This chicken Lazone recipe gives you a quick 30-minute dinner with pan-seared chicken tenders smothered in delicious buttery cream sauce. Serve these tender chicken strips over a bed of pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice for a warm and comforting weeknight meal.
Today we’re making some chicken Lazone which is a quick and easy answer for busy weeknight dinners when you feel like having something creamy and filling with minimal fuss and ingredients.
The chicken tenders are generously seasoned with a simple spice rub made from salt, chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder then simmered in butter and heavy cream. There’s a great deal of flavor in the spice mix which is balanced out by the creamy simplicity of the sauce. The cream sauce tastes great on its own but could also be customized and built on for even more flavor.
I paired my chicken with spaghetti to soak up all the delicious sauce. Just like sloppy Joe tater tot casserole and creamy beef and shells, this meal is bound to be a kid favorite. For more creamy pasta recipes, try some creamy sausage pasta, creamy sun-dried tomato and spinach pasta, or this creamy salmon pasta with spinach.
What Is Chicken Lazone?
Chicken Lazone is a recipe invented by Chef Lazone Randolph from New Orleans with seasoned and seared chicken smothered in a cream sauce. While it has fancy white tablecloth origins, the recipe is a simple one with basic pantry ingredients. There are a few variations out there but they don’t stay too far from the original. My version adds more heavy cream to make more sauce to pour over your pasta or mashed potatoes.
Ingredients in Chicken Lazone
CHICKEN LAZONE RECIPE TIPS
- Chicken – Use plain chicken tenders that aren’t breaded. 2 lbs. of chicken tenders ended up being about 12 chicken tenders for me. You can also substitute chicken tenders with boneless, skinless chicken breasts – just adjust the cooking time since they are bigger than tenders and will need to cook longer. Alternatively, you can slice the chicken breasts into strips about the same size as the chicken tenders.
- Seasoning – Be generous with the seasoning as there’s a lot of it to go around. I like using the two-handed seasoning method and patting the seasoning in so it adheres but you can also put the chicken tenders in a large mixing bowl, add the seasoning mix and massage it in with your hands.
- Searing – I used a 12” skillet and seared the chicken tenders in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. If you have a bigger skillet, you might be able to do the searing in one go though.
- Salt – I like to use coarse sea salt because it’s more forgiving than regular table salt and you can be generous with the amount of seasoning used.
- Chili powder – Chili powder is more of a spice blend than straight-up ground chili. It is mild to moderately spicy, depending on how much cayenne is in there, but it’s used more as a flavoring spice and not for adding heat. It’s usually a blend of savory spices such as cayenne, cumin, oregano, onions and garlic.
- Deglazing – After searing the chicken, there might be stuck-on browned bits at the bottom of the pan. We will be deglazing the pan with heavy cream. Scraping up the brown bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan and combining them with the cream sauce adds more color and a whole lot of flavor to the cream sauce.
- Heavy cream – You can usually get away with substituting heavy cream for half and half if you reduce the heat to very low so the sauce doesn’t curdle.
- Parsley – I used flat-leaf parsley but curly-leaf parsley works just as well.
- Servings – Chicken Lazone can comfortably serve 4-6 people with 2 chicken tenders per serving.
- Leftovers and reheating – Add a splash of milk if needed when reheating to loosen up the sauce again. You can heat leftovers over the stovetop or in the microwave. Try to minimize the amount of time reheating the chicken since it can become tough if overcooked.
Customize It!
- Spice it up – Add some spice with a little cayenne.
- Make it smoky – A dash or two of smoked paprika will really add some smoky undertones.
- Add more flavor – Crumbled bacon will go great with the cream sauce.
- Add some veggies – You can try some fresh sliced mushrooms or spinach to bulk up the dish a little. You might need to add more cream sauce to account for the added volume.
What to Serve with Chicken Lazone
Chicken Lazone pairs wonderfully with pasta – I used spaghetti in this recipe but almost all kinds of pasta will work. This dish also pairs well with mashed potatoes or something else starchy like rice – basically anything that will soak up all that cream sauce.
And that’s about it. Enjoy the meal and let me know how you liked it, what substitutions you made, or what you paired it with in the comments below.
This post was originally published on September 12, 2021 and updated on December 11, 2022.
MORE CREAMY CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
- Chicken Breasts in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- Creamy Ranch Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Did you make this recipe? Rate it!
♡ If you liked this recipe, giving it a star rating ★★★★★ in the comments below really helps! For more recipes, subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Chicken Lazone
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
This chicken Lazone recipe gives you a quick 30-minute dinner with pan-seared chicken tenders smothered in delicious buttery cream sauce.
Ingredients
-
2 lb. chicken tenders, unbreaded
-
4 tablespoons butter, divided
-
1 tablespoon olive oil
-
2 cups heavy cream
-
Salt and pepper, to taste
-
Parsley, to garnish (optional)
SPICE MIX
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the spice mix of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper and generously season both sides of the chicken tenders with it.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Sear the chicken tenders on both sides until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side. You will need to do this in batches. Remove chicken to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium, pour in heavy cream and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Scrape off any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer until the sauce has thickened and reduced, about 5-8 minutes.
- Return chicken and plate juices to skillet and simmer for another 2 minutes or until chicken is warmed through.
- Dish and serve hot over pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice topped with chopped fresh parsley (optional).
- Enjoy!
Notes
-
Spice it up – Add some spice with a little cayenne.
-
Make it smoky – A dash or two of smoked paprika will really add some smoky undertones.
-
Add more flavor – Crumbled bacon will go great with the cream sauce.
-
Add some veggies – You can try some fresh sliced mushrooms or spinach to bulk up the dish a little. You might need to add more cream sauce to account for the added volume.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Comments & Reviews
Tascama says
I tried it over stuffing (traditional with onion and celery baked in the oven). Very tasty.
MoLinda says
I added a sprinkle of beef broth powder to the sauce as well with some chopped onion and garlic. It worked out great! Thanks for the recipe!!
The Cooking Jar says
Great additions! I bet the onions are garlic added great flavor. Thank you for sharing.
Debbie says
I only have half and half. Will this work?
The Cooking Jar says
It should. I would mix in a tablespoon of flour or so to help it thicken up since half and half has a much thinner consistency than heavy cream. You could also add a cornstarch slurry at the end once the sauce starts to bubble.
Jennifer Y Miller says
This recipe for Chicken Lazone is delicious, with a depth of flavor. The chicken bites are tender too and the presentation came out like the photo.
The Cooking Jar says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for being the first to come back and let me know how it worked out.