Lemon Butter Chicken

Published July 5, 2018. Updated February 10, 2020

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Lemon Butter Chicken is a must try recipe! I’m all about lemon chicken so when you add a butter pan sauce to the mix you know it’s going to be unbelievably tasty. And not only that this chicken is so easy to make and it will come together in no time, making it the perfect dish to serve any day of the week.  

Lemon Chicken in a skillet. Chicken cutlets are pan seared and golden brown and served in a rich butter sauce, garnished with parsley.

The Perfect Easy Lemon Chicken

I love that this recipe doesn’t require many ingredients yet it still yields amazingly flavorful end results, and it all thanks to that bright lemon and creamy butter. With this recipe you get perfectly tender, golden brown pan seared chicken breasts that are coated in that quick lemon pan sauce.

Want to see how easy this Lemon Butter Chicken Recipe is? Watch the video!

 

Chances are this is a recipe you’ll want on repeat! I love skillet chicken dinners, I mean when you’ve got time a roasted lemon chicken is a good option too but the simplicity of this recipe and that buttery sauce is what makes me favor this recipe more. I could eat that pan sauce by the spoonful!

Those browned bits from the bottom of the pan give it great depth of flavor and the chicken broth helps scrape those up while giving it a good pan sauce consistency. Then the lemon adds the perfect flavor pairing for chicken and the butter makes it nice and rich. You just need to try it!

Lemon butter chicken ingredients chicken olive oil salt pepper chicken broth flour lemon garlic parsley butter

Ingredients for this Lemon Chicken

  • Chicken breasts
  • Flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Butter
  • Garlic (if you love it feel free to add more!)
  • Chicken broth
  • Lemon
  • Parsley (which is totally optional)

The chicken breasts I used (pictured above) look big because I’ve already flattened them out but they we’re small to begin with, so be sure you are sticking with 4 small breasts or halving 2 large through their thickness.

Lemon Butter Chicken

How to Make Lemon Chicken

First you’ll pound the chicken breasts out until you’ve got fairly thin chicken cutlets. For a shortcut here you could buy thin cut chicken.

Then season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge each side in flour.

Lemon Butter Chicken

Heat the pan and melt olive oil and butter in pan. Add the chicken breasts and sear on both sides until golden brown and cooked through.

Lemon Butter Chicken

Transfer the chicken to a plate then saute the garlic. Pour in chicken broth then scrape up browned bits from the bottom (it gives it the best flavor!). Stir in lemon juice and bring mixture to a simmer, reduce heat slightly and let simmer until it’s reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Lemon Butter Chicken

Stir in the butter and lemon zest and melt butter through. Then return chicken to pan, spoon pan sauce over chicken breasts and sprinkle with parsley. Serve chicken warm. See, easy breezy, right?

lemon butter chicken

What to serve with Lemon Butter Chicken?

One of my go-to side dishes for chicken like so is steamed or roasted asparagus or broccoli, then I also like to serve it with orzo. Cauliflower rice would also be a good healthier alternative to the orzo. I love how that bit of extra sauce goes with the orzo, perfect match. Plus orzo is so lazy and easy.

Lemon Butter Chicken

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lemon butter chicken
4.98 from 133 votes

Lemon Butter Chicken

The easiest yet tastiest chicken recipe! Pan seared chicken breasts are coated with a bright, tangy and rich lemon butter sauce that will leave you craving more! Perfect recipe for busy weeknights. Serve with orzo and asparagus to complete the meal.
Servings: 4
Prep15 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.
  • Place flour in a shallow dish then dredge both sides of chicken breasts in flour, one at a time.
  • Heat 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter, let butter melt, then add in chicken breasts  in a single layer.
  • Sear until golden brown on bottom, about 4 - 5 minutes then flip and continue to cook until chicken registers 165 degrees in center, about 4 - 5 minutes longer.
  • Transfer chicken to a plate while leaving any little bit of excess oil in pan.
  • Reduce to medium heat, add garlic and saute 20 seconds, or until just lightly golden brown, then pour in chicken broth while scraping browned bits up.
  • Pour in lemon juice then bring mixture to a simmer, reduce heat slightly and let simmer until liquid has reduced by about half, about 2 minutes.
  • Add in remaining 3 Tbsp butter and lemon zest, stir to melt butter. 
  • Return chicken to skillet, spoon sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley. Serve warm.
  • Recipe source: inspired by my Lemon Butter Salmon

Notes

*2 (10 oz.) chicken breasts may be used instead. Then simply butterfly and halve the breasts (cut through the thickness of the 2 large breasts), to create 4.
Nutrition Facts
Lemon Butter Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 341 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 121mg40%
Sodium 176mg8%
Potassium 572mg16%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Protein 32g64%
Vitamin A 515IU10%
Vitamin C 8.3mg10%
Calcium 10mg1%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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210 Comments

  • Joe

    I love this! I make it for my family and they even asked for seconds!! It did take more than 30 mins because I messed up a couple of times.

  • Jackie

    Wanted to try I have always wanted to try lemon chicken but never had the time to make it finally I made it and it is so delicious I will make it over and over again the only difference is I added parmesan cheese to my flower he gave it a different taste and very very delicious. Thank you for the recipe

  • Susan

    This was great! I cut my chicken in strips because I was in a hurry after work. Everyone liked it. I will keep the recipe.

  • Mimi

    My husband and I both liked this recipe. Our chicken always comes in 14 oz boxes so I had to do some weird math with the recipe, but it turned out great. BIG punch of lemon!

    Before cooking, I read the comments and looked at the pictures, which did look a bit too liquid-y, so I prepared 1 scant teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with water and whisked that in. It was just the right texture.

    Next time I might add just a tiny bit of honey or sugar as well – not enough to make it Chinese-takeout-level sweet, but I think just a tad bit would complement the flavors well. Anyway, thanks!

  • Lori

    I made this for my husband who is basically a chef and he loved it. He said it was “terrific”. My teenage daughter loved it as well. Thanks!!

  • Carole B Strumsky

    After being prepared, can this recipe go into the FREEZER?
    Thanks in advance for taking time to answer :)

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I haven’t tested this so I couldn’t say for sure. It would probably keep just fine but the texture and taste won’t be quite as good.

  • Precious

    I just want to share that this is my picky daughter’s favorite recipe! Its a plus in my house, because when she eats, her younger brothers eat too! (They’re 8, 5 and 3.) I’ve made it at least 5 times. It is so delicious and easy to make! I shared your recipe with her class for her homework assignment. The students are learning about measurements, and had to do a recipe card. I shared your link so folks can find you!