I’m coming at you today with a lemon butter chicken recipe that you are just going to love! It starts with parmesan and flour dusted chicken breasts that we’ll sauté in a little olive oil while we make our lemon butter sauce. And then we’ll bring it all together with green beans, and before you know it, you’ll be hollering for the family to come down for dinner because this thing comes together in. a. flash. Quick dinners are my spirit animal.
If today’s recipe looks a little familiar to you, it’s because it’s a new take on my previously shared honey lemon chicken. I swapped out the honey for more garlic and herbs and added a little parmesan to the chicken breasts so that they get all those nice crispy bits when we saute them in olive oil. It’s no secret that easy dinners are my favorite things to make. Have you made my one skillet chicken with lemon garlic cream sauce? Or balsamic tomato baked chicken? Do you see it’s a pattern? I’m always testing new chicken recipes to share with you guys. In fact, I’ve got another couple good ones coming down the pipeline here in the next few weeks. I’m just glad to see that you guys happen to love easy weeknight dinner recipes as much as we do! Easy prep. Easy cleanup. Flavorful meals. Check, check, and check.
Ingredients to make lemon butter chicken:
all-purpose flour grated parmesan olive oil seasonings chicken breasts lemon slices green beans
Will chicken thighs work?
Yes, you can swap the boneless, skinless chicken breasts for chicken thighs here. Just be sure to use the same amount of chicken required.
Is this gluten-free?
No, but you can make it gluten-free! Just swap the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free 1-1 baking mix or use regular old cornstarch! Either will do the trick!
How to make pan-seared chicken breasts:
Combine the flour, parmesan, seasonings, salt, and pepper in a shallow baking dish. Coat each side of the chicken breast in the flour mixture and add it to a hot pan with olive oil. Allow the chicken to cook for 4-6 minutes on each side before trying to flip it. You want to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through if you’re unsure, I suggest testing it with a meat thermometer.
Ingredients for lemon butter sauce:
lemon juice minced or pressed garlic red pepper flakes Italian seasoning cold butter, cut into small pieces
How to make lemon butter chicken sauce
We’ll start by heating the lemon juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, and seasoning in a small saucepan. Reduce the lemon juice until you’ve got roughly three tablespoons remaining, this shouldn’t take more than 1-2 minutes. Then, slowly add the butter a little bit at a time, swirling the saucepan to help the butter melt. I like to do this while the chicken is browning, it doesn’t take more than 5 minutes!
How does the butter thicken the sauce?
Have you made my garlic butter baked salmon in foil? If you have, we’re using the same technique to thicken it up. You don’t need flour or cornstarch. The key is to let the lemon juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning simmer until it reduces a bit. Then, we’ll slowly add cold pats of butter a little bit at a time to help the sauce thicken. This will take a few minutes but what you get it a zingy lemon butter sauce that’s restaurant quality. The key is to use cold butter. The sauce won’t thicken properly if your butter is room temperature or melted!
What other veggies can I use?
Sure! You can swap the green beans for sliced zucchini or asparagus if you’d like.
What to serve with lemon butter chicken:
mashed potatoes the best brussels sprouts zucchini and corn saute twice baked potato casserole superfood broccoli salad roasted garlic Italian couscous salad rosemary focaccia stuffed squash with curried couscous salad
