Pan Fried Chicken Breasts with Shallots and Garlic

How To Pan Fry Chicken Breasts

Learn to Pan-Fry with This Delicious Chicken Recipe

This chicken recipe tastes great and teaches proper pan-frying. Before you start, read my article on The Difference Between saute–pan–fry and Stir–Fry. Once you master sautéing a chicken breast, you can swap out the pan sauce ingredients to make dozens of meals.

For the sauce, reduce 1 cup of homemade chicken stock. Professional kitchens use stock reductions to make rich, flavorful sauces.

If you don't have time to reduce stock, you have options. You can make your stock reductions in advance or buy high-quality reductions at gourmet markets or online. For tips and trusted online sources, check out my stock reduction suggestions.

What Is Pan-Frying?

Pan-frying means cooking food in a shallow pan with little oil or fat. Use medium to high heat. This method works well for meats, poultry, fish, and vegetables. The goal? A crispy, golden-brown crust with a juicy interior.

Pan-frying is quick and easy. It adds flavor and texture to many dishes. It’s different from deep-frying, where food is fully submerged in oil. Popular pan-fried items include chicken cutlets, fish fillets, pork chops, and vegetables.

Master pan-frying and you'll add a valuable technique to your cooking skills. Start with this chicken recipe, and the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

Chicken Breast Halves

A chicken breast half refers to one side of a whole breast that’s been split into two portions. A whole chicken breast includes both halves—left and right—separated by the breastbone.

Olive Oil

Olive oil comes from pressing olives, the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea). It’s a key ingredient in Mediterranean cooking and used worldwide for its rich flavor and health benefits. People have relied on olive oil in their diets for thousands of years.

Shallots

Shallots belong to the Allium family, which includes onions, garlic, and leeks. They taste milder and sweeter than regular onions. Their small size, elongated shape, and coppery-brown skin make them easy to identify. Cooks love shallots for adding delicate flavor to many dishes.

Garlic

Garlic comes from Allium sativum, a plant in the onion family. Its bulb contains individual cloves, each wrapped in a thin papery skin. People have grown garlic for thousands of years. It remains essential in many cuisines and is valued for both flavor and health benefits.

White Wine

White wine is made by fermenting green or yellow grapes. Winemakers separate the juice from the skins and seeds before fermentation. The wine’s color ranges from pale to golden. Its flavor varies depending on the grape variety, region, and production method.

Chicken stock

Chicken stock comes from simmering chicken bones, meat, and vegetables in water. The slow cooking extracts flavor, nutrients, and gelatin, creating a savory liquid. Cooks use chicken stock as a base for soups, sauces, and stews.

Heavy cream

Heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream, comes from the high-fat layer skimmed from milk. It contains 36% to 40% fat,making it one of the richest dairy products. Cooks use it to add creaminess and richness to both sweet and savory dishes.

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Shallots and Garlic

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast halves boneless - skinless
• 1½ tablespoons butter unsalted
• 1½ tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
• salt and ground pepper to taste
• 3 shallots finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ¾ cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Finely chop the shallots and garlic. Have the rest of the ingredients ready to go.
• Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Pre-heat your saute pan (frying pan) until drops of water quickly evaporate. This means the pan is at least 212° F.
• Heat butter and oil in a heavy bottomed pan over high heat until butter stops foaming and just starts to turn a light brown.
• Sauté the breasts until they are lightly browned on one side, approx. 3 minutes.
• Turn breasts over and sauté for another 3 minutes, again until lightly browned. (At this point the meat should be firm to the touch.)
• Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm in the oven or toaster oven set at low.
• Remove the pan from the head source, and add half of the wine to deglaze the pan, stirring to dissolve the flavorful brown particles stuck to the pan.
• Return pan to the stove and add the shallots and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. (It makes the dish bitter if it does)
• Add the remaining wine and reduce (boil) until only a trace of wine is left in the pan.
• Add the chicken stock and reduce to half the original amount, approx. 6-7 minutes.
• Add the cream, and again reduce until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.
• Spoon sauce over cutlets and serve.

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