Chicken Francese gets a creamy twist with this Creamy Chicken Francese recipe!
Chicken Francese, also know as Chicken Francaise, is a popular recipe found in many restaurants in the United States. Originally developed in America by Italian immigrants, Francese is just as good as Piccata, while the flavours in a traditional Francese are absolutely incredible. Now they are EVEN BETTER by adding a kick of garlic and a splash of cream to the sauce!
As with all of my recipes, I can’t help but add my own twist to dishes. I can’t follow recipes word for word. It’s like an impulse.
Traditional Chicken Francese
Originally created for veal and much like a piccata, this recipe tastes incredible with chicken.
The difference between a Francese and a Piccata is mainly in the breading of the chicken. In a Francese, the chicken breast is first dipped in flour, then a beaten egg mixture before being cooked lightly in a tangy lemon buttery sauce.
With a Piccata, however, the batter is done in reverse: first the egg and then the flour. The other difference is a Piccata has the addition of capers and as with my own Piccata recipe here, the addition of parmesan cheese in the sauce.
However, adding my own twist to this Francese, I gave a good squeeze of lemon juice and parmesan cheese to the EGG mixture. PLUS a good amount of garlic and the addition of cream to the sauce to elevate it to a whole new level BETTER than anything you’ll find in a restaurant!
Creamy Sauce for Chicken Francese
The sauce includes a dry white wine which gives it an unbelievable flavour, BUT you don’t have to add it if you’re hesitant to try it with the wine. Simply substitute it with chicken broth. Having said that though, the wine does get cooked down so it has a mild hint of taste throughout the sauce. Another creamy recipe with a splash of alcohol is our Creamy Champagne Chicken.
WATCH US MAKE THIS Creamy Chicken Francese Recipe RIGHT HERE!
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments!
More Creamy Chicken:
Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pumpkin Alfredo
Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Thighs
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom (Lightened Up)
Creamy Lemon Chicken Francese
An ORIGINAL Cafe Delites adaption on a traditional Chicken Francese (Francaise)!
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts large, cut in half horizontally to make 4 fillets
- 2 eggs large
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 6-8 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ cup dry white wine optional
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half or heavy cream or thickened cream
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt (add more to suit your tastes)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ½ a lemon juiced
- 2 teaspoons parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Pound each fillet to ½-inch thick, if needed.
- Beat eggs, parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and some black pepper in a shallow bowl.
- To another shallow bowl, add the flour and season with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands.
- Heat the oil and butter in a skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. When the oil/butter is hot enough for frying, dredge the fillets in the flour first, coating completely, then coat in the egg wash. Allow any excess egg mixture to drip off, then fry fillets in batches of two if you need to for about 4 minutes each side until nice and golden brown. Place each cooked fillet on a paper towel lined plate.
- To the same frying pan, add the crushed garlic, and cook for one minute until fragrant. Add in the white wine, chicken broth and parsley. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes on high heat to reduce down, while swirling the pan occasionally. Reduce heat and add the cream. Simmer on low until slightly thickened. Taste test and season with salt and pepper, as desired.
- Stir in the juice of half a lemon, and return the chicken to the sauce to heat through on low heat for two minutes.
- Serve the chicken and sauce together over rice or pasta and vegetables, if desired. Garnish with extra parsley.
Annette Kreamer says
I want your Recipe please that look so good 👍
Brenna says
I made this for myself for a fancy Sunday night dinner (and to shore me up for a busy week ahead). Thank you! The sauce! I could drink it from a cup! I made it low carb by breading the chicken with pork rinds, and the chicken was delish! I served with quinoa and asparagus (and white wine on the side). So good!!
Tim G says
Fabulous recipe. Much easier than I thought. I actually added in about 10oz of spinach right at the end to my 6 serving dinner I made. Right at the end, put on top and cover. Wilts in few mins and serve!! YUMMY 🙂
John says
Love this recipe, is great with rice and even better with mashed potatoes. But the one thing about this recipe that’s wrong is it take a lot longer than 20 minutes to make it, more like an hour start to finish – its actually a pretty significant production to do it correctly. But it is worth the effort!
Neal Cooper says
So good! The family loved it and I will be making this again in the near future!
basa says
Lovely dish, although I have yet to make it. Any particular reason you add the broth before the wine?
Marti says
The Family loved it! I have become a rockstar of the kitchen making all of your recipes. lol
I don’t keep cream on hand, so I thickened the sauce with flour and it worked fine. It paired well with ri ce and green beans.
Thank you for sharing!
Janet Fay says
This was Delish! Much more flavorful that basic Chicken Francese. My husband loved it as well. Thanks!
Diane says
Excellent. I used Vermouth which worked well. I cut the cream in half.
Melanie says
Made this for New Year’s Eve. It was delicious. One problem I ran into is that the sauce curdled when I added the lemon juice? I made this in a cast iron pan. Did this happen to anyone else? I’d like to avoid this if I make this recipe again.