Chicken Cutlet Saltimbocca with Prosciutto
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Classic chicken saltimbocca in less than 30 minutes! This recipe pairs thinly sliced (or butterflied) chicken breast cutlets, crisp slices of prosciutto, and sage with a buttery white wine sauce. It’s an easy, classic Italian-style chicken dinner that looks and tastes like a restaurant-worthy dish.
Classic chicken saltimbocca is a tasty Italian chicken recipe that’s so easy to make at home, right up there with stovetop chicken cacciatore. One of my absolute favorite things to eat, this simple dish features tender chicken breast cutlets topped with thin-sliced prosciutto and fresh sage leaves.
With white wine and butter, the light pan sauce has a bright, acidic edge with just the right amount of nutty, buttery flavor. It’s an unbeatable combination!
Fun fact: Saltimbocca is so good it literally means to leap or “jump into the mouth” in Italian. The dish originates from Rome and is traditionally prepared with veal and sage leaves wrapped in prosciutto.
About the ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: Traditional saltimbocca is cooked with thinly sliced (scaloppine) veal or pork, but chicken is a wonderful, mild-tasting meat to use for thin cut chicken breast recipes, like crunchy baked breaded, crisp chicken breast cutlets. It pairs well with the tangy sauce and salty taste of the ham. To cut down on prep time, buy prepared chicken cutlets at the grocery store, or try butterflying whole chicken breasts yourself (see directions below).
- Prosciutto: A type of fresh Italian ham that’s cured with salt and allowed to air-dry. It has a sweet, mildly salty flavor. In the oven, the thin slices of prosciutto crisp up into delectable chips.
- Sage: Fresh sage leaves have a pronounced piney flavor and aroma — a little goes a long way. In saltimbocca, sage tempers the richness of the sauce and the prosciutto.
- White wine: Use a good-quality white wine that you don’t mind sipping while you cook 🙂 — I recommend a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. The wine cooks down, leaving the sauce with a bright note of acidity.
- Chicken broth: Use a lower-sodium stock or homemade chicken broth if possible because the prosciutto is already salted.
- Butter: When combined with olive oil, the butter adds a nutty flavor to the sauce without burning over high heat.
- Olive oil: Use a good everyday extra-virgin olive oil.
- Shallot: You can use an equal amount of very finely chopped yellow onion if you don’t have shallots.
Weeknight chicken saltimbocca
There’s a reason this is one of my all-time favorite 30-minute chicken recipes. When you’re rushing to get dinner on the table, the thought of making a traditional saltimbocca — which means pounding meat with a mallet and fussing with toothpicks — is a big turn-off.
I still crave often chicken breast recipes for dinner, and the flavors and textures of a good saltimbocca with light, crisp chicken cutlets, so I simplified the method for faster prep time.
Prep the chicken breasts
1. To butterfly chicken breasts, start a perpendicular cut at the thicker side. 2. Open the breast like a book.
3. Slice them in half. 4. Repeat to make four thin fillets.
6. Spread the flour on a rimmed sheet pan. 7. Dredge the breasts to coat, then tap off the excess.
Overview of cooking steps
8. Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. 9. Wait until the butter melts and start to foam.
10. Sear the chicken until golden on the bottom, 3-5 minutes. 11. Flip the chicken over.
12. Put a piece of prosciutto on top of each chicken breast. 13. Coat sage leaves with fat in the pan and stick to the prosciutto.
14. Transfer to a 425-degree oven to finish cooking and crisp the prosciutto. 15. Transfer the chicken to a platter and pour the pan juices over.
Chicken Cutlet Saltimbocca with Prosciutto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large (675 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds total), butterflied into 4 fillets; or 4 chicken cutlets
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour, or substitute with a gluten-free blend
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) finely chopped shallot
- ¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine, such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
- ¼ cup (60 ml) chicken broth
- 4 slices prosciutto
- 8 fresh sage leaves, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees 220 C °F
- Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken breasts.
- Spread the flour in a rimmed tray or pie dish. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour to lightly coat, then give them a gentle slap to remove excess flour.
- Place a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the butter and oil, swirling to coat the pan. When the butter begins to foam, add the chicken breasts.
- Cook 3-5 minutes, until the chicken is golden. Flip the breasts over with a spatula and cook on the other side for one minute. Add the shallots, white wine and broth to the pan around the chicken and let it boil for another minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Arrange a slice of prosciutto over each breast. Dip the sage leaves in some of the fat in the pan, then put two leaves on top of each breast, pressing them down to adhere.
- Put the pan in the oven and bake 5-6 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the prosciutto is crisp.
- To serve, transfer the chicken to a platter and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of coarsely chopped sage to garnish the plate.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Use thin slices (scaloppine) of veal or pork instead of the chicken. The cooking time will be about the same.
- For a cheesy dish, top each chicken breast with a thin slice of provolone, fontina or mozzarella cheese as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
Monthly staple now
Tried it last night, used rosemary instead of sage, adding it after removal from oven. “Excellent!” my wife said. One suggestion might be to slice the chicken breast cross-wise, making smaller ‘scallops of chicken’, which will enhance the flavor of the chicken
Your wife’s idea to slice the chicken into scallops is spot-on! Thanks Pat