This Keto Chicken Francese features tender juicy chicken cutlets sautéed in a garlic lemony butter sauce that’s quick and easy to make. It’s perfect for busy weeknights!

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Chicken Francese Recipe

• Tender juicy chicken cutlets
• Sautéed in a rich garlic lemony butter sauce
• Easy to make, with very little prep work
• Perfect for busy weeknights, ready in under 30 minutes
• Gluten-free

I’ve been making Chicken Francese for years and I even make it using shrimp and red snapper sometimes!  Since being on Keto, I’ve had to nix the flour and replace it with something else… oat fiber. It’s very mild in flavor and is ground to a fine powder, much like regular flour, so it really helps the egg stick to the chicken, which is key!

If you don’t have oat fiber on hand, you can certainly just use almond flour, but I highly recommend getting the oat fiber.  I use it in a lot of things I bake because it gives amazing texture (see some examples towards the bottom of the page).

This easy Keto dinner consists of chicken cut into thin filets, then tenderized and sautéed in a restaurant quality rich lemon butter sauce that has incredible flavor. If you like this combination of flavors, be sure to also try my Lemon Chicken, Red Snapper with Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Chicken Piccata, Salmon Piccata and Shrimp Scampi.

🛒 Ingredients for Chicken Francese

• Chicken breasts
• Oat Fiber 
• Eggs
• White wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
• Chicken broth
• Garlic cloves
• Lemon 
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.

🥣 Recommended Tools

• Large nonstick skillet
• Meat tenderizer
• Whisk
• Mixing bowls

🔪 How to Make Keto Chicken Francese

Take each chicken breast and filet it in half, making 2 pieces, with a total of 6.

Using a meat tenderizer, pound each piece out making them thinner and completely flat.

Add the oat fiber, salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk to combine.  Beat the eggs and add them to another bowl.

Take each cutlet and coat it in the oat fiber, then shake off any excess.  

Then dip into the egg.

Heat a large non-stick skillet to medium and add in about a tablespoon of the butter (per batch) and olive oil.

Sauté for a few minutes on both sides or until the chicken is cooked through.  

Once the chicken has all been cooked, wipe out any brown bits out of the pan, then add in the garlic and sauté for about 20 seconds, careful not to burn it!

Pour in the white wine and allow it to cook for 1-2 minutes.

Then add in the chicken broth, butter, lemon juice and zest.  

Allow it to cook for 1-2 minutes, then add in the chicken stock and lemon juice.  Simmer for a few minutes, or until reduced by half. 

Simmer for a few minutes, or until thickened to your liking. Add the chicken back in for a couple of minutes, just to coat in the sauce and reheat through.  

Serve with a drizzle of the sauce over the top, then garnish with slices of lemon and fresh chopped parsley.

💡 Tips

• You can make extra sauce to pour over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or or your favorite low carb pasta if you’d like.  Just double the amount of chicken stock, lemon, wine and butter and allow it to reduce longer.
• Be sure to take the few extra minutes to tenderize your chicken, it makes a difference. It allows the chicken to cook evenly and will be more tender.
• Don’t overcook the chicken, or you risk losing it’s tenderness.. Because the chicken filets are thin, they only take a few minutes on each side to cook. Plus you will add them back, once the sauce is ready, to finish cooking.
• I don’t recommend making this ahead, though you can reheat leftovers, it’s really best when served fresh out of the skillet.

☑️ Storage Instructions

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days or freeze.

🍴 What to Serve with Chicken Francese

Chicken Francese is great served with just about any side dish or even a salad to make it a complete low carb meal. These are some of my favorite pairings:

• Sautéed Spinach with Pancetta
• Parmesan Garlic Spaghetti Squash
• Sautéed Mushrooms
• Cheesy Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Prosciutto
• Green Beans Almondine

🔄 Substitutions and Additions

• Oat fiber is best to use in this recipe because it’s ground to a fine powder.  The only purpose of the oat fiber is to have something for the eggs to stick to.  You’re not looking for a breading-like texture. If you can’t find oat fiber, you can use almond flour instead.  Keep in mind that with almond flour you will have more of that breading like texture, but the flavors will still be great.
• Though this is a classic dish made with chicken, you can certainly use this same recipe with fish as well. I would opt for mild flavored fish like red snapper, cod, mahi mahi or sea bass.
• If you don’t have white wine or prefer not to use it, you can substitute with more chicken broth.
• Garlic should not be substituted because it really adds nice flavor, but you could sauté some shallots for added flavor.
• Fresh lemon is really key in this dish, this is definitely not the time to use the bottled stuff, not that there every is, just kidding… no really… fresh lemon is always the way to go!

Is Chicken Francese Keto friendly?

Absolutely! All the ingredients are perfectly fine for Keto and the addition butter in the sauce helps give a nice balance of healthy fats.

Can Chicken Francese be Made Ahead of Time?

Most of my recipes can be made ahead of time, but in all honesty, it’s best served fresh, as I mentioned above. Reheating the delicately thin filets of chicken can cause them to overcook quickly and dry out.

Is Chicken Francese Gluten-Free?

Sure is! Traditional Chicken Francese uses all purpose flour, which contains gluten, but this recipe uses oat fiber, which is gluten-free. If you are gluten-free, but not overly concerned with carbs, you can replace the oat fiber with a gluten-free 1:1 all purpose flour if you’d like.

Is Chicken Francese Breaded?

The answer is sort of… Classic breading usually consists of dipping your protein in egg, then in a breading mixture. What makes Chicken Francese truly unique is the chicken is first dipping in the “breading” in this recipe that’s oat fiber, then into the egg.

What breading is Chicken Francese Made With?

As I mentioned above, the “breading” is actually the egg, as it’s the last ingredient the chicken is dipped in before sautéing. The oat fiber or “flour” doesn’t serve as a breading, but rather to help the egg stick to the chicken.

How to Thicken Chicken Francese Sauce?

The sauce in this recipe naturally thickens as it reduces, with the help of the butter, which also serves as a thickener. If you wanted a super thick gravy-like sauce, you could whisk in 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum if you’d like. But honestly, it’s really not needed. Reducing the sauce thickens it naturally and also intensifies the flavor.

What is Oat Fiber? Is Oat Fiber Keto?

Oat Fiber is made from grinding the outer husks of oats. How healthy is oat fiber? It’s pure insoluble fiber, which doesn’t dissolve in water and isn’t broken down in the digestive tract, so it has zero net carbs and is perfect for a Keto Diet. It helps give a more traditional texture and that’s why I use it so often. Check out all the Keto Oat Fiber Recipes you can make!

🍽️ More Keto Chicken Recipes

• Creamy Tuscan Chicken Skillet
• Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Parmesan
• Lemon Chicken
• Creamy Dijon Chicken
• Chicken Florentine Skillet

*Originally published on May 11, 2019, updated on January 16, 2024 with improvements to the recipe, photos, new recipe information and helpful tips.