This Chicken Francese recipe is an absolute favorite of ours. It’s so flavorful and bursting with flavor.
Oh, it’s doesn’t get much better than this dish!
Delicious and beautiful, all at the same time!
HOW TO MAKE CLASSIC CHICKEN FRANCESE AT HOME
Watch us show you how easy it is to make this incredibly delicious dish.
It’s so good and a lot of fun to make!
OTHER CLASSIC CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY
The ingredients in chicken francese are simple and work beautifully together.
The simplicity of this dish is really what makes it shine. White wine and lemon and egg…doesn’t get much better than that!
THE EGG IS ON THE OUTSIDE
Chicken Frances is similar to Chicken Picatta, but the real difference is that “the egg is on the outside.”
You dredge in seasoned flour first, and then egg with herbs.
This is going to be good.
Make sure the chicken cutlets are nice and thin. You can easily place them in a large freezer bag and pound them until they are about an 1/8″ thick.
Then cook them in the olive oil until beautifully browned. You can keep them warm in a low-temp oven. Resist the urge to put the breaded cutlets in the sauce, this often causes the egg ‘breading’ to fall away from the chicken cutlet.
CHICKEN FRANCESE IS MADE WITH A WINE AND BUTTER SAUCE
And then the sauce. Oh, that sauce.
White wine, chicken stock, garlic…and some butter.
Divine.
IS IT CHICKEN FRANCESE, OR CHICKEN FRANCAISE?
This dish has French and Italian origins, but it is most commonly seen in Italian eateries. Learn more about the history of this amazing dish here.
The presentation is just beautiful, too.
Finish it with a squeeze of fresh lemon, and your guests will be so impressed!
Yes!
FINISH THE CHICKEN FRANCAISE WITH A SQUEEZE OF LEMON
If you enjoy this amazing Chicken Francese, chances are you’d also love our Pork Milanese!
And this amazing dish can literally come together in 30 minutes. Perfect for a weeknight meal. But impressive enough to serve to guests on a special dinner party. Serve with salad and crusty Italian bread. Just amazing. 100% Loon Approved!
CHICKEN FRANCESE FAQ’S
- How far in advance can the cutlets and sauce be made in advance? Yes! Prepare the cutlets and sauce as written and then re-eat the cutlets in a low-temp oven and heat the sauce in a saucepan on the stove.
- Is it okay to simmer the prepared cutlets in the sauce? We don’t recommend this. Often, the sauce will cause the cooked egg ‘breading’ to pull away from the cutlet. We recommend serving the cutlet with the sauce poured over the top.
- Is cooking wine for the sauce? We feel pretty strongly about this…if you wouldn’t drink the wine by itself, you shouldn’t cook with it either. This is a pretty straight-forward dish without a lot of ingredients, that’s why quality is so important.
- Can the sauce be frozen? Yes! For up to 2 months!
Now, it’s time to make this incredible Chicken Francese Recipe!
And once you’ve made the dish, take a picture and post to Instagram! Be sure to tag @howotfeedaloon and #howtofeedaloon!
Chicken Francese
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 chicken breasts boneless and skinless, about 14 oz. to 16 oz. total
- 1 cup flour for dredging (you'll also need 2 tablespoon of the flour mixture later for the sauce...but we'll get to that later in the instructions).
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp Parmesan grated
- 4 tbsp fresh parsley chopped (divided...2 tablespoons for batter, 2 for garnish)
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided...2 tablespoons for sautéing the chicken, and then 2 more for the sauce
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided...2 for sautéing the chicken, 2 for the sauce
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes more, to taste
- ½ cup dry white wine ie, Pino Grigio
- 1 ¼ cups chicken stock
- Juice of two fresh lemons about 4 tablespoons
Instructions
- Place the chicken (one at a time) in a large freezer bag, and using the side of a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken to 1/8" to 1/4" in thickness.
- Cut each pounded chicken piece into halves, or thirds. Set aside.
- Pour the flour onto a platter or plate. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and the 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Gently mix together with a fork. Remove 2 tablespoons to use later for the sauce.
- In a second small/medium-sized bowl, mix together the eggs, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Dredge each chicken cutlet in the flour mixture and then dip into egg mixture, fully coating.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. After the oil has heated, add 2 tablespoons of the butter.
- Place the coated chicken into the hot skillet, 2 at a time.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until nicely browned on the bottom.
- Flip and cook the other side until completely cooked through and nicely browned, about another 3 - 4 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and repeat with remaining chicken. (Cooked cutlets can be made 1 to 2 hours ahead of time. Re-heat in (350 F) oven 15 minutes before serving, or keep warm in oven (220 F) until ready to use.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.
- Add garlic and crushed red pepper, cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add the reserved 2 tablespoons of seasoned flour, and mix completely. Add another tablespoon of flour if too wet, should resemble wet sand. Stir and let cook for about 1 to 2 minutes (don't let it get dark brown).
- Add white wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat.
- Add the lemon juice. Stir until slightly thickened.
- Season with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir until melted.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
- Place cutlets on plates, or platter, and pour sauce over the top.
- Garnish with remaining parsley.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Love the sauce! I made the sauce to go with a fish cutlet. Amazing and love the two of you in kitchen together!
Hi Lisa! Thank you SO MUCH!! And we are so thrilled you had such great success with the recipe, and we LOVE the sauce over fish, too!! Yay!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Absolutely delicious! It was quick as promised but decadent and wonderful!
