Chicken in White Wine Sauce
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Chicken in White Wine Sauce – it’s one of the most delicious ways to finish pan seared chicken! And you’ll love that it’s simple enough for a weekday, yet impressive enough for a weekend dinner with guests!
This post is sponsored by Danish Creamery. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Chicken with the Best White Wine Sauce
Chicken breasts are pan seared until perfectly browned and tender. Then finely diced onions are sautéed until they’ve picked up some color. Next, bright white wine and chicken broth are added and simmered to concentrate their flavor. Last but not least, the sauce is polished off with rich butter.
And we don’t just use any ordinary butter. Here we use the ultra delicious, extra luxurious Danish Creamery European Style Butter Danish Creamery European Style Butter which is slow churned in small batches for a velvety texture and rich flavor.
The unique thing I love about this butter is that they’ve been using the same recipe since 1985! Making it with high quality cream and a touch of sea salt.
You’ll also appreciate that the butter is packaged in foil so no off-flavors are imparted from the fridge. We just want that pure butter flavor without anything detracting from its excellent taste.
This butter not only makes excellent baked goods and buttered toast but it can also take your main dish up a notch as well. It’s perfect for pairing with the vibrant flavor in this white wine pan sauce.
It’s a memorable dish that will have everyone savoring each and every bite!
Pair it with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and steamed green beans or asparagus to finish it off. Fresh buttered rustic bread is a great option too.
Chicken in White Wine Sauce Recipe Ingredients
- 2 (12 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 Tbsp Danish Creamery Unsalted Butter, cut into 1 Tbsp pieces, divided
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (1 small)
- 2 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
- 1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvigon Blanc
- 2 tsp thyme leaves
- 1.5 tsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
How to Make Chicken in White Wine Sauce
- Prepare the chicken: Slice chicken breasts in half through the thickness to create 4 portions total. Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to even out their thickness.
- Heat skillet with oil: Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
- Dredge chicken: Place flour in a shallow dish. Season both sides of chicken breast portions with salt and pepper and then dredge each side in flour. Gently shake off excess flour.
- Cook chicken: Place chicken in skillet (spacing evenly apart) and cook until browned and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side (chicken should register 165 degrees in center of thickest portion). Note that if skillet seems dry when you turn chicken to second side then drizzle in an additional 1/2 Tbsp olive oil.
- Transfer chicken: Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Melt half the butter: Return skillet to medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp butter and stir to melt.
- Saute onion, then garlic: Add onions and saute until tender and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
- Add broth, wine, thyme: Slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and the white wine while scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in thyme leaves.
- Simmer and reduce sauce: Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer until alcohol flavor has cooked off and sauce has reduced to about 1/3 it’s original volume, about 12 – 15 minutes.
- Thicken sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 Tbsp chicken broth with cornstarch until smooth. Once sauce in skillet has reduced, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened, while whisking, about 1 minute longer.
- Add remaining half of butter: Melt remaining 2 Tbsp butter in sauce. Season sauce with salt if needed and pepper to taste.
- Return chicken, garnish: Return chicken to sauce in skillet, spoon sauce over and sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Possible Variations
- Shallot: Try 1/2 cup diced shallots in place of yellow onion.
- Chicken thighs: Use boneless 6 skinless chicken thighs in place of the 4 chicken breasts.
- Creamier sauce: For a creamy white wine sauce; reduce chicken broth by 1/4 cup, replace with 1/4 cup heavy cream. Add the cream when adding the final 2 Tbsp of butter.
- Herbs: Try other herbs in place of thyme such as rosemary, chives or tarragon.
Helpful Tips
- Simmer the sauce long enough for the alcohol flavor to cook off. This takes 12 minutes-plus, don’t rush it by cranking the heat up or you can ruin the flavors of the wine.
- Be generous with the butter. It balances the acidity of the sauce and adds the needed richness to the dish.
- Quick saute the garlic. Garlic burns easily and when it does it will impart a bitter flavor to any dish.
- Use even chicken breasts (that have been pounded out with a meat mallet) so some areas aren’t cooking much faster than others.
- As always be careful not to cook chicken breasts past 165 degrees, just right to it. Otherwise they can be tough and dry.
More Pan Seared Chicken Breasts Recipes to Try
- Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Piccata
- Lemon Butter Chicken
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter Sauce
Follow Cooking Classy
Chicken in White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 (12 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 Tbsp Danish Creamery European Style Unsalted Butter, cut into 1 Tbsp pieces, divided
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (1 small)
- 2 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
- 1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 1 cup dry white wine, recommend Sauvigon Blanc
- 2 tsp thyme leaves
- 1.5 tsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Slice chicken breasts in half through the thickness to create 4 portions total. Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to even out their thickness.
- Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place flour in a shallow dish. Season both sides of chicken breast portions with salt and pepper then dredge each side in flour, gently shake off excess flour.
- Place chicken in skillet (spacing evenly apart) and cook until browned and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side (chicken should register 165 degrees in center of thickest portion). Note that if skillet seems dry when you turn chicken to second side then drizzle in an additional 1/2 Tbsp olive oil.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Return skillet to medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp butter and stir to melt.
- Add onions and saute until tender and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
- Slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and the white wine while scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in thyme leaves.
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer until alcohol flavor has cooked off and sauce has reduced to about 1/3 it's original volume, about 12 - 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl whisk together remaining 1 Tbsp chicken broth with cornstarch until smooth. Once sauce in skillet has reduced stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened, while whisking, about 1 minute longer.
- Melt remaining 2 Tbsp butter in sauce. Season sauce with salt if needed and pepper to taste.
- Return chicken to sauce in skillet, spoon sauce over and sprinkle with parsley and serve.