If you’ve never tried Champagne Chicken before, you are in for a special treat! This Champagne Chicken Recipe with mushrooms and creamy whipped potatoes embodies all that is great about French cooking – simple ingredients, an uncomplicated method and deeply indulgent flavors.
This meal is perfect for a special occasion and also easy enough to whip up on a weeknight.
And like many of my favorite French dishes, there’s something pretty sexy about this Champagne Chicken Recipe. A Valentine’s Day meal for sure.
What’s in this Champagne Chicken
As I mentioned, the ingredients for this elegant meal are pretty simple. Here’s what you’Il need:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. We’ll be slicing each one in half so we get nice thin chicken cutlets.
- Mushrooms. I use plain ol’ button mushrooms. They cook up so tender in the creamy Champagne sauce and add just enough earthiness without overpowering the other flavors. If you’re a fungiphile and want to try out some more exotic varieties like cremini or oyster mushrooms, you could certainly do that, but it’s not required.
- Butter. You’ll want to use salted butter here. Salted butter is not something I typically have on hand, unless I’m making a European buttercream frosting (divine, btw). I love having it in the house though. It’s amazing softened and spread on crusty bread.
- French Champagne. In a pinch, a dry white wine or sparkling wine can be substituted.
- Heavy Cream
How to make Champagne Chicken
You won’t believe how easy the cooking process is, considering the elegant end result! Step by step, here’s what you’ll do:
- Dredge the chicken in flour and get it to a nice golden brown color in a pan of melted butter.
- Add in the mushrooms and allow them to cook together over medium heat.
- Then add the cream.
- Take the chicken out of the pan and pour the Champagne in.
- The Champagne will reduce, creating a creamy sauce that you’ll pour back over the chicken.
What to serve with Champagne Chicken
The Champagne is truly the only accompaniment you need for this creamy Champagne Chicken recipe. But it is quite delicious when served with a simple starch like white rice or potatoes. For vegetables, keep it simple too with green beans or young carrots.
In the interest of indulgence, you’ve got to make the quick and easy whipped potatoes. They take the elegance to the next level, and they only take five ingredients to make:
Just cook them all together in a large pot and whip them with a handheld mixer. The potatoes create a fluffy pillow that sops up all of that creamy, buttery sauce. It’s just heavenly.
What is the best Champagne to cook with?
Look for a dry, or Brut Champagne, to use for cooking. Same goes for a regular wine. The drier, the better. You don’t want to add any sweetness to the recipe through the wine.
My recommendation for this particular recipe is to splurge for a good bottle of real Champagne. And by “real” I mean it’s from the Champagne region of France.
I wouldn’t typically encourage the use of expensive Champagne in a recipe, but this Champagne Chicken dish an exception.
Why? You only need a small amount for the chicken. The rest you get to enjoy. So do as they do in France and treat yourself a little.
If you’re looking for something to do with any leftover champagne, use it for dessert! Try my Champagne Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting. They’re a great way to end a romantic date night.
When you make this Champagne Chicken recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy!
For more date night recipes, try these:
- Citrus Thai Basil Shrimp with Coconut Rice
- Pasta with Creamy Blush Sauce
- Herby Tortellini with Roasted Mushrooms
For more chicken dinner recipes, try these:
- Indian Ginger Chicken and Rice
- Old Fashioned Chicken and Vegetable Stew
- Honey Mustard Chicken with Warm Potato Arugula Salad
The Best Champagne Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
The Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 stick salted butter
- 1/2 lb. button mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup French Champagne
The Potatoes
- 2 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes
- 1/2 stick salted butter (4 Tbsp.)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast in half to make two thinner cutlets. You should end up with a total of 8 thin pieces of chicken.
- In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium low heat. Dredge chicken breasts in flour mixture and brown in the pan, 3-4 minutes per side. Make the chicken in batches if necessary. Add the mushrooms, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the cream and simmer, uncovered, for an additional 10 minutes. Transfer chicken breasts to a warm platter.
- Add the champagne to the pan and bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat, whisking any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Lower heat and allow sauce to reduce until creamy.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Boil potatoes 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain. Over low heat, melt the butter in the same pot. Add the potatoes, milk and spices. Remove from heat. Using an electric mixer, whip the potatoes until smooth.
- Spread the potatoes onto a serving dish. Place the chicken and mushrooms on top of the potatoes. Spoon the sauce over chicken breasts. Garnish with fresh parsley.
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