This easy honey lemon chicken recipe has tender pan-fried chicken that's smothered in a sticky lemon and honey sauce. It's quick and uses everyday ingredients!
I'm always trying to come up with new ways to make boneless, skinless chicken breasts taste delicious. They're a reader favorite, and so I am always jotting down ideas when they come to me. Sometimes my ideas flop, but luckily this one turned out. I recently made a creamy honey mustard chicken recipe, and I guess I must still have honey on the brain since this recipe is now here!
This sticky honey lemon chicken doesn't have any cream, but it does have butter. Everything is better with butter IMO. Never were truer words spoken. Both the lemon and honey flavors shine in this recipe, and the sauce is pretty sweet. I have a sneaking suspicion that picky eaters would like this recipe. 😉
So, if you like that sweet-savory-tangy combination with melt-in-your-mouth chicken, the chances are fairly high that you will like this recipe.
How to make sticky honey lemon chicken
- Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you've got 4 thinner pieces. This helps the chicken cook more evenly and remain tender;
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with garlic powder and salt & pepper. Dredge each piece in flour;
- Cook the chicken in the butter and oil until golden on both sides;
- Add the sauce ingredients to the pan and finish cooking the chicken while the sauce thickens (about 5 minutes).
Pro tip: If you want to add a little zing, grate some fresh ginger into the sauce!
A few recipe notes:
- If you have a lemon zester, this recipe is really good with the zest of 1/2 a lemon added in. I use my handy Microplane grater/zester to do this.
- The sauce isn't meant to be super thick or syrupy in this recipe, but it will reduce and thicken up quite a bit while the chicken finishes cooking.
- A general cooking suggestion: I always try to err on the side of adding less rather than more flour to the plate/bowl for coating the chicken. You can always add more if needed, but you have to discard all the flour that you don't use. It's easy to overestimate the amount and waste flour.
What to serve with lemon honey chicken:
You can't go wrong with rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta. I would also serve this with a side of steamed veggies (try broccolini or green beans) or a salad.
Other easy chicken breast recipes you may like:
- Easy Creamy Lemon Chicken
- Easy Mongolian Chicken Recipe
- Easy Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
- Honey Ginger Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
- Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe
- Easy Chicken Piccata
- Lemon Butter Chicken
I hope you'll give this honey lemon glazed chicken recipe a try!
Questions? Ask me in the comments below.
Honey Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Flour for dredging
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Cut your chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have four thinner cutlets. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge them in flour so they're evenly coated.
- Add the oil and one tablespoon of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and cook it for 4-5 minutes/side or until golden. If it starts to splatter a lot, reduce the heat a bit.
- Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chicken broth, lemon juice, honey, and the rest of the butter. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and add the chicken back in.
- Cook the chicken for another 5 minutes or so (medium-high heat), until the sauce has reduced and thickened a bit and the chicken is fully cooked through. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Season with extra salt & pepper if needed.
Notes
- In most recipes, including this one, I use medium-to-large size chicken breasts. If you buy particularly small ones, you can probably skip the step of cutting them in half lengthwise - just ensure they're cooked through.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
John Half Cloak. says
I have some exceptional local honey.
It's not an ingredient that I use often. I also was given some wonderful Purdue chicken breasts. And since I have some fresh lemons , I thought honey lemon chicken. It's 1:25 pm est. Yours is the first recipe that I will try. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Natasha says
I love that! Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Jay McVicar says
I’ve made this several times and it is amazing! I doubled up on the sauce and used it over spaghetti and mashed potatoes. This time I paired it with rice and used 3 to 1 water and lemon juice just to marry the flavors.
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Jay
Natasha says
Fantastic!! 🙂 You're welcome, Jay!
Rachel says
This was amazing!! I roasted some cauliflower and asparagus to go with it and poured the sauce all over everything and it was incredible. And so so easy to make!! Thank you!
Natasha says
Fabulous!! 🙂
Mary says
What an amazing recipe! I actually used a 1 lb pkg of chicken tenderloins and pounded them a bit for uniform thickness. I followed your exact instructions (added the suggested ginger and doubled the sauce) - delicious!! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes:)
Natasha says
Thank you!! so glad you liked it!!
Wendy says
Hi. Looks great. I have bone in breast. How should I adjust the recipe? Should I finish in the oven?
Natasha says
Hi! Yeah, that might be a good idea. I'm just a bit concerned that the sauce may burn if you cook it in the oven for too long.
Wendy Wallner says
Maybe I’ll try to reverse it and oven roast at first and then finish in the pan! That way the sauce won’t be in the oven I’ll give it a try
Natasha says
Yes!
Madeleine Fuchs says
Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe.
Natasha says
You're very welcome!!
Sadhbh Lynch says
Hello! How many calories would you say would be in each serving?
Thanks!
Natasha says
Hi! I just added it for you. Please keep in mind it's an estimate (it'll vary depending on chicken breast size, how much flour sticks to the chicken, etc.).
Desiree Khan says
Do you have video of this and aside from chicken breast can I also use different part?
Natasha says
Hi! You could certainly use chicken thighs instead. I don't have a video for this particular recipe - sorry.
Colton says
New to cooking, but can I use a saucepan instead of a frying pan? Very excited to try this recipe!
Natasha says
How big is your saucepan? If you think it'll fit all the chicken pieces, then why not. 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Brietta Vasser says
Very good! The only thing I did differently is add minced onion and minced garlic to the sauce. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Natasha says
You're very welcome!
