Chicken Diane uses the flavors of lemon, mustard and brandy to turn ordinary chicken into something elegant!
Why we 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?
Meantime, can we just pause on the whole Diane thing for a minute?
The last time I made this I asked on my Facebook and Twitter pages why it was called Diane, and the general consensus is that it was named for Diana, goddess of the hunt, and refers to a sharp and spicy sauce that was used to tenderize the tough cuts of venison meat back in the day.
Veering off on a total and complete tangent, I am completely unable to eat venison ever since this guy wandered into my back yard a couple of years ago.
Somehow he had gotten into on the opposite side of our stone wall from his mama, and the Southern husband had to lift him over the wall, and that was the end of venison for me.
One day I will develop a close personal relationship with a chicken and this dish will forever come off the menu as well. But I digress!
Back to the whole Diane thing, I’ve also heard that it was created at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio, and at the Drake Hotel in New York City, and if you have other ideas I’d love to hear ’em.
For me, it reminds me that I have a variety of good friends named Diane, starting with one of my best buddies in college.
And then there is my friend Diane who has not only been a wonderful supporter of this here website, but also got her dad hooked on it. Hi Diane’s dad! Here’s a pretty picture of your lovely daughter!
So now that you know all the Dianes that I do, let’s get on down to the recipe.
Ingredients you need to make this retro chicken recipe
Here’s how to make Classic Chicken Diane
STEP 1: Saute a few nice thin chicken cutlets 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.
Chicken Diane 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?
Like the looks of this chicken recipe? Pin it now, so you can make it later!
Chicken Diane
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
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Pin RecipeDescription
Chicken Diane uses the flavors of lemon, mustard and brandy to turn ordinary chicken into something elegant!
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
Need to add something to your kitchen equipment to make this recipe? Below are some of the items we used in the Framed Cooks kitchen to help cook this up. These are affiliate links to things we use and love, which helps to pay for all that bacon I keep buying (without any extra cost to you)! Thanks for using them to keep our kitchen cooking…xoxo!
OTHER EASY BUT FANCY CHICKEN RECIPES WE LOVE!
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 Creamy chicken stew is full of carrots, celery, potatoes…and bacon! The ultimate comfort food, all in one pot. |
 A light and easy recipe for chicken in buttered white wine pan sauce turns ordinary chicken into an elegant and delicious dinner! |
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 :-)!
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? :)
Did you really mean snake Diane….what a twist!
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 ;)
I must have subconsciously known that somehow! And this sounds like the perfect back in the USA dinner for your honey.
That deer is so cute! If I wasn’t already a vegetarian that baby would turn me into one.
Right? It was a very joyful reunion when he got back to his mama.
How gorgeous! I love the photo of the baby deer with your husband! So precious!
Thanks Robyn! It’s one of my favorite pictures of all time, and is living proof that it pays off to have the camera within reach at all times – you never know what’s going to happen next! :)
When do you flambé?