5-Minute Chicken Pan Sauce Recipe

Name: 5-Minute Chicken Pan Sauce
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: Reserved meat juices from cooking; 1 tablespoons shallots (finely chopped); 1/2 cup white wine; 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard; 2 teaspoons parsley (fresh, chopped); 3 tablespoons butter; Kosher salt (to taste); Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)

Prep: 2 mins

Cook: 5 mins

Total: 7 mins

Servings: 2 servings

Yield: 1/2 cup

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This simple pan sauce is perfect for chicken, pork chops, and even steak. The key to making this sauce is that you use the juices and the little roasted bits at the bottom of the pan after you've cooked your chicken, steak, or chops.

The beauty of this pan sauce is that you need to rest your meat anyway after you've taken it out of the oven or off the stove. The rest time happens to be exactly how long it takes to make this pan sauce.

The juices and roasted bits (which are called fond) carry with them the essence of your meat and will make an excellent base for a sauce. A pan sauce is an emulsion, with fat and water elements suspended together, making it a silky reduction to top the entree.

Reserved meat juices, from cooking
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup white wine
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Gather the ingredients.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni
Remove the chicken, pork chops, or steak from the pan and let them rest on a plate or platter covered with foil in a warm spot. Pour off most of the fat from the pan, careful to leave the meat juices. You want a little bit of fat left in the pan.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni
Add the chopped shallots to the pan and sauté over medium-high heat until they turn slightly translucent.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni
Add the wine and scrape all the little toasty bits away from the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni
Cook for about three minutes or until the wine has reduced by about half.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni
Remove from the heat and stir in the mustard and chopped parsley.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni
Whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni
Return the meat to the pan to warm through in the sauce before serving.

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

Recipe Variations

Although you can serve this pan sauce with any meat as-is, you could modify it for beef by substituting red wine for white wine. Or you could use half wine and half beef stock.
For a richer sauce, finish the sauce with a little heavy cream and simmer it for another minute to thicken.
You can substitute fresh tarragon, chervil, oregano, or chives for the parsley.
If you don't have any fat left in the pan after cooking your meat, or if you'd like to make a pan sauce with vegetables, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and then add the shallots. If you prefer the sauce to be thicker, use stock or add a little cornstarch mixed with water.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
271	Calories
24g	Fat
4g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories	271
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g	31%
Saturated Fat 12g	60%
Cholesterol 46mg	15%
Sodium 434mg	19%
Total Carbohydrate 4g	1%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 2mg	10%
Calcium 23mg	2%
Iron 1mg	3%
Potassium 96mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.