Chicken Francaise (Chicken Francese)

Chicken francaise (also spelled ‘chicken francese’) is a simple Italian dish of thinly sliced chicken breast dredged in flour and egg wash and cooked in a delicious white wine and lemon sauce.

It’s a total crowd-pleaser that you NEED to learn to make because it’s just that good.

I first learned how to make this dish when I worked in a pizzeria during my teen years. While this is similar to that dish, I made a few alterations to make it my own.

Chicken Francaise Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this dish:

Chicken breast: Sliced and pounded thin

Flour: I added salt, Italian seasoning, pepper, and Locatelli

Beaten eggs: I added salt, Italian seasoning, pepper, and Locatelli

Olive oil and butter: To fry the chicken

Shallots and garlic: For the sauce

Lemons: For this dish’s signature flavor

White wine: For the sauce

Chicken stock: I use chicken bouillon powder in water

Fresh parsley: Chopped

Butter dipped in flour and kneaded: A French technique called ‘Beurre Manié’ used to thicken the sauce

How to Make Chicken Francaise

Here’s how to make this dish:

Step 1: Prep your ingredients

I like to begin by chopping and mincing anything that needs it.

So finely mince your garlic, finely chop your shallots, and chop your parsley.

Combine 1 TBS softened butter and 1 TBS flour in a small bowl. Mash together until there appears to be no more flour and keep cool in the fridge.

You can also thinly slice your chicken and pound them out during this stage (sprinkle each with a bit of salt).

Step 2: Dredge your chicken

Set up your dredging stations by adding some salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and Locatelli to your flour and to your beaten eggs. Mix each station to incorporate the seasonings.

For Chicken Francaise, we’ll be adding the chicken to the flour first, and then to the egg wash. It might appear a little backward to you, but I promise it’s in the right order.

Dip each chicken into the flour and shake off the excess. Next, dip it into the egg wash and let any excess egg drip off of the chicken, then add it to a clean plate. Repeat until all of the chicken has been dredged.

Step 3: Partially cook the chicken

Add some neutral oil and 2 tbs butter to a large skillet. Once hot, add the chicken — in batches if necessary — to the pan. Let cook for ~4 minutes, or until golden, and flip. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until the chicken is about 85% cooked. Remove to a plate and repeat the next batch as needed.

Pour the excess oil into a bowl so that you don’t have too much oil for the next stage.

Step 4: Cook the sauce

Add 1 tbs of olive oil to the same skillet. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the shallots and garlic. Cook for a minute, then add the sliced lemons. Cook until they’re golden on each side (just a few minutes per side), then reserve for garnishing later.

Now, add the wine and deglaze the skillet. Let that boil for about 4-6 minutes, or until it doesn’t smell like alcohol anymore and it’s about halfway reduced.

Now add the chicken stock and juice of half of a lemon to the dish. Take the cold butter that was mixed with flour out of the fridge and add it to the sauce. Let cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until it reduces by about ¼ of the way.

Step 5: Finish the chicken

Add the chicken back to the skillet to finish cooking. Bring to a boil and allow the sauce to thicken up — it should at the very least coat the back of a spoon.

Once done, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with the lemon slices.