The first time I tried Chicken Bryan at Carrabba’s Italian Grill, I was immediately captivated by the combination of flavors. Sitting at the counter facing their open kitchen, I watched the chef expertly grill the chicken, then topped it with creamy goat cheese before drizzling it with that incredible lemon-basil butter sauce. With my first bite, I knew I had to learn how to recreate this dish at home. After numerous attempts and tweaks, I’ve finally perfected my copycat version that rivals the restaurant original – and now I’m sharing it with you!
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Next time you want a restaurant-style chicken dinner without leaving home, make this extraordinary copycat Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan recipe. It features tender chicken drenched in a lemon-basil wine sauce and topped with tangy goat cheese, creating an irresistible meal that’s ready in just 30 minutes.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Dish So Special?
It’s not any single component that makes Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan so exceptional, but rather the harmonious layering of flavors and textures. The perfectly grilled chicken provides a smoky foundation, while the tangy goat cheese adds creaminess and depth. The real magic, however, happens in the sauce – a delicate balance of white wine, fresh lemon juice, butter, and aromatic herbs.
At Carrabba’s, the open kitchen concept allows you to watch your food being prepared while inhaling its tempting aromas. With this recipe, you’ll bring that same sensory experience into your own kitchen, creating an impressive dish that looks and tastes like it came from a professional kitchen.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this copycat Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan recipe:
- Chicken breasts – The foundation of our dish that becomes tender and juicy when pounded thin and grilled
- Salt – Enhances all the flavors in the dish and helps season the chicken properly
- Black pepper – Adds a mild heat and complexity that complements the tangy sauce
- Extra virgin olive oil – Creates a beautiful sear on the chicken and adds a subtle fruity flavor
- Goat cheese – Provides a creamy, tangy counterpoint to the smoky chicken and bright sauce
- Butter – Creates the rich, velvety texture of the sauce and adds depth of flavor
- Dry white wine – Adds acidity and complexity to the sauce while helping to deglaze the pan
- Lemon juice – Brings brightness and citrus notes that cut through the richness of the butter and cheese
- Chopped white onions – Create a savory foundation for the sauce with their aromatic sweetness
- Chopped garlic – Adds a pungent depth that mellows as it cooks in the butter
- Fresh basil leaves – Contribute a herbaceous, slightly sweet note that’s essential to the dish’s signature flavor
- Sun-dried tomatoes – Add a concentrated umami sweetness and beautiful color contrast
For a non-alcoholic option, substitute the white wine with chicken broth.
How to make Chicken Bryan
Here are the simple steps for making Carrabba’s Copycat Chicken Bryan recipe:
- Cover chicken with plastic wrap and pound it to make it thin. Pat dry.
- Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill chicken for 3-4 mins on each side until cooked. Place it on a plate and cover it with plastic wrap.
- Slice and shape goat cheese into disks, which you can later place on each chicken piece.
- Saute onions and garlic in butter over medium heat until fragrant. Add wine and lemon juice. Reduce heat to simmer and reduce the liquid by half. Add three tablespoons of cold butter and whisk until melted.
- Turn off the burner, add the remaining butter, and whisk until the sauce thickens. Strain sauce to remove onions and garlic, return to pan, add half of the basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
- Place chicken breast on a plate, top with goat cheese and sauce, and sprinkle the remaining basil over it.
What to serve this dish with
Just like at Carrabba’s Italian Grill, you can serve this terrific dish with sides like sauteed spinach, grilled asparagus, mashed potatoes, or parmesan truffle fries! I also enjoy this with a simple side salad or Caesar salad when I want something lighter to accompany it.
Carrabbas Chicken Bryan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast (4 portions)
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped white onion
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 8 tablespoons butter divided use
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons basil thinly sliced
- 8 ounces goat cheese sliced into 4 disks
Instructions
- Wrap the chicken in plastic wrap and pound until thin. Remove the chicken from the plastic wrap and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil.
- Grill the chicken for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Transfer the grilled chicken to a plate and cover lightly with plastic wrap.
- Sauté the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter until the onions are translucent. Add the wine and lemon juice and reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir gently until reduced by half. Add 3 tablespoons of cold butter and whisk until the butter has melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
- Pour the sauce through a strainer to remove the onions and garlic. Return the sauce to the pan. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and half of the basil and stir.
- Place each chicken breast on a plate. Place a piece of goat cheese on the chicken and then spoon the sauce over the chicken. Top each chicken breast with the remaining basil.
Video
Nutrition
Storage and Reheating Tips
- Make-Ahead Components: The sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and gently reheated. Just wait to add the fresh basil until serving time.
- Refrigeration: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheating: For best results, place the chicken in a baking dish, cover with foil (to prevent drying), and warm in a 350°F oven until heated through (about 10-15 minutes). If the sauce has separated, gently whisk it back together while warming it separately.
Love Carrabbas? Check out these copycat recipes!
- Carrabbas Soups – Sausage Lentil
- Mussels Bianca
- Carrabba’s Dipping Sauce
More Italian food recipes
- Homemade Italian Sausage Recipe
- Canning Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
- Recipe for Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Crab Fettuccine Alfredo
- Shrimp Pasta with White Wine Sauce
- Red Lobster’s Shrimp Scampi Recipe
- Chicken Romano Pasta Recipe
- Pasta with Artichoke Hears and Capers
- How to Make Alfredo Sauce Creamy
- Uno’s Pizza
Check out more of my restaurant copycat recipes and easy homemade Italian food.
