Last Minute Skillet Chicken Recipe with White Wine Sauce
Mar 30, 2018, Updated Oct 04, 2020
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Chicken in White Wine Sauce – This last minute chicken recipe is made in just one skillet and is the perfect quick & easy recipe to get dinner on the table! Made with chicken breasts + a creamy white wine sauce, it’s so delicious!
SKILLET CHICKEN IN WHITE WINE SAUCE
This super easy, one pan skillet chicken bathed in an incredible white wine sauce is a must-try, must-have-NOW meal! It truly is a restaurant-quality dinner that’s so quick to make and in just one skillet.
Friends, guess what I’m serving up for Easter? YEPPERS: the menu includes my Balsamic Braised Lamb Shanks for the lamb-lovahs, and this Skillet Chicken in White Wine Sauce for the lamb-haters.
This simple to prepare recipe has a very dang amazing tasty sauce, and the chicken is wonderfully tender. I like to serve it over rice, especially my really good Lemon Rice, with a side of a big green salad.
⬆ About that white wine sauce, tho…
Before making the amazing sauce, you’ll first want to pan sear some chicken breasts.
HOW TO MAKE THIS SKILLET CHICKEN BREASTS RECIPE:
- Pour enough olive oil into a skillet to generously coat the bottom.
- Heat over medium heat until the oil shimmers, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken breasts in the pan and do not move the chicken around; let it cook for about 6 minutes.
- Using a pair of tongs, flip the chicken and cook for an additional 6 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Remove chicken to a plate and cover.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A CREAMY WHITE WINE SAUCE?
(Scroll down to the recipe box to get the RECIPE in its entirety)
- We will need butter, onions, garlic, wine, cream, herbs and seasonings.
- In the same skillet that you used to prepare the chicken, you will fry the onion and garlic in melted butter.
- Add the wine and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the wine has reduced.
- Add the cream and herbs.
- Reduce heat to slowly bring to a boil; place chicken breasts back in the skillet and leave to simmer and thicken for about 5 minutes.
- Serve!
If you can’t/don’t want to use wine, please reach for some apple juice.
OR, make my Creamy Garlic Sauce Chicken. It’s awesome!
Full transparency: This recipe was actually my attempt at trying to stay true to a classic romantic dinner recipe, all while making it into an easy weeknight meal for everyone. I think I succeeded and am looking forward to serving it on Easter.
MORE SKILLET CHICKEN RECIPES:
- Skillet Catalina Chicken
- Saucy Skillet Chicken with Lemons and Olives
- Skillet Garlic and Rosemary Chicken Thighs
- Caprese Skillet Chicken
- Chicken in Tomato Sauce
ENJOY!
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Skillet Chicken in White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
FOR THE CREAMY WHITE WINE SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup half and half/heavy cream/or evaporated milk
- Fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
FOR THE CHICKEN
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the oil shimmers, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Add chicken to the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes. DO NOT move it around.
- Using tongs, flip the chicken over and continue to cook for 6 more minutes, or until cooked through.
- Remove chicken from skillet to a plate; cover and set aside.
FOR THE CREAMY WHITE WINE SAUCE
- DO NOT wipe the skillet.
- Add butter to skillet and melt over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and cook for 3 minutes, or until softened.
- Stir in garlic, salt, and pepper; cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add wine and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the skillet to mix the brown bits into the liquid; cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, or until half of the wine has reduced.
- Stir in thyme and half-and-half.
- Reduce heat to slowly bring to a boil; place chicken breasts back in the skillet and leave to simmer and thicken for about 4 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Very, very good. I wanted to simmer my chicken in the sauce, so I added everything except the cream and let it simmer for about 30 minutes and then added a flour slurry to thicken the sauce with the cream. My way took longer but worked better with the timing of the side dishes I was making. I also wanted extra sauce for side dishes, so I added 3/4 cup of chicken broth with the wine.
I have trouble remembering base recipes but when I see one I have ideas of what to add based on my family’s preferences. I’m definitely bookmarking this for my base white wine sauce recipe.
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Im making this tonite did she addthe flour slurry firdtbthan the cream thank u
I assume that she added the slurry to the cream. Just mix flour (or cornstarch) with cold water and whisk it in there until smooth and thickened.
Such a WONDERFUL basic dish that you can add your own flare. A fun delicious recipe.
Thank you so much! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
the cream curdled when i put it in too.
hi is that okay if i wont use thyme?
Hi!
Yes, you can definitely leave it out, and you can also use whatever other fresh or dried herbs you have on hand.
Lovely recipe,amazing result.Ive cooked this twice and it’s a keeper.Making it again tonight with thighs sautéed potatoes tossed in sea salt and rosemary and fine green beans with caremilised onions .
My wife and young girls love this recipe,thanks for sharing it.Many thanks from London
I am very happy you and your family enjoyed this recipe!! 🙂 MANY thanks from USA! 🙂
I picked up chicken thighs on sale and decided to use them for this recipe. My entire family raved about this dish.
I upped the cooking time to 9-10 minutes each side and had to pour off some of the fat. I also simmered the thighs about 30 minutes and added the cream at the very end. Wonderful and flavorful
I put the cream in and the cream curdled
I tried this 3 times and the cream curdled every time, disappointing and wasted lots of food.
Putting cold dairy into hot liquid can curdle it especially if it is acidic (like a wine sauce). You can prevent it by adding room temperature cream or slowly heating the cream in a separate sauce pot until it’s warm. Lower the sauce temp before you add the cream and heat it back up slowly. Flour can also help with curdling so if you want a thicker sauce that isn’t curdled, you could make a flour slurry and add it in. This is a great recipe if your dairy doesn’t curdle, I recommend trying again! Maybe practice with a small serving of sauce first, though I know not everyone has that much time.
It may have been too hot when the cream was added to the pan, or the best before date may have been too close when used.
This recipe you have is simple and good but I did tweek it a little , if you add Tarragon instead of Tyme to it makes the best tarragon chicken. I also added lemon pepper when I was doing my garlic and onions! 😀 Thank you!
My husband isn’t a big fan of chicken (he says it’s boring), so I’m always looking for good chicken recipes. I made this tonight and it was fabulous! I used green onions and added fresh mushrooms. I like a lot of sauce, so I added a cup of chicken bone broth in addition to the wine. I also coated the veggies with a tablespoon of flour before adding the liquid so the sauce would thicken. My whole family loved it! Definitely saving this as a new favorite recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Tried it tonight for the first time and it was fantastic. I made a few alterations… cooking up some mushrooms after the chicken and setting aside until the cream addition… and adding chopped up sun dried tomatoes with the garlic. I also cooked up some asparagus on the side and added it with the chicken at the end. Overall a super and restaurant quality recipe. A+++