Chicken Meunière: chicken dredged in flour and fried, then topped with a lemon butter sauce. French Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Chicken Meunière (Chicken with Lemon-Butter Sauce)

Chicken meunière is a beautiful thing. Golden, crisp, and deliciously buttery, it’s hard not to love this easy chicken dinner recipe.

Chicken Meunière

You may have heard of sauce meunière, as it’s a classic French sauce of lemon, butter, and parsley. It’s most famously used on sole meunière, as in dover sole fish.

Meunière also refers to the way the fish, or in this case chicken, is prepared. The word itself actually means miller’s wife, an ode to the flour that the fish or chicken is dredged in first.

Chicken Meunière: chicken dredged in flour and fried, then topped with a lemon butter sauce. French Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

The simplicity and great flavor of a meunière is fantastic and it would be a shame not to enjoy it throughout the year. Fish, however, tends to be dependent on the time of year and what the market availability is. Chicken has no such restrictions.

That’s why chicken meunière is a delicious alternative you can turn to when you’re seeking a meunière dish.

A Quick Meal

Chicken meunière can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. This recipe is wonderful for those evenings when you’re seeking a warm, quick meal you can easily prepare (you can see a video of sole meunière being prepared here).

Chicken Meunière: chicken dredged in flour and fried, then topped with a lemon butter sauce. French Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

For best results, use skinless, boneless chicken breast. You’ll want to split the breasts, either in half or in a butterfly manner so that your chicken cooks quickly.

The chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper before it’s dipped in a little milk and then dredged in flour. Then it’s just fried in a hot pan with oil until golden and crisp.

Chicken Meunière: chicken dredged in flour and fried, then topped with a lemon butter sauce. French Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

I do everything in one pan, so I cook the chicken first, set it aside, then make my lemon-butter sauce in the rinsed out skillet. The lemon butter sauce simply consists of melted butter and some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

The butter is melted and cooked until it’s brown, then the lemon juice is added. A quick stir is all the sauce needs before it’s poured over the chicken and finished with a garnish of fresh parsley.

For a complete meal, be sure to pair this delicious dish with my easy peasy lemon ricotta cake! Bon appétit!

Chicken Meunière: chicken dredged in flour and fried, then topped with a lemon butter sauce. French Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Chicken Meunière

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Chicken dredged in flour and fried, then topped with a delicious lemon-butter sauce. 

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, split in half or butterflied
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 lemon, juice of
  • fresh parsley, to garnish
  • sea salt
  • ground pepper
  • 2 tbsp oil, for the pan

Instructions

  1. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Dip chicken breasts in milk, then dredge both sides in flour.
  2. Warm a large pan with the oil over medium heat until oil is hot. Carefully (using kitchen tongs) place the chicken breasts into the pan. Cook the first side for 3 to 4 minutes, then the following side for another 2-3 minutes. Chicken should be crisp and golden. If it's getting scorched, turn down the heat. 
  3. Temporarily remove the chicken from the pan and transfer to a large plate fitted with a large paper towel. Carefully rinse out the pan under running water, then move the pan back over to the stove. Add the butter to the pan and cook over medium heat until melted and browned. 
  4. Pour in the juice from the lemon and give the mixture a stir. Turn off the heat. Plate your chicken, then drizzle the butter sauce over all the chicken pieces. Garnish each piece of chicken with freshly chopped parsley. 
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 416
Chicken Meunière: chicken dredged in flour and fried, then topped with a lemon butter sauce. French Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Similar Posts

7 Comments

  1. Both my boys loved this recipe! Had it with a side of pasta and a fresh green salad. Definitely will be making this again, thank you for sharing!

  2. Hi Beeta, made this dish expecting to have leftovers but it was so delicious that it disappeared. It is just a Wonderful dish. Served it with broccoli and tomatoes with shallots. Oh, I also must say the companion sole meunière w/ flounder was also a big hit! Keep up the excellent work!
    Best wishe
    Walt Marsh

    1. Hi Walter, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! It’s one of my favorite quick dishes to whip up. Thanks for leaving a kind comment <3

  3. This was the BEST chicken I have EVER made. Even my picky pizza-chicken nuggets-and Mac & cheese only kids agreed. So simple and SOOOO yummy! Thank you for the recipe. Can’t wait to make it again. As a fellow blogger, I’m very happy to put the word out for you. Chapeau! 😘

    1. I’m so so happy to hear this!! Thank you so much for the kind feedback and for spreading the word. I really appreciate it <3

    1. Hi Scott! If you’re going for a comfort meal, I’d serve it with some mashed potatoes or pasta. If you’re looking for something light and fresh, a good salad is always a win! 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *