This lemon garlic chicken recipe is creamy, dreamy and the perfect dish to impress anyone! You’ll want to lick your plate clean.
If there’s one recipe that’s a sure hit in our house, it’s creamy chicken. And this one is an absolute family favorite: try this creamy lemon garlic chicken! The chicken is coated in spices and pan fried until tender and juicy, then topped with a quick pan sauce made with lemon, garlic and a little cream. It wows everyone, whether you’re cooking to impress or just whipping up a weeknight meal. (This one is on repeat in our house!)
What you need for lemon garlic chicken
This creamy lemon garlic chicken recipe is simple to put together in a skillet. The basic idea is to take chicken cutlets, season them and pan fry them for a few minutes, then make a simple creamy sauce with lemon and garlic.
- Protein: Boneless skinless chicken cutlets or breasts
- Spices: Oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Pantry: Olive oil, garlic
- Dairy: Butter, milk, heavy cream
- Fresh ingredients: Lemon, parsley (for garnish)
- Equipment: Large skillet
- Time: 25 minutes
A note on serving size
This recipe makes 4 modest servings, so if you’ve got very hungry eaters or more people to food, consider making 1.5 times or double the recipe. If so, use a very large skillet and pan-fry the chicken in batches.
How to butterfly chicken
For this lemon garlic chicken, you’ll want to buy chicken breasts that are already butterflied into cutlets or butterfly it yourself. Why? Chicken breasts are often very thick, making them tricky to cook evenly. Slicing the chicken breast in half horizontally (butterflying it) makes thinner pieces that cook more evenly, are easier to eat, and are better seasoned.
You can buy a chicken breast already butterflied, which is marked on the package as butterflied or “cutlets”. If you buy regular chicken breasts, you can butterfly them yourself! Here’s what to do:
- Place your hand over the top of the chicken breast.
- Use a sharp knife to carefully slice the breast horizontally, leaving the edge intact so it can open up like a book (or butterfly!).
- Unfold the chicken breast like a book, then for cutlets, cut along the fold to separate the two halves (each half is a cutlet). To make evenly thick chicken, you can cover the chicken with plastic wrap and lightly pound the chicken with a mallet or heavy pan to make it even (we did not do that for this recipe).
Buy organic chicken if possible
The best chicken to buy is organic chicken. Per the USDA, organic chicken is raise in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviors (like the ability to graze on pasture), fed 100% organic feed and forage, and not administered antibiotics or hormones.
Buying organic chicken makes sure that it is the highest quality meat that was raised sustainably, and it is also free of chemicals and additives! It’s both the healthiest and tastiest option for eating.
Sides to make it a meal
This lemon garlic chicken makes a fast and easy dinner, paired with some easy side dish recipes! Here are some tasty side dishes that are simple to whip up alongside this chicken:
- Salads like Best Chopped Salad, Apple Salad, Kale Salad, Caesar Salad, Easy Arugula Salad or Bell Pepper Salad
- Quick vegetables like Peas with Lemon, Green Beans Almondine, Haricot Verts, Sauteed Broccolini, or Pan Fried Broccoli
- Grains or pasta like Easy Couscous, Lemon Rice, Pesto Rice, Easy Lemon Orzo, or Seasoned Quinoa
More easy chicken recipes
Let us know in the comments below what you think of this chicken recipe. Our kids love it, and it always impresses at a dinner party! Here are a few more easy chicken recipes you’ll love:
- Go for Baked Chicken Thighs or Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Make Chicken Enchiladas with shredded chicken
- Whip up Grilled Chicken, Pesto Chicken or Rotisserie Chicken
- If you don’t have a lemon, make Creamy Garlic Chicken
This lemon garlic chicken recipe is…
Gluten-free.
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Lemon Garlic Chicken
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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Total Time: 25 minutes
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Yield: 4
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This lemon garlic chicken recipe is creamy, dreamy and the perfect dish to impress anyone! You’ll want to lick your plate clean.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 4 cutlets (about 1 pound, organic if possible)*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup milk
- Zest of 1/2 lemon plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon slices for garnish
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. If using breasts, slice them in half horizontally (if you bought cutlets, skip this step). Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until browned on both sides. When the internal temperature is 165°F, or the center is no longer pink, remove to a plate.
- Melt the butter in the same pan over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant. Add the cream, milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring and scraping, until thickened slightly. Return the chicken to the pan and warm each side for 1 minute. Serve immediately, with sauce spooned over. If desired, garnish with finely chopped fresh parsley and lemon slices.
Notes
*This recipe makes 4 modest servings, so if you’ve got very hungry eaters or more people to food, consider making 1.5 times or double the recipe. If so, use a very large skillet and pan-fry the chicken in batches.
Category: Main dish
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Chicken- Diet: Gluten Free
Keywords: Lemon garlic chicken, garlic lemon chicken