Hi Jessica!! We are so happy you loved the chicken francese!!! And thank you so very much for letting us know and for the nice review! That means so much to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This recipe was to die for!! I prepared everything while watching your video. It came out absolutely perfect! It definitely tasted and looked like top notch restaurant quality!! Thank you for giving me a recipe that I will only use from now on when making Chicken Francese!!
Hi Sharon!! AWESOME!!! We are over-the-moon happy that you had such great success with the chicken francese!! We love it, too, so much and just so happy you loved it, too. And thank you for letting us know and for the great review. That honestly means the world to us. Please stay in touch!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
This dish was incredible! The chicken was so flavorful and tender! The sauce was perfection! Thank you so much for sharing such delectable-ness, I will be making again and again! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Hi Claire! Woo hoo!! So so so thrilled to hear you had such great success with our chicken francese recipe! That is truly one of our all-time favorites! And thank you so much for letting us know and for the awesome review. That means the world to us! Please stay in touch! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Made this at least 10 times so this review is long overdue lol. Look no further for the absolute best francase recipe! The sauce is wicked good and yes I’ve been known to drink it. Better than any restaurant I’ve been to. Thank you for your easy to follow directions, you guys rock!
Best francaise I ever made! So full of flavor. We served it with a small amount of pasta on the side. The sauce was incredible.
Dianne! You just made our day!! We are THRILlED you enjoyed the chicken francese! It is absolutely one of our all-time favorites! Thank you so much for letting us know and for the wonderful review. That means so much to us!!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
This was incredible! I am an average cook and have been looking for recipes to make me a better cook. Well, this recipe was better than any Italian restaurant I have been to. My husband raved about it and I must admit that I was pretty proud of myself. I am now scouring your website for more recipes and am going to try to your chicken marsala next (thank you for making a separate recipe for the brown sauce). I really appreciate your helpful tips and comments which made the recipe so easy to follow and avoid pitfalls. Also enjoyed reading your travel section. Overall, how to feed a loon has given me the confidence I needed in the kitchen. Thank you Kris and Wesley.
Diane!! We can’t even begin to tell you how much reading your message has filled our hearts with joy!! Sounds like you made the chicken francese PERFECTLY!!! Let us know if you make the marsala and what you and your hubby think of it. That’s definitely one of our all-time favorites! Thanks so much and keep on being a rockstar in the kitchen!!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I can’t say enough how delicious this recipe is, this is the second time I have made it, the first time my family devoured it the second time I made a lot more chicken and still no leftovers. Thank you again for this wonderful dish
Hi Kathy!! Yay!! We are so happy to hear that you and your family loved our chicken francese! It’s been a favorite in our house for a long time, too!! Thanks so much for letting us know!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This was so nice, found the gravy a little bit too lemon-y 🙂 but I think maybe I used extra large lemons or something, it was still that yummi that it was drinkable, served it with green beans and mash and will be making again, thank you for sharing x
Hi Rakel! We are so thrilled to hear you had success with our chicken francese! You are so correct, some lemons are bigger than others! So glad that you still made it work and it was so good!! Sides of green beans and mashies sounds perfect!! Thanks so very much for letting us know and for the great review. That means the world to us! Stay in touch! Best, Kris & Wesley
My wife and I enjoy Chicken Francese over a bed of linguini. Can the sauce portion of the recipe be doubled using the same proportions?
Hi Stephen! Absolutely, we do that all the time! The sauce is to die for! Let us know if you and your wife make it and what you both think. Best, Kris & Wesley
I’ve honestly never written a review for a recipe before but WOW – this was SO GOOD that I had to drop some love. Chicken Francese is one of my go to meals when I go out, but I always assumed I could never make it as good. Well, everybody in my family actually thought that this was even better than our favorite restaurant! Thanks for sharing this recipe – it was so easy to make and truly delicious. We all loved it and I’m already being asked when I’ll make it again!
Michelle!! You have no idea how much you have just filled our hearts with joy. We are thrilled that you had such amazing success with the chicken francese and congrats on hitting it out of the park for the family!! That is just awesome! Thank you so much for letting us know and for the wonderful review! That absolutely means the world to us!! Please stay in touch!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
I’ve made this dish before, but this recipe kicked it up a very large notch! My kitchen smelled like Carmine’s in New York! It was a family fave! Will definitely make again.
Hi Meredith!! Awwwww….we miss Carmine’s so much!!!! But the next best thing (maybe even better), is re-creating it in your own kitchen! We are so happy you had such awesome success with the chicken francese. That’s been one of our favorites for years!!! Thanks again, Kris & Wesley
In Rochester, NY it is traditionally made with Sherry wine. It gives it so much more flavor!! Also, anywhere you can find chicken “French” (like we call it here) you can also find artichokes, haddock, Lobster….. we put everything in egg wash and French sauce 🙂
I’m so glad I found your blog! I love your cooking. You both make me smile. I’ve made this recipe 5x and was fabulous every time! Thank you for sharing
Hi Dawni! We are so glad you found us and we found YOU!! We are thrilled you love the chicken francese! That’s one of our all-time favorites for sure. Thank you so much for letting us know and for the GREAT review. We truly appreciate that so so much! Please stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I love you guys thank you so much for this delicious recipe .
My family devoured this!! I will definitely make this again. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Hello!! That is so wonderful to hear! We are so happy you had such success with the chicken francese. That has been one of our favorite dishes for many years. Thank you so much for letting us know and especially for the GREAT review. That means the world to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley