I grew up eating Dad’s saltimbocca: thinly sliced chicken wrapped in prosciutto and sage, pan seared and topped with a luscious diced tomato sauce. It’s perfection!
Saltimbocca is a delicious Italian dish that requires a few simple ingredients to make a dish that literally “jumps in the mouth” (Saltimbocca in English)! You can use pork or veal cutlets, but my favorite version is Chicken Saltimbocca. My dad’s famous recipe is below, along with the video of us cooking the dish together!
Serve with a Whole Roasted Brown Butter Cauliflower or Broiled Asparagus.
Ingredients
- Chicken cutlets – chicken cutlets are thin chicken breasts that are the perfect base for saltimbocca. I prefer cutlets over regular breasts because they cook faster and there’s a higher cheese/prosciutto-to-chicken ratio!
- Prosciutto – thin slices of prosciutto are wrapped around the chicken.
- Fontina cheese – fontina is an Italian, semi-soft cow’s milk cheese that’s great for melting and a perfect complement to prosciutto!
- All-purpose flour – a small amount of flour is used to dredge our chicken, helping the chicken brown on the outside and stay moist on the inside.
- Can of petite diced tomatoes – petite diced tomatoes is the base for our sauce! It’s just the right blend of texture and flavor.
- Dry white wine – dry white wine (like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is added to the sauce, rounding out the flavor!
- Extra virgin olive oil – olive oil will help our chicken not stick to the pan!
- Butter – butter makes everything better.
- Shallot – shallots add texture and a mild, sweet onion taste to our sauce.
- Sage – sage adds that beautiful earthy, piney, warm flavor.
Ingredient Substitutions
- You can use chicken breasts instead of chicken cutlets (thin) but you’ll need to place the chicken in the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes until it reaches at least 165 degrees!
- Substitute veal or pork cutlets for the chicken cutlets.
- Use fresh cherry tomatoes or diced regular tomatoes during the summertime instead of canned petite diced tomatoes. You’ll want to sauté the tomatoes for about 5 minutes to release the flavors and juices!
- Substitute gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour.
- Substitute gruyere, provolone, or gouda cheese for the fontina if you can’t find it!
How to Make Chicken Saltimbocca
My dad’s chicken saltimbocca recipe is SO good and SO easy! FULL instructions are in the recipe card below (this is just an outline!).
- Prepare chicken.
Place sage leaves on top of each chicken cutlet. Wrap each chicken cutlet with a prosciutto slice. It’s okay if the ends of the chicken cutlets are exposed but make sure sage leaves are covered so they don’t fall out of the chicken “package” when cooking. Lightly coat each piece of wrapped chicken with flour, dusting off any excess.
- Pan-sear chicken.
Add butter and olive oil to skillet over high heat. Let butter melt. Add chicken to pan. Let the chicken cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet and place in 300-degree oven for about 5 minutes, until chicken registers at least 165 degrees.
- Make sauce.
Add shallot to the skillet you cooked the chicken in over medium-high heat. Sauté shallot for 2 minutes. Add wine and then about 2/3 of the can of petite diced tomatoes. Stir. Add a tablespoon of butter and salt to taste. Add a sage leaf or two to perfume the sauce. Stir again until combined and warm.
- Assemble.
When chicken is cooked through, add slices of fontina cheese (I use about 3 small, thin slices per cutlet). Let melt in oven for about 2 minutes. Serve chicken with a few tablespoons of tomato pan sauce!
What to Serve With Chicken Saltimbocca
I have so many delicious side dish ideas for chicken saltimbocca!
- Broiled Asparagus
- Homemade Parker House Rolls
- Roasted Garlic & Chive Mashed Potatoes
- Whole Roasted Brown Butter Cauliflower
- Roasted Mushrooms With Balsamic & Soy
Storage & Reheating
Store your chicken saltimbocca and sauce separately, in covered containers, for best results. They’ll last in the fridge for up to 4 days!
Reheat the sauce on medium-low heat on the stove until hot (or in the microwave increments of 30 seconds). To reheat the chicken, wrap in foil and heat in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until hot!
Other Chicken Recipes You’ll Love on Tastefully Grace!
- Perfect Chicken Penne Alla Vodka
- How to Bake Juicy Chicken Breast
- Mediterranean Braised Chicken Thighs
- Pesto Chicken Cutlet Sub Sandwiches
- Classic Chicken Parmesan
Dad’s Chicken Saltimbocca
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken cutlets, about 4 pieces that are ¼ inch thick
- 4 large slices prosciutto, thinly sliced
- 1/3 pound fontina cheese, thinly sliced
- 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup dry white wine, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 14 fresh sage leaves, plus more to garnish
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- To make the chicken: preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place about 3 sage leaves on top of each chicken cutlet. Wrap each chicken cutlet with a large prosciutto slice. It’s okay if the ends of the chicken cutlets are exposed (not wrapped with prosciutto!), but make sure sage leaves are covered by prosciutto so they don’t fall out of the chicken “package” when cooking. Lightly coat each piece of wrapped chicken with flour, dusting off any excess.
- Add 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Let butter melt. Add chicken to pan. Let the chicken cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown.
- Transfer chicken to a baking sheet and place in 300-degree oven for about 5 minutes, until chicken registers at least 165 degrees.
- To make the sauce (while chicken is in the oven): over medium-high heat, add shallot to the skillet you cooked the chicken in. Sauté shallot for 2 minutes. Add wine and then about 2/3 of the can of petite diced tomatoes. Stir. Add a tablespoon of butter and salt to taste. Add 2 sage leaves to perfume the sauce. Stir again until combined and warm.
- To assemble: When chicken is cooked through, add a layer of fontina cheese. Let melt in oven for about 2 minutes. Serve chicken with a few tablespoons of tomato pan sauce!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
