Jan 12, 2009

Chicken Francese - Lightened Up





Chicken Francese is a favorite in my house and one that my husband cooks very well, but it is not exactly Weight Watcher friendly. We re-made this dish making it lighter and lower in points without sacrificing the taste we are accustomed to and even fooled my not-so-easy to fool daughter. Here is our lighter Chicken Francese recipe:

Chicken Francese - Lightened Up 
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 2 cutlets • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 223.2 • Fat: 5.6 gCarb: 9.5 g • Fiber: 0.5 g Protein: 29.7 g

  • 4 large (32 oz) chicken breast halves, thinly sliced in 3 (12 cutlets total)
  • 1/2 cup unbleached flour
  • 1/2 cup egg whites, beaten
  • 1 lemon, juice of
  • 1/2 lemon sliced thin
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 1 can fat free chicken broth
  • Pam cooking spray
  • salt and fresh pepper
  • 3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp butter
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a bowl, and the beaten egg whites in another bowl.

Heat a very large non stick pan over medium heat. When hot spray with Pam to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.

Lightly flour chicken, then dip in eggs and add to the hot pan a few at a time. Saute chicken 2-3 minutes on each side. When cooked, transfer onto a plate. Spray the pan again and repeat until all chicken has been cooked.

Once all chicken is cooked, place the chicken broth in the bowl with the remaining flour and whisk. Add to the pan along with the juice of the lemon, white wine, lemon slices, parsley and butter and simmer on low heat for about 2 minutes so it reduces slightly and thickens. Turn off heat. Return chicken to the pan to combine with the sauce. Serve immediately with a nice big salad.
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96 comments:

  1. Mmmm...mmm! You pics are always so beautiful!

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  2. this looks delicious! I love quick and easy recipes for boneless chicken breasts--they're so versatile.

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  3. oh yay! this is one of my favorite dishes...thanks for the recipe!

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  4. This looks delicious! I love the theme for your blog. Once again my new year's resolution is to lose weight, so hopefully I'll be able to do it this year! I'll be checking back often!

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  5. They are just as good for lunch the next day!

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  6. Gina- your blog is a source of inspiration for me :) Thanks! This looks wonderful!

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  7. I've never understood how the points in WW worked, but that won't stop me to try a delicious recipe like this one :)

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  8. I am going to add this to our menu for next week. It looks great, Gina!

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  9. That chicken looks tasty!

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  10. Definitely am going to try this one. Thanks for the great recipes!

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  11. This looks and sounds fantastic. However, I'm confused about something. You've said that it has 6 servings but it uses 4 (thinly sliced) chicken breasts. Sliced, I'm assuming to make thin cutlets would make 8 thin breast cutlets. Even if you cut those in half, it would make 16. None of those are divisible by 6. How do you divide your breasts to make six servings?

    Beautiful photograph, by the way.

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  12. looks good... i love your page. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Looks so good! How much butter did you use, you don't have butter in the ingredients.

    Thanks!

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  14. Thanks for pointing that out Marsha, hate when I make mistakes! 2 tbsp butter.

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  15. hey gina! great and easy recipe! i love chicken and get bored sometimes so this is a welcome change! my husband loved it!!! gabbie

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  16. i forgot, i wanted to pass along to anyone who has leftovers make sure you take the lemon slices out before you reheat or it makes it bitter! (lol found that out the hard way!)
    gabbie

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  17. This looks delicious! My sister just shared your blog w/me and I added you to my google reader - you have some AWESOME reipes that I cannot wait to try out. I make a version of this in the oven with lemon juice, white wine, and capers and the family eats it all up begging for more (little ones included). I'm excited about trying your version as well!

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  18. Shawnie, I love capers! Would love to hear how you make yours!

