Make this easy creamy lemon chicken tonight! It’s a delicious and comforting chicken dinner that everyone in the family will love. The pan-seared chicken is tender, and the creamy lemon sauce is rich and tangy. It is so good!
One of my favorite one-skillet dinners is this easy creamy lemon chicken! It’s a very easy weeknight chicken recipe that everyone in my family loves. The simple pan-seared chicken is tender thanks a few tricks on how to cook moist chicken breasts…no marinade needed. And the creamy lemon garlic sauce for the chicken is seriously to die for! Tangy, rich, and creamy!
This easy creamy lemon recipe takes only 30 minutes to make and it’s all done in one pan. I think this makes it an awesome weeknight chicken dinner, right?!
Ingredients in Creamy Lemon Chicken Recipe
The ingredients in this creamy lemon chicken dish are very simple.
For the pan-seared chicken, you’ll need:
- Chicken breasts: for 4 servings, split 2 chicken breasts into 4 cutlets.
- Salt and pepper: always!
- Italian seasoning: I love the aromatic flavors that Italian seasoning adds to this dish. Adds depth.
- All-purpose flour: The chicken cutlets are dredged in flour to 1) give it a golden brown crust, and to 2) provide texture and flavor as the coating absorbs some of that delicious lemon cream sauce. So, don’t skip the flour!
- Olive oil: for the pan
For the lemon cream sauce, you’ll need:
- Minced garlic: for flavor
- Unsalted butter: adds richness
- Chicken broth: the liquid base for the sauce
- Fresh lemon juice: adds tanginess, flavor, and freshness.
- Heavy cream: to thicken the sauce, add creaminess, and balance out the acidity from the lemon juice
- Seasoning and garnish: Salt and pepper will do. For garnish, use chopped parsley and lemon slices.
The Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
This creamy lemon garlic sauce is so amazing! And it’s super simple, rich, and creamy. The heavy cream balances out the tanginess of the lemon sauce, making one perfectly balanced rich and tangy sauce.
To make the lemon garlic cream sauce for this dish, simply heat some butter over the skillet and add minced garlic, cooking until fragrant. Then stir chicken broth and fresh lemon juice, and bring to a simmer. Next, add the heavy cream and combine.
That’s the sauce! Then all you have to do is add the chicken back and simmer for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened. I seriously love this dish!
How to Make this Easy Creamy Lemon Chicken
This chicken recipes comes together in 30 minutes or so. Super easy and only one skillet required to make clean-up a breeze! Seriously, there are so many reasons to love this creamy lemon chicken!
Here’s how to make it in a few simple steps:
- Prepare the chicken: Cut each (large) chicken breast into 2 thinner cutlets. For moist and tender chicken: using a meat tenderizer tool, pound the chicken to even thickness. A uniformly pounded breast ensures even cooking, which lowers the risk of overcooking on any one side. Pounding the chicken also helps break down the fibers, resulting in tender chicken.
- Season the chicken on both sides: I used salt and pepper, plus Italian herbs seasoning.
- Dredge the chicken in flour: This is crucial! The flour will give it a golden brown crust and allow the chicken to absorb more of the sauce!
- Cook chicken: about 4-5 minutes per side or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees F.
- Make the sauce: it’s a combination of butter, garlic, chicken broth, fresh lemon juice, heavy cream, and seasoning.
- Return chicken to pan: simmer for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
That’s all! I like to garnish with chopped parsley and lemon slices. Highly recommended. And, per usual, you can find detailed ingredient quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
I love to serve my creamy lemon chicken with these amazing crispy herb roasted potatoes! It’s the perfect pairing…seriously! Other ideas are my fluffy mashed potatoes or roasted broccoli with parmesan and lemon.
How to Keep the Chicken Moist and Tender
I get this question a lot: how do I keep my chicken breast from getting dry?!
I used to have the same problem and always got super frustrated and disappointed. BUT…after extensive testing and testing, I was able to make moist pan-seared chicken every single time. Yes, every single time!
You can find more tips and techniques in my moist and juicy pan-seared chicken guide, but here are the basics:
- Pound the chicken breast to even thickness. For this skillet creamy lemon chicken recipe specifically, you’ll actually split each chicken breast into 2 thinner cutlets FIRST, and then pound slightly until evenly thick. Don’t pound it too thin though.
- Don’t overcook it. Since these are thinner, about 4-5 minutes per side will do.
And there you have it…one-pan easy creamy lemon chicken in 30 minutes. I am sure you will love it!
More delicious and easy chicken dinners:
- Cajun Chicken Alfredo
- One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Quesadillas (these are seriously amazing!)
Thanks for stopping by and please don’t forget to pin this recipe. Much appreciated!
Kitchen Tips
- After splitting each chicken breast into two thinner cutlets, pound slightly it to even thickness, roughly. This will also break down the fibers a bit and prevent it from “curling up” on the skillet.
