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This Pan Fried Chicken with Cream Sauce is weeknight-easy but company-worthy—crispy, golden chicken cutlets tucked under a silky Parmesan-basil cream sauce. It’s the kind of dinner that looks fancy, tastes incredible, and comes together fast in one skillet.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Ten out of ten, I’ll make it again!” – Shannon
“This recipe is amazing! It is one of my family’s favorites and it’s not hard to make. A note to others: DON’T try to substitute anything. Just do yourself a favor and make this exactly how the recipe says” – Christy
“Made this chicken dish for dinner tonight, it was delicious! The chicken was so tender, my husband LOVED IT! Many thanks!” – Kathy
Why I Love This Chicken Dinner
I fell hard for this Pan Fried Chicken recipe as a newlywed, when a good friend shared it with me—and it’s been a menu staple ever since. The chicken gets a quick pan crust with Italian breadcrumbs and Parmesan, then I whisk a luscious cream sauce right in the same pan with all those tasty browned bits. I even made it for my dad once and he said it was the best chicken he’d ever tasted. When we’re hosting friends for the first time, this is always on my short list.
I like to serve this dish with a steamed veggie like broccoli, Roasted Green Beans, cauliflower, or Roasted Asparagus. Or with a salad or potatoes like our copycat Olive Garden Salad or Perfect Mashed Potatoes. You can also serve up some garlic bread like our Quick Garlic Bread and Hot and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
🩷 Emily
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken – I usually go for chicken breasts with this recipe but chicken thighs also work great. Pound the chicken nice and flat for fast, even cooking.
- Crispy coating – for the crispy breading for the chicken I use a mixture of Italian breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
- Butter – Instead of deep frying the chicken in oil, I like to pan fry the chicken in butter. It makes the chicken buttery and crispy, plus it adds extra flavor to the pan when making the sauce.
- Cream sauce — The cream sauce is made from chicken broth, heavy cream, the flavorful buttery bits from the cooked chicken, and seasoned with dried (or fresh) basil, salt, and pepper.
How to Make Pan Fried Chicken (with Cream Sauce)
- Halve the chicken breasts horizontally and pat very dry; season both sides with salt and pepper. Place milk in one shallow bowl; mix breadcrumbs with ¼ cup Parmesan in another.
- Dip chicken in milk, then press into the crumb mixture to coat.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot and foamy, add chicken (don’t crowd).
- Cook 3–5 minutes per side until deep golden and the thickest part hits 165°F. Transfer to a warm oven.
- In the same pan, pour in chicken broth and scrape up all those flavorful browned bits. Simmer to reduce by about half. Stir in cream, basil, and a pinch of salt and pepper; bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the remaining Parmesan until smooth and slightly thickened.
- Spoon the basil-Parmesan cream sauce over the chicken (or nestle chicken back into the sauce). Garnish with fresh basil and serve with pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Recipe Tips
- Dry = crisp. Pat chicken really dry before breading so the crust adheres.
- Hot pan, minimal moving. Add cutlets to a hot, buttered skillet and let them sit until it’s time to flip. This sets the crust.
- Work in batches. Crowding cools the pan and softens the crust; wipe out any overly dark crumbs between batches if needed.
- Sauce thickness. For a thicker sauce, simmer a minute longer; for thinner, add a splash more broth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes—use boneless, skinless thighs and cook 5–6 minutes per side, to 165°F.
Chicken was too wet, the pan wasn’t hot, or the cutlets were moved around too much. Pat dry, preheat the pan, and avoid nudging until flipping.
Half-and-half works; simmer a little longer to thicken. For extra body, whisk in 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp cold broth before simmering.
Absolutely. Sauté sliced mushrooms in a bit of butter after cooking the chicken, then deglaze. Stir baby spinach into the hot sauce to wilt.
Place cooked cutlets on a rack set over a sheet pan in a 200°F oven.
Air fryer at 350°F for 4–6 minutes or oven at 350°F for 10–12 minutes. Rewarm sauce gently on the stove; combine just before serving.
