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Dinner has never been easier. This completely delicious lemon butter chicken is great for a quick weeknight meal and only requires one pan!
Juicy chicken. Lemon butter sauce. These are a few of my favourite things. And I combined them in one recipe and let me tell you, it’s pretty freaking awesome. Plus it only requires ONE PAN. One pan lemon butter chicken, are you ready for this?
This easy recipe is one of our family favourites because it is so versatile. We love it with chicken breasts because that way we can have it with pasta, rice or with crusty bread to mop up all that lemon butter sauce. But chicken thighs work just as well. The sauce is very simple and involves everything that is right about food. Butter, garlic, wine, cream and fresh lemon. I mean, could we want anything more?
If you wanted to leave out the cream, I would replace it with a little plain yoghurt. Just be sure to taste as you go because the cream tempers the acidity and as yoghurt is acidic, you don’t want to add too much lemon. Otherwise, a milk and cornstarch (cornflour) slurry will also work, just be sure to cook it out so that the sauce is silky smooth. And that’s it. Crazy easy recipe, only one pan to clean and a sauce so good, you won’t be judged for licking your plate.
How to make one pan lemon butter chicken
Sear boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a hot pan until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan then add the butter and garlic. Cook until fragrant then pout in the wine and allow to reduce. Add the cream and lemon juice and allow to simmer for 5 minutes then add the chicken back into the sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked (the time depends on how thick the chicken breasts are). Add lemon slices and fresh parsley and serve.
Can I use chicken thighs instead?
Yes, you can. Any chicken pieces will work for this recipe, the cooking time will just need to be adjusted as bone-in pieces take longer to cook than chicken breasts.
Can I substitute the cream?
Yes, you can leave out the cream entirely and just cook the chicken in the lemon butter wine sauce. If you want creaminess without cream you can use a few tablespoons of plain yogurt, just be sure to not simmer the sauce too hard as the yogurt might split and also taste to make sure the sauce isn’t too acidic with the addition of yogurt. Alternatively you can mix a few teaspoons of cornstarch with water and add that to the sauce. It will thicken as well as add creaminess. Just be sure to cook the sauce out so that no flouriness remains.
What to serve with lemon butter chicken
- Crispy salt and pepper smashed potatoes
- Garlic Parmesan mashed potatoes
- Easy side salad with lemon dressing
- Almond, lemon and parsley pilaf rice
One pan lemon butter chicken
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts, depending on size and amount of people served
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup cream
- zest of ½ lemon
- juice of ½ lemon
- lemon slices, to serve
- parsley, to serve
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan/skillet, brown the chicken breasts on both sides and season generously.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Melt the butter in the pan then add the garlic then allow to cook for a minute before adding the white wine.
- Allow the wine to reduce and emulsify with the butter for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the cream, lemon juice and zest, season to taste then allow to come to a simmer and add the chicken breasts back in.
- Allow to simmer gently for 5-7 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and thickened slightly and the chicken is just cooked.
- Add the lemon slices and parsley and serve.
Nutrition
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Love the beer batter cauliflower.
Love this recipe. So easy and so delicious. My husband always has it with pasta but I like it just on its own with veggies. Great recipe.
Thanks Debbie! 🙂
My family and I loved this recipe. Great for quick weeknight dinners.
Great to hear, thanks Janette! 🙂
Looks so delicious.
Thanks Mary! 🙂
Served this with steamed broccoli and rice and it was a hit. Thanks for a great recipe.
Sounds delicious!
So tasty. Lemony buttery deliciousness.
So glad you liked it Sarah.
Perfect perfect recipe. Chicken was delicious and juicy and the sauce was great over rice.
Oh yay! We love it over here so it’s so great to know you enjoyed it too.
I loved this recipe, it packs a huge amount of flavour for such a quick cook. Made it with just lemony, garlicky spinach on the side to lighten up the cream.
That’s great to hear, thanks so much for your feedback Nicole! Love that you served it so simply with spinach. Perfect quick dinner.
Made it for dinner last night and since we’re gluten free, just served it with steamed broccoli and some roasted potatoes and it was a delicious dinner. Easy to make as well.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Erin!
The sauce was so delicious. Great recipe. Thank you.
Isn’t it? Thanks Joanne!
My family loved this chicken. My son had seconds and his wife asked for the recipe. Very tasty.
That’s great to hear. Thanks Joan!
I wonder what this would be like with pork?
I think it would be delicious! Pork chops or pork tenderloin/fillet would be great with this sauce.
I loved this recipe. I served it with steamed broccoli and some brown rice and it was perfect. I am going to meal prep it for the week ahead because the chicken was so juicy and delicious.
That’s a great idea! I love the idea of meal prepping it ahead.
My husband would love this dish Alida. I’d need to throw in some capers because he loves them. Will need to get this easy delicious delicious dish in our weeknight rotation.
Ooooh yes! Capers would give this a Piccata twist. Love it! 🙂
I’m making this for dinner tonight. Can’t wait!
I hope you loved it!