Keto Chicken Francese

Keto chicken francese is an easy homemade skillet dinner for any weeknight and elegant enough for dinner guests! Pan-fry chicken breasts in a low-carb, gluten-free breading and serve it hot in a lemon garlic cream sauce garnished with parsley. It’s versatile, cooks in less than 30 minutes, and always tastes good.

What is Chicken Francese

As a dish with many names, it gets confusing to keep it all straight. Best known as chicken francese, this Italian-inspired dish is also called chicken francaise, chicken French, and chicken Rochester.

Italian immigrants adapted the original dish, veal francese, with more affordable ingredients like chicken. [1, 2]

In short, this is a classic restaurant dish you can actually cook just as well at home. Chicken francese includes battered chicken pan-fried in a skillet and served with a lemon butter sauce. 

How to Make Chicken Francese

There’s nothing better than wholesome dinners for the family made with healthy whole food ingredients. This gluten-free chicken francese is a great example of popular recipes getting a makeover with keto macros. Now, this delicious Italian-American dish is possible for everyone on a low-carb diet!

What is in Chicken Francese

Eggs – just 2 eggs for dipping

Parmesan cheese – finely grated cheese mixes best with the flour and cooks into a crispy crust

Coconut flour – keep this recipe gluten-free and low-carb with coconut flour. It’s on my list of keto pantry staples I always keep on hand!

Seasoning – start by adding salt and pepper to the flour mixture, then simmer minced garlic until fragrant, and finally finish the sauce with minced parsley and a squeeze of lemon

Healthy fats – cook the chicken in butter, then later use cream to thicken the sauce. It’s best to let the cream come to room temperature before pouring it into the broth, so it doesn’t get shocked by the heat and curdle.

Chicken – boneless, skinless chicken breast is the ideal choice, but you can substitute with skin-on and buy bone-in (then cut it off), if you prefer

Broth – deglaze the pan with chicken broth and start the sauce

Step-By-Step Directions

Follow the simple directions for this keto chicken francese recipe, and you’ll have dinner ready in 30 minutes or less.

Prepare for dipping

Find two shallow plates you can use for dipping the chicken in. Then, whisk eggs in a bowl and pour them into one of these shallow dishes or plates. Next, combine the cheese, flour, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl, then transfer the dry mix to the second shallow dish or plate.

Heat four tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat while cutting the chicken breasts into four even-sized pieces.

I suggest cutting the chicken lengthwise from tip to tip rather than crosswise. You’ll end up with uneven portions by cutting crosswise. Two pieces will be smaller than the other two and will cook faster and result in unequal cooking times.

Dredge chicken

Take one piece of chicken at a time and coast both sides in the dry flour cheese dish. Then, dip both sides in the egg. This is called dredging. Arrange the meat in the pan and repeat for all portions.

Cook chicken

Cook the chicken for about 4 minutes per side until a golden brown crust forms and the meat cooks through. Remove from heat and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.

Make the francese sauce

Reduce the heat to low, add the remaining 2 tbsp butter, and sauté garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Whisk in chicken broth and bring it to a simmer. Add the cream and parsley; continue cooking for two more minutes as the liquid reduces. Finally, add the lemon juice slowly while whisking continuously to avoid curdling the cream. 

Serve

Remove the sauce from heat and return the cooked chicken to the pan. Serve from the skillet with generous portions of sauce or plate each serving individually. Garnish with extra parsley if you like.

Can I freeze leftover chicken francese?

You can freeze this dish for your meal prep and it will work in a very practical way (meaning it still tastes good but doesn’t quite have the same texture as it does when it’s fresh). It’s best to freeze the cooked chicken and sauce separately because otherwise, the coating has a hard time getting crispy again after thawing and reheating.

Wait until the food has cooled completely, then store it in an airtight freezer container or bag. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and then heat up again in a skillet on the stovetop.

Nutritional Info for a Chicken Francaise Recipe without Wine

This quick chicken skillet with butter and cream sauce yields 4 servings.

Each serving contains:

• 591 calories
• 33 g protein
• 47 g fat
• 10 g total carbs
• 4 g fiber
• 6 g net carbs

Please note that the nutritional value will change if you substitute ingredients. Use a nutrition app like My Fitness Pal to recalculate and reflect your changes.

Healthy Chicken Francese Dinner FAQ

What to Serve with Chicken Francese

This recipe takes care of your protein entree, but what can you serve on the side?

Any flavor of cauliflower rice will be suitable. I also like steamed green beans, roasted asparagus, or cooked zoodles.

Still looking? These easy keto side dishes are sure to provide some inspiration.

More Keto Chicken Dinner Ideas

• Keto Chicken ala King
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
• Keto Chicken Paprikash
• Slow Cooker Crack Chicken
• Keto Chicken Noodle Soup
• Pumpkin Chicken Curry

Low-Carb Chicken Francese Recipe

Jessica Haggard

Keto chicken francese is an easy homemade skillet dinner for any weeknight and elegant enough for dinner guests! Pan-fry chicken breasts in a low-carb, gluten-free breading and serve it hot in a lemon garlic cream sauce garnished with parsley. It’s versatile, cooks in less than 30 minutes, and always tastes good.

4.97 from 62 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 4

Calories 591 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese  finely grated
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons butter divided
• 2 8-ounce chicken breast skinless, boneless
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
• 1 medium lemon juiced

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Instructions

 

• Whisk eggs in a bowl, then pour them into a shallow dish or plate.
  2 large eggs
• Combine cheese, flour, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl, then transfer the dry mix to a second shallow dish or plate.
  ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, ¼ cup coconut flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat while cutting the chicken breasts into four even-sized pieces. Take one piece of chicken at a time and coat both sides in the dry flour cheese mixture. Then, dip both sides in the egg. Finally, place the chicken in the pan and repeat with the other three portions.
  6 tablespoons butter, 2 8-ounce chicken breast
• Cook chicken for 4 minutes per side until a golden brown crust forms and the meat cooks through.
• Remove from heat and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Reduce the heat to low. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and sauté garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  6 tablespoons butter, 2 cloves garlic
• Whisk in chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and parsley; continue cooking for 2 minutes as the liquid reduces. Finally, add the lemon juice and whisk continuously to avoid curdling the cream.
  1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons parsley, 1 medium lemon
• Remove from heat. Return chicken to the pan and serve from the skillet with generous portions of sauce.

Notes

There are more important notes and tips shared in the post above. I highly recommend you read the whole post before making the recipe!

Nutrition & Macros

Calories: 591kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 33gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 28gSodium: 954mgFiber: 4gNet Carbohydrates: 6g

To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information.

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