Delicious Chicken Francese Recipe - Quick & Easy Weeknight Dinner (2024)

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Chicken Francese – gourmet dinner made in about 30 minutes – perfect for busy weeknight dinners or meal prep.

This classic chicken dish will become a staple in your weekly meal plan – it’s made in one pan, it requires a few basic ingredients and you only need about 15 minutes to cook the chicken and the savory-tart lemon butter sauce. It’s the ultimate chicken dinner that is budget-friendly and perfect for easy weeknight dinners.

You might think that Chicken Francese looks the same as Chicken Piccata, both recipes are very similar. Chicken Francese (or sometimes called Chicken Francaise) is an American-Italian dish and it means chicken cooked in the French manner. For Francese, the chicken is dipped first in flour and then in an egg while for Piccata, the chicken cutlets are dipped first in egg then in flour. Both are sauteed in a lemon-butter and white wine sauce but the Piccata recipe includes capers.

Similar to other recipes I have done, such as Honey Chipotle chicken and Chicken Marsala, Chicken Francese is easy, quick and delicious. The lemon butter sauce is excellent and creamy.

How To Make Chicken Francese

You can make this restaurant favorite at home in less than an hour.

Season the chicken, dip it in flour, then in a beaten egg and shredded parmesan cheese. Cook it in a skillet over medium-high until it reaches 165 F internal temperature. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the sauce ingredients to the skillet and let the sauce bubble for a couple of minutes. Pour over the cooked chicken cutlets. So easy!

This easy chicken Francese recipe tastes amazing and is sure to become a family favorite.

Healthy Chicken Francese

To make gluten-free chicken Francese, you can use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour. This will also make this chicken meal Paleo, Whole30 and Low-carb.

I am really excited to share with you the new frying pan that I used for this recipe. It’s the 10-inch Stainless Steel Frying Pan from Mealthy. It makes frying food so easy and nothing sticks to the bottom. The handle stays cool to the touch when cooking on your cooktop. And it’s compatible with electric, gas and induction cooktops, and it’s oven safe.

I have partnered with Mealthy to give all Delicious Meets Healthy readers $10 OFF the retail price and free shipping. Get yours here. You can also use coupon code DELICIOUSMEETSHEALTHY for $10 OFF every time you purchase one of the Mealthy products.

Tips For The Best Chicken Francese Recipe

• Pat dry the chicken cutlets with a paper towel. This will help to keep the breading from falling off the chicken while cooking.
• Pound the chicken cutlets with a meat tenderizer until they are about 1/4″ thin. This will help to cook the chicken evenly and thoroughly. If you don’t have chicken cutlets, you can also butterfly chicken breasts. (To make butterflying the chicken easier, you can place the chicken breasts in the freezer for 15 minutes)
• Cook on medium-high temperature. If you cook at a higher temperature, this may burn the breading on the chicken before the chicken has been cooked through.
• Use a pan that cooks evenly and is non-stick. You don’t want the breading to stick to the skillet. Something like the Mealthy Frying Pan is a great option.
• Use an instant-read meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked through. (The internal temperature has to reach 165 F).
• Transfer chicken to a plate when making the sauce, otherwise the breading will get mushy and will start falling apart.

What to Serve With Chicken Francais

I love to serve chicken Francese with garlicky sauteed green beans and mashed potatoes. They are great served with rice, roasted asparagus, Brussel sprouts, roasted root vegetables, over gluten-free pasta, with a light side salad, with roasted broccoli or cauliflower.

It really goes well with all kinds of sides which is great if you want to use up any leftover sides.

You can make the sides while you are cooking the chicken and you will have a tasty & quick dinner.

How to Store The Chicken

Refrigerator: You can store the cooked chicken in the refrigerator for about four days. Or you can prep the chicken and store it uncooked for a day.

Freezer: You can store the cooked chicken francais in a freezer-safe container for about 3 months. This is a great freezer-friendly recipe that can help on stressful and busy days. Just defrost the day before you plan serving it, and reheat it in the oven or in a skillet.

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Chicken Francese

Chicken Francese – gourmet dinner made in about 30 minutes – perfect tasty & easy meal for busy weeknight dinners or meal prep.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

See Also

Chicken Fried Steak: the ultimate comfort food recipe

Calories 467kcal

AUTHOR Neli Howard | Delicious Meets Healthy

INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 1.5 lbs chicken breasts, butterflied (or chicken cutlets)
• ▢ salt and black pepper
• ▢ garlic powder
• ▢ 1 cup gluten-free flour
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ olive oil
• ▢ 4 Tablespoon butter, divided
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 cup chicken stock
• ▢ 1/4 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio), (see Note 1)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ fresh parsley, chopped

US Customary – Metric

INSTRUCTIONS

• Pound chicken cutlets to about 1/4" thin. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder on both sides.

• Place the flour in a shallow plate and beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour and then in egg.

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to measure that the internal temperature has reached 165F. Transfer to a plate and cover with aluminum foil.

• Add butter to the skillet, minced garlic and 2 Tbsp of the gluten-free flour. Mix well. Add chicken stock, white wine, and lemon juice to the skillet. Bring to a boil and cook for a minute.

• Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lemons on top of chicken cutlets and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Serve warm.

TIPS & NOTES

Note 1: If you want to omit the wine, you can substitute it with chicken stock.

NUTRITION

Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 223mg | Sodium: 417mg | Potassium: 745mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 525IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword chicken francese, francaise, Gluten Free, Low Carb, Paleo