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  19. Glad to share - lay chicken breasts in a pan, pour about 3/4 cup wine (any kind of white wine I have on hand) in around the chicken. Next, I squeeze 1-2 lemons (depending on how much juice) all over the chicken & sometimes I zest the lemon as well. Last throw on the capers - as many or as little as you like (I personally go heavy as I too love them). Bake covered at 350 for about 30-40 min and at the end I (remove foil) broil the top for a little browness. (I also season the chicken a bit with salt/pepper/garlic). The juice from this so delicious that we dip our chicken in it like it's fondue night!! Also the chicken is very moist!

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  20. Shawnie, sounds easy! I will gave to try that soon!

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  21. Hey Gina

    I have shrimp on hand do you think i could subsitutue ? How would i alter the points?

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  22. @Lisa, I'm sure it would taste great! Shrimp and lemon go well together. Shrimp is lower in points so it would be slightly lower. Hard to say exactly how many points without knowing how much shrimp.

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  23. i usually go with a pound :)

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  24. I found your blog one day via a google search. Made this today and it was awesome! thanks!

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  25. I made this tonight and much to my surprise, my kids gobbled this up! It reminds me of the Weight Watchers frozen dinner Chicken Piccata, only this is much better. (I forgot to add the butter, and didn't have any wine and it still was fantastic!) I served this with the recipe for cilantro rice...YUM!

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  26. Hi Gina,
    I just have two quick quesitons...
    Can you use whole wheat flour for this recipe and what size can of chicken broth do you use?

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  27. Sure, whole wheat flour is fine, a small 15 oz can. Sorry I should have wrote that in the recipe.

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  28. I made this last night and it was wonderful! My husband did not even it was lower in faat!

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  29. I made this for dinner and it was really easy and tasty. I also added some cherry tomotoes to the sauce at the end and served it with a big green salad. Yummy!

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  30. This was a very easy and delicious recipe. I served it this weekend when I had friends over for an impromptu dinner. I served them drinks and light appetizers, and they watched me cook!
    I served this with roasted asparagus and brown rice, along with a beautiful beet and spinach salad.
    My guests raved, and even my picky husband loved the recipe. Thanks again; you have a great website! So far, everything I've made has been fantastic.

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  31. I love your blog Gina! I willl be using it as a recipe reference for my blog. I am challenging the two biggest name in the weight loss industry. Weight Watchers recipe's combined with Biggest Loser workouts for six months. Thanks for all your info on weight watchers!

    CherisseKasper.blogspot.com

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  32. are you weighing your chicken before cooking? Thanks

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  33. This is after it was cooked I believe.

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  34. Made this for dinner last night and it was wonderful. Keep blogging...

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  35. Delicious! My boyfriend couldn't believe the sauce wasn't 'fattening'! I have tried a couple others of your recipe gina and they have all been so yummy! Thanks for including the points and saving us ww-ers the time to figure them out. I am sooooo happy I found your blog!

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  36. This was so good, I couldn't believe it. Can't wait to make it again. I didn't see that it was supposed to be 8 servings from 4 breasts. I halved the recipe and called it two servings with two breasts, but oh well, the extra points are worth it.

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  37. Good news Justine, my points were too high. I redid the calculations and added calories. Only 5 pts per serving. Not 8. (I was calculating weight based on raw chicken, not cooked)

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  38. I made this the other night for my hubby and we both LOVED it, we served it over rice and we happy as could be with this new recipe!
    Thanks!!
    Jenny
    http://nennybirdsnest.blogspot.com/

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  39. I made this last night, and hubby asked for seconds, nuff said! LOL Thanks!

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  40. I made this for dinner tonight and it was DELISH! I will definitly be making it again. I had some trouble with cutting the chicken breasts into 3rds though...any tips?

    Also, this afternoon I made your Spinach Lasagna Rolls for dinner tomorrow and I'm excited to try it out! I'm a little skeptical about the FF Riccotta cheese, but I'm Italian and used to full fat, so we shall see! =)

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  41. I can't wait to make this tonight! I have 4 5oz raw chicken breasts I plan to cut them in half to make 4 servings (2 cutlets) each. Im trying to figure out the points. What is the best way to cut the chicken in half b/c it looks pretty thin already? I think this site is amazing and I'm excited to start cooking! Thank you Gina!

