Chicken Saltimbocca with White Wine Sauce

This dish is inexpensive, can be prepared in about half an hour, and is still restaurant-quality. It’s really that good.

There is so much to love about this dish. It’s so easy that it makes for a wonderful weeknight meal, but, it’s so good and so gorgeous, it’s also perfect for entertaining. We love to serve it with our balsamic roasted potatoes with herbs and a simple arugula salad. It truly is a spectacular meal with such little effort!

How To Make Chicken Saltimbocca with White Wine Butter Sauce

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The Ingredients You Will Need

There are just a handful of ingredients needed to bring this iconic dish together. Traditionally, the dish is served with veal. If you prefer veal, simply follow the recipe using thin veal cutlets (scaloppine) in place of the chicken. Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand:

Chicken breast cutlets – Thinly cut. If you can’t find thin-cut breasts, simply cut a skinless, boneless breast in half and then pound between wax paper to about ¼-inch thickness.
Prosciutto – Thinly sliced (you’ll need one piece of prosciutto for every chicken cutlet).
Sage – Fresh is a must. Look for sage with nice large leaves.
Flour – All purpose.
Seasonings – For the cutlets, all you need is black pepper for the flour breading. The prosciutto is salty, so additional salt isn’t needed, though you might want to add a pinch to the sauce.
Oil – Olive oil, extra-virgin, or vegetable oil are all acceptable. We use olive oil.
White wine – A nice dry white wine such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc is recommend. We don’t recommend cooking wine. If you don’t want to cook with wine (99% of the alcohol will cook out), simply omit it.
Broth – Chicken broth or stock is recommended. However veal stock or vegetable stock will work, too.
Butter – Unsalted.

EXPERT TIP: Be sure to use a toothpick to thread the prosciutto and sage to the chicken. After dredging the cutlet in flour, gently shake the excess off before adding to the hot oil.

Tips for Making Perfect Chicken Saltimbocca with White Wine Butter Sauce

Gently Pound Chicken Breasts – Use a mallet or the bottom of a measuring cup to pound the cutlets to about ¼-inch thickness. This will ensure even cooking and a tender texture. Don’t overdo it though, otherwise, the meat will start to shred.

Quality is Best – When choosing prosciutto, don’t skimp. The flavor is key to delicious saltimbocca. Thinly sliced is best.

Deglaze the Pan – After searing the cutlets, little pieces of goodness will stick to the pan. There is a ton of flavor in those little bits. Pour in the wine and immediately use a wooden spatula to scrape them up. They add so much flavor!

Finish the Dish with Cold Butter – Swirling in cold butter creates a velvety, glossy sauce that will perfectly complement the perfectly cooked chicken.

EXPERT TIP: You’ll want to simmer the broth and reduced wine over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. You’ll know the sauce is ready when you can scrape a spatula or spoon through the sauce and it slowly fills in the open gap in the bottom of the skillet.

How To Serve

Typically, we like to serve two cutlets per serving/guest. However, depending on the thickness of the cutlet, one cutlet could be just the right size. Take this into consideration when looking at your cutlets.

If you want to serve the saltimbocca with pasta, we recommend doubling the sauce (or even triple it). It’s amazing tossed with freshly made pasta.

A starch side dish of potatoes makes a wonderful accompaniment to savory chicken with luxurious sauce. Roasted balsamic potatoes or mashed potatoes are perfect. Sautéed broccoli with garlic and lemon rounds out a perfect meal.

Other Amazing Italian Chicken Recipes to Try

If you love Italian food, and if you love chicken, you and your family will flip for this collection of recipes.

Chicken Piccata
Chicken Marsala
Creamy Chicken Florentine
Classic Chicken Cacciatore
Tuscan Chicken with White Beans and Sage
Parmigiana Chicken
Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breast
Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Vodka Pink Sauce

These are all classic and always a huge hit when we serve them to friends, family, and guests. But, in the meantime, isn’t this dish calling your name?

