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Lemon Butter Chicken

Published: / Updated: / 43 Comments

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This lemon butter chicken recipe is fast and makes the best dinner. Tender chicken is pan-fried and coated in the easiest, most delicious lemon butter sauce!

cast iron skillet with lemon butter chicken and lemon slices

I'm hoping this recipe will become a new weeknight favorite of yours. It's ready in about 20 minutes - not bad! This recipe is quite similar to chicken piccata, but there's no capers in this lemon chicken skillet recipe.

Lemons and butter. One of life's best combos. 😉

How to make lemon butter chicken

The chicken is quickly sprinkled with some garlic powder and salt & pepper, then coated in flour and fried until golden on both sides. I prefer to cut the chicken in half lengthwise (to make thinner cutlets) because it allows the chicken to cook faster without drying it out.

And making lemon butter chicken sauce is simple. After pan-frying the chicken, you deglaze the pan with butter, chicken broth, and lemon juice. No fancy ingredients in here. You finish cooking the chicken in the sauce, and voilà - dinner is served!

This dish has a bright lemon flavor, partially because I use a fair bit of lemon juice, but I also love to add some lemon zest. The zest isn't strictly necessary, but it's one of my favorite things to add to a dish to really make the flavors pop.

close-up of chicken breasts with a lemon butter sauce in a cast iron skillet

What to serve with this dish

Serve this chicken with pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes, or go low-carb with some veggies  (try my Easy Roasted Green Beans) and/or a salad.

More easy lemon chicken recipes:

chicken in a cast iron skillet with a lemon butter sauce

Let me know if you've made this easy chicken recipe!

Questions? Ask me in the comments below. 🙂

This lemon butter chicken recipe is quick, easy, and totally delicious. This recipe has a wonderfully tangy savory sauce and melt-in-your-mouth chicken breast.

Lemon Butter Chicken

This lemon butter chicken recipe is fast and makes the best dinner. Tender chicken is pan-fried and coated in the easiest, most delicious lemon butter sauce!
5 from 12 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 188 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 

  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Flour for dredging
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter divided
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice + zest of 1/2 lemon
  • Chopped fresh parsley optional, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Cut your chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have thinner cutlets. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge them in flour so they're nicely coated.
  • Add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken cutlets and cook them for 4-5 minutes/side or until they're nice and golden. Take them out of the pan and set aside.
  • Add the chicken broth, lemon juice + zest, and remaining butter to the pan and let it bubble for a couple of minutes.
  • Add the chicken back in and cook for another few minutes until it's cooked through and the sauce is further reduced. Season with salt & pepper as needed and sprinkle the fresh parsley over top if using.

Notes

  • If you buy particularly small chicken breasts, you can 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 188kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 13gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 242mgPotassium: 231mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.3gVitamin A: 280IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.4mg
Keyword lemon butter chicken, skillet lemon chicken recipe
Author Natasha Bull
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  1. Hunter says

    I can’t wait to make this! Hopefully I don’t mess this one up lol! Also hope it impress this certain someone!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Just added it for ya. Keep in mind it's just an estimate and will vary depending on size of chicken breasts, etc. Hope you like the recipe!

      Reply

  3. Alex B says

    5 stars
    I love this recipe! I made it with broccoli florets - added them for a few minutes in the sauce on a lower temp before adding the chicken back in at the end. Also made penne and added some of the pasta water before draining. So good! Everyone said I could make this one again!

    Reply

  5. Rabia Cariem says

    5 stars
    We’ve made this twice already, my family loves this dish! It’s delicious! Not often that I make a dish that suits everyone’s taste, but if my kids love it, then it’s definitely great!

    Reply

  8. Teresa says

    5 stars
    This is my husband favorite. I always ask him what he wants for dinner and he says that lemon chicken. Lol so the new name for this is “that lemon chicken”. Lol

    Reply

  12. Amy Lai says

    Can't wait to make this for my husband, who loves lemon chicken. And we have ripe Meyer lemons from our tree. Thanks, Natasha, I am glad I discovered you.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Sherry! I only include nutritional info on select recipes, and even then it’s just calories. It takes me a while to calculate it (I don’t just plug it into a calculator because that’s usually totally inaccurate). A lot of the nutritional info on recipes online is way off. I don’t want to mislead readers. If you want nutritional info, I suggest using an online calculator but entering the exact weight of the chicken you used and reading the labels of the exact ingredients you used. That’ll give you a much better idea than me guessing on chicken weight and such.

      Reply