This recipe for Chicken Diane uses the flavors of lemon, mustard and brandy to turn ordinary chicken into something elegant!
Jump to:
why you will love this recipe
One of the Southern husband’s very very favorite fancy dinners is Steak Diane, and the great thing about Steak Diane is that it is a fancy dinner that is not so fancy to make.
Diane sauce is a quick and easy little number made with pan juices, mustard, brandy and a few other little things, and takes all of about 2 minutes to make.
So since I have this obsessive habit of taking a perfectly innocent recipe and rejiggering it (please see my Beef Stroganoff Casserole as evidence), I decided to turn Steak Diane into Chicken Diane. Because why not?
ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Chicken: Make sure it is boneless, and that you pound it to about a 1/2 inch thickness so it cooks evenly. If you don’t have an Official Meat Mallet, a rolling pin or even a can of tomatoes works!
- Scallions: If you don’t have (or like) these green onions, you can also use chives or some chopped sweet onion.
- Lemon Juice: My mama has said that everyone should ALWAYS have a lemon on hand because you never know when you will need one, but if you have to, bottled lemon juice will work too.
how to make this recipe
STEP 1: Saute a few nice thin chicken cutlets in butter and olive oil until they are just done – about 4 minutes per side. You want them to be nice and tender for this easy fanciness. Once the chicken is done, you’re going to take it out of the pan and make the Diane sauce.
STEP 2: Toss in some chopped chives and parsley, a little lemon juice, some Dijon mustard and a little chicken broth and whisk whisk whisk. Once everything is combined and heated (literally about a minute or two), whisk in a little bit of soft butter.
STEP 3: Steak Diane is traditionally finished with cream, but finishing with the butter (and do NOT leave butter out, I’m begging you) makes it a little bit lighter and doesn’t overwhelm your chicken.
STEP 4: Now pour a little puddle of Diane sauce on each plate, arrange a chicken cutlet nicely on top of each puddle and drizzle them generously with the rest of the Diane sauce.
I find it works best to tip the sauce from the pan into a Pyrex measuring cup at the very beginning – that makes it super-easy to pour in the elegant way you want to pour it.
I served my Chicken Diane with oven-roasted asparagus, which was just about perfect.
Recipe FAQ
As long as they are boneless and you pound them nice and thin, go for it! They might take an extra minute or two to cook – if you have a meat thermometer you are aiming for 165 degrees.
You bet. The sauce will be a little milder, but it will still be scrumptious!
Pop your question in the comments section below and I promise to answer pronto!
And there you have it – Chicken Diane! Elegant and easy enough for a Monday night, and what could be better than that?
want to round out your meal?
I do love this easy fancy supper with roasted green beans, but asparagus with Parmesan breadcrumb sauce is also amazing!
Baked mashed potatoes are just the thing for sopping up every drop of the sauce. And for dessert? Chocolate Chess Pie please!
other chicken recipes we love
Looking for even more chicken inspiration? Check out our complete collection of chicken recipes and find your winner, winner, chicken dinner!
could you leave us some stars?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section. Your thoughts and advice will help both us and your fellow readers. 🥰
PrintChicken Diane
Chicken Diane uses the flavors of lemon, mustard and brandy to turn ordinary chicken into something elegant!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons soft butter
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 4 tablespoons brandy
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add oil and one tablespoon of butter. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and saute for 4 minutes on each side. Remove and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add chives, lemon juice, mustard and parsley to skillet and stir. Whisk in broth and then brandy, stirring until heated through and smooth. Whisk in remaining butter. Carefully pour sauce from skillet into Pyrex measuring cup.
- Pour a little puddle of sauce onto each plate. Top with a chicken cutlet and then drizzle remaining sauce on top. Serve at once.
Notes
- Chicken: Make sure it is boneless, and that you pound it to about a 1/2 inch thickness so it cooks evenly. If you don’t have an Official Meat Mallet, a rolling pin or even a can of tomatoes works!
- Scallions: If you don’t have (or like) these green onions, you can also use chives or some chopped sweet onion.
- Lemon Juice: My mama has said that everyone should ALWAYS have a lemon on hand because you never know when you will need one, but if you have to, bottled lemon juice will work too.
Molly says
Love how this recipe only has 3 steps – exactly what I need!! It came out perfectly! Thank you!!
Simple and elegant – I love that kind of recipe! Glad it worked for you, Molly!
Nancy says
Made this for a dinner party last weekend and now everyone thinks I am a master chef! Great recipe…thank you!
Well, now that you have made this I think you ARE a master chef! Hurray!
Hi Linda! If you are okay with swapping out the brandy for another ingredient that contains alcohol, you could use the same amount of white wine. If you want to leave the alcohol out entirely, you can use apple juice, or just a little extra chicken broth. Hope this helps!
Linda a Thomas says
what could repace Brandy?
Ruben Caraballo says
When do you flambé?
Kate says
Right? It was a very joyful reunion when he got back to his mama.
Candice@NotesFromABroad says
My middle name is Diane… :)
I have been pretty much vegetairian for years, not eating red meat and here in BA, I don’t eat much chicken anymore, but when we get back to the US .. I have to try this recipe ! It has everything that my Yankee likes in a dish .. Brandy, dijon and oh yeah, chicken .. although he might just go for the Brandy ;)
Kate says
I must have subconsciously known that somehow! And this sounds like the perfect back in the USA dinner for your honey.
Karen Nelson says
Happy Sunday Kate!
I am loving these yummy recipes that can be done easily for a week nite supper
or for company that aren’t so labor intensive… great! We love chicken.
To digress from chicken for a second.. when you make Steak
Diane for the Southern Husband, what cut of steak do you prefer?
My last profound thoughts (not!) for now is I am glad it isn’t Venison or snake Diane, and the beautiful, elegant name Diane just flows, doesn’t it?
I don’t think Chicken Karen works :-)!
Kate says
I don’t know…Chicken Karen sound pretty delicious to me! As for steak Diane, we go for the tenderloin filets on that one. I don’t make it that often, so why not? :)
Joyce says
Did you really mean snake Diane….what a twist!