Breasts of chicken covered in a lovely mustard-tarragon sauce. A quick and easy meal that you can prepare during the week that tastes like a French chef visited your home!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
Instructions
- Melt the butter and heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and place in the skillet. Brown on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking 15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Set aside and keep warm.
- Stir cream into the pan, scraping up brown bits. Mix in mustard and tarragon. Cook and stir 5 minutes, or until thickened. Return chicken to skillet to coat with sauce. Drizzle chicken with remaining sauce to serve.
Reviews
I make a version of this chicken dish that is a traditional Christmas favorite for our family. I use this basic recipe but add sweet mustard instead of Dijon mustard and also add 3/4 C white wine to the sauce. I also add about 3/4 C. of dried cranberries just before baking it. I try to increase the amount of sauce when I make it, because it is so good.
I made this dish for a large group with 10 breast. I will admit that I did add about a tablespoon of fresh dill, but I believe the flavor profile wasn’t changed much. Everybody loved it, and it was plated on a bed of Basmati rice. I personally thought it was just a tad salty, so I will use unsalted butter next time as I do a salt brine rubbed on each breast. Definitely a keeper.
The base recipe is good, but I did make adjustments. After removing the chicken from the pan, I sautéed shallots and garlic in a little butter, then added tarragon and stirred for a couple of minutes until fragrant. I sprinkled a small amount of flour to form a light rue, stirring for a minute or two. I deglazed with white wine and seasoned with salt and pepper before adding cream and Dijon. Allowed the sauce to thicken a little before returning chicken to pan until heated through. Great served with mixed grain pilaf and steamed asparagus. Lovely dinner – thanks for the recipe.
Very tasty, but admittedly I did add some extra seasonings like onion powder, garlic, and cayenne. End result was delicious!
This is so simple and tasty. Will use time and time again. Thank you.
Very easy to make and what a delicious sauce it makes. I will probably double the sauce next time to put on mashed potatoes as well. If you don’t have fresh Tarragon, and choose to use dried, limit the dry to 14 the amount of what is called for fresh. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Read the reviews and added the mushrooms, onions and garlic, made rice and broccoli and my husband didn’t bother to leave leftovers.. I had fun making something new…loved it
Easy with no changes
This recipe is a perfect rendition of the dish from its namesake city. I have made it several times and it is perfection. I like to add sauteed mushrooms cooking them after the chicken and before the saucing. Please do not dredge your chicken or add garlic. You are changing the recipe completely. By all means add whatever you want to your tastes but this recipe is quite sublime without additives.
Dec 2022 – followed recipe exactly except I didn’t have fresh tarragon, so used dried. This cooks up fast and easy and smells great! Served over brown rice with spinach. I will definitely look at other reviews and try some different things the next time! This is a keeper, great for a busy day or for company.
This was so easy and flavorful! I was concerned my family wouldn’t like it because of the mustard but they did and even has seconds. I served it with flavored rice and roasted zucchini squash.
I love this recipe!
I added some tumeric and used dried tarragon and yellow mustard since I did not have any Dijon on hand. It was very good. Could use more sauce for 4 chicken breasts. Served with mashed potatoes.
We love this so much. Add garlic, make a double batch of sauce. Works with thighs n breasts alike. Add rice or potatoes.
I followed the recipe as written and my while family loved it!
My family loves this, I’ve made it a lot. I make it just as written except double the sauce. We like it with rice.
I doubled the sauce recipe and added mushrooms as did many others. My only difference — I used thick boneless pork chops that I cooked sous vide to medium rare. I then browned and finished the pork chops much like the chicken. Fabulous!
I have made this twice. The first time I followed the recipe and the chicken had a rubbery texture. I have never been great at pan frying chicken so it could be me. There wasn’t enough sauce, it was barely enough for one person but I like it saucy. I made it a second time using some of the suggestions (which is why I use this app…) and it was much better. I would not double the fresh tarragon when doubling the gravy. It gave it a weird licorice flavor. And I always use real whipping cream because the half and half substitute always breaks.
I added 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup to cream. I also increased sauce mix by 1/2. Anymore increase and you lose flavor. When served with rice or pasta alot of sauce gets absorbed.
As my daughters got older, this was among the first dishes they took pride in preparing for us. I had become a single mom, and this recipe is comfort food from that time that we all continue to enjoy!
Really simple to make and very good!