How Much Can Be Made In Advance?

Since the dish comes together so quickly, it’s perfect for entertaining.

To help you with timing, thread the chicken cutlets with the prosciutto and sage up to several hours in advance. Keep them on a baking sheet or large platter, cover them tightly with plastic wrap, and keep them in the fridge until about 30 minutes before you start cooking.

You can even prepare the dish completely ahead of time (2 to 3 hours before serving). About 15 minutes before serving, heat the sauce to a mild simmer and then place the cooked cutlets in the sauce and simmer until cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes.

EXPERT TIP: Be sure to pour the sauce into a vessel that you can serve at the table. Guests will definitely want to spoon more of the sauce onto the cutlets.

This has become a go-to chicken dish in our house. It’s easy and inexpensive, and the flavor combination is truly restaurant-quality.

Be sure to resist the temptation to overcook the chicken cutlets. 2 to 3 minutes per side will cook them perfectly and they will be juicy and very tender.

Serve this and get ready for plenty of rave reviews. It is likely to become a staple in your recipe rotation. They also make amazing sandwiches the next day, in the unlikely event that you have any leftovers!

Ready to make the best chicken dish this side of Rome? Go for it!

And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!

Chicken Saltimbocca with White Wine Sauce

Saltimbocca translates to "jump in the mouth" and that is the perfect description. The flavor combination of the tender chicken with the crispy prosciutto and sage and then the luxurious white wine butter sauce is unforgettable. And it all comes together in about 30 minutes!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 482kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

Video

Equipment

• ▢
  1 Large skillet 12-inch is perfect.
• ▢
  Toothpicks for threading the prosciutto and sage onto the chicken

Ingredients

• ▢ 1½ lb chicken breast thinly sliced, pounded to ¼-inch thickness
• ▢ 3 oz prosciutto thinly sliced
• ▢ 6 to 8 fresh sage leaves cut from the stems
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ ¼ cup dry white wine
• ▢ 1 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 4 tablespoon unsalted butter chilled

Instructions

• Place a slice of prosciutto on top of each pounded cutlet. Place one sage leaf in the middle of the prosciutto slice. Use a toothpick to gently thread the prosciutto and sage to the chicken (see video for reference).
  1½ lb chicken breast, 3 oz prosciutto, 6 to 8 fresh sage leaves
• Place the flour onto a platter or large plate. Stir in ½ teaspoon black pepper into the flour (no need to add salt, the prosciutto is salty enough). Dredge each cutlet through the flour until fully coated. Shake off any excess flour. Set aside.
  1 cup all-purpose flour, Salt and pepper
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Place the cutlets into the oil, prosciutto-side down, carefully nudging them around in the oil a bit to keep them from sticking to the skillet. After 2 to 3 minutes, the prosciutto should be getting crispy. Flip the cutlets over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, nudging the cutlets around occasionally. You may need to do this step in batches. Place cooked cutlets on a platter or cutting board.
  ¼ cup olive oil
• Discard excess oil in the pan (pour into a heatproof bowl and discard safely). Heat the skillet over medium heat and add the wine, using a wooden spatula to scrape up any bits stuck in the pan. Simmer until reduced by half, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and simmer until reduced in half, and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the sauce. Taste and add more salt, if desired.
  ¼ cup dry white wine, 1 cup chicken broth
• Stir in the chilled butter until melted. Place the chicken cutlets in the sauce and simmer until heated through, only 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the toothpicks and then serve at once passing extra sauce on the side.
  4 tablespoon unsalted butter

Notes

See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you liked the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. 

Thin slices of veal (scaloppine) can be used in place of the chicken (this is traditional). 

Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before serving the saltimbocca. 

Leftovers will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a covered dish in the oven (325°F) for about 15 minutes, or in leftover sauce on the stove until heated through. Leftover cutlets make amazing sandwiches. 

See the blog post for instructions on do-ahead steps. 

Nutrition

Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 559mg | Potassium: 730mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 410IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg

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