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This tarragon chicken recipe is a one skillet wonder! The juicy chicken breasts are bathed in a velvety cream sauce infused with fresh tarragon and garlic. If you’re like our family, you’ll be licking the skillet clean!
Here’s a chicken dinner we guarantee everyone will go crazy over: tarragon chicken! As cookbook authors who’ve been writing recipes for over a decade, Alex and I have found a secret weapon for making recipes taste over-the-top delicious: fresh tarragon! We’ve been growing it in our herb garden and it adds a fresh undertone that makes each bite absolutely irresistible.
The juicy chicken cutlets swim in a velvety cream sauce infused with fresh tarragon and garlic, and it will make you want to lick the skillet clean! Even better, it takes just 25 minutes to whip up. Our house goes crazy over it!
Ingredient notes for tarragon chicken
This chicken tarragon recipe has simple ingredients that come together for big flavor! We’re currently experimenting with dairy-free recipes for one of our children, so we’ve added some dairy-free swaps as well.
- Chicken breast: Buy organic chicken if possible. Look for boneless skinless chicken breasts, or cutlets if possible (if you can’t find cutlets, butterfly the chicken breast).
- Olive oil: Olive oil is our cooking oil of choice, and it infuses delicious flavor into the seared chicken.
- Fresh tarragon: Fresh tarragon is irreplaceable in this recipe; you can find it in the herb section at your local grocery. While you can substitute dried, the flavor won’t be as good.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is key for the flavor; do not use jarred garlic (garlic powder can work as a substitute).
- Butter, heavy cream, and milk: These dairy products form a rich and creamy sauce. For dairy-free, this recipe should work with vegan butter, cashew cream, and oat milk.
- Flour: Flour is used as a thickener to make a sort of roux with the butter, a French tradition for making a sauce. You can substitute cornstarch for gluten-free.
What is tarragon, anyway?
Tarragon is an herb with a distinctive licorice-like flavor. It has slender, dark green leaves and small, greenish-yellow flowers. Tarragon is often used in French cooking, though it’s native to Central Asia and Siberia. It pairs well with chicken, fish, and eggs, and it’s a key ingredient in classic sauces like béarnaise and tartare. Use up leftovers in tarragon chicken salad!
Swapping out the flour
This recipe uses flour as a thickener in the cream sauce. For a gluten-free recipe, substitute half the quantity with cornstarch. If using cornstarch, mix it in a small bowl with ½ tablespoon water and add it with the cream and milk.
Note on serving size
This tarragon chicken recipe makes 4 modest servings. If you’ve got very hungry eaters or more people to feed, consider making 1.5 times or double the recipe. If so, use a very large skillet and pan-fry the chicken in batches.
Ways to serve tarragon chicken
Chicken tarragon becomes a meal quickly with a grain and a vegetable, or add a crisp green salad! Here are a few easy ideas for how to make it into a meal:
- Rice like white rice or lemon rice
- Orzo or couscous like lemon orzo or easy couscous
- Green beans like sauteed green beans or green beans almondine
- Broccoli or broccolini like pan fried broccoli, steamed broccoli, sauteed broccolini, or roasted broccolini
- Peas or asparagus like peas with lemon or roasted asparagus
- Salad like arugula salad, chopped salad, apple salad, or kale salad
- Crusty bread like focaccia bread, fougasse bread, or no knead bread
Storing leftovers & make ahead info
We’ve found that chicken tarragon is best enjoyed fresh the day of making. However, you can cook the chicken and sauce ahead of time and store them separately in the refrigerator, and it still tastes great! Reheat them gently on the stovetop when ready to serve.
Dietary notes
This tarragon chicken recipe is gluten-free with cornstarch. For dairy-free, use vegan butter, cashew cream, and oat milk (see the recipe below).
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can definitely use chicken thighs. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly as they may take a bit longer to cook through
You can try using half-and-half or whole milk, but the sauce will not be as thick and rich. You can also try substituting cashew cream for dairy-free.
The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165°F (74°C). You can use a meat thermometer to check.
Tarragon Chicken
This tarragon chicken recipe is a one skillet wonder! The juicy chicken breasts are bathed in a velvety cream sauce infused with fresh tarragon and garlic. If you’re like our family, you’ll be licking the skillet clean!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chicken
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 4 cutlets (about 1 pound, organic if possible)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter (or vegan butter)
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh tarragon (see Notes)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon flour (or ½ tablespoon cornstarch for gluten-free*)
- ¾ cup heavy cream (or cashew cream, for dairy-free)
- ¼ cup 2% milk (or oat milk)
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. If using breasts, slice them in half horizontally into 4 thin cutlets (skip this step if you bought cutlets). Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Cook the chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until browned and fully cooked (internal temperature should reach 165°F). Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Make the sauce: In the same pan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the tarragon and minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the flour until foamy, another 30 seconds. Add the cream and milk and increase to medium. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring and scraping the pan, until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Finish the dish: Return the chicken to the pan, warming each side for about 1 minute in the sauce. Serve immediately, with the sauce spooned over the chicken. Garnish with finely chopped tarragon. Leftovers store up to 3 days refrigerated; reheat gently in a skillet.
Notes
If using cornstarch, mix it in a small bowl with ½ tablespoon water and add it with the cream and milk.
You can substitute dried tarragon, but the flavor won’t be nearly as good. Use 1 ½ teaspoons dried tarragon.
This tarragon chicken recipe makes 4 modest servings. If you’ve got very hungry eaters or more people to feed, consider making 1.5 times or double the recipe. If so, use a very large skillet and pan-fry the chicken in batches.
More chicken dinners
Looking for more fun chicken dinner ideas? This healthy protein always goes over well in our house as an easy dinner. Here are a few of our top fan favorites:
- Go-to methods like our baked chicken breast, seared chicken breast, baked chicken thighs, and pan seared chicken thighs
- Fire up the grill for grilled chicken breast or grilled chicken thighs.
- Use tarragon in tarragon chicken salad.
- Make classics like chicken paillard, Tuscan chicken, chicken piccata, chicken tacos, chicken Caesar salad, honey garlic chicken thighs, and chicken enchiladas.
The TARRAGON! OK, I made this again using fresh tarragon, and the aroma just wows the senses! Love this! This is a great ‘company’ dinner that comes together easily, thank you, again!
Thank you for this recipe, it was simple, fast and super delicious! I’m a fan of sauces, and this didn’t disappoint! I’ll increase the amount of sauce next time, for my own preferences :-)
I always substitute dairy milks and creams (but not usually butter), and my go-to is coconut cream, because it’s convenient. Surprisingly, coconut taste is not present in the end result. I also used oat milk. I will make cashew cream one of these days, I know it’s rich and delicious because I’ve had it in vegan restaurants. Would cashew cream freeze well for use in savory recipes like this?
Finally, I didn’t have tarragon but I did have fresh sprigs of rosemary, and that worked! I’m looking forward to making this again with tarragon :-) I also like the idea of using it in chicken salad, and am going to try your recipe next.
Thank you for making it! Cashew cream does freeze, but it loses a bit of smoothness with you thaw it.
The tarragon chicken was absolutely delicious will definitely be making it again thanks.
Thank you so much for including Gluten free and dairy free options. Your recipes are so enticing but trying to make these kinds of substitutions, without
testing/ ad hock, often turns out poorly. I’m all over this one for this Monday’s dinner.