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This creamy white wine chicken is incredibly easy to make on a weeknight but good enough for company! It’s ready in only 30 minutes for an impressive yet simple meal.
I think you’ll enjoy my popular Creamy Garlic Chicken recipe, Creamy Mushroom Chicken, or Creamy Chicken Florentine next for a few more hassle-free skillet chicken recipes.
Why you’ll love it
If you’re a regular around here, you’ll know that I really enjoy creating creamy chicken recipes. There’s just something so undeniably special about pairing tender chicken with a white wine sauce, flavorful herbs, and then when you add in a splash of cream, it’s a restaurant-quality dish at home.
This white wine chicken would make a fabulous date night meal, and it also doubles as a fantastic dinner after a long workday! It also happens to be a great and accessible chicken recipe for beginners, and it’s really satisfying to feel like a gourmet home chef. Who knew the simplicity of this easy white wine sauce for chicken could taste so heavenly?
What you’ll need
- Chicken – we’re using two boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into four smaller cutlets so they will cook faster
- Garlic powder – along with salt & pepper, we’re seasoning the cutlets directly with it to infuse savory flavor
- Flour – for dredging and getting that irresistible crust when pan searing and thickening the sauce
- Olive oil and butter – for pan frying and making the base of the sauce
- White wine – use a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or chardonnay. Make sure it’s one you actually enjoy the taste of since its flavor shines, and definitely don’t use a cooking wine.
- Chicken broth – it adds another deeper, savory dimension to the sauce
- Herbs de Provence – it’s fragrant herb blend that includes dried herbs like thyme and rosemary and then lavender for a special touch. It’s wonderful with poultry, so I always keep a jar in my pantry! You should be able to find it at most grocery stores.
- Heavy cream – to give the sauce its signature luxurious texture and taste
Pro tip
As with any creamy sauce, it’s important to salt this one enough to properly bring out all the delicious flavors.
How to make creamy white wine chicken
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to make four smaller cutlets. Season them with salt & pepper and garlic powder, then dredge with the flour. Pan fry until lightly golden, and then set aside on a plate. In the skillet, add the wine and chicken broth. Let it bubble for a bit, and scrape up the brown bits.
Add the remaining butter and the Herbs de Provence, and simmer. Stir in the cream, and return the chicken to the skillet. Let the sauce thicken and the chicken cook through. Garnish with chopped parsley if using, add extra salt & pepper as needed, and serve right away along with drinking the rest of the bottle of wine!
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Chicken is done at 165F internally. Use an instant read thermometer for perfect results every time.
- This is my fave Le Creuset skillet pictured, and this budget-friendly Lodge skillet is another good one.
- Measure out butter easily with this butter dish — it has measurement markings right on it.
Substitutions and variations
- I would advise against substituting the heavy cream for a lower fat alternative like half-and-half. The sauce is very likely to curdle, and nobody wants that to happen. It also won’t have the desired texture, taste, or richness.
- If you can’t find Herbs de Provence, Italian seasoning will be a decent substitute. It has a number of the same herby flavors, but keep in mind that it does lack the floral lavender quality.
- You can definitely use chicken thighs, but you’ll likely have to sear them for longer. Just make sure they’re cooked through to at least 175F (I like to go higher for chicken thighs so they end up nice and tender).
What to serve with white wine chicken
- For a starchy option, serve it over pasta like these Quick and Easy Garlic Butter Noodles or with Garlic Mashed Potatoes or my Roasted Potatoes and Carrots. This Stick of Butter Rice is another option.
- You could also steam some broccolini or serve sweet corn or Easy Roasted Cauliflower or Roasted Green Beans with it.
- Or make a side salad for a lighter pairing. Try mixed greens with my Homemade Italian Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- This creamy chicken is best when freshly made, but leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat in a small saucepan over a very low heat and slowly so that the sauce doesn’t separate.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers. Cream sauces don’t do very well in the freezer.
I hope you’ll give this creamy white wine chicken recipe a try! Please leave a star rating and review below. As always, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram with your creations.
Creamy Chicken in White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Flour for dredging
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 pinch Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning)
- 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
- Chopped fresh parsley, for serving optional
Instructions
- Cut your chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make 4 thinner cutlets. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and garlic powder, then dredge them in flour so they’re nicely coated.
- Add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes/side until golden. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside (chicken shouldn’t be fully cooked yet).
- Add the wine and chicken broth to the pan and let it bubble for about a minute. Stir to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the remaining butter and the Herbs de Provence to the pan, and continue simmering for another 2 minutes.
- Add the cream and the chicken back into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened up a bit. Season with extra salt & pepper as needed and sprinkle with fresh parsley if using.
