This Chicken with White Wine Sauce contains no cream and is the perfect light dinner. Tender chicken breasts are cooked in a light, delicious garlicky white wine pan sauce with just a hint of lemon and fresh herbs. It’s restaurant quality meal in under 30 minutes!
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There’s nothing I love more for busy weeknights than an easy chicken recipe! Some of my faves include this Honey Butter Garlic Chicken, this Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta and this FAMOUS Marry Me Chicken! All three of these recipes come together in less than 30 minutes!
This easy recipe is quick enough for a weeknight but it will seem like you spent all day slaving in the kitchen!
The white wine sauce is light and garlicky with a hint of lemon and thyme. Just add a green veggie, salad, this broccoli au gratin, or mashed potatoes for a complete meal! This dish is also delicious served over pasta.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Simple, light meal with no heavy cream.
- An elegant dish good enough for a dinner party but easy enough for a weeknight!
- Simple seasonings–most of the ingredients you’ll have right in your fridge or pantry!
- Great recipe to impress friends and family!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Chicken with White Wine Sauce Without Cream:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Chicken Bouillon: You can use powdered chicken bouillon or Better Than Bouillon.
Wine: A dry white wine works best, such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.
Chicken: Boneless chicken breasts (without skin), cook up quickly and easily!
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN IN WHITE WINE SAUCE (NO CREAM): STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Pound your chicken breasts until they are 1/2″-1/4″ thick, then cut them in half. Season with salt and pepper and coat each of them in flour.
Step 2: Cook chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through, Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and set aside.
Step 3: Over medium heat, melt butter. Add minced garlic. Cook for one minute, stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn. Add flour and cook 1 minute more, stirring as it cooks. Add wine, chicken stock, chicken bullion, and thyme, and cook 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Step 4: Stir in lemon juice, then add chicken back to pan. Spoon sauce over the top of the chicken, sprinkle on parsley and serve immediately.
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Pound out chicken breasts evenly for quick, even cooking.
- Cook chicken to 165˚F. You can test the internal temp if the chicken with a meat thermometer or just test it by cutting it open.
- Make sure you stir the garlic consistently while it is cooking so it doesn’t burn.
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: The easiest way to reheat leftovers is in the microwave on medium power level for 2-3 minutes until chicken is heated through. You can also place chicken and sauce in an oven safe dish and reheat in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350˚F.
- Freezing: Cool dish completely, then store in a freezer bag or airtight, freezer-safe container. Thaw in the fridge, then reheat based on reheating instructions above.
ADDITIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Here are a few substitutions:
Chicken: Chicken thighs would also work great in place of chicken breasts. Boneless, skinless chicken tenders also work. This sauce is also delicious with pork chops or pork tenderloin medallions.
White Wine: You can use chicken stock in place of the white wine.
Dried Thyme: You can also use Italian Seasoning or fresh thyme in place of the dried thyme.
Here are a few great additions:
Parmesan cheese: A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese a nice if you are serving this over pasta.
Garlic Powder/Spices: Feel free to season the chicken with garlic powder or a spice blend of your choice before dredging in the flour.
Dijon Mustard: Stirring in a teaspoon or two of dijon mustard into the sauce gives it a nice zing!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I prefer to keep this sauce nice and light, but if you want it thicker, add an additional 1 tbsp of flour. To thicken at the end, mix 1 tbsp of flour with a couple of tablespoons of cold chicken stock. Whisk well, add the chicken stock/ flour mixture to your sauce and bring it to a boil. The sauce will thicken after 1-2 minutes of cooking.
Absolutely! In this recipe, you simply keep the sauce nice and light with chicken stock instead of heavy cream. The sauce stays bright and flavorful with chicken bouillon and lemon. The sauce is thickened with a little flour instead of thickening it with heavy cream.
This dish is perfect with mashed potatoes, over pasta, or with wild rice on the side. A nice, crisp green salad or a green veggie such as asparagus or green beans are also perfect compliments as well!
Soak up all the delicious sauce with some nice crusty bread, too!
Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!
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Chicken in White Wine Sauce (no cream)
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 1/2 cup flour + 1 tablespoon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc, chardonnay or pinot grigio
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or chicken broth
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon or 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- kosher salt/pepper
Instructions
- Between two sheets of plastic wrap, pound out chicken breasts to 1/2" thickness. Then, cut each breast in half so you are left with 4 pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add 1/2 cup of flour to a plate. Dredge chicken pieces in flour, carefully shaking off the excess.
- In a large skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil. When oil is hot, place chicken pieces in the pan and cook 3-4 on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil. (Note: cooking time for the chicken breasts will depend on the thickness of your chicken pieces. Ensure the internal temperature is at least 165˚F).
- Make the white wine pan sauce: Over medium heat in the same skillet, melt butter. Add garlic and cook for one minute, stirring so garlic doesn't burn. Add flour and cook 1 minute more, stirring as it cooks.
- Add wine, chicken stock, chicken bullion, and thyme and cook 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened. Make sure to scrape up all of the delicious brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Taste, and season with salt only if needed.
- Stir in lemon juice, then add chicken back to pan. Spoon sauce over chicken, sprinkle on parsley and serve immediately.
Rcase says
When did you use the dry boullion?
Casey Rooney says
With the chicken stock! So sorry, I updated the recipe 🙂 XO ~ Casey
Yolanda says
Loved this recipe!
The wine sauce is light and flavorful.
Thank you, Casey!
Beth says
We love easy chicken recipes, especially when they are delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
dana says
This is so delicious and flavorful, yet so simple! Everyone loved it and it’s definitely going into our regular rotation.
Tayler Ross says
I made this chicken for dinner last night and it was absolutely incredible! Flavorful and so easy to make!
Charles says
Your Chicken with White Wine is gonna be great for date night! Thanks for Sharing!
Savita says
The chicken is so creamy and delicious, loved the recipe very easy and quick to make.
Marion Bushby says
Needed to use up leftover roast chicken, so can’t comment on the chicken element.
Didn’t have any cream so used this sauce recipe, it was packed with flavour, loved the idea of not cooking out the lemon juice, so as not to lose any flavour (I did use a whole lemon for juice and have just found out a whole lemon is approximately 3 tablespoons). This sauce is simply and lovely, will be doing it again.
Casey Rooney says
So glad you enjoyed it, Marion! XO
Sara Welch says
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! Turned out perfectly tender and juicy; easily, a new family favorite recipe!
Kathleen says
This chicken is perfect for my family. I love this white wine sauce and I like how you serve it. Best on everything on the plate.
Kali Alexandria says
White wine sauce is the BEST! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
kushigalu says
WOW! What a flavorful chicken recipe to try for dinner. Thanks for sharing.
Claudia Lamascolo says
We love this recipe and make it often the white and chicken no cream is perfect flavors