Yes, you just have to swap out the breadcrumbs for a gluten-free version.
Make Ahead & Storage
If you’re planning ahead, you can bread the cutlets up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerate them uncovered on a rack. This actually helps the crust get drier and crispier. Once everything is cooked, store the chicken and sauce separately in airtight containers in the fridge for 3–4 days. When you’re ready to reheat, the chicken crisps back up nicely in the air fryer or oven, while the sauce warms best on the stovetop over low heat (just add a splash of broth if it’s too thick). I don’t recommend freezing the cream sauce since it can separate, but the cooked chicken itself freezes great for up to 2 months.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes
- 35+ Best Chicken Breast Recipes
- Crock Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Chicken Paprikash
- Chicken Divan
- Poppy Seed Chicken
- 35+ Quick and Easy To Follow Dinner Ideas Your Family Will Surely Love
This Pan Fried Chicken with creamy basil-Parmesan sauce delivers steakhouse vibes with simple, family-friendly steps. If you make it, I’d love to hear how it went—rate the recipe and drop your tweaks or serving ideas in the comments so others can try them too! 💛🍗
Pan Fried Chicken (with Cream Sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs, or Panko bread crumbs mixed with Italian seasoning
- 1 1/4 cups grated parmesan cheese divided
- 4 chicken breasts cut into halves (8 pieces total) and pounded to ½ inch thick
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper
- fresh chopped basil (for garnish)
Instructions
- Place milk in one bowl and bread crumbs and ¼ cup parmesan cheese in a separate shallow bowl.
- Dip chicken in milk, then coat with crumbs.
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. When butter is completely melted and hot, add the chicken. Cook chicken in butter until browned on both sides and the internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees. Remove chicken from skillet and keep in a 9×13 pan in the oven on warm.
- Add chicken broth to skillet and stir to loosen up browned bits from pan. Simmer until broth has reduced by half. Stir in cream, basil, and salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and whisk in remaining parmesan cheese.
- When the sauce has thickened to your desired consistency, add chicken back to the sauce to serve, or plate chicken and pour sauce over the top. Garnish with fresh basil.
Video
Notes
- Pound to ½-inch and pat very dry so the breading sticks.
- Season chicken before dipping; let coated cutlets rest 5 minutes.
- Preheat skillet until butter foams; don’t crowd the pan.
- Cook in batches; keep finished cutlets on a rack in a 200°F oven.
- Cook to 165°F internal temp; rest 2–3 minutes before saucing.
- Extra crunch: mix 1–2 Tbsp cornstarch into the crumbs.
- Crispier fry: use half butter, half neutral oil.
- Flavor boosts: 1–2 minced garlic cloves and a squeeze of lemon.
- Add-ins: sautéed mushrooms or baby spinach fold into the sauce.
- Gluten-free: use GF crumbs and confirm the broth is GF.
- Storage: keep chicken and sauce separate; reheat chicken in air fryer/oven, warm sauce gently on the stove.
- Make-ahead: bread cutlets up to 8 hours early; refrigerate uncovered on a rack.
I’m sorry to be a pain but what is the delicious chicken sitting on?
Some good old Rice-a-Roni!
What is rice-a-roni? I’m not an American. I’m a Brit.
Made this for my family tonight. They loved it! I added about 4 tsps of basil and 2 heaping tsps of minced garlic. Served it over linguine. It was a hit. Thanks for posting. It’s a keeper. Definitely 5 🌟 stars.
Ten out of ten, I’ll make it again!
This recipe is amazing! It is one of my family’s favorites and it’s not hard to make. A note to others: DON’T try to substitute anything. I’ve tried substituting some of the ingredients to make it healthier or cheaper and it is no where near as good. Just do yourself a favor and make this exactly how the recipe says.
Thanks for sharing your tips, I completely agree!
Love this! Might sound crazy but I will substitute halibut for the chicken tonight. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
It doesn’t sound crazy, it sounds delicious!