The Trick to the Creamiest Sauce for Chicken

You know fall is in the air when there’s an uptick in searches for comfort food recipes. And, if this recipe for Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken isn’t comfort food, what is? It’s an easy dish to make, and its creamy, cheesy warmness says, “Bring on sweater weather.” And last week, it was one of our most popular recipes.

“This came out great,” said one Allrecipes member. “I am in love with the sauce I used cream cheese as that's what I had. Chicken was so tender. Will definitely make again.” 

The recipe calls for mascarpone cheese with cream cheese as an appropriate substitute. Either one is part of the key to making the creamiest sauce for chicken so you can enjoy this comfort food dish at its best.

No Roux Necessary

A roux is often used to make a creamy sauce. The combination of equal parts fat (such as butter, oil, or bacon grease) and flour works as a thickening agent. But, because the sauce for this recipe uses cornstarch, there’s no roux necessary. The technique of using a cornstarch slurry with creamy cheese is the trick to making this creamy, cheesy sauce.

(By the way, this technique makes this particular sauce gluten-free, but the recipe itself is not gluten-free. The chicken is dredged in all-purpose flour, but an appropriate gluten-free flour could be a substitute.)

Other Smart Tips From This Satisfying, Creamy Chicken Recipe

There are some other great cooking techniques you can learn from preparing this dish.

How to make a slurry: Adding cornstarch straight into hot liquid will result in undesirable clumps. The technique in this recipe uses a slurry—a mixture of cornstarch and water—which can also be used when making gravy, egg drop soup, or chili.

The best way to zest and juice a lemon: Zest first, then juice. If you juice first, you end up with a floppy rind that’s tough to zest.

The best tool for zesting a lemon: A microplane zester. It creates uniform pieces of lemon peel faster and with less pressure than a regular grater or citrus zester.

What to Serve with Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken

This chicken is “Absolutely lovely!” and “Delish!” according to Allrecipes members. Even the loveliest and most delish dishes need some accompaniments. Here are a few great suggestions:

• Italian Leafy Green Salad: A simple salad that brings plenty of veggies to the plate.
• Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes: There’s garlic in the chicken dish, so keep the garlic vibe going with these potatoes.
• Sautéed Green Beans: Simple and always a great pairing with chicken.
• Pasta: Serve the chicken (cut into smaller pieces) and sauce over cooked pasta.