One pan lemon butter chicken

Name: One pan lemon butter chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
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

February 8, 2019 by Alida Ryder 30 Comments

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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