Italian dinner is meant for Chicken Saltimbocca alla Romana! This easy chicken recipe is full of flavor with just a few simple ingredients. A classic Italian recipe made with prosciutto and sage in a light white wine butter sauce.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Chicken Saltimbocca alla Romana recipe is a classic Italian dish that features tender chicken breasts, prosciutto, sage, and a white wine sauce.
The name “Saltimbocca alla Romana” roughly translates to “jump in the mouth Roman-style,” suggesting that the flavors of this dish are so delightful that they leap into your mouth.
One of my favorite things about great Italian food is you get amazing flavor from a smaller amount of ingredients. And this Chicken Saltimbocca alla Romana does just that!
Chicken Saltimbocca alla Romana is often served with sides like sautéed spinach, mashed potatoes, or risotto.
The combination of the tender chicken, crispy and salty prosciutto, fragrant sage, and flavorful sauce makes it a delightful and classic Italian dish. It’s a favorite in many Italian restaurants and can be prepared at home for a special meal.
Ingredients
Chicken Breasts – thinly sliced, or you can cut a regular chicken breast in half yourself. You could also pound a chicken breast with a meat mallet to make it thin.
Prosciutto
Fresh Sage – Fresh sage leaves are used to infuse the dish with a distinct herbal aroma and taste
White Wine – something dry like a Sauvignon Blanc is perfect
Chicken Stock – or chicken broth
Yellow Onion – or white
All-Purpose Flour
Butter – unsalted butter is best to control your salt, but salted butter is fine
Vegetable Oil – We use this instead of olive oil because we are cooking at a higher temperature
Salt
Black Pepper
Instruction Overview
Pat your chicken pieces dry and season each side with a little salt and pepper.
Lay two large (or multiple small) sage leaves across the chicken breast.
Cover each chicken breast with a piece of prosciutto and press to adhere to the chicken.
Use two toothpicks, one at the top and one at the bottom, and sew into the chicken. This means start by pressing down from the prosciutto into the chicken, popping through the back side, and back up (see picture below with bottom left piece).
Lightly dredge the chicken on both sides in some flour. Shake off the excess flour.
Repeat for all pieces.
Heat a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat with some oil and butter.
Cook the chicken on each side approximately 3-4 minutes per side until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown.
Repeat as needed with the remaining cutlets until all are cooked.
Remove the excess oil from the pan. Keep the brown bits in the pan! This is where the flavor is!
Add the remaining butter and onion and cook until translucent, approximately 3 minutes.
Add the wine and reduce half way.
Add the stock, salt and pepper.
Simmer approximately 3-5 minutes. Season to taste as desired. The sauce is very thin. See Modifications and Substitutions below if you want a thicker sauce.
Chicken can be added back to the sauce for 2 minutes if desired, or served separately.
Modifications and Substitutions
This could also be made with veal in place of the chicken.
If you want to use the sauce on top of pasta, or really like sauce, double up the sauce portion of the recipe.
The sauce is very thin. If you want it thicker, whisk in cornstarch or flour until you get the consistency you want.
A dry white wine is best here (I like to use a Sauvignon Blanc). You could also use marsala if you want a heartier, heavier flavor.
This dish would also be great with vegetables added into the sauce, such as asparagus or mushrooms!
If desired, you can fry up extra sage leaves in the oil and butter mixture from the chicken to serve on top as a garnish. It only takes a few seconds (remove when it stops bubbling). Fresh sage leaf is not pleasant to eat raw, so you will want to cook any that you want to use for a garnish.
What to Serve it With
Here are some ideas of what you can serve Chicken Saltimbocca with:
Salad – Try our Prosciutto Melon Salad with Mozzarella and Arugula!
Pasta – You can double up the pan sauce and pour it over a plain pasta, or make a sauced pasta such as Linguine Alfredo or Capellini Pomodoro for something lighter.
Vegetables such as green beans – Try our Italian Green Beans!
Polenta – Try our Rosemary Garlic Polenta!
White or Brown Rice
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More Italian Chicken Recipes
Italian Chicken Recipes
Chicken Saltimbocca alla Romana
Equipment
- Knife
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- 4 thinly sliced chicken breasts or 2 regular, cut in half lengthwise from the side
- 4 slices prosciutto
- 8 large fresh sage leaves or multiple smaller as needed
- â…“ cup flour
- salt
- black pepper
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- â…“ cup white wine something dry like a sauvignon blanc or chardonnay, or a marsala for heartier flavor
- ½ cup yellow onion finely diced (approximately 1/2 small-medium onion)
- 1 ¼ cups chicken stock or broth
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- lemon wedges for serving, if desired
Instructions
- Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel on each side. Season each side with salt and pepper.4 thinly sliced chicken breasts, salt, black pepper
- Lay two large, or several smaller, fresh sage leaves on one side of the chicken, spread out.8 large fresh sage leaves
- Take a piece of prosciutto and lay on top of the sage. Press the prosciutto into the chicken to adhere.4 slices prosciutto
- Use two toothpicks, one at the top and one at the bottom, to attach the prosciutto to the chicken. Sew the toothpick, pushing all the way through from the top through to the bottom, and then push back up through the chicken and prosciutto again.
- Lightly dredge the chicken pieces in some flour on a plate. Shake off the excess.â…“ cup flour
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with 2 Tablespoons of butter and the oil.4 Tablespoons butter, 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- When hot, add two pieces of chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes, until you see the white creeping up the sides of the chicken.
- Flip and cook another 3-5 minutes until cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken. Add more butter or oil if needed.
- When the chicken is done, pour out the oil mixture from the pan and put back on the heat over medium.
- Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter.
- When melted, and the chopped onion and cook until translucent, approximately 3 minutes.½ cup yellow onion
- Add the white wine and reduce by half, about 3-5 minutes.â…“ cup white wine
- Add the chicken stock and 1/4 teaspoon of both salt and black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes.1 ¼ cups chicken stock
- Season to taste with more salt and black pepper as desired. Mix in your fresh parsley.2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
- If desired, put the chicken back in the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. Serve, with lemon wedges if desired.
Oh my, this looks so yummy! At first glance, I thought it was a fish without reading the title! The texture looks perfect and it is just so enticing to look at! Loved it!
It’s a nice experience! We enjoyed eating it and we love it so much! The saltiness is just right!