Chicken with Crème Fraîche Sauce

creamy dijon chicken in a cast iron skillet

4.28 from 29 votes

Chicken with Crème Fraîche Sauce

The tangy, rich sauce of Chicken with Crème Fraîche Sauce makes this feel like a restaurant meal, but it comes in a one pan, weeknight-friendly package. Serve the tender chicken and sauce over rice, spaghetti, or roasted potatoes.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Main Dish

Keyword: chicken dinner, Chicken Recipe, easy chicken recipe, easy, weeknight-friendly, family friendly, one pan meal, one skillet meal

Servings:

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef

Cost: $10.00

Equipment

Sharp Knife
Skillet

Ingredients

1 pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, sliced into thin cutlets
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil
2 Tablespoon Butter (preferably unsalted, but if you use salted, reduce the salt amount above by half)
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Dried Thyme
1/4 cup White Wine (use a dry white wine; sub chicken stock)
1/2 cup Chicken Stock, low-sodium
2 teaspoon Stone Ground Mustard (see note)
2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
3/4 cup Creme Fraiche (see note)
2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Parsley (curly or flat-leaf)

Instructions

Slice chicken breasts into thin cutlets that are an even thickness. (I like to do this at a slight angle so that the cutlets are about 3 to 4 inches across but fairly thin.)
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
Transfer chicken to the hot pan (if it won't all fit in a single layer, cook the chicken in batches, adding some more oil between batches).
Cook chicken on both sides until deep golden brown and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes total. Set chicken aside. Return pan to heat.
Add butter, garlic, and dried thyme to the heated pan and saute until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add wine to pan, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 1 minute.
Add stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer until liquid reduces by about half, 3 to 4 minutes.
Whisk in mustard, creme fraiche, lemon juice, and a pinch of additional salt. If you’d like a thicker sauce, continue cooking it down, stirring constantly, until it reaches your desired thickness (this should just take an additional minute or two).
Return chicken to the skillet and spoon sauce over top.
Remove pan from heat and sprinkle with parsley. Top with some fresh cracked black pepper.
Serve over spaghetti, rice, or roasted potatoes.

Notes

Mustard - A combination of stone ground mustard (which contains whole seeds) and smoother Dijon mustard gives this dish great flavor and texture. If you only have one type of mustard, you can absolutely still make the recipe, but start with just 1 Tbsp total (instead of 4 tsp of two types as listed in the recipe) of mustard. You can always stir in more mustard to the sauce after you taste it. Dijon mustard has a sharp, slightly spicy flavor, so feel free to reduce the amount of Dijon if you’d like a more mild mustard flavor.

Creme Fraiche - Creme Fraiche is a creamy, sour dairy product that is similar to sour cream but has a much thicker texture. Look for it in the dairy section, often near other soft, specialty cheeses (like ricotta, mascarpone, or perhaps near the goat cheese and fresh mozzarella). If you can’t find creme fraiche, you can make this recipe with sour cream, but do not cook the sour cream over direct heat (it may separate). After whisking in the wine, stock, mustard, and lemon juice and cooking the sauce down to your desired consistency, take the pan off the heat and whisk in sour cream. Then add chicken and parsley to finish.

Nutrition