So what is Chicken Paillard? Paillard is a French term for when meat has been pounded thin or butterflied. The process of pounding the meat helps tenderize the meat as well as creating a thinner cut. Having the cut of meat pounded thin, you're able to cook it over higher heat to get a nice sear and while keeping the meat cooking evenly. No rubbery breast meat here!
On top of that, we also coat the protein in flour before adding it to the pan as it gives the breasts a nice crust that gets beautifully golden brown when pan fried. It also helps seal in the moisture. It only takes a couple of extra seconds but it is well worth the effort. You're definitely not going to find this chicken recipe boring!
Key Ingredients You Need
Chicken breasts — We use boneless skinless breasts to save time with having to debone it.
All purpose flour — This helps give your cutlet a nice golden crust and seal in moisture.
Chicken stock — Another reason to love this recipe is the pan sauce! We quickly combine some shallots with stock, butter, thyme, and lemon juice to make a bright but complimentary sauce.
Arugula — Easily turn this chicken paillard into a full meal by serving it up with a side of arugula and cherry tomatoes.
How to Make Chicken Pillard
Step 1: Cut the breasts in half length-wise and place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the pieces.
Step 2: Pound with a mallet or rolling pin to flatten to about ¼” thickness.
Step 3: Remove plastic wrap and rub in a drizzle of olive oil on both sides of the filet and season both sides with salt, pepper and lemon zest as well.
Step 4: Add flour into a shallow dish and dredge each filet on both sides, shaking off any excess flour. Set aside.
Step 5: Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the filets in the pan and cook on both side until golden brown and fully cooked (approx. 3 minutes on each side). Set aside.
Step 6: In the same skillet, add in shallots and sauté for about 30 seconds then add in the stock to deglaze the skillet. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Step 7: Next, turn off heat and add in butter, thyme and lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste and stir.
Step 8: Serve the paillard on bed of arugula and cherry tomato with sauce poured on top.
Tips For This Recipe
- This recipe is great for meal prepping as well as it reheats wonderfully. Make extra chicken paillard to bring for lunch the next day. When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this lasts 3 to 4 days.
- I highly recommend using the plastic wrap when you're pounding the breasts as you don't want cross-contamination to happen, causing bacteria to spread from food to food or to other surfaces. Raw chicken does have salmonella and if you pound the meat without plastic, you won't be able to tell where any bacteria has splashed to.
- Make this gluten-free by swapping the flour for a gluten-free flour.
- If you're not a fan of arugula, feel free to use any leafy greens for the salad. Mixed greens or baby spinach swaps in seamlessly.
- Be sure to let the olive oil heat up in the pan before adding the chicken paillard. Since there's flour on the chicken, you want the coating to sear when it hits the pan instead of absorbing the oil, making the crust not as crispy, as it waits for the pan to get hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you definitely can! Take a look in your spice cabinet and see if you have any of the classic Italian spices like oregano or rosemary. Anyone of those can substitute for thyme if you don't have it. If you happen to have a bottle of pre-mixed Italian seasoning you can use that too!
In this recipe it is VERY important that you cut the chicken breasts in half and pound them to make them flatter. The reason for this is that breasts tend to be quite thick and it takes a lot longer to cook them if they are thick than if they are thin. Long cooking times tend to lead to dried out meat which doesn't do breast meat any favors as it's a leaner cut to begin with. By pounding the breasts into ½" thick pieces, you are greatly reducing the time it takes to cook them and minimizes the chance that the meat will become overcooked and dry tasting.
My go-to breast pounding tool is a rubber mallet but you can use a small and heavy cast iron skillet or even a small pot. The heavier the object the less muscle you will need to put into the pounding. You can also use a heavy rolling pin, if you have that in your kitchen.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Chicken Paillard Recipe then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Chicken Paillard
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- salt & pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ small shallot diced
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp thyme fresh or dried
- juice from ½ lemon
- 4 cups arugula
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts in half length-wise and place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the chicken pieces.
- Pound the chicken with a mallet or rolling pin to flatten to about ¼” thickness.
- Remove plastic wrap and rub in a drizzle of olive oil on both sides of filet and season both sides with salt, pepper and lemon zest as well.
- Add flour into a shallow dish and dredge each filet on both sides, shaking off any excess flour. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place filets in pan and cook on both side until golden brown and fully cooked (approx. 3 minutes on each side). Set aside.
- In same skillet, add in shallots and sauté for about 30 seconds then add in stock to deglaze. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Next, turn off heat and add in butter, thyme and lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste and stir.
- Serve the paillard over top of a bed of arugula and cherry tomato with sauce poured on top.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is great for meal prepping as well as it reheats wonderfully. Make extra to bring for lunch the next day. When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this lasts 3 to 4 days.
- I highly recommend using the plastic wrap when you're pounding the chicken breasts as you don't want cross-contamination to happen, causing bacteria to spread from food to food or to other surfaces. Raw chicken does have salmonella and if you pound the meat without plastic, you won't be able to tell where any bacteria has splashed to.
- Make this gluten-free by swapping the flour for a gluten-free flour.
- If you're not a fan of arugula, feel free to use any leafy greens for the salad. Mixed greens or baby spinach swaps in seamlessly.
- Be sure to let the olive oil heat up in the pan before adding the chicken paillard. Since there's flour on the chicken, you want the coating to sear when it hits the pan instead of absorbing the oil, making the crust not as crispy, as it waits for the pan to get hot.
Made exactly as directed and it was delicious!
I’m so glad to hear that you loved this recipe! It’s one of my favorites 🙂
I made this gluten free and it was *chefs kiss*!!
The lemon zest on the chicken breast before flour made all the difference. Highly recommend. AND it only took me ~20 minutes!
Thank you, Justin!
I’m so happy to hear that Meagan!
This was so delicious and unexpected! Even my finicky daughters loved it. Definitely now in my rotation of recipes!!
So glad to hear that Leigh Anne!