An Easy Tarragon Chicken Recipe? Mais Oui!
This cozy meal calls for a few of those pantry staples that you likely have on hand, plus a few extra goodies that are fun to have around for other projects–like heavy cream, for a future baking project, and white wine to drink with your gorgeous homemade tarragon chicken. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend selecting a white wine that you’ll enjoy drinking because chicken with tarragon and white wine calls for less than half a cup. What wine goes best with tarragon chicken? A pinot grigio would be perfect for the recipe itself, and a light to full-bodied red would be ideal for serving.
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What Is Tarragon Chicken?
Tarragon chicken is a classic French recipe that features a creamy white wine sauce that highlights the flavors of fresh tarragon, Dijon mustard, and lemon zest. Since fresh tarragon is an herb favored in French cuisine, we’re more familiar with the dried version here in the U.S. What does tarragon chicken taste like? We’re happy to use fresh tarragon whenever we get the chance because it’s super fragrant and has a beautiful and subtle anise-like taste.
It also has a little black pepper to it, which lends itself to a natural and pleasant warming spiciness (but completely different to the spiciness of a hot pepper). Tarragon is great to add to salad dressings, and if you have excess after making this tarragon chicken recipe you can add it to a batch of Green Goddess Dressing or chopped and sprinkled over a French Omelette.
How To Make Tarragon Chicken
- Chicken Time: Pat the chicken dry. This step seems like one you can skip, but it’s important to remove excess moisture in order to get a crispy brown exterior when you cook chicken. Season all over with salt and cook the chicken until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Sauce Time: Next, cook the shallots and the garlic until fragrant. Stir in the wine and cook until reduced by half. Now is the time to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This is the fond, the tasty remains of everything you’ve cooked so far. Stir in the heavy cream, chicken stock, bouillon, fresh tarragon, mustard, lemon zest, and salt.
- Simmer Time: Return the chicken to the skillet along with any collected juices on the plate. Bring the sauce to a simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low. We’re simmering until the chicken reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 15 minutes more.
- The Sauce Thickens: In a small bowl make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Remove the chicken and pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and continue to simmer until thickened. Nestle the chicken back into the sauce.
- Top chicken with pepper and fresh chopped tarragon and serve over pasta (here’s our tips for making the best pasta) or Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, if desired.
What To Serve With Tarragon Chicken
This creamy chicken with tarragon is the perfect recipe to serve to family and friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon, or any day that calls for a classic (and classy!) meal. We suggest pairing it with our Easy Fennel Salad, Simple Butter Lettuce Salad, or Green Beans Almondine for a light and fresh side. A loaf of crusty bread to soak up all the tasty creamy tarragon sauce is not imperative, but highly recommended! These sides also pair wonderfully with our Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Skillet or Chicken Florentine if you're looking for more chicken skillet dinners to have up your sleeve.
Tools You’ll Need
Tongs (not necessary, but helpful)
More Chicken Recipes To Make, And Make Again, And Again…
Chicken recipes are often on high rotation in our kitchens. Once you’ve made this creamy tarragon chicken recipe, we’ve got more for you to try:
Did You Make Our Best Creamy Tarragon Recipe?
If you find a moment to snap a photo of your homemade tarragon chicken before it turns into empty plates and full bellies, tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