There’s something magical about recreating restaurant favorites at home. Not only do you save money, but you also gain the satisfaction of mastering a beloved dish in your kitchen. This Chicken Bryan recipe delivers all the rich flavors and impressive presentation of Carrabba’s signature dish but with the comfort and convenience of home cooking. Whether preparing a special date night dinner or wanting to elevate your weeknight meal rotation, this recipe proves that restaurant-quality food is achievable in your kitchen. With its perfect balance of tangy, buttery, herbaceous, and savory elements, this dish will quickly become a favorite in your recipe collection.
Adam
At Carrabba’s we don’t strain out the onions and garlic. Also add salt and white pepper to the onion and wine mixture. Last tip that everyone missed in their copy cat recipe is heavy whipping cream. Once the onions, garlic, white wine and lemon juice have reduced to an oatmeal like consistency. You want to had heavy whipping cream. Stir that in and then add your cold butter slowly. Remember this sauce is very fragile as a leftover and will break in a heartbeat if you reheat to fast.
Judy J
I made the sauce ahead of time and it was not good and separated. The tomatoes got leathery.
Stephanie Manley
When making a butter wine sauce, the emulsion can break if heated too quickly. If the butter is overheated or the sauce is boiled, the fat molecules in the butter can separate from the liquid, causing the sauce to break.
To prevent a butter wine sauce from breaking, it’s essential to heat the ingredients slowly and stir constantly. It’s also a good idea to remove the pan from the heat periodically to prevent the sauce from getting too hot. If the sauce does break, you can try to save it by whisking in a small amount of cold butter or cream, which can help to re-emulsify the sauce.
Hef
I followed recipe, sauce never thickened after adding the butter. I hated throwing away the garlics and onions
Stephanie Manley
You most likely needed to turn up the heat a bit more to help the sauce thicken.
Adam
Do not strain the onions and garlic out. Carrabba’s leaves them in. Add a few tablespoons of heavy whipping cream just like Carrabba’s does once the onion and wine mixture has reached an oatmeal like consistency. Then reduce heat to low and whisk in cold butter a few knobs at a time until it’s all melted in. Watch your heat.
Megan
DO you think Vermouth would work for the sauce? Also, did you use Sundried tomatoes in oil? Can’t wait to try this as it’s my favorite thing on the menu there.
Stephanie Manley
Vermouth would work well in a pinch.
SA Mattthews
Can you substitute anything else for goat cheese? I never have goat cheese on hand!
Stephanie Manley
I think you could swap it for cream cheese.
Real American
Don’t be obtuse. This is a dish at Carrabba’s, if you don’t like it don’t make it!
SR
No need to be a d*ck. It was a simple question. Grow up.
Susan
This recipe is spot on! Tastes just like Carrabbas Chicken Bryan, which is by far my absolute favorite restaurant dish! My husband loved it, and my 22 year old son said “this is my new favorite thing to put on mashed potatoes” which is a HUGE compliment, lol.
I made it exactly as written, but doubled the sauce, and it was perfect! Thanks so much for posting this!
Britany
Made this recipe for the first time last night and it is phenomenal! The chicken Bryan is my favorite dish at carrabba’s and due to covid we haven’t been in a while. I choose a dry chardonnay with vanilla notes that complemented the cheese perfectly…..the only difference I made in preparing the recipe(other than doubling the amount of sauce I prepared) is when cooking at home, I prefer oven baked proteins. So I prepared the sauce exactly the way the directions say up to the point where you add cold butter. I seasoned a couple beautiful chicken breast and once the sauce hit room temperature I poured it over the chicken and added the tomatoes, basil, and the cold butter and popped it in the oven at 250 for one hour……the flavor of the sauce baked right into the chicken and I’m telling you, it was exactly what I’ve been craving. I will for sure be making this again!
Stephanie
I am so glad this recipe hit the spot! Loved your take on the recipe.
Shaun
So you didn’t pre bake the chicken or did you? I’m thinking I should bake the chicken also.
Alyssa
As someone who used to work at Carrabba’s, I am looking forward to trying this! I love food so much that I was even a taste tester for a few years. Thank you for this recipe, as I think it looks pretty dang close…the pounding chicken is the only thing they didn’t do when I worked there, but I will try it out. While working there, I loved ordering this, but I had them using these toppings with the style of chicken from Pollo Rosa Maria! Mmmmm…
Cassie
This is my go to for many years. I love this recipe and am making some tonight with fresh basil from my garden I grew just for this!! My only variation is white wine vinegar instead of wine because we don’t ever get wine.
Stephanie
Vinegar works because it’s replacing the acid that is in the wine.
Kat
If I made extra sauce, how long do you think it could be kept in the fridge? Do you think the sauce would reheat well?
Stephanie
This sauce may not reheat well, it make break, I would just make the sauce portion of the recipe when you wanted some.
Scott Smith
I made this tonight and it was spot on Carrabba’s. It was rather time consuming to prepare the reduction while putting together a full meal but definitely worth the extra effort. Thank you very much for the recipe.
Stephanie
I am glad you enjoyed it.
Jamie Becker
Wow that was delish!!! I added about a tablespoon of cream because why not!!! Very easy to make and I will be making again very soon!!!
Ella Nihan
I made this last night for hubbie and guest and we all loved it. I can usually look at a recipe and tell if it’s going to be good and it was great. We freq. Carrabbas and they said it was better then Carrabbas!
Stephanie
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Beverly Johnson
I had this at Carrabbas just last week.LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!! Can’t wait to try this at home. But I’m wondering how I can marinate the chicken before cooking it. I think the flavor of Carrabbas comes from a combination of marinating and grilling. Any suggestions?
Kevin Aponte
Im trying this tonight. wish me luck! 😛
Fc
What is a good wine to use
stephaniemanley
I would use an inexpensive Chardonnay.