Tarragon Chicken

The promise of a tarragon chicken dinner sounds elegant and special, like something off a French bistro’s carte du jour. In reality, this tarragon chicken recipe is so easy that you may feel like you stretched the truth a bit when hyping it up to your loved ones. While the flavor is nothing less than stunning and the plating is superb, the whole thing is a cinch to make.

Basically, you’re browning chicken breasts in a pan, deglazing the pan with heavy cream and reducing it until it reaches a sauce consistency, and dressing it up with fresh tarragon, sauteed shallots and a bit of lemon juice. Seriously, that’s it. Your impressive-sounding dinner is ready in just 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Tarragon Chicken

• Chicken breasts: Purchase four boneless, skinless chicken breast halves from the store. They should be around five ounces each. As a reminder, you should never wash meat before cooking—especially chicken! You’re not washing anything away. In fact, you’re spreading the bacteria all over the sink, countertops and wherever the water splashes off the chicken.
• Butter: One tablespoon of melted butter helps give the chicken breasts a nice sear, and infuses its rich, buttery flavor into the meat.
• Olive oil: I always find that buying the best olive oil is worth the splurge. A good olive oil makes the flavors in your dish sing, especially when it’s a foundational ingredient in a vinaigrette or an olive oil cake.
• Shallot: Shallots are a bit less pungent than onions, leaning a bit sweeter with subtle notes of spicy garlic.
• Heavy whipping cream: Did you know there’s a difference between heavy whipping cream and whipping cream? The latter does not have as much milkfat as the former, so it won’t make quite as rich and creamy of a sauce as heavy whipping cream would. Be sure to double-check the labels at the store.
• Tarragon: Tarragon is a lovely herb pairing with poultry. Its subtle licorice, citrus and spice flavors are best in creamy chicken dishes, like this chicken tarragon recipe.
• Lemon juice: Two teaspoons of lemon juice brighten the sauce so it’s not so heavy.

Directions

Step 1: Pound the chicken breasts

TASTE OF HOME

Line a plastic cutting board with a layer of storage wrap. Lay the chicken breasts on top, keeping them evenly spaced apart. Place a layer of storage wrap on top of the chicken breasts. Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to a 1/2-inch thickness. Remove the storage wrap and sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the pepper.

Step 2: Cook the chicken

TASTE OF HOME

In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook them for four to five minutes on each side until they’re no longer pink. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and keep them warm.

Step 3: Make the tarragon sauce

TASTE OF HOME

Add the chopped shallot to the same pan. Cook and stir the shallot over medium heat until tender. Add the heavy whipping cream, stirring to loosen the browned bits from the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the sauce until it has slightly thickened. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the tarragon, the lemon juice and the remaining salt.

Step 4: Serve the tarragon chicken

TASTE OF HOME

Serve the tarragon sauce with chicken. Garnish it with the remaining tarragon.

JOSH RINK FOR TASTE OF HOME

Recipe Variations

• Change the herbs: Not a tarragon fan? You can easily swap it for sage or thyme instead. Or, use an herbes de Provence blend instead. Some blends use tarragon, but the flavor will be subdued by the rosemary, basil, thyme and marjoram.
• Add mushrooms: Bulk up the chicken tarragon with some sauteed mushrooms. Slice a handful of button mushrooms and saute them with the shallots.
• Zhuzh up the sauce: Add a splash of sweet sherry or a 1/2 teaspoon of zippy Dijon mustard to brighten up the sauce.

How to Store Tarragon Chicken

Let your chicken and tarragon sauce cool completely to room temperature. It’s best to store the sauce and chicken in separate airtight containers so you can reheat them easily later on. They’ll last for up to four days in the fridge.

How do you reheat tarragon chicken?

Reheat chicken in a 400°F oven on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes. You could also reheat the chicken breasts in the microwave with a little drizzle of olive oil and water to prevent the chicken from drying out. Microwave the chicken for around two minutes, zapping it in 30-second intervals after that if needed.

Reheat the tarragon sauce low and slow in a skillet on the stovetop until it’s heated through. Pour the sauce over your chicken. The whole dish should be just as delicious as it was the day you made it!

Tarragon Chicken Tips

JOSH RINK FOR TASTE OF HOME

What do I serve with tarragon chicken?

We love serving this chicken tarragon over a bed of wild rice or herbed rice pilaf. It’s great with deluxe mashed potatoes or a lower-carb mashed cauliflower with parmesan, too. Round out the meal with sauteed asparagus or green beans. We bet everyones’ plates will be clean by the end of the meal.

Can I use a different protein?

Absolutely! The tarragon cream sauce would be delicious spooned over a baked, flaky white fish like halibut or cod, or on a perfectly cooked cast-iron steak. Even grilled or sauteed vegetables would benefit from being dipped in the sauce.