Notes
- I suggest reheating this recipe at a low heat so the sauce doesn’t separate.
- Chicken is safe to eat when it has an internal temperature of 165F. Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness.
- This recipe also appears in chapter 3 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on February 13, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Do you have any suggestions for storing this sauce for say a day or so? I know cream sauces can be kind of temperamental in the fridge… Thanks!
I would be sure to reheat it over a LOW heat. Add a splash more cream if need be when reheating. 🙂
I have to be honest. I was more than a little skeptical of this recipe since I am a foodie snob and consider myself a pretty damn fine home chef. This recipe just seemed too simple and I figured the taste would reflect that. My goodness how wrong I was. This was fabulous and fantastic. I even found Herbs de Provence at my local Kroger grocery store. I made some white rice browed with butter and chicken broth mixed with a little of the Herbs de Provence to serve with the chicken. And let’s just say Dad was a freaking culinary hero once again. Thank you Natasha!
Excellent!! 🙂 Thanks for your review, Bob!!
Lovely – I used dried tarragon in place of the herbs. And doubled the quantity of sauce. Served with baby roast potatoes.
Love the tarragon idea!! So happy you enjoyed it, Liz! 🙂
If I’m making this with a bone in chicken thigh, how long should I cook it for?
I haven’t tested it with bone-in chicken thighs, but a few minutes more per side is a good starting point (during the searing step). I highly recommend using an instant read meat thermometer… they’re cheap and take about 2 seconds to use. It’s the only way to really know if chicken is done. I like to cook chicken thighs a bit beyond the 165F (unlike chicken breasts that dry out faster). I suppose you could also finish the recipe in the oven, but I haven’t tested it, so I really can’t say whether that would reduce the sauce too much or not.
Oh no! When I added the cream it curdled and didn’t meld with the rest of the sauce. What did I do wrong? 😬
Hi Melissa! Ugh… that is annoying! 🙁 So, typically curdling happens for a couple of reasons. First, can I ask if you’re absolutely sure you used heavy cream vs. something with a lower fat percentage (like half-and-half)? That’s usually the top culprit. If you used heavy cream, my guess is the pan may have just been too hot and the temperature difference between the fresh out of the fridge cream and the super hot pan could have curdled it. To remedy this in the future, let the cream warm up a bit after you measure it out (just let it sit on the counter while doing the rest of the recipe prep), and perhaps let the pan cool down a touch (take it off the stove for a minute or two) before adding it to the pan.
Hi Natasha!
Thank you for such a helpful & thorough response. You nailed it – I used 1/2 & 1/2 since that’s what I had on hand. Bummer! I had no idea the difference in fat content could cause curdling. Huh! Well lesson learned. I look forward to making this again *successfully* sometime soon. 😊
(BTW, even though it didn’t look pretty, it smelled so good that we just dimmed the lights – so as to not see the curdled sauce, lol – and still ate it. It was still really really tasty!)
No worries – I’m glad it still tasted good at least haha. I’m happy to have helped. 🙂
Why don’t you tell them to take the pan off the heat, and lightly warm the cream, slowly incorporate into the sauce.
By any chance do you the amount of calories in each serving ?
Hi Andrew! Yes, see the “Nutrition” section in the recipe card. It’s per serving. Enjoy!!
This is delicious! Very popular with my daughter too 🙂
Served with baby roast potatoes and broccolini.
I’m so glad to hear that!! Thank you, Lu! 🙂
not entirely sure of the sauce, but a good technique to season the chicken directly with mixture of salt, black pepper & garlic powder which is v convenient, personally added more black pepper & garlic powder when i prepare the sauce to make it tastes better, my american person liked it tho 🙂
Can I use white cooking wine for this recipe? Or should I go buy a real bottle of wine to make this dish? I don’t want to ruin the dish by using the wrong wine. Thank you!
Hi Shakira! I definitely recommend buying a bottle of real wine for the recipe. It doesn’t have to be an expensive one, but cooking wine tends not to be as tasty. Go for something dry like a sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or even a chardonnay. 🙂
usually dry wine works like sauvignon blanc, for cooking wine dont need to get fancy ones, use store brand can also do the work
Sorry if I’m being a bit thick, but what exactly do you mean by chicken broth?
Does it come out of a tin or do you make it yourself?
Hi Alan! Chicken broth is probably a North American thing. It’s basically pre-made water + bouillon in a can (all made up). If you have water and a stock cube or some chicken stock then that’ll work just fine. 🙂
You can buy chicken broth in the grocery store. Chicken bone stock will make any recipe better. And, you can make your own bone stock or broth if you’d like. I make bone stock often, both chicken and beef. 🙂