Why You’ll Love This this Sherry & Butter Chicken Diane
This recipe turns ordinary chicken breasts into something that tastes fancy enough for company, but it’s honestly simple enough that you won’t stress about it on a Tuesday night. The buttery, wine-kissed sauce with that tangy mustard kick makes everything taste like you’ve been cooking for years, even if you’re still figuring out how long to sauté onions without turning them into little charcoal bits. Plus, you probably have most of these ingredients hanging out in your pantry already, which means less grocery store wandering and more time actually enjoying dinner.
Ingredients List
Getting your hands on these ingredients is pretty straightforward, and chances are you’ve got half of them sitting in your kitchen right now.
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 1/2 cup A.1. Original Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- This recipe does pack quite a bit of butter and sodium from the sauces, so if you’re watching those things, you could cut the butter down to 1/4 cup and still get great flavor
- The chicken itself is lean protein, which is always a win
- Fresh parsley adds some vitamins and makes everything look fancy, plus it’s way cheaper than you think
- You can swap the sherry for chicken broth if you prefer to skip the alcohol, though you’ll miss out on some of that rich, complex flavor
Step by Step Directions
This classic Chicken Diane comes together in one skillet with a rich, savory sauce that’ll make your kitchen smell like a fancy restaurant.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add half the butter (1/4 cup).
- Brown the chicken breasts on both sides until golden but not fully cooked through, then remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining butter to the same skillet and sauté the chopped onion and fresh parsley until the onions become translucent.
- Stir in the dry sherry, A.1. Original Sauce, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce, mixing everything together thoroughly.
- Return the chicken breasts to the skillet and turn them to coat completely with the sauce.
- Cover the skillet and simmer on medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Serve immediately over white rice or steamed vegetables.
For an elevated dining experience, consider pairing this dish with fresh pasta made using a professional pasta maker for restaurant-quality results at home.
Substitutions and Variations
- Kick up the heat with a pinch of red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce mixed right into that gorgeous pan sauce.
- Mushroom lovers, this is your moment – throw in some sliced button or cremini mushrooms with the onions and watch them soak up all that buttery goodness.
- Double the sauce recipe if you’re serving this over rice or mashed potatoes, because let’s be real, that sauce is the star of the show and you’ll want extra for drizzling.
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
This rich, buttery chicken practically begs for sides that can either soak up that incredible sauce or provide a fresh contrast to all that savory goodness.
- Fluffy white rice or wild rice pilaf – because that sherry-butter sauce deserves a proper landing pad, and rice does the job without competing for attention.
- Creamy mashed potatoes or garlic mashed cauliflower – both will cradle that sauce like a warm hug, plus the cauliflower keeps things lighter if you’re watching carbs.
- Simple steamed or roasted vegetables like green beans, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts – their clean, crisp flavors cut through the richness beautifully.
- A bright, peppery arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette – sometimes you need that acidic pop to balance all the butter and wine, and arugula has just enough bite to stand up to this dish.
- Crusty French bread or dinner rolls – look, I’m not saying you should use bread to chase every last drop of sauce around your plate, but I’m not saying you shouldn’t either.
- Egg noodles or fettuccine – if you want to go full comfort food mode, pasta turns this into a proper sauce-soaked feast that’ll make you forget all about portion control.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
Getting this dish right is all about timing and not panicking when things get a little messy in the pan.
- Don’t fully cook that chicken in the first step – I know it’s tempting to get it completely done, but remember it’s going back into the sauce to finish cooking, and nobody wants rubbery chicken that’s been cooked twice.
- Pat those chicken breasts dry before they hit the skillet – wet chicken won’t brown properly, and browning equals flavor, so grab some paper towels and show that poultry some love.
- Keep your heat at medium when browning – too high and you’ll burn the butter before the chicken gets golden, too low and you’ll just have sad, gray chicken sitting in a puddle.
- Don’t crowd the pan – if your skillet isn’t big enough for all four breasts with some breathing room, work in batches because steamed chicken isn’t the atmosphere we’re going for.
- Let those onions get properly translucent – rushing this step means you’ll have crunchy onion bits in your elegant sauce, which is fine if you’re making a stir-fry but not so much here.
- Taste and adjust the sauce before serving – some sherries are sweeter than others, some mustards pack more punch, so give it a quick taste and add a splash more Worcestershire or a pinch of salt if needed.
- Use a meat thermometer if you’re nervous – chicken should hit 165°F internal temperature, and there’s no shame in double-checking because food safety trumps looking like a confident cook every time.
Nutritional Facts
Based on one serving (1/4 of the recipe), this rich and flavorful dish delivers a solid protein punch with some indulgent extras.
- Calories: Approximately 420-450 per serving
- Protein: 35-40 grams (mainly from the chicken breast)
- Fat: 18-22 grams (primarily from butter, with some from chicken)
- Carbohydrates: 8-10 grams (from sherry, A.1. sauce, and vegetables)
- Sodium: 900-1,100 mg (A.1. sauce and Worcestershire are the main contributors)
- Cholesterol: 110-130 mg (from chicken and butter)
- Fiber: 1-2 grams (mostly from onions and parsley)
- Sugar: 4-6 grams (naturally occurring from sherry and sauce ingredients)
- Saturated Fat: 10-12 grams (butter is the primary source)
- Iron: 6-8% of daily value (from chicken and Worcestershire sauce)
- Vitamin C: 15-20% of daily value (thanks to that fresh parsley)
- Potassium: 400-500 mg (chicken breast is a good source)
Fun “Did You Know?”
Beyond those impressive nutritional numbers lies a dish with some pretty fascinating backstory.
I find it amazing that Chicken Diane wasn’t originally made with chicken at all – it started as Steak Diane in the 1950s, flambéed tableside at fancy restaurants. The dish gets its name from Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, which makes perfect sense given its bold, game-like flavors.
What’s really cool is how A.1. sauce became a secret weapon in home kitchens, replacing the complex demi-glace that professional chefs used. It’s basically fine dining made accessible for everyday cooks like us.
