Chicken Saltimbocca

Chicken Saltimbocca combines thinly sliced pan-seared chicken cutlets, salty prosciutto, and sage leaves in a white wine butter sauce.  Perfect served with a side of roasted potatoes, or sauteed spinach, this is a favorite in our home for its simplicity and outrageous flavor!

Every time I make chicken saltimbocca, I find myself wondering "why don't I make this more often".  

Saltimbocca, meaning "to jump in the mouth", is easy to make but looks and tastes impressive.

The layering of the sage leaves, prosciutto, and chicken make for a lovely presentation and the white wine butter sauce is definitely drinkable.

I love serving chicken saltimbocca with some roasted potatoes, and a side green salad, or other green like broccoli rabe or garlicky spinach.

While chicken saltimbocca is one of my favorites, I don't often find it on the menus of Italian restaurants in the NY metro area as often as I would like, which is why when I'm craving it, I simply make it myself!

How to make chicken saltimbocca

Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.

1. Begin by filleting (if using chicken breasts) and pounding out the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet to a ¼" thick.  Pieces that are roughly 5 inches long are a good size to hold the prosciutto and one sage leaf.  Note: Using a Ziploc bag, makes the pounding out process easier and more sanitary.

2. Season all of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Layer one piece of prosciutto onto the chicken and trim off any excess.  Place 1-2 sage leaves onto the prosciutto and use a toothpick to secure it in place.  Repeat with all pieces of chicken.  Note: You can avoid using toothpicks but you must put the sage leave down first.  It doesn't look as nice but will taste the same.

4. Dredge the chicken pieces in flour (use about 1 cup, the remaining flour should be discarded) and shake off all of the excess.  Place the floured chicken pieces onto a plate or a parchment paper lined baking sheet as shown in pic 4 above.
5. Heat a large stainless steel pan to medium heat and wait 2-3 minutes for it to heat up before adding the olive oil or butter.  Once the pan is hot add a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter and sear the chicken prosciutto side down.  

6. After 2-3 minutes, flip the chicken and cook for about 2 minutes more or until the chicken pieces are cooked through.  Repeat the process for the next batch of chicken using more oil and butter as required.  Place the cooked chicken pieces on a plate off to the side and tent with foil. Note: I forgot to tent the chicken, but make sure you do it to keep the chicken warm!
7. Add 1 cup of dry white wine to the pan and turn heat to medium-high.  Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove any brown bits and cook for 1 minute.

8. Next, add 1 ¼ cups of low sodium chicken stock and cook the sauce for 3 minutes more or until it reduces by about half.
9. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add in the remaining cubes of butter.  Whisk the sauce together and taste test.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

10. Return the chicken to the pan and mix together gently.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the chicken is hot and the sauce has coated the chicken saltimbocca.  

Top tips for awesome chicken saltimbocca

• The cutlets.  Its extremely important that the cutlets are thin.  Don't skip the step of pounding them out.  It may take a little more time but will yield you the best possible results.  Using a bag as pictured above can help make the clean-up easier.  Note:  If you prefer to use pork or veal cutlets, feel free to do so!
• The wine. I used a Sauvignon Blanc for this dish.  Any dry white wine will do.  The alcohol will cook out and you'll only be left with the taste of the wine which is an important component of the flavor profile of saltimbocca.
• The layers.  One of my favorite parts of chicken saltimbocca is the presentation.  The sage leaves layered on top of the prosciutto are visually appealing.  To accomplish this, you'll need to use toothpicks to secure the leaves to the prosciutto.  If you prefer to not use the toothpicks, you'll need to layer the sage leaves between the chicken and prosciutto.  While it will taste the same, the presentation won't be as pretty.  Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before eating!

More Italian chicken recipes made with thin cutlets

Here are some of my absolute favorite Italian chicken recipes.  Which one is your favorite?

• Chicken Milanese - Butterflied and pounded out chicken breasts, breaded and fried, and topped with an easy tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad.
• Creamy sun dried tomato chicken - Thinly sliced cutlets with spinach and sun dried tomatoes in a creamy white wine sauce.
• Chicken valdostana - Cutlets layered with prosciutto and fontina cheese in a white wine sauce.
• Chicken sorrentino - Cutlets layered with eggplant, prosciutto, and fontina cheese in a tomato Marsala wine sauce.
• Chicken parmigiana - The classic topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Chicken Marsala - Cutlets with mushrooms and Marsala wine.
• Chicken piccata - Chicken with lemon, capers, and white wine.

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