Crispy, tender chicken drenched in a delectable sauce, Creamy Lemon Chicken Breast look AND taste like a restaurant meal but it’s homemade!
I am ALWAYS looking for new chicken recipes for dinner and Creamy Lemon Chicken Breast is are one of my family’s new favorite recipes. Cooked to crispy perfection in a skillet, tender chicken breasts are soaked in a delicious lemon sauce that is legitimately mouthwatering. Let me be the first to tell you, creamy lemon sauce for chicken is dinner perfection. I know you’ll be making this recipe over and over again!
There is something so irresistible about the combination of lemon and chicken. The tangy sweetness of a lemon sauce spooned over a tender chicken breast? It’s simple, elegant dinner perfection. Lemon Chicken Piccata is always one of my go-to meals, but I wanted to elevate it a little further (and skip the capers… my sons won’t touch them haha).
So, I decided to add some cream to my lemon chicken sauce, and BOOM! We’ve got the most perfect creamy lemon chicken recipe EVER. I mean seriously, the crispy, golden pan-seared chicken smothered in a creamy lemon sauce… it’s just so good.
Now that we’ve replaced those capers, my boys are begging for creamy lemon chicken at least once a week. I’m more than happy to make this dish as often as they want. It’s SO easy to make, it looks restaurant quality, and it tastes like an award-winning chef cooked it!
Ingredients
To make this elegant (but super easy) creamy lemon chicken, you’ll need some very simple ingredients:
Chicken – To feed my hungry family of four, I use 2 large chicken breasts. You’ll want them split in half and then pounded thin so that each breast is even. You could also buy 4 thin-cut chicken breasts to save a little prep time.
Seasoning – Of course, any good chicken breast recipe needs an excellent seasoning combination, right? For creamy lemon garlic chicken, you’ll be dredging your chicken in a mixture of onion powder, minced garlic, flour, and salt & pepper.
Sauce – In order to create a rich and tangy lemon sauce, you’ll need butter, heavy cream, lemon juice, and chicken broth. Believe me when I say, this sauce is what dreams are made of!
If you really want to boost the lemon flavor, you can add 1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest to the sauce along with the heavy cream.
How to make Creamy Lemon Chicken
To make this restaurant-quality dinner all you need is 45 minutes and a skillet – what are you waiting for???
STEP ONE: Prepare the boneless skinless chicken breasts. Split each breast in half (lengthwise) and pound to an even thickness. (I use the flat side of a meat mallet, but a rolling pin would work too.) Even breasts will ensure that they all cook at the same rate!
SETP TWO: Mix together all your seasonings and flour in a bowl shallow enough to dredge your chicken in. Now dip the chicken in the flour/seasoning mixture to coat both sides. Be sure to shake off any excess flour.
STEP THREE: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side until they get a beautiful golden crust. Once the chicken is done cooking, remove it to a plate and set that aside while you work on the lemon cream sauce.
STEP FOUR: Without cleaning the bottom of the pan (you want all those yummy drippings), melt the butter and add the garlic in the same skillet used for the chicken. Stir until fragrant. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice and let these cook for a minute or so almost bringing it to a simmer. Add in the heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes.
SETP FIVE: Add the chicken to the pan again and allow it to cook in the sauce for another 2 minutes. The flour from the chicken should thicken the sauce a little. Serve warm with lemon slices on the chicken and add chopped parsley for garnish.
If you want to really finish out your meal, make it a creamy lemon chicken pasta night! Simply cook up a pot of your favorite pasta while your chicken is cooking. Serve your chicken on top of a bed of pasta covered in delicious creamy lemon sauce! It’s a complete, decadent meal that you’d find on the menu at your favorite Italian restaurant!
What does lemon juice do to chicken?
While many people think that marinating chicken breasts overnight is the best way to do it, I’m here to tell you differently. ESPECIALLY don’t do that if you’re using any sort of citrus in your marinade. I’ve done my fair share of citrusy marinades in my time (like my favorite citrus marinade and tequila lime chicken), the ideal marinating time is just about 3 hours.
If you let the chicken breasts marinate in lemon juice for more than 6 hours, the citric acid will start to actually “cook” the chicken as if it were in ceviche. Then when you actually get around to cooking it, your chicken breasts are tough… and nobody wants to eat tough chicken. So whether you’re making lemon pepper chicken or this delicious creamy lemon chicken, make sure you don’t over-marinate!
Need more easy (but DELICIOUS) family meals?
- Cheesy Skillet Ranch Chicken Thighs
- Creamy Chicken Florentine
- Spinach Stuffed Chicken
- Crock Pot Pork Chops
- Crock Pot Lemon Italian Chicken with Capers
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Fresh parsley finely chopped, for garnish
- Lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Then place a breast piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and use a meat tenderizer to pound into an even thickness. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- In a shallow bowl, mix together the flour, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Coat each chicken piece in the seasoned flour and shake off any excess.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
- To the same skillet, add the butter, Once melted add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken broth and lemon juice and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream, stir to combine, and cook for 2 minutes until warmed through.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes to warm the chicken. The coating on the chicken will help thicken the sauce a little.
- Serve warm garnished with chopped parsley and lemon slices. Drizzle more sauce over the dop or serve on the side so everyone can add as much sauce as they like.
KJ says
OMG….This dish is delicious! Seriously! Easy to make and easy to make smiles during dinner! Thank you for this recipe!