Tuscan Garlic Cream Sauce Chicken with Pancetta

This garlic cream sauce chicken is a one-pan, restaurant-style dinner with tender chicken breast, crispy pancetta, shallots, fresh garlic, thyme, white wine, and heavy cream. Ready in about 45 minutes, it's finished with butter at the end for a velvety sauce that's great with mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice.

Eat like you're at a 5-star Italian restaurant, from the comfort of your own kitchen with this one pan garlic cream sauce chicken!

As a home cook and recipe developer who loves making weeknight chicken dinners feel like restaurant-quality meals, I built this sauce around flavorful pancetta drippings, garlic, thyme, and a splash of white wine for maximum flavor, all in one pan. Starting by crisping the pancetta leaves behind savory pan drippings that become the base of the garlic cream sauce, giving the chicken a rich, restaurant-style flavor that's got more depth than a standard cream sauce.

Tuscan Garlic Cream Sauce Chicken Ingredients

This garlic cream sauce for chicken is built in layers: pancetta for savory depth, shallot and garlic for aroma, wine for acidity, chicken broth for body, heavy cream for richness, thyme for earthiness, and butter for a glossy finish.

• Chicken Breast. 2 large boneless skinless chicken breast, split and pounded to ¼” thickness. 
• Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. This is crucial for well seasoned chicken, and will also add flavor to the sauce, since this is a one pan recipe.  
• Extra virgin olive oil, for cooking the pancetta extra crispy.
• Pancetta. Pancetta is an Italian specialty meat, sold in most grocery stores. It typically comes pre-cubed. It's a cut of pork belly that is salt-cured rather than smoked, so it has different flavor profile than traditional bacon.
• Shallot, diced.
• Garlic cloves, minced. Fresh minced garlic gives the sauce the best garlic-forward flavor. Jarred garlic works in a pinch but has a more concentrated flavor. Garlic powder works as well, just add it with the liquid ingredients so it blends evenly.
• Dry white wine or dry vermouth. I love to keep a bottle of dry vermouth in the house for recipes that call for white wine- it has a tart, herbaceous quality that's perfect in sauces, soups and stews. If using dry white wine, aim for something that isn't too sweet, like a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.
• Chicken stock or chicken broth- store bought or homemade both work!
• Heavy cream. This adds creamy richness to the sauce.
• Fresh thyme. You can also use dry thyme (see recipe card below for ratios). The fresh thyme adds an earthy background note to the sauce.
• Butter, cut into small cubes- this helps round out the sauce at the very end, and makes it velvety and creamy.

How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce Chicken

The key to this recipe is building flavor: crisp the pancetta first, brown the chicken in the rendered pork fat, soften the shallot and garlic, then simmer everything in the thyme and garlic cream sauce until the chicken is tender and the sauce clings.

Step 1

cook the pancetta until crisp, then drain on paper towels.

Step 2

Season and brown the chicken on both sides, remove to a plate, then sauté the shallot and garlic, and deglaze with wine.

Step 3

Add the sauce ingredients, then add chicken and pancetta back to the pan, and simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, and sauce is thickened, then stir in butter off-heat. The chicken is ready when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part reaches 165°F

Sauce Note

The sauce should be creamy, glossy, and lightly thickened: not watery. As it reduces it picks up flavor from the browned bits in the pan for a rich flavor. Stirring in butter off-heat gives the sauce a velvety finish.

Sauce Troubleshooting

Too Thin? If the sauce is looking too thin, simmer it uncovered for another 2–3 minutes, removing the chicken if cooked through.

Too Thick? If the sauce looks a little too thick, loosen it with a splash of chicken stock or cream. Be sure to avoid boiling once the cream is added, which can make the sauce separate.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Tuscan Garlic Cream Sauce Chicken with Pancetta Recipe

This delicious Tuscan Pancetta Chicken recipe combines tender, well browned chicken breast, delicious porky pancetta, and an herb garlic cream sauce, for a restaurant quality meal you can make any night of the week!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Tuscan Garlic Cream Sauce Chicken with Pancetta Recipe

Servings: 4

Video

Calories: 484kcal

Author: Sharon Farnell

Equipment

• large non stick high walled skillet or cast iron skillet

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breast, split and pounded to ¼” thickness 
• coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
• 4 oz diced pancetta
• 1 shallot, diced 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• ¼ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth 
• ½ cup chicken stock or broth
• ½ cup heavy cream 
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme , (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Instructions

• Trim excess fat from chicken breast, and slice chicken in half lengthwise (the best method is the place your palm above the breast, and gently glide a sharp knife through the center of the breast parallel to your hand with gentle sawing motions until you have 2 even pieces per breast).
• Pound each of the 4 chicken cutlets to ¼” thickness between plastic wrap or in a resealable bag, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Be gentle to avoid tearing the chicken cutlets.
• Season both sides of each chicken cutlet with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a large deep nonstick skillet or cast iron skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, then add pancetta.
• Cook pancetta, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and pancetta is crisp, 5-7 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove pancetta to a paper towel lined plate, and leave rendered fat in the pan.
• Add the seasoned chicken to the pan and cook 3-4 minutes a side, until well browned, and transfer to a plate. Work in 2 batches to ensure even browning and avoid overcrowding the pan (Chicken will not yet be cooked through).
• Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the diced shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes, until slightly translucent.
• Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, 30 seconds.
• Deglaze the pan with the wine or vermouth, scraping up any brown bits.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes, until most of the wine is evaporated.
• Add the chicken stock, cream, thyme and pancetta and stir well.
• Add the chicken and accumulated juices to the pan.
• Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, until sauce is slightly thickened, and the chicken reaches 165°F internally.
• Turn off heat and stir in butter.
• Serve warm, and remove thyme before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 484kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 439mg | Potassium: 556mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 682IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg

Tuscan Garlic Cream Sauce Chicken FAQ

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