Chicken in Creamy White Wine Sauce

Using White Wine for Cooking

What is the most important seasoning? Salt? Spice? Perhaps it’s something less obvious.

Chefs often refer to acid as the overlooked, though most important, final seasoning ingredient that’s missing from a dish. Whether using a fresh acidic element like lemon or lime juice, or a more complex and dominant flavor like sherry or balsamic vinegar, acid is always a game-changer.

Since before recorded history, fermented beverages have been used in cooking. White wine’s food-friendly temperament makes it a perfect match for everything from rustic stews to elegant sauces. A clean, light white wine whets the palate, preparing the diner for all of the flavors and textures a dish has to offer.

Tart, dry white wines fall somewhere in between light, fresh citrus juices and powerful, aged vinegars. White wine’s gentle acidity has less astringency than its red counterparts, making it perfect for deglazing and creating a light pan sauce like the one for these Seared Scallops with Garlic Beurre Blanc. The addition of a bit of dry white wine deglazes the pan to form the base of the sauce, lightens the heavy textures of the other ingredients and adds flavor all at once!

White wine can also be added to a simple basting sauce, like this Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast, or even stirred into a Cheese Fondue to lift and elevate a heavy, creamy dish, adding flavor and complexity.

Prepare to Make Chicken in White Wine Sauce

For our chicken and white wine recipe, ingredients matter. Here’s how we chose each ingredient for this dish:

Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts have increased in size over the past few years, meaning they are rarely small enough for a single serving. But that also means they’re easier to cut in half for cutlets.

Butter: There’s no substitute for the flavor of butter. Sorry olive oil, we love you for most things, but butter is the star in this dish.

Wine: For a cream and white wine sauce, of course you want white wine, but what kind? While it’s up to you, we prefer a tart white wine like sauvignon blanc or Bordeaux blanc. Savignon blanc is a white wine produced from a grape variety of the same name. Bordeaux blanc is a French growing region that uses mostly sauvignon blanc in its white wines. Or an even lighter, tart wine like vinho verde could also work well to balance out the richness of the cream. If you would prefer an even richer, less tart flavor, chardonnay or riesling are good substitutes. The kinds of white wine you can use for this dish are quite extensive, and you should feel free to experiment! But we’d recommend starting with one of these and adding creativity as you go for flavorful evolutions.

Herbs: We like the classic combination of parsley and thyme for this recipe, but feel free to make it your own with other herbs, such as rosemary, oregano, or marjoram.

How To Cook Chicken and Wine Sauce

When it comes to creating an unforgettable chicken in white wine sauce, the ingredients and techniques are equally important. This hearty, rich, and sumptuous dish is a favorite for many, and we're here to guide you through the process. Check out the Learn more in this quick overview and read on for the full recipe:

Carefully cutting boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half horizontally is the easiest way to achieve quick-cooking cutlets with the least amount of effort. After filleting, place them under plastic wrap and use a meat mallet to pound the thicker parts so the cutlets cook evenly.

Add Flour and Seasoning

Dusting the cutlets with flour, salt, and pepper creates a lovely crust on the chicken while also providing thickening power for the pan sauce.

Cook the Chicken

These thin cutlets cook very quickly in a hot skillet, so after cooking it’s important to cover them and keep them warm while you make the sauce.

Make the White Wine Cream Sauce

The chicken drippings and butter create an excellent base to sauté the shallots and garlic. Deglazing with wine grabs all the flavor from the chicken and aromatics. Adding cream, fresh parsley, and thyme balances out the luscious sauce. Adding the chicken back to the sauce lets it reheat as it’s coated in the sauce.