Pan seared chicken in a light and creamy sauce with plenty of romano cheese!
Todays recipe is a quick and easy skillet chicken in a tasty pan sauce seasoned with plenty of pecorino romano cheese! Skillet chicken is one of my favourite one pan meals and the basic method is to sear the chicken in a pan and then to make a sauce in the same pan. You want to use thinly cut chicken so that it cooks through relatively quickly at a higher temperature and the key to a tasty pan sauce is to deglaze the pan to scrape up any brown bits left on the bottom of the pan after cooking the chicken; these bits are just packed with flavour! In this recipe the sauce is made with the combination of broth and cream along with garlic and plenty of romano cheese. I like to finish the sauce off with splash of lemon juice and fresh parsley for some brightness. This creamy chicken romano makes for a simple meal when served on top of rice, or pasta, mashed potatoes etc. along with a steamed vegetable.
One of the amazing things about this recipe is that it’s so easy to change it up! You can easily add extra flavours like sun dried tomatoes, olives, roasted red peppers, spinach, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, etc. Another quick change that can be made is to use a different cheese such as parmesan, asiago, grana padano, etc.
Creamy Chicken Romano
Prep Time:5 minutes Cook Time:25 minutes Total Time:30 minutes Servings: 4
Pan seared chicken in a light and creamy sauce with plenty of romano cheese!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts (boneless and skinless), pounded thin or butterflied
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon parsley, chopped (optional)
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until lightly golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, before setting aside.
- Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add half of the broth, and deglaze the pan by scraping any brown bits up off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as the broth sizzles.
- Add the remaining broth and the cream, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the cheese and simmer until it melts, about a minute.
- Add the chicken, along with any juices, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste, before mixing in the parsley and enjoying!
Option: Dust the chicken in flour for a slight crisp coating.
Option: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes along with the garlic for some heat.
Option: Replace the romano cheese with parmesan, asiago, etc.
Option: Add some dijon mustard to the sauce.
Option: Replace oil with butter.
Option: For a richer and thicker sauce, use 2 tablespoons of butter instead of the oil and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour in along with the garlic. (The butter adds more flavour and the flour acts as a thickener.)
Option: For a thicker sauce add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed into 1 tablespoon cool water to the sauce along with the broth and cream and simmer until the sauce thickens.
