Champagne Chicken Recipe

When it comes to making easy but delicious dinners, you can't go wrong with chicken. Whether you enjoy cooking with chicken breasts, tenderloins, or wings, you can really get creative with how you cook, season, and serve the meat. Recipe developer Jessica Morone knows a thing or two about getting creative with chicken — case in point, her champagne chicken recipe.

"Chicken with a creamy wine sauce is pretty much my favorite entrée," Morone says. "It's what I always order when I go out, and what I tend to make for special occasions." She also notes that the creamy champagne sauce is one of her favorite elements of the dish, and it's perfect if you're looking to impress your guests. "This dish can be served when you are trying to impress people at an elegant dinner, but it's also so easy that you can make it for a weeknight dinner," she explains. Though this dish is elegant, it's really not much harder to make than any other chicken dish. The champagne gives it a lovely flair of elegance, and along with some mushrooms thrown into the mix, there's quite a bit to love about this creamy chicken recipe.

Before you can make this recipe, you'll want to make sure that you have the right ingredients on hand. For starters, you'll need a couple boneless, skinless chicken breasts, all-purpose flour, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Next, you'll need some olive oil, sliced mushrooms, unsalted butter, a minced shallot, champagne or sparkling white wine, heavy cream, chicken broth, and finally some fresh chopped parsley as garnish.

Now, you may be wondering how the champagne elevates this dish. "The champagne gives the dish a really special flavor," Morone explains. "But you don't need to use expensive champagne to make this. [Any] sparkling white wine works for this dish." Also, as far as ingredient subs, you could use a different kind of broth, like vegetable broth, a different kind of onion, or swap the heavy cream for milk or half and half. Of course, to maintain the decadence of the dish, it's best to stay true to the recipe.

Now that your ingredients are sorted, you can get to cooking. First, you'll want to season the chicken breasts. Make sure you cut each breast in half horizontally, so that you have four even fillets. Then, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and the garlic powder in a small bowl. Coat each chicken fillet in this mixture.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add in 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Add the chicken into the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes on each side. One of the benefits of cutting each breast in half is that the pieces become much thinner, making them cook faster. Once the chicken is done cooking, set each fillet aside.

In the same skillet, add another tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Add the mushrooms in and sprinkle them with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook them for 3-5 minutes, until they begin to soften. At that point, transfer the mushrooms to the plate with the chicken.

Now, still working in the same skillet, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, along with the shallots. Cook them for 3-4 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown.

After your shallots have started to brown, keep them in the skillet and pour in the champagne. Allow the champagne to simmer for 5 minutes, then add the heavy cream and chicken broth. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes, and you'll notice the sauce begin to thicken. At this point, add the chicken and mushrooms back into the pan, coating them evenly with the sauce. Continue cooking until the chicken warms up again, then garnish with the fresh parsley, if desired.

Just like that, you're ready to enjoy this elegant chicken dish! "One of the best things about this dish is the sauce that you can put on pretty much any side dish. It's great with pasta, rice, potatoes, or vegetables," Morone says of pairing options. Of course, this dish is also perfectly satisfying on its own, and we think you'll love the flavors of this creamy champagne chicken.