Chicken Francese sounds like something you'd order at a white-tablecloth restaurant, but it's surprisingly simple to make at home. If you've got a pan and a lemon, you're already halfway there. Lightly coated chicken cooks until golden, then finishes in a buttery, bright lemon sauce made right in the same pan. Easy steps, familiar ingredients, and a dinner fit for the whole fam.
I am a sucker for one pan dishes like my one skillet roasted lemon chicken, one pot creamy spinach pasta, or a skillet chicken parmesan. This chicken francese fits right in with those other recipes as being easy to approach and delivers on flavor every time.
TL; DR Summary - Chicken Francese
- 👩🏼🍳 Cook Level: Easy/beginner
- ⏱️ Cook Time: ~25-30 minutes
- 📖 Dietary Info: Gluten, egg, wine
- 😋 Taste: Buttery and lemony, with tender chicken with a hint of acid from the white wine.
- 💖 Why You'll Love: This is a fool-proof dinner recipe that acts as a date night in without the bill. It goes great with many different sides too.
- Best Paired With: Top this over a bed of garlic herb mashed potatoes, or aside a bed of buttered noodles. You can also make this with herbed garlic bread or garlic string beans.
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Tried and True Recipe Tips
- Use a dry white wine! I wouldn't use a cooking wine as it's usually loaded with extra ingredients and isn't as flavorful. Use a white wine that you would sip on.
- Use a meat cleaver or meat tenderizer to tenderize the meat. This helps work the muscle of the chicken and keep the chicken tender and juicy.
- Add more butter than you think when making the Francese sauce. The chicken will absorb the butter, and if you were to add pasta to this (or even rice), the starch will absorb the sauce.
- Keep the heat on a steady medium flame when pan frying or cooking the chicken to keep the chicken cooking evenly.
- If you want to thicken the sauce, use a slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water, shake in a mason jar), and pour it into the sauce.
Important Ingredients
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: Sliced thin, tenderized with a meat cleaver, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper.
- All-Purpose Flour: I swear by Bob's Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour, but if you're gluten free you can swap this for a gluten-free favorite or even almond flour.
- Eggs: Traditional chicken francese calls for an egg and flour dredge (or breading), but I sometimes only use a flour dredge. If you wanted to use egg for the dredge, use two of them.
- Butter: No one was ever unhappy with the use of butter in a recipe, am I right? We'll use the butter to make the lemon, butter, and white wine sauce.
- Olive oil: We use a few tablespoons of olive oil to pan fry the chicken before building the Francese sauce.
- Lemons: The bright flavors from this citrus helps to balance all the other flavors and is a classic part of making the francese sauce.
- White Wine: The white wine gives the flavor a little more acidity, and also adds to the buttery, lemon sauce. I wouldn't use a cooking wine as it's usually loaded with extra ingredients and isn't as flavorful. Use a dry white wine you'd drink!
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for more information about quantities, measurements, and specific cooking instructions.
Recipe Swaps and Substitutions
- This recipe is classic with the lemon, butter, white wine sauce, but if you don't want to use wine, don't worry about it. Stick to just the lemon and butter.
- Throw in some red pepper flakes for added flavor and a little heat.
- Swap out the flour for panko, breading (kind of like making chicken milanese, or a gluten free flour.
- If you are dairy free, use dairy free butter that will melt! Miyokos butter will do just that!
How to make chicken francese
Step 1: Pat dry the chicken breasts and using a sharp slicing knife, fillet the breasts into thin pieces. Dip the chicken into the whisked egg and then into the flour. Coat well and set onto a plate. Repeat until all chicken is egg dipped and floured.
Step 2: Pan fry the chicken in a large frying pan coated with olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add more oil as desired. Lay the chicken into the pan, 3-4 pieces at a time, and let cook for 3-4 minutes per side.
Step 3: While the chicken is cooking, slice up two lemons into ¼" slices.
You could also slice the lemons into wedges too.
Step 4: To the skillet, add the rest of the butter to the pan and pour in the white wine, then add the lemon slices. Turn the heat to a low flame and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, flipping each piece of chicken occasionally to coat all sides. Serve as is or garnish with fresh rosemary.
Chicken Francese FAQs
Swap the regular butter for some vegan butter. Lots of brands out there if you don't eat butter. For the flour, you can use almond flour instead of regular flour, or swap for gluten free flour.
This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days after cooking. If you want to freeze this, place in a airtight container and freeze up to one month, defrosting in the fridge overnight. To warm up, add all of the ingredients (sauce included) to a large skillet and heat on a low flame.
You can use a teaspoon of a thickener like flour, cornstarch, or tapioca starch to help thicken the sauce.
Looking for recipes to pair with chicken francese? Start here:
Did you love this recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you're just as in love with this recipe as I am, please share a comment below and rate it! Better yet, share this recipe with family and friends!! Thank you!
Chicken Francese
Equipment
- 1 large pan
- tongs
- cutting boards two of them: one for the lemons, one for the chicken
- plates and bowls
Ingredients
- 3 large Chicken Breasts sliced thin, tenderized
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 2 large Eggs whisked
- 5 tablespoon Butter
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil avocado oil works well too
- 2 large Lemons thinly sliced
- ½ cup Dry White Wine
- Rosemary Garnish, optional
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Pat dry the chicken breasts and using a sharp slicing knife, fillet the breasts into two (which means to butterfly and separate)
- Dip the chicken into the whisked egg and then into the flour. Coat well and set onto a plate.
- Repeat until all chicken is egg dipped and floured.
For the Dish
- Pan fry the chicken in a large frying pan coated with olive oil and 2 tablespoon of butter. Add more oil as desired.
- Lay the chicken into the pan, 3-4 pieces at a time, and let cook for 5 minutes per side.
- Cook the chicken and set aside onto a separate plate. Meanwhile, add the rest of the butter to the pan and pour in the white wine.
- Layer the chicken breasts back in, and add the lemon slices. Turn the heat to a low flame and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, flipping each piece of chicken occasionally to coat all sides.
- Serve as is or garnish with fresh rosemary.
Sha Peace says
making this recipe is not only easy but pretty delicious too this is one of my son's favorite meals
Bridgette says
This was such an easy and delicous francese recipe. It was straightforward and that is great for me as I am super new to cooking in the kitchen.
Ellen says
What a great recipe!! I love that the sauce was not super heavy either. The chicken was flavorful and the leftovers were even better.
Morgan Peaceman says
Thank you for sharing!!
Agnes says
I’ve had chicken Francese at restaurants but never made it until now. This was such a great and tasty recipe. The step by step helped me a lot. I’ll be making this again soon. We paired with potatoes and some vegetables.
Steven D. says
A friend of mine sent this to me last week, and I had some time to make it yesterday night. It was delicious! I don't love a ton of lemon, but this one was balanced just right. I also really like the way the recipe is easy to follow. YUM!
Erica says
My hubby loves chicken francese and this recipe is so simple and it’s not hard to make! Comes out delicious!