This chicken francese recipe is battered chicken breasts that are pan fried to golden brown perfection, then topped with a savory lemon sauce. An easy and unique dinner option that always gets rave reviews!
You can never go wrong with chicken for a simple yet satisfying dinner. Some of my family’s favorite chicken dishes include one pot chicken and rice bake, chicken coated in BBQ chicken marinade, slow cooker chicken breast, Greek chicken and this delicious chicken francese.
Whenever I see chicken francese on a restaurant menu, I have to order it. I just love that combination of crispy chicken in a light lemon sauce. I’ve learned to make this dish at home, and I have to say, I think my version is even better than what you’d get at a restaurant!
Table of Contents
Chicken Francese Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need thin cut boneless skinless chicken breasts, flour, salt, black pepper, large eggs, milk, extra virgin olive oil, butter, fresh lemons, dry white wine, chicken broth and parsley.
How Do You Make Chicken Francese?
This dish starts with chicken breasts, which are dredged in seasoned flour and coated in egg. The chicken breasts are seared in a large skillet in olive oil until golden brown. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan, then cook some lemon slices until they’re browned. Remove the lemon slices from the pan, then add wine, chicken broth, fresh lemon juice and butter. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until thickened. Garnish the chicken with the cooked lemon slices and fresh parsley, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- This dish works best with either chicken cutlets or thin sliced chicken breasts. You can buy chicken breasts that are already cut thin, or you can make your own by slicing thicker chicken breasts in half lengthwise. You can also make this dish with chicken tenders.
- I recommend serving your chicken with side dishes such as sauteed mushrooms and onions, air fryer baked potatoes, mustard greens with bacon, make ahead mashed potatoes, roasted cherry tomatoes or cauliflower mashed potatoes.
- Use a white wine that you wouldn’t mind drinking, such as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
- Chicken francese is best served immediately. You can store any leftovers in the fridge, but the coating on the chicken may soften over time.
Quick Tip
Be sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice, it has a much better flavor than the bottled stuff.
Recipe FAQs
Chicken francese is a derivation of a traditional Italian dish that was originally made with veal. It is an Italian-American creation popular in the New York region. It consists of battered chicken cutlets in a lemon, butter and white wine sauce.
I do not recommend freezing chicken francese as the coating will be soft when thawed. If you need to freeze the dish, you could try thawing the chicken in the frigde then sauteeing it in olive oil over medium high heat to re-crisp the crust and heat it through.
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Chicken Francese Flavor Variations
While this chicken is delicious as-is, sometimes I add other ingredients depending on what I have on hand.
- Herbs: Instead of parsley, try an herb with a bolder flavor such as fresh rosemary, thyme, basil or tarragon.
- Sauce: Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream to the sauce for a different flavor. Some other great additions include garlic, capers, or olives.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add some veggies to this dish such as sauteed mushrooms, asparagus, onions or zucchini.
- Cheese: Top your chicken with some shaved parmesan cheese, or add finely grated parmesan to the seasoned flour mixture.
Chicken francese is a great way to turn ordinary chicken breasts into something extraordinary!
More Chicken Recipes To Try
Chicken and Green Beans
30 mins
Slow Cooker Chicken Drumsticks
3 hrs 5 mins
Hawaiian Chicken
50 mins
Chicken Casserole
45 mins
Chicken Francese Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Chicken Francese
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts thin cut
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For the sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter divided use
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
For the chicken
- Place each piece of chicken in between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with the flat end of a meat mallet to create thin cutlets.
- Place the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix until combined.
- Place the eggs and milk in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Dredge each chicken cutlet in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg.
- Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in the pan.
- Cook for 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.
For the sauce
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan over medium heat. Add the lemon slices. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until lemon slices have browned. Remove the lemon slices from the pan.
- Add the rest of the butter to the pan, and cook until melted. Add the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Pour in the white wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer for an additional 4-5 minutes or until sauce has just thickened.
- Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Return the chicken to the pan. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then top with cooked lemon slices. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve immediately.
Notes
- This dish works best with either chicken cutlets or thin sliced chicken breasts. You can buy chicken breasts that are already cut thin, or you can make your own by slicing thicker chicken breasts in half lengthwise. You can also make this dish with chicken tenders.
- Be sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice, it has a much better flavor than the bottled stuff.
- Use a white wine that you wouldn’t mind drinking, such as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
Add fresh spinach to the sauce and serve over orzo or angel hair pasta…YUM!
Fabulous recipe. My husband liked it better than the restaurant we had it in. That was in NY and it was great there. I cut off the pointy ends of the breast and saved it for a stir fry. That left me with even pieces which I sliced in half and gently pounded. I bought 4 large boneless breasts. Served with Orzo.
One of my son’s favorite chicken dishes. I’ve tried several recipes yours is so easy to follow and quite delicious. Something I never tried but looking at the leftover egg in the bowl I thought why not temper it and add to sauce. It turned out great nice consistency and no difference in taste just a bit more protein I suspect. Thanks for this recipe.
How do you think you can make this recipe for a large group of seven?
If you change the number of servings in the recipe card, the ingredient amounts will automatically recalculate!
One of my favorite recipes and always a hit! Thank you!
LOve the flavors in this chicken recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds like a great dinner idea. I love how light this chiken francse feels.
My chicken turned out perfectly cooked, and that lemon butter sauce was to die for!! So tasty and delicious!
Pan fried to golden brown perfection is correct! This was such amazing chicken and we all loved it. Thank you!
Best chicken Francese ever! So delicious, tender & moist. The lemon wine sauce is great! Will make often; thanks Sara!
Lana
Wonderful recipes. Definitely a keeper. Made this for friends and family and it was a hit. I added mushrooms and sundried tomatoes extra veggies. Thank you for the great recipe.
Hi Sara, my son is allergic to egg, is there something you would recommend I substitute?
Unfortunately the egg is a necessary part of this recipe so it may not be a good choice if you have an allergy in the family.
Your recipe is delicious! I make it often and always enjoy it. I add some capers but otherwise adhere to your recipe. Thank you!
Can all chicken broth be substituted, and use no wine? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE wine but my sons don’t, they said they can taste it
Yes that’s fine!
Hi Sara I was curious if there was a culinary reason you use flour then egg since the flour is usually what crisps and egg washes usually help hold things on? Also have you experimented with adding a little cornstarch to the flour to elevate crispiness?
It creates a different type of crust which is how this dish is traditionally prepared! I think it should be ok to add some cornstarch.
iT WAS GOOD
This recipe for chicken francese IS better than many Italian restaurants I’ve been to. It’s not too difficult, and the taste is amazing! There are times when I’ve been out and said, ohmygosh I make better chicken francese than this, and of course people are disbelieving because c’mon, it’s a restaurant! But it’s true. I’m so happy I found this recipe, and I’ll continue to use it, because why change perfection?
My family loves this meal it was restaurant quality and quantity and it’s very easy to make with a few simple ingredients I love this meal and I hope you will too
This recipe was delicious! I made it exactly as printed and my husband and I both loved it!
What type of white wine? There are sweet and dry white wines.
This uses a dry white wine.