This incredibly simple Chicken Pan Sauce is made with only 6 basic ingredients and adds gourmet flavors to everything, from roast chicken to turkey breast to mashed potatoes. It’s one of the easiest ways to make a family dinner feel like it came from a fancy restaurant.
Out of all the proteins out there, we cook chicken the most. It’s delicious, quick, and kind to our budget. On an average week, you’ll find me roasting chicken for family dinners, topping a salad with shredded chicken, and drenching any leftovers in this mouthwatering chicken pan sauce.
Roast Chicken Jus
I just love this easy chicken pan sauce. It’s a silky, flavorful, reduction-based jus made with chicken stock. The technique is all about building flavor with aromatics, deglazing the pan with white wine, and reducing the liquid until it’s just plain decadent.
In restaurant kitchens, we call similar reduction-based sauces “chicken jus lié” or “jus de viande.” Fancy, right? These sauces are usually made to order from the browned bits (AKA fond) left behind after pan-searing chicken. My recipe is made in a clean pan, but can easily be made in the same pan you used to make my best-ever chicken breasts for even more flavor.
It’s amazing how rich and savory this sauce is despite how simple it is to make. You can thank a good amount of butter for that perfect viscosity, too. Smooth and velvety, it adds a hint of elegance to anything you pair it with, like roast chicken, turkey, or pork tenderloin.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter in my cooking.
- Aromatics – A finely diced shallot and a minced garlic clove are added to the sauce.
- Wine – I like dry white wine best, like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio. Just a splash brightens the sauce with its acidity. You could substitute the wine with an equal amount of chicken stock plus a teaspoon of white wine vinegar or lemon juice.
- Stock – I use homemade chicken stock. Store-bought works, too.
- Seasonings – I finished the sauce with fresh thyme, black pepper, and salt. Sometimes, I’ll swap the thyme for Italian seasoning or a poultry seasoning blend.
How to Make Chicken Pan Sauce
Sauté the aromatics: First, I melt the butter in a large pan over low to medium heat. Once it’s melted, I add the shallots and garlic. Stirring often, I sauté the aromatics just until their edges turn lightly golden.
Deglaze: Next, I pour in the wine and give everything a good stir, scraping up any flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. I keep cooking over medium heat until the wine reduces down to 2 or 3 tablespoons.
Reduce: I add the chicken stock, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half.
Finish with butter: To finish, I whisk in the remaining butter along with the thyme, salt, and pepper.
Chef Tip + Notes
My best chicken pan sauce advice? Trust the consistency, not the clock. To get that gravy-like viscosity, you want the liquid to reduce by about half. I know the sauce is perfect when it can coat the back of a spoon. If it’s still runny like broth, I keep it going until it thickens to a glossy, syrupy consistency.
- Use the right pan: I like making this in a wide stainless-steel or cast-iron pan for a more even reduction and faster cooking. Nonstick works, but you won’t get the same fond (and fond = flavor).
- Don’t burn the aromatics: I keep the heat on low and sauté the aromatics just until they are fragrant and lightly golden. Any more color can make the sauce taste bitter.
- Broken sauce: This is a telltale sign that the heat was too high when the remaining butter went in. To fix a broken sauce, take the pan off the heat and whisk vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds. If needed, add a teaspoon of warm stock to help it come back together.
- Balancing the flavor: Mellow a sharp-tasting sauce with a splash of stock or an extra pat of butter. If it tastes flat, a tiny squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of white wine vinegar, or a pinch more salt and pepper usually brings it to life. If it’s too salty, stir in a splash of water, then simmer again.
Serving Suggestions
Whenever I finish searing or roasting chicken, I make this pan sauce right in the same skillet. This way, I can melt the flavorful drippings left behind with the butter before adding the aromatics. Once the sauce is ready, I drizzle it over the chicken for a simple yet savory, utterly delicious dinner.
This pan sauce is also a great finishing sauce for any protein that needs a little extra love (roast turkey, pork tenderloin, you name it). I even enjoy spooning it over mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: I like pan sauces best when made fresh, but this can be made 1-2 hours in advance. It can be kept covered in the fridge, then gently reheated over low heat before serving.
How to Store: Cool the sauce completely, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
How to Reheat: Reheat the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally until it loosens and becomes glossy again.
More Sauce Recipes
Chicken Pan Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
- ½ peeled small diced shallot
- 1 finely minced garlic clove
- ¼ cup dry white wine, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, etc.
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the 2 teaspoons of butter to a large frying pan over low to medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add in the shallots and garlic.
- Cook, stirring, for 1 ½ to 2 minutes, or until the edges start to turn light brown.
- Deglaze with the wine and cook over medium heat until on 2 to 3 tablespoons of liquid remain.
- Pour in the chicken stock and cook over medium-high heat until the amount of liquid is reduced by 50%. It should become a nice, thick gravy.
- Finish by whisking or stirring in the butter, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Chicken Pan Sauce Recipe