AngelaML says
Thank you Natasha, another hit! This was very easy and nice and light. I've made now about 5 of your pan fried chicken recipes so have that part down pat. Loved this, as did the family too!
Thank you so much for giving me so many easy and delicious recipes to help us get through COVID. It helps so much to know I can feed the family (something I can control).
Natasha says
That's awesome!! So happy it was a hit... and you're very welcome.
Tracey says
This chicken dish was not only crazy easy but unbelievably good!! I did double the sauce recipe and had it on top of basmati rice!! I've shared this recipe with all my friends and family!!
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear you liked it! And thanks for sharing! 🙂
Tara says
Really delicious, made this from my family and even my sister who’s very picky loved it .
Natasha says
I'm so glad to hear that, Tara!
Sindy says
Beautiful, will be making again, ahead for my family while I'm in hospital.. Is it freezable?
Natasha says
So glad you liked it! I think you could freeze it... but the sauce may kinda disappear as it thaws. Maybe double the sauce? And make sure they warm it on a low heat. Reheated chicken can go dry/tough. Good luck in the hospital. 🙂 XO
India says
Wow! This was crazy good I was not expecting it to be THAT good. I soaked my chicken breasts in buttermilk for two hours prior. I cooked the halved breasts 4 minutes on each side. Doubled the sauce recipe because everyone said it was so good. simmered for 10 minutes then I put chicken breasts in and simmered for ten minutes more. INCREDIBLE!!!!
Natasha says
I'm so glad it was a hit! Love the buttermilk idea.
Anastasia says
Can't wait to try this for tomorrow's dinner! Thank you! You did it again! #inspiration
How would you season rice to pair so it's not so bland?
Natasha says
Hope you enjoy it!! Hmmm... I guess I never thought of rice as bland haha. I like it as-is (but salted well or made with chicken broth instead of water), but I'm sure there's plenty of dressed up rice recipes out there (unfortunately none on my blog at this time!).
Raquel Green says
I make a easy Parmesan “risotto” right that I made with this chicken tonight and it was amazing! Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a pot/sauce pan as well as some garlic (I use a lot because we love garlic), let that sauté until fragrant and then pour 1 cup of uncooked rice it. Stir it all together until the rice is all coated and 1 cup of milk/heavy cream and 1 cup of water. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down on low/simmer heat. Once the liquid absorbs a little, put the cheese in (again as much to your liking) and salt and pepper. Let it cook a little longer until all liquid is absorbed and cheese it melted. Parsley is optional. I hope you enjoy!
Natasha says
Ooh sounds good to me! Thanks for sharing!
Ilene says
Super yum! Amazing flavor! I will definitely make it again. Family approved.
Natasha says
So happy to hear that!
KatieMae says
Chicken came out perfect! So good and easy. Next time i would up the lemon, honey & chick broth because the sauce was SO GOOD 🙂
Natasha says
Wonderful! So glad it was a hit! XO
Liz says
What can I do if I don’t have chicken broth?
Natasha says
Do you have a bouillon/stock cube by chance? You could use water, but it won't be quite as flavorful. Make sure to add plenty of salt.
Jessica says
HI! I'm new to your recipies (via this one) and it was just scrumptious! Just curious, what are the green bits in your photo? Dried parsley?
We had it last night with rice and my husband added some soy sauce to his, which was a great addition. Next time I will pay more attention and not let the sauce reduce down quite as much so there is more of it -- I could have licked the pan it was so good.
Looking forward to eating the leftovers tonight!
Natasha says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jessica!! It’s a bit of fresh chopped parsley if I recall. Mostly so the photos look better haha. ♥️
Nicole says
If making for a crowd would browning the chicken on the stovetop and then adding to a large pan with the rest of the ingredients and finishing in the oven work?
Natasha says
I think that would work fine! Hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know how it goes. ♥️
Doug Barton says
Another excellent recipe Natasha. Your recipes are truly fabulous and tick all the boxes of easy, quick and delicious, something many others claim but few manage to live up to. By far my favourite recipe site. Thanks again Natasha.
Natasha says
Aww so happy you enjoy my recipes, Doug! Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. 🙂
Courtney says
OMG!!!!!! So delicious and easy! All my kiddos (6 year old and twin 11 month olds) loved this soooo much. This is my second recipe this week from you and I’m hooked 😀😀
Natasha says
I am soo happy that everyone liked it! 🙂
America says
OMG!!!! So easy and good, thanks for the great recipes 🙂
Natasha says
You're very welcome! 😀
Sara Rodriguez says
New favorite chicken recipe! Made it for my fiancé and I and we both loved the flavor so much. Definitely will be making this recipe again!
Natasha says
Excellent... I am so pleased you guys liked it! 😀
Sarah says
Just made this and it was phenomenal! I love the simplicity of the recipes and how delicious they are!
Natasha says
Fantastic! Thanks, Sarah! 🙂
Gail says
Sooooo good. Made it with boneless skinless thighs. Made a little extra sauce and cooked just a bit longer. Will make again!!!
Natasha says
That's great! So glad you liked it, Gail.
Anita says
Yummy😋 Made this tonight and it was so good!! And quick and easy! Definitely going to be a go to in our household! I’ll be trying more recipes very soon.
Natasha says
So happy to hear it, Anita! ❤️❤️
Shelby says
I made this for my boyfriend and I tonight and it was amazing! There was so much flavor and the chicken was very tender. We paired it with mashed potatoes and I will definitely be making this again!
Natasha says
Soo happy you liked it, Shelby! Thanks for leaving me a comment. ❤️😊