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  42. @Jenny- I start off with a very sharp knife butcher. If your knife isn't sharp, sharpen it. Chicken breast placed on the cutting board, my left hand on top of the chicken pressing down on it. Then I slide the knife through the top third, then again in half.

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  43. @rlsmith217 It sounds like you bought thin cutlets, you may not need to cut them.

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  44. I made this tonight. My husband and I loved it. I also made the roasted asparagus and a few red potato's. perfect meal. Love you Gina

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  45. This was the most amazing chicken dish ive ever made! Im usually not a fan of chicken francese but let me tell you YUM YUM YUM!! This is a MUST make!!!!

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  46. The directions say to dip in flour and then into egg... then put in pan... is that the right order? Just want to make sure prior to making it. I don't know that I've ever cooked chicken with flour and egg in that order.. I thought maybe it should be egg then flour. Please advise. Thanks so much!! Looking forward to it!!

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  47. Yes, that's right Katherine!

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  48. Finally made this for dinner tonight - it was delicious. I think I'll try adding capers and/or sauteed mushrooms next time.
    Thank you!

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  49. Hi Gina - I was all set to make this recipe today, but realized I have 4 Purdue Perfect Portion chicken breasts. Should I cut these in half? If so, I'd be making 8 servings, so how would the recipe change?
    Thanks so much for this wonderful website! I love it! From, Gina

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  50. Each cutlet should be around 2.5 oz. Hope that helps! Thanks so much!!

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  51. Hi Gina-I just joined weight watchers and found your website and has been very helpful! Quick question-2 cutlets are 5 ww points?
    Thanks!

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  52. This was AMAZING..I made this tonight and it was a huge hit!! Thanks for all of your amazing recipes!!

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  53. Made this tonight and it turned out great! Any idea of how many POINTS+ it is with the new program?

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  54. hey gina! i loove your blog, i check it almost everyday. i made this tonight with your baked rice and peas and it was great. But, when i made it i felt like it came out a little too sour. i realize next time ill try to add it more to taste, but is there another way to cut some of the sourness while still retaining the lemon flavor?

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  55. I think you should probably add it to your taste. Some people may prefer more or less lemon juice.

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  56. This was so good! Made one small mistake put chicken in egg then flour, but still came out excellent.

    Thanks once again for another great recipe.

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  57. @Ursula and Gina:
    I put it through the new PP calculator and the points are still 5 (yipee!)

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  58. I am a bit confused. I thought chicken was 1 pt. per ounce and if each cutlet is around 2.5 ounces for suggested serving and you have 2 cutlets then that is 5 points on just the chicken-not including sauce. I made this tonight and it was AMAZING but don't know what I should add for points on sauce.

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  59. When you cook chicken, it weighs less so the cooked weight is different than the raw weight.

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  60. Tried this today with a couple substitutions for what I had in the cupboard, and it was SO GOOD and VERY EASY! My favorite two phrases when talking about new recipes. Thanks Gina!!!

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  61. Hi Gina. I'm making this tonight for my husband for V-Day. The only ingredient I don't have is white wine. Is there anything I can use to substitute? Thanks.

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  62. You can add more chicken broth instead.

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  63. Another great dinner recipe Gina; thanks! The chicken has such great flavor and very tender. It is great with orzo pasta to soak up the sauce!

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  64. I just made this tonight and aside from adding more herbs, it was very very moist and tasty as the recipe is! Adding this to my rotation of chicken recipes. Thanks for another great recipe!

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  65. We had this tonight and it was heavenly. Little too tart for the grandkids, but husband, daughter and I loved it. When my husband and I were dating, we made a full fat recipe and he loved it. Unfortunately for him, I started WW right after (about 2 years ago) and lost 60lbs. Now on maintenance and your site is so helpful to me. I eat the things I missed without the worry. Thank you Gina.