- This recipe calls for dredging the chicken in flour. There are 2 reasons for this: 1) it will create a beautifully golden brown crust, and 2) the coating will absorb some of that creamy sauce, making it ultra delicious!
- Use a large skillet to avoid overcrowding the pan. Overcrowding leads to steaming.
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Easy Creamy Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 large chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Olive oil
Creamy Lemon Sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
- Lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise to get thinner cutlets. Over plastic wrap, slightly pound the chicken to even thickness as needed using a meat mallet. This is for even cooking and to tenderize the chicken a bit.
- Season both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (per chicken cutlet, use about ¼ teaspoon each: Kosher salt, ground black pepper, Italian herb seasoning). Dredge the seasoned chicken in flour and shake off any excess.
- Heat some olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook prepared chicken on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side, until golden brown or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Don’t wipe the pan clean. Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, then add garlic, and cook until fragrant. Add chicken broth and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste it, and add the second tablespoon of lemon juice if desired (I ended up adding 2 tablespoons). Bring to a light simmer. Then, stir in heavy cream plus salt and pepper to taste until evenly combined.
- Return chicken to pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes until the sauce has thickened a bit.
- Serve with lemon slices and freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- Special equipment: meat tenderizer tool or meat mallet
- Chicken: Get large and thick chicken breasts so that each cutlet is decently portioned. You can also get chicken cutlets from the store instead.
- Dredging the chicken in flour: Not only will the flour create a beautiful golden crust, but it also create a coating that will absorb some of that delicious sauce.
Leslie S says
This recipe was great! Cooked the chicken as directed. Added onion and red pepper to the garlic. Delicious. Enough sauce for 4 chicken breasts. I cut mine in thirds. I used a whole lemon for the sauce. Might try adding the peel next time. Will definitely make again.
Rachel says
Great recipe! I added one small onion, 8 oz sliced portobello mushrooms, and some extra seasonings along with using thighs instead of breasts. Came out great! Thank you for sharing. This recipe will be added into rotation.
Tania says
Thank you Rachel! I love the addition of portobello mushrooms!
Tiffany Lynn Bachtin says
Do you know if I can I use milk instead of heavy cream or will the milk curdle?
Tania says
It won’t curdle, but may turn out very watery.
Nichole says
Hello! I love this recipe soooo much. I’ve cooked it for my boyfriend and I at least 10 times. We love the thick sauce but my question is, how can you make more sauce alone? We would love to make a pasta with this sauce so bad!
Tania says
Hi Nichole! Happy to hear! You can double the ingredients for the sauce and simmer a little longer until you get the desired consistency.
Taylor says
I have made this recipe at least 6 times now. I am SUPER addicted. One of my all time favorites! I love to make a side of spaghetti pasta to roll around in the sauce and make it a fantastic meal!
Tania says
Thank you for your kind words, Taylor!
Brenda Pence says
This is an OHMYGOODNESS recipe. The only change that I made was the addition of capers. This would be wonderful with pasta or rice, but we just had it with my spanakopita. The sauce was so excellent with the crunchy phyllo.. my husband is still raving about how exceptional the results were.. make sure you serve some rusty French bread to get every little last drop of sauce…. yummy..
Tania says
Thank you so much, Brenda!
Margie says
This was very good and easy to make. It is so rare to find a recipe that both my picky boys will eat. This one is a keeper.
Tania says
Great to hear, Margie! Thank you for trying it!
Olivia says
I just made this for my family for fun and it was so good I recommend
Janet J. says
Tried your recipe today. Very simple and taste was terrific. Thank you. Will definately share this recipe with my friends.
Brenda Rudolph says
I make lemon chicken today and it was the first time I made it .it came out really good !
Judy says
Can not wait to make this. I am cooking for a baby shower and they requested lemon chicken for 50 people. Can I make this and place it in a large baking tin and heat it in the oven? Would that still make it creamy? Thank you and have a safe and great day.
Tania says
Hi Judy! Yes, that will work. The sauce will still be creamy – this dish reheats really well. Have a great day too!
Colleen says
Do you have the nutrition info on this recipe?
Tania says
Hi Colleen – I don’t right now, unfortunately. I’m working on it! 🙂
Danielle says
My sauce did not second at all it was completely liquid, I followed the directions but did I leave something out?
Tania says
Hi Danielle – let’s see…did you use heavy cream (instead of milk or even half and half)? Heavy cream is usually pretty thick and creamy. Another thing could be the flour: did you cook the dredge the chicken with flour in step 2? And did you return the cooked chicken to the pan while the sauce was simmering for 4-5 mins (step 5)? The flour in the chicken helps to thicken the sauce. If you did all that and it was still thin, you could try adding less broth or lemon juice next time! 🙂
Kathy says
Or you can add 1/2 cup water 2 Tab cornstarch mixed well add slow it will make it thick.
Nancy Warner says
this looks wonderful!
Carol says
Absolutely delicious!! So simple and so tasty! I will be making this over and over!
Tania says
Thank you, Carol! So glad you loved it 🙂