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
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!
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.
Recipe 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.
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. ❤️😊