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Chicken Francese ❤️ I tried this recipe for a lightly breaded chicken with the most delicious white wine sauce for the first time in a little Italian restaurant in NY last year and fell in LOVE. This is my take, obviously took some liberties with it because that’s what I do.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Chicken Francese
You guys… this Chicken Francese is SO good. The chicken lightly breaded with seasonings and then there is the sauce – this sauce is lemony, herby, buttery and perfect. It’s perfect for a date night in or when you are having people over for dinner. It’s just a great Italian-American chicken recipe, such a cozy and delicious meal.

How To Prepare
- Slice and Dice:
- Chicken breasts: 2 large, slice and pound thin with a meat mallet
- Parmigiano reggiano: Grate ¼ cup
- 2 lemons: Zest 1 lemon. Cut the other lemon in half: Leave ½ whole and then cut the other half into wheels
- 1 shallot: brunoise
- 1 garlic clove: minced
- Parsley: ¼ cup, chopped
- Chives: 2 tbsp, chopped + more for topping
- Gather:
- 2 eggs
- Aleppo pepper: 1 tsp and 1½ tsp divided
- Milk: 1 ½ tbsp
- Seasoning salt
- Flour: ¼ cup
- White wine: ½ cup
- Chicken broth: 16 oz
- Soy sauce: 1 tsp
- Unsalted butter: 5 tbsp
- Black pepper: to taste, for topping
Substitutions
- Aleppo Peppers → If you can’t find these peppers, try mixing some sweet paprika with cayenne. Aleppo peppers are fruity and mild so don’t go too heavy on the cayenne – unless you want some extra heat in this Chicken Francese recipe!
- White Wine → You can use 0% alcohol wine, Giesen has a great selection, or even more broth.
🔥Chef Nadia’s Tip🔥
Charring the lemons is a MUST…so don’t skip…they add such a delicious caramelized taste to the Chicken Francese.

The Perfect Pairings
Start your night off with my viral Milky Dirty Martini 🍸 The perfect sides for this Chicken Francese is a simple Arugula Fennel Salad and a Potato Puree, then finish your night off with a light but delicious Melon Dessert.
Chicken Francese: Questions Answered
You can use 0% alcohol wine, Giesen has a great selection, or even more broth.
They should keep about 3-4 days. Store them in an airtight container and then put them in the fridge.
Some of it you can. You can pound the chicken and then return to the fridge. Make the sauce and store in the fridge beforehand too but wait to fry the chicken and assemble right beforehand though.
Chicken Francese

Equipment
- plastic wrap
- 2 plates
- 2 pans
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, large
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ tsp Aleppo pepper, divided – 1 tsp and 1½ tsp
- ¼ cup parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated
- 1 ½ tbsp milk , or cream
- seasoning salt, to taste
- ¼ cup flour
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 2 lemons, Zest 1 lemon. Cut the other lemon in half: Leave ½ whole and cut the other half into wheels
- 1 shallot, brunoise
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ cup white wine
- 16 oz chicken broth
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp chives, chopped, + more for topping
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- black pepper, to taste, for topping
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts in half and cover with plastic wrap. Pound the chicken with a mallet until it reaches your desired level of thickness. I like them pretty thin.
- On a plate whisk the eggs, 1 tsp aleppo pepper, parmesan, milk and some seasoned salt.
- On another plate, add flour and season it with salt and pepper.
- Preheat a pan on high for 2 minutes. Add plenty of olive oil and lower to medium-high.
- Pat dry the chicken breasts, dredge them in the flour and pass them through the egg wash.
- Fry the chicken breasts on medium-high until golden on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- In another pan, preheat for 2 minutes. Add a bit of olive oil and the halved lemon wheels. Let those caramelize for about 2-3 minutes per side and set aside.
- Lower that pan to medium heat, add in the shallot and garlic. Deglaze with the wine and let it reduce by half. Add in chicken broth, lemon zest and soy sauce. Let that simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
- Once that reduces, squeeze the juice of ½ lemon, add the remaining 1½ tsp Aleppo pepper, parsley and chives. Cook together for 1 more minute. Turn the heat off, add the butter and emulsify.
- Serve the chicken topped with the sauce, more chives, charred lemons and black pepper.
Kitchen Cam
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.









