Tender chicken breast is coated in parmesan cheese and fried to golden perfection in a buttery lemon sauce in this Chicken Francese recipe. You can make this restaurant favorite at home in under half an hour!
I don't know about you, but butter, lemon, and fried cheese always sounds good to me. I often order Chicken Francese (also known as Chicken Française) when I go to my favorite Italian restaurant.
It's pretty much the only time I will ever order chicken in a restaurant other than Raising Cane's chicken fingers (OMG so good).
Sadly, my favorite Italian restaurant isn't in the country I live in, so I sometimes have to make do and make my own version of this dish. It isn't exactly the same, but that's ok.
My version is quick and easy and hits the spot!
The Francese sauce is made without wine (I used chicken broth instead). You could always use white wine instead if you wanted to.
What's the difference between Chicken Francese and Chicken Piccata?
Chicken Francese is quite similar to chicken piccata, but the chicken is coated in parmesan instead of breadcrumbs, and the sauce doesn't have capers.
How to make Chicken Francese
Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise; sprinkle them with garlic powder and salt & pepper. Dredge them in flour, followed by eggs, and then the grated parmesan cheese.
Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until the parmesan crust is golden. Take chicken out of pan.
Add the sauce components and let the sauce bubble for a couple of minutes; add the chicken back into the pan and simmer until it's cooked through.
This dish makes really tasty leftovers, but it really is best served right away before that crust softens up too much.
Chicken Francese is ideal for a busy weeknight and is sure to become a family favorite. 🙂
Funny story (ok, it's not hilarious or anything, or related to this Chicken Francese recipe).
I've been meaning to post a mashed sweet potatoes recipe because, you know, fall and Thanksgiving and stuff. The only sweet potatoes I could find yesterday were fairly pale, but I didn't think anything of it.
I cut into one today and I'm like "oh sh*t... they're not orange... they look like normal potatoes". So I do a little research and realized that there are different varieties of sweet potatoes. They aren't all orange.
Well color me surprised! You learn something new every day I guess.
What to serve with Chicken Francese?
You can't go wrong serving Chicken Francese with pasta or mashed potatoes
Anyway, do you love lemon Chicken Francese as much as I do?
Tried it? Have questions?
Let me know in the comments below!
Chicken Francese
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup flour for dredging
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese*
- 1 (10 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have four thinner cutlets. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the salt & pepper and garlic powder.
- Prepare 3 bowls - one with the flour, one with the egg (whisk it), and the third with the parmesan.
- Add the olive oil to a skillet on medium-high heat. One by one, coat each piece of chicken with the flour, then the egg, then the parmesan, and add each piece to the skillet. Cook each piece for 3-4 minutes per side or until the crust is golden (the chicken may stick a little so I gently/slowly lift it up using tongs). Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
- Add the chicken broth and lemon juice + zest to the pan and simmer it for a couple of minutes, scraping up the brown bits.
- Add the butter, and once it melts, add the chicken back in the pan. Cook for another 4-5 minutes or until the sauce is slightly reduced and the chicken is cooked through (you may need to turn the heat down a bit). Season with extra salt & pepper if needed, and sprinkle the parsley on top.
Notes
- If your chicken breasts are particularly thick, I suggest increasing the parmesan to 1.5 cups.
- Here's a shameless plug for the awesome lemon zester I used to make this recipe. 🙂
Ben says
I’ve made this a bunch of times, different amounts of olive oil, different levels of heat, and the coating always sticks to the pan at the first turning. Maybe I just have crappy cast iron lol. But would appreciate any thoughts/tips.
Natasha says
Hi! That could for sure be part of it. It can be really tricky to get those factors right with certain pans, unfortunately. I've actually had that happen before, too... especially when using stainless steel. I try to turn it very slowly and sort of maneuver the spatula underneath the chicken so it slowly peels off the pan vs. being lifted off in one go. I'm going to be re-testing this recipe at some point here (this one was developed way back in 2016 and is due for an update), and I'm going to see if I can add some troubleshooting tips to the blog post.
Natalie says
So I had to have done something wrong on the last step. The top part of the chicken was really crispy. Good, but when I did the last step it made the bottom of it taste like it was boiled.. should I be using a bigger pan so the liquid doesn’t get so high?
Natasha says
Hi Natalie! Yes, I think that would definitely help a bit. I would say you didn't do anything wrong. I think I may look into tweaking this recipe a bit to see if I can eliminate that issue... like perhaps not have the chicken finish cooking in the sauce and just pour it over right at the end since the coating does tend to soften up quite fast.
Victoria says
Delicious! I have been trying to find new recipes to make chicken tasty without the heavy breading because I recently have been having bad acid reflux. My husband loved it to. Will definitley be a weekly staple!
Natasha says
Thank you!! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it.
Anna Wright says
This is an incredibly creative recipe. Look splendid too. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing.
Joanne : No Plate Like Home says
Your pix are fabulous! Recipe sounds good! I found purple sweet potatoes once! Looked like sweet potatoes on the outside and were PURPLE inside. They tasted good too.
Natasha says
Thanks joanne! I'd love to try the purple ones.
Joanne says
We found purple sweet potatoes in Hawaii and they were so good! I could not believe the inside was dark purple!
This chicken sounds good. I make something similar with Panko bread crumbs. I love the crunch.
Natasha says
Thank you!! Oooh I had no idea purple sweet potatoes existed either haha.
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Love this recipe Natasha and so will my husband Tom. Can't wait to give it a try.
Natasha says
Thank you! I hope you guys like it 🙂
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Love this for its simplicity. My kids seem to only like simple flavors. Can't wait to try this!
Natasha says
Thank you! I hope they like it 🙂
Stephanie | The Foodie and The Fix says
I've never made my own Chicken Francese before but I've certainly eaten my fair share 🙂 These photos are making me so hungry! Btw, I recently moved to Alaska and there have been plenty of times that I have only been able to get yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes (labeled Japanese Sweet Potatoes here) and not orange ones - I knew there were different varieties, but like you, I feel the need to get the pretty orange ones for blog posts!
Natasha says
Thanks Stephanie!! That is interesting. I guess maybe it's because we're up so far north??
Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table says
Hello deliciousness! This sounds so amazing! I love chicken piccata but haven't made chicken Francese before... that's gonna have to change soon! (And no, that would not be a happy surprise to have a non-orange sweet potato if you're trying to photograph it!) Pinned!
Natasha says
Thanks Kathryn 🙂 And thanks for pinning it! Let me know if you do try it.
Alida | Simply Delicious says
This recipe is right up my alley. Butter, cheese and lemon are all constants in my kitchen. 😉 Us South Africans have always only had white sweet potatoes until probably 3 years ago when the orange variety was introduced. In Afrikaans (one of our official languages), they are called Soet Patats and they are often cooked in mountains of butter and sugar. So good!
Natasha says
Thanks Alida! That is really interesting re: the orange variety just being introduced. A mountain of butter and sugar sounds good to me! 😀
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says
You definitely can't go wrong with butter, lemon and fried cheese. Just 3 of them alone would be fantastic, forget the chicken, lol 😀 Interesting little point about sweet potatoes. No matter what the colour, so delicious!
Natasha says
Haha agreed. Thanks Dawn!