away extra flour, then let the excess egg drip back into the shallow dish before the chicken hits the skillet.
Use a large skillet and leave room around the cutlets. A crowded pan steams the coating and leaves it pale. After frying, I scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, let the wine reduce by about half, then simmer the broth and lemon juice for 3-4 minutes before whisking in cold butter off the heat.
Serve the chicken right away with extra parsley and lemon slices. Angel hair pasta or creamy polenta catches plenty of sauce, while steamed asparagus, Brussels sprouts, zucchini noodles, or a green salad work alongside it. I reach for fresh lemon juice here, since bottled juice doesn't have the same clean edge.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Four cutlets make a full dinner batch, and there's enough chicken for several plates.
- The sauce comes together in the same skillet after frying, using the browned bits left behind by the chicken.
- Chicken and sauce reheat together in a skillet, so there isn't a separate sauce to warm.
- Cook the cutlets in batches when needed, then bring them all back to the pan for serving.
- Angel hair pasta or polenta makes the pan sauce part of a more filling plate.
Ingredients
- •2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (large, about 1.5 lbs total, sliced into 4 cutlets)
- •½ cup all-purpose flour
- •2 eggs (large)
- •¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- •salt (to taste)
- •freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- •2 tbsp olive oil
- •4 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
- •1 clove garlic (minced)
- •½ cup dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
- •½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- •¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- •2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped, plus more for garnish)
Instructions
- 1
Place the chicken cutlets between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them to an even ¼-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- 2
Put the flour in one shallow dish. Whisk the eggs and Parmesan cheese together in a second shallow dish.
- 3
Coat one chicken cutlet in flour and shake off the excess. Dip it into the egg mixture until fully coated, then let the excess egg drip off. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
- 4
Heat the olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Move the chicken to a plate.
- 5
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the white wine, scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, and simmer until the wine is reduced by half. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, then simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- 6
Turn off the heat. Whisk in the remaining 3 tbsp of cold butter until the sauce is creamy, then stir in the fresh parsley.
- 7
Return the chicken to the skillet and spoon the sauce over it. Serve immediately with more parsley.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
485
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