Lemon Chicken Francese or Chicken Française is a popular Italian-American dish that you can easily find on the menu. But, did you know, that you can easily make this at home?
Basically, it's making chicken cutlets with thin fillets of chicken breasts and then serving it with browned lemon and a buttery, lemony, fragrant, and flavorful white-wine infused sauce.
Jump to:
- What is Chicken Francese
- Chicken Francese - Best Chicken Breast Recipe
- Browned Lemon and that Gorgeous Lemony Sauce
- Lemon - The Game Changing Ingredient of this dish
- Ingredients Needed to make Chicken Francese
- How to Make Chicken Francese or Chicken Française
- Serving Suggestions
- Recipe Variations
- What can I use Instead of White Wine?
- Can I Make It without Cream?
- Doesn't Cooking the Lemon Medallion makes it bitter?
- Lemon Chicken Francese
What is Chicken Francese
Chicken Francese or Chicken French is a popular Italian American dish which was brought by the Italian immigrants in America. Today, it is one of the MOST popular chicken dishes.
This recipe is quite similar to Chicken Piccata. Only, in Chicken piccata, chicken is dipped in egg first and then in flour mixture. But, in Chicken Francesca, this gets opposite. You dip in egg at last. That's how you get egg on the outside of chicken.
As you might know, I don't follow any recipes. I like to develop my own taste based on my experience. It's sort of what I do with every single recipe. And, the best part - Readers love it.
In this recipe for Lemon Chicken Francese to give this my own twist of taste, I like to make the egg mixture richer by adding some Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a dash of Italian seasoning.
This is like a perfect Friday night dinner for us. I like to serve it with any creamy pasta. My kids love the lemony taste.
Chicken Francese - Best Chicken Breast Recipe
I am not sure if you agree or not, but, Chicken Francese is one of the best chicken breasts recipes there ever is. I have made so many recipes with chicken breasts in the past - Balsamic Marinated Chicken Breasts, Honey Mustard Chicken Breast, Baked Herb Chicken Breasts, Spinach Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts, 10-minute Honey Garlic Chicken Breast and so many more.
But, none of them compares to what I cooked today. This recipe for Chicken Francese is too damn good. In fact, If I were to judge myself (FYI: Being a Virgo I am a tuff nut to crack) I would have given myself a 10/10 for the recipe.
Browned Lemon and that Gorgeous Lemony Sauce
The best part about this recipe is, actually wait... There is no one thing that I can say I love. This recipe has three parts - Crispy chicken breasts, browned lemon slices, and finally the creamy sauce. And all of them are simply magical. All three of them combine together to create something that your taste buds are gonna remember for years to come. yes, it's that good.
Lemon - The Game Changing Ingredient of this dish
Lemon is actually the best part of this recipe. I deliberately use lemon zest and lemon juice while making the egg mixture. This helps my crispy chicken have a lemony taste to itself.
Secondly, while making the lemony sauce, I combine lemon juice with butter and minced garlic. And then I add white wine, chicken broth, and heavy cream. The result is something so delicious that you will actually want to lick your fingers.
Talking about lemon, did I tell you that a few days back I planted a Lemon tree in my garden. I wanted to have a lemon tree in my garden for so long. And now finally, they are growing. I can't wait to see lemons outside my window.
Ingredients Needed to make Chicken Francese
- Chicken breasts - Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into thin fillet.
- All-Purpose Flour - To coat the chicken.
- Salt and Pepper - To season chicken and flour mixture.
- Eggs - Lightly beaten eggs to create a coating on our chicken fillets.
- Heavy Cream - To make the sauce as well to make this egg mixture creamier.
- Italian Seasoning - Just a dash of herbs to make this egg mixture flavorful.
- Parmesan Cheese - I love to add some parmesan cheese while making my egg mixture.
- Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest - To make the egg mixture and while making the sauce.
- Olive Oil - To sear chicken.
- Butter - The sauce is going to be buttery. And, the lemon slices are to be seared in butter.
- White Wine: A glass of white wine is essential to de-glaze the pan and bring all the browned bits into the sauce.
- Chicken Stock - A final dash of chicken stock to make the sauce.
How to Make Chicken Francese or Chicken Française
Step 1: Cut chicken into thin Fillets
Use a thick chicken breast. Run a knife from the thick side to cut open the chicken breast like a book. Cut from the center and then what you have is two thin fillets. There are two advantages of cutting chicken breasts. a) Chicken Cooks faster. b) The thinner the crispier.
Step 2: Season Chicken
Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Make a flour Mixture
Take a shallow bowl. Add about 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and season it with salt and pepper.
Step 4: Make Egg Mixture
In another shallow bowl combine 2 eggs with a splash of heavy cream, some freshly grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and of course some freshly squeezed lemon juice. This burst of lemony fragrance will add depth of flavor to your dish.
Step 5: Dredge chicken
Heat a pan with about 2-inches of olive oil.
Dredge chicken into the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, and finally, add them into the pan with hot olive oil. Sear both sides until browned. Take it off and keep it aside. Don't drain the remaining oil.
Step 6: Brown lemon slices
Cut 2-lemons into thin slices. Add a knob of butter into the skillet. Once the butter melts add lemon slices. Sear both sides until the edges begin to brown. Take them off and keep them on your fried chicken cutlets.
Step 7: Make Sauce
In the same pan, add one more knob of butter. Add minced cloves of garlic right above butter. Allow garlic to get fragrant for 30-seconds. Then add Lemon Juice, white wine, and low-sodium chicken broth. White wine will de-glaze the pan. Allow this to reduce for a while and then add some heavy cream. Stir lightly and allow this to come to a quick boil. Then turn off the heat and pour this on your chicken. Finally, your chicken Francese is ready!
Serving Suggestions
- Pasta - Generally, Chicken Francese is served with any pasta such as Angel hair or Linguine.
- Rice - You can also serve this over a fluffy bed of rice.
- Cauliflower Rice - For low-carb option, you can serve this with Cauliflower rice.
- Quinoa - For even healthier choice, you can serve this with Cilantro Lime Quinoa.
- Mashed Potatoes - Some creamy mashed potato goes really well with this recipe.
- Roasted Broccoli or Green beans - Classic sides like crispy broccoli or crispy green beans works as an excellent side dish.
Some more dishes to pair this with is:
- Miso Carrots (Roasted)
- Brown Sugar Maple Glazed Carrots with Spiced Nuts
- Parmesan Zucchini Fries in Air Fryer
- Crispy Cajun Air-Fryer Sweet Potato Fries (Zero Oil)
- Air Fryer Crispy Potatoes
- Maple Mustard Glazed Green Beans
Recipe Variations
- Half and Half - You can replace heavy cream with Half and Half.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Though traditionally red pepper flakes are not added but, if you want it a little spucy, you can add some crushed red pepper flakes while making the egg mixture.
What can I use Instead of White Wine?
You shouldn't replace white wine with Apple Juice (common alternative). Rather replace it with White grape juice. It'll be a perfect alternative to white wine.
Can I Make It without Cream?
Yes you can totally skip cream if you want to. And, if you want to make it dairy-free then use any plant-based milk.
Doesn't Cooking the Lemon Medallion makes it bitter?
No. It actually doesn't get bitter. You get a buttery, lemony and nutty taste. But, those lemon slices are only for decoration and not to eaten.
if you are making this recipe, then please leave a rating below. Also, snap it and share it on Instagram with #recipemagik. Tag me @recipemagik so that I can see how this turned out.
Lemon Chicken Francese
INGREDIENTS
For the Chicken
- 2 large Chicken Breasts
- 2 tablespoon AP Flour
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest
- ¼ tablespoon Heavy Cream
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese 25gm
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
For the Sauce
- 1 large Lemon sliced into medaliions
- 2 sticks Unsalted Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 large Lemon juiced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- ½ cup White Wine
- ½ cup Chicken Broth low sodium
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Freshly chopped Parsley for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Use thick Chicken Breast. Run a knife lengthwise from the thickest part of the breast and run it through the chicken breast. Open the Chicken into a butterfly and cut the center. You'll get two perfect-sized Chicken Filets.
- Season the Chicken Fillets with Salt and Pepper and keep them in a shallow bowl. Make a breading station on your kitchen counter using two more shallow bowls.
- In one bowl, spread All-Purpose flour, followed by salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread it out in the bowl.
- In the next bowl, crack open two eggs. Pour Heavy cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and Parmesan cheese into this. Whisk the eggs using a wired whisk or a fork.
- Heat a skillet with olive oil. As the oil shimmers, reduce the heat to medium-low. Now, starting with the battering, dip the Chicken fillets, first in the flour mixture and once it gets coated with flour, dip them in the egg mixture. After dipping in the egg mixture, transfer to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes (each sides). Once the Chicken cutlets are ready, transfer to a serving dish.Do not feel tempted to coat all the chicken fillets at once. This needs to be done slowly and in batches. Do not crowd the skillet with Chicken Fillets. Add not more than four fillets at a time.
- Get rid of the excess oil from the skillet. Add a stick of butter to the same skillet. As the butter shimmers, add the lemon slices and turn the heat down to medium-low. Allow them to brown for 2-3 minutes, tossing midways. Once they start to turn brown, remove them from the pan and arrange over the Chicken Cutlets.
- Finally, to make a creamy sauce, add some more butter in the same skillet. As the butter shimmers, add minced garlic and saute until fragrant for 1 minute over medium-high heat. Now, pour in White Wine along with Lemon Juice, and toss to combine. Allow the White Wine to reduce. As the sauce reduces, pour Heavy Cream and Chicken Broth and reduce the sauce for 2-3 minutes over medium-low heat. Once the sauce gets creamy, serve over the chicken cutlets.
- Garnish with some freshly chopped Parsley and serve immediately
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Vanessa Martinez says
This is the best Lemon Chicken Francese Recipe, I have made in a while. My boyfriend just loved this. Going to make it again next week. Excellent recipe Anjali...