Chicken Valdostana Recipe

Chicken Valdostana, also known as pollo alla Valdostana, is a classic northern Italian dish that combines pan-seared chicken cutlets, prosciutto, and fontina cheese in a simple white wine sauce with mushrooms. It’s easy enough for weeknights but impressive enough for dinner guests.

A long-time favorite

The first time I made chicken Valdostana was over 20 years ago, and I fell in love at first bite. The combination of the prosciutto and fontina cheese is a favorite of mine and one I use in other recipes, such as my chicken Sorrentino. The mushrooms add a layer of earthy complexity, and the white wine sauce is magic!

While this northern Italian chicken dish can sometimes be found in restaurants, it’s more elusive than such as chicken parm, which is why it’s a great one to make at home!

Chicken Valdostana is great with a side of sauteed broccoli rabe or Italian broccoli and some rice pilaf or crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Recipe Ingredients

All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.

• Chicken. Valdostana uses thin chicken cutlets. If you buy full chicken breasts, you can fillet them yourself and save some money.
• Fontina. I recommend using Italian fontina cheese, though Danish will work too. If you cannot find fontina cheese, you can substitute it with mozzarella, gruyere, or provolone.
• Mushrooms. I am using cremini mushrooms here but any mushroom or combination of mushrooms will work. If you can easily source more exotic mushrooms such as shitake, oystrer, or trumpet mushrooms, those would be great too!
• Prosciutto. Feel free to use domestic prosciutto or Prosciutto di Parma, depending on your budget.
• Wine. Use a dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to make Chicken Valdostana

Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.

1. Pat the chicken cutlets very dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Dredge the cutlets in flour and shake gently to remove the excess, then place on a parchment paper-lined sheet.

3. In a large pan over medium heat, sear the cutlets in olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter for 3 minutes per side.
4. Once the chicken is almost cooked through, transfer to a plate and cover with tented foil. Work in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan.
5. In the same pan, saute the mushrooms over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes or until brown. Once they release their water, season with salt and pepper then transfer to a plate.
6. Turn the pan heat to high and add the chicken stock and white wine. Use a wooden spoon to gently scrape the bottom of the pan and dislodge any brown bits. Once the sauce reduces by half, remove from the heat.

7. Add the chicken to the pan and top each piece with 1 slice of prosciutto per cutlet, followed by the mushrooms, and the fontina cheese. Spoon a touch of sauce on top of each cutlet and place in the oven under the broiler to finish cooking.
8. Watch carefully to prevent burning and once the cheese melts and slightly browns, remove from the oven. Whisk the cold butter into the pan, one cube at a time, then plate the chicken and pour the sauce on top. If you don’t have enough room in the pan to add the butter, simply transfer the chicken to a platter first, then whisk in the butter. Serve and enjoy!

More Italian chicken recipes

Here are a few more of my favorite restaurant-style Italian chicken dishes – these all call for cutlets just like the Valdostana.

• Chicken saltimbocca
• Chicken with prosciutto and creamy tomato sauce
• Chicken scampi
• Chicken with roasted red peppers and mozzarella