Chicken Saltimbocca Recipe
Published October 25, 2019. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious chicken saltimbocca with white wine garlic sauce is the absolute perfect weeknight meal or entertaining recipe for your guests that comes together in under 30 minutes.
I can’t think of an easier more delicious recipe to make than this. It’s got crispy prosciutto, fresh herbs and is loaded with protein thanks to the chicken breasts. You can also take it a step further by adding on cheeses and of course, finishing with the amazing white wine garlic pan sauce I made.
What Is It
Saltimbocca is traditionally a Roman dish consisting of veal scaloppini with prosciutto ham and fresh sage. It can either be rolled up or served flat.
This is an adapted dish from the classic Italian recipe, veal saltimbocca. Veal has become exceedingly hard to find and is on the more expensive side, so the chicken is a great substitute. You make this recipe in the same way with prosciutto ham and sage.
How to Make It
- 1. Slice the 7-9 ounce chicken breasts in half width-wise.
- 2. Pound it out until they are ½” to 3/4” thick.
- 3. Season them on both sides with salt, pepper, and finely minced sage.
- 4. Press a slice of prosciutto ham on top of each breast covering it.
- 5. This part is optional, but press 1 piece of fresh sage to the center of the prosciutto ham on top of the chicken breasts.
- 6. Lightly dredge them in seasoned flour.
- 7. Pan fry them for 2-3 minutes per side in olive oil over medium heat or until browned and cooked through. Set aside.
How to Make The Sauce
There are a few variations of sauce that can go with this dish.
Lemon Butter Sauce – A typical sauce made in the same pan consisting of lemon juice, unsalted butter, salt and pepper that is then poured over the top.
Pan Gravy – A gravy made in the same pan where you quickly sauté shallots and garlic until browned, about 2 minutes, that is deglazed with white wine and cooked until it is almost gone. You add chicken stock and cook over high heat until it becomes like a thin gravy, about 3-4 minutes. It is finished with butter, chopped parsley and sage, sea salt and pepper and served over top of the chicken saltimbocca.
Mushroom Gravy – The exact same recipe as the pan gravy except you add wild mushrooms to the pan along with the shallots and garlic until they are roasted up.
What Do You Serve It With
There are several dishes that go well with this and here are my favorites:
In addition to these, be sure to serve up the chicken saltimbocca with a side of leftover pan gravy.
What Wine Goes Well With It
Wine can be tricky when serving it up as a pairing with food that is not dessert or cheese. Since I used a chardonnay in the pan sauce, it would absolutely be appropriate to serve it alongside the wine used in the recipe. Here are my white wine grape selections:
- Chardonnay
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Grigio
How To Bake It Instead Of Pan Frying
If you are looking for a healthier alternative to this version then you can absolutely bake it in the oven.
Start by placing it on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake in the oven at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until the prosciutto is lightly browned and is cooked throughout.
Make the sauce separate in a large sauté pan and serve alongside the baked chicken.
This seriously is always a hit every time I make and is fantastic as a last-minute weeknight dinner or served up to guests when entertaining!
Reheat and Storage
How to Reheat: To reheat it simply place back in a pan with some of the pan sauce, cover and cook in the oven for 10 minutes at 350°.
Storing and Freezing: This will hold in the refrigerator covered up for up to 4 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Simply pull it out as you need it and let thaw in the refrigerator before using it.
chef notes + tips
- The sauce that goes with saltimbocca can vary slightly depending on the region in Italy.
- All of these sauces that can go with it are absolutely delicious, but the pan gravy is what I made with this recipe.
- If you finish off the meal with a little squeeze of lemon and make sure it is seasoned well with salt, then you can enjoy whatever wine you’d like with this recipe.
- Baking it will not have the same caramelization on the prosciutto, chicken or sage-like it does when being pan-fried.
More Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Piccata
- Creamy Chicken Dumpling Soup Recipe
- Chicken Milanese
- Chicken Parmigiana
- Best Fried Chicken Recipe
- Authentic Chicken Curry
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
Chicken Saltimbocca Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 7-9 ounce chicken breasts, sliced in half width-wise
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh sage
- 10 slices prosciutto ham
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ small diced shallot
- 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
- ½ cup dry white wine, like chardonnay
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pound each sliced chicken breast until it is ½” to ¾” thick.
- Season both sides with salt and pepper and then evenly sprinkle on the 1 tablespoon of fresh sage.
- Press a piece of prosciutto ham onto each pounded out chicken breast covering it.
- Next, place a fresh sage leaf into the center of the prosciutto ham on the chicken and press it in to stick. Set aside.
- In a bowl or pan mix together the flour, salt and pepper, and lightly dredge each chicken saltimbocca in the flour and pat off any excess and set aside.
- Add the olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat and cook the saltimbocca in batches prosciutto ham side down first for 2 ½ to 3 minutes per side or until browned and cooked through out.
- Set the cooked chicken saltimbocca aside and add the shallot and garlic to the pan and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Deglaze with white wine and cook until it’s au sec or almost gone.
- Pour in the chicken stock and cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes or until it becomes a thin gravy.
- 10. Finish with butter, 1 teaspoon sage, parsley, salt and pepper.
- 11. Serve the pan sauce over top of the cooked chicken saltimbocca.
Huge taste, little effort!!!!! Beautiful dish that I adore and hadn’t made myself, until yesterday. This was so easily put together and scale by feel. I made just two breasts and was able to cook it without using measurements. The video was super helpful to accomplish this. New staple in my home!
Perfect!
I made this for my wife and I. My wife thought it was one of the best Saltimbocco’s I ever made.
I made this and loved it! So did my husband Rocco and he’s a Sous chef!! I served it with linguini and a salad. I’ll definitely make this again!
Hi,
This dish looks really delicious!!! For the pan gravy can we use it without wine? Is there any substitute?
You can.
This is exactly how I have made it for years. With pan gravy. Hate ordering it out, because they always use wrong sauce, add cheese etc… just never the way my Mom from Milano Italy taught me. You can also may this with veal.
Thank you Billy
I can not wait to try this. Looks and sounds so good.
This is great! I don’t eat red meat often so I love that this is made with chicken!
YUM!! This sounds incredibly delicious! A MUST make!
This is restaurant quality chicken made right at home! So good and that sauce I could eat with a spoon!
Oh my lands! The flavor in this dish! It’s so good! I’ve never had saltimbocca before…this is amazing!