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  66. This recipe was delicious! I had stopped making francese because it was so buttery. Did not miss the butter or the oil for frying. Was a hit with company too! Definitely will make again!

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  67. This recipe was really fun to make... came out just like the picture! I use whole wheat flour, added some lightly steamed broccoli to the sauce before simmering, and served with whole wheat pasta. So glad I have leftovers for tomorrow!

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  68. I found this recipe delicious. I really loved the sauce and the sauce itself is pretty point friendly. I had a hard time with cutting the chicken into 12 cutlets. Could unbreaded raw chicken tenders be used instead. Since they are thin and relatively small.

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  69. Sure, or you could buy thin cutlets already pre-cut.

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  70. I can't believe I didn't figure this one out before! It was easy and delicious!

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  71. I love you Gina!!!! This receipt is awesome... My Son and Husband really love Chicken Francese but I was unable to make it due to dietary restrictions... When I saw your receipt I tried it immediately and we all loved it... Thank you so much, I can't wait to try some of your other receipts... :D

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  72. Made this tonight with your Cauliflower Fritters...deelish! Thank you! I am so glad I found this site :)

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  73. New to this site as of three days and have already made 4 recipes! Only need to lose a few pounds so it is so nice to find recipes that don't make you think that you are on a kill-me-now diet. This recipe was amazing! I didn't even use butter and added some diced garlic (to make it a little more piccatta) and it was so good! Even the leftovers look amazing. Thankd for sharing!!!

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  74. Looks great! I have been looking for a recipe like this, can't wait to try it!

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  75. I must have done something wrong. My sauce came out super thick (almost like a gravy) and not a light pan sauce. I love the ingredients but fear all the flour cut down on the flavors. Is the sauce supposed to be super thick?

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  76. It sounds like you liquid reduced too much, it should be a little thickened, but not super thick.

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  77. mine came out too thick and lemony =( but i halved the recipe and maybe i messed it up. maybe too much flour. at least i had all the ingredients on hand and did not waste any money. thanks for all the great recipes, even though this one was not the best i've made yet. i guess i'm not a lemony, flourly person. haha.

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  78. Hey Gina! I made this last night and served it with your creamy cauliflower and asparagus with Dijon vinaigrette. It was a huge hit! Many thanks for this fantastic recipe!

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  79. Great recipe. Thanks! -SBE

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  80. I made this last night for dinner and it was wonderful. My husband said it was a restaurant quality meal. Thanks for so many great recipe renovations. I always talk about it at my Weight Watcher meetings!

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  81. made this last week and it was awesome!

    thank you!!!

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  82. Hi Gina,

    I love your site- I have been on weight watchers trying to lose weight for my upcoming wedding and have been happily cooking with your recipes for the las 3 weeks. Both me and my fiancée are HUGE fans, thank you so so much, keep it up! I made this tonight, it is delicious! I see that you said it is great for lunch the next day, and I am very excited to do just that. Do you have a suggestion for reheating?

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  83. Just cannot get the sauce right on this for some reason...too watery :( i tried twice! looks SO good!

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  84. The flour should thicken it, add a little more next time. I just had this for dinner!

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  85. I usually reheat it in the microwave.

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  86. is there any part of this recipe that can be made the day before? or is it best making it the night you plan to serve?

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  87. I make it very similar but without the eggs. Would that make it less points?

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  88. Delicious - thanks for the recipe! I made this for dinner last night with brown rice and green beans and ate it for lunch today with steamed asparagus and apple slices. Yum! (My son and husband loved it too.)

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  89. This was very tasty but the sauce was SO thick .... how much flour do you usually have left after you have dipped the chicken in it?

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  90. Fantastic! It was more lemony than I expected, but it was still very good. Next time, I'm trying it on fish.

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