This Italian chicken saltimbocca is an easy skillet chicken dish that is perfect for an easy weeknight meal and fancy enough to serve to guests. Topped with parma ham and cooked in white wine for a wonderfully flavorful dish.
Time to get fancy, but not so fancy that you can’t make this for a quick weeknight meal! This chicken saltimbocca is loaded with flavor and it’s a recipe that’s sure to impress.
Cooked in a skillet, this 30 minute Italian dinner is perfect to serve with roasted potatoes, pasta or a fresh green salad.
Why you will love this chicken saltimbocca recipe
- This recipe is so full of flavor and made with simple and fresh ingredients.
- It’s high in protein and low in carbs. It’s a great dinner if you are following a keto diet.
- Cooked in a skillet, the chicken comes out wonderfully juicy with delicious crispy edges.
How to make chicken saltimbocca
- Prep – slice the chicken breasts in half and flatten them with a meat hammer. Place a piece of ham and sage on top of each breast and secure with a toothpick.
- Dredge – coat the underside of the chicken in flour.
- Cook – Cook the chicken ham side down in a skillet with butter and oil. Flip them over and add the white wine
- Make the sauce – remove the chicken and whisk butter into the wine and reduce.
- Serve and enjoy!
What is saltimbocca?
Saltimbocca (saltinbocca) is an Italian dish that is traditionally made with veal. The meat is lined with cured ham like prosciutto or parma, topped with sage and cooked in white wine. For my version, I swapped the veal for chicken breast.
Can you make it ahead of time?
You can prepare the meat with the ham and the sage and leave them tightly covered in your fridge for up to 1 day. I would not recommend cooking it ahead because warming it up again might turn the chicken dry.
What if I don’t want to use wine?
You can substitute the wine with chicken or vegetable broth. But be aware that the wine plays a big part in adding flavor to the sauce.
Can you make saltimbocca with chicken thighs?
It’s best you stick with flattened chicken breast for this recipe. The flat breast is perfect to lay the ham and sage on top and it cooks evenly all the way through.
Ways to Pound the Chicken
If you don’t have a meat hammer you can just use something heavy like a cooking pot or a rolling pin. Instead of the parchment paper you can also use some clingfilm to cover the meat
More Top Tips
- You can add chopped sage leaves to the sauce to increase the sage flavor. Or add a bit of lemon zest for a fresh kick.
- In some Italian regions they add cheese to the meat. If you want to try that put sage first, then cheese and finish with the ham.
More Italian Chicken Recipes
Have you tried this Chicken Saltimbocca recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Chicken Saltimbocca Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chicken Saltimbocca
- 2 chicken breast
- 4 slices of dry-cured ham I used parma
- 4 sage leaves
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of flour
- 4 toothpicks
For the sauce:
- 3 tbsp of butter
- 1 cup of white wine
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise to get 4 thin slices.
- Place each slice between parchment paper and bash them out with a meat hammer (note 1).
- Place a slice of ham on each chicken breast and top with a sage leave.
- Stitch both into the chicken with a toothpick.
- Place the flour on a flat plate, dredge the underside of the chicken in the flour and shake off the excess.
- Heat up the butter and the olive oil over high heat until the butter is melted.
- Add the chicken breast ham/sage side down and cook for 3-4 minutes until the ham is browned.
- Flip them over with a spatula and add pepper to taste. Don´t salt them yet, because the ham is already very salty.
- Cook for 2 minutes and add the white wine.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and cook with the wine for another 3-4 minutes and transfer the meat to a plate.
- Add the butter to the wine in the pan and quickly whisk it in.
- Let the sauce reduce for another 1-2 minutes until it thickens slightly and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Return the meat to the pan and serve. Or leave meat on the plate and drizzle with the sauce.
Notes
- If you don’t have a meat hammer you can just use something heavy like a cooking pot or a rolling pin. Instead of the parchment paper you can also use some clingfilm to cover the meat
- You can add chopped sage leaves to the sauce to increase the sage flavor. Or add a bit of lemon zest for a fresh kick.
- In some Italian regions they add cheese to the meat. If you want to try that put sage first, then cheese and finish with the ham.
Panaiota Constantine says
This recipe is fabulous. Even better the next day
Becky Hardin says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Panaiota!