Lemon Chicken

Lemon chicken is an easy dinner made with a few common ingredients, but it's really big on freshness and taste. Seasoned chicken breasts are fried to golden-brown perfection, then coated in a smooth, buttery sauce with citrus flavours. Team this bright and flavorful chicken with some lightly steamed broccoli or asparagus and brown rice, and you have an outstanding meal ready in a jiffy! Both instant pot and stovetop recipes included. 

Like boneless chicken breast dinners with veggies? Try this chicken shashlik: fried chicken strips are coated in a sweet and spicy sauce and tossed with red onions and bell peppers for company!

Do you love easy chicken dinners? Then you've got to try this lemon chicken recipe! I can bet you already have everything in your pantry to put this together on a busy weeknight. All it needs is chicken broth, fresh aromatics like onion and garlic, seasonings (just salt and pepper), dried (oregano and thyme) and fresh herbs (parsley), just a little cooking oil and oodles of butter. And of course lemons🙂

Note: Exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down in the post. 

The beauty of this dish is that it can be made equally easily both in a skillet on the stovetop and in your instant pot. Normally, I love using my instant pot for most recipes because of the ease of use. But in this case, I discovered that neither method has any special advantage over the other. Choose the one you like!

Customizations

• Instead of chicken breasts, you can use chicken thighs, skin on or off. In fact, thighs turn out juicier and more succulent than breasts. But it's a personal preference at the end of the day.
• Instead of oregano and thyme (my favourites), you can add Italian seasoning for a slightly different flavour.
• The classic lemon chicken does not have onions, but I have made this one addition to the recipe because I love the sweetness of onions. Omit them by all means if you want to, though they do make the dish more flavorful.
• I added a little flour at the end to thicken the sauce a bit, but if you don't mind a thin sauce and want to make this recipe keto-friendly or low-carb, omit the flour as well.

How to make lemon chicken in the instant pot

1. Wipe the chicken breast dry and season with salt and half the black pepper.

2. Switch on your instant pot to sauté (normal) and add the oil and half the butter. Slide in the chicken breasts (4 pieces fit in quite nicely in a 6-quart) and fry until well-browned. Flip and repeat on the other side.

3. Remove the fried chicken onto a platter and make the lemon sauce. Add the remaining butter, diced onions and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. As you are sautéing, scrape the bottom to release any browned bits of chicken sticking to the pot. You can do this with the help of a few tablespoons of broth if needed (deglazing).

4. Pour in the remaining broth. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, remaining black pepper and dried thyme and oregano. Stir well and deglaze the pot again. Cancel sauté.

5. Add the chicken breasts to the liquid and secure the lid. Make sure the steam release handle is on 'sealing' and press the pressure cooking button. Set it on high for 5 minutes.

6. When the timer beeps, wait 10 minutes before opening the pot. Switch back to sauté and add the flour dissolved in a little broth or water. Stir for a minute or so until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top and serve with brown rice and steamed vegetables on the side.

How to keep the sauce separate from the meat

If you would like to pour the sauce over the chicken after it iscooked through and maybe reserve some for the rice as well, here's what to do.

After step 4 above, cancel sauté for a bit and place a trivet (the one that came with your instant pot) in the liquid. Keep the chicken over it and then close the lid. Proceed with the rest of the recipe. When you open the pot in step 6, remove the trivet (with the meat on it). Press saute again and add the flour and thicken the sauce as mentioned in step 6.

Now you can pour the desired amount of sauce over the chicken!

How to steam the broccoli in the same pot as the chicken

If you want to do steamed broccoli with this dish, there is a simple hack that was suggested to me by a reader on Facebook. When  you open the pot after pressure cooking the chicken (before adding the flour in step 6), place the broccoli florets on a trivet or steamer basket, close the lid and pressure cook again for 0 minutes. Release the pressure when the timer beeps (Quick Pressure Release). Remove the trivet or steamer basket and proceed with the last step of adding the flour to thicken the sauce.

Voila! You have steamed broccoli ready to eat with the chicken. Thank you, Babs, for this simple tip!

Lemon Chicken on the Stovetop

1. Wipe the chicken breast dry and season with salt and half the black pepper.

2. Heat the oil and half the butter in a well-seasoned skillet or non-stick pan and slide in the chicken breasts. Fry them on medium to high heat until they are golden-brown. Flip and repeat. Take them out on a platter.

3. Now, make the lemon sauce. Add the remaining butter, diced onions and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. As you are sautéing, scrape the bottom to release any browned bits of chicken sticking to the pot. Add a few tablespoons of broth if needed.

4. Pour in the remaining broth and lower the heat. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, remaining black pepper and dried thyme and oregano. Stir and add the fried chicken breasts. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until the sauce appears shiny and the chicken is cooked through.

5. Add the flour dissolved in a few tablespoons of water or broth and cook for a minute or two, stirring all the time. Sprinkle some fresh chopped parsley and serve hot with your favourite sides.

Some tips to make the best lemon chicken 

1. Dry the chicken very well before frying it in the skillet or the instant pot. This makes frying easier and faster as well lends the chicken a nice, crisp exterior.

2. Don't forget to deglaze the pot at the points mentioned in the recipe. Deglazing achieves two things at the same time. It injects a lot of flavour right into the sauce and also prevents the pot from flashing the dreaded burn notice.

3. If you are willing to go that extra step, you could pound the raw chicken breasts until they are thin and flat. They look better, cook faster and are easier to cut into. Just place each piece between two sheets of plastic cling wrap and pound them to half an inch thickness with a meat mallet. Pound in short, firm strokes starting from the middle. Of course, this is an entirely optional step and I skip it most of the times, especially when I want to get dinner going quickly.

What to serve with lemon chicken

Ooh, there's so much choice here! I usually make lemon chicken with broccoli and brown rice, but I have tried other veggies and grains quite successfully and so can you.

Asparagus, cauliflower, beans and carrots all work like gangbusters here. Lightly steamed and seasoned of course.

As for the grains, quinoa pairs very well with the chicken and veggies. You could even serve it with some orzo. Cauliflower rice is another good option. If you can think of anything else, do let me know in the comments below:)

Other easy chicken recipes you might like

📖 Recipe

Lemon Chicken

Saima Zaidi

Lemon chicken is an easy dinner made with a few common ingredients, but it's really big on freshness and taste.

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Calories 452.8 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 4 boneless chicken breasts patted dry
• ½ teaspoon black pepper divided
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil
• 4 tablespoon butter divided
• 1 small onion diced fine
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley chopped

Instructions

 

Instant Pot Method

• Season the chicken breast with salt and half the pepper (¼ tsp).
• Switch on your instant pot to sauté (normal) and add the oil and half the butter. Slide in the chicken breasts (4 pieces fit in quite nicely in a 6-quart) and fry until well-browned. Flip and repeat on the other side.
• Remove the fried chicken onto a platter. Now, make the lemon sauce. Add the remaining butter, diced onions and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. As you are sautéing, scrape off the browned bits of chicken sticking to the pot, with the help of a few tablespoons of broth if needed (deglazing).
• Pour in the rest of the broth. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, remaining black pepper and dried thyme and oregano. Stir well and deglaze the pot again. Cancel sauté.
• Add the chicken breasts to the liquid and secure the lid. Make sure the steam release handle is on 'sealing' and press the pressure cooking button. Set it on high for 5 minutes.
• When the timer beeps, wait 10 minutes before opening the pot. Switch back to sauté and add the flour dissolved in a little broth or water. Stir for a minute or so until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top and serve with brown rice and steamed vegetables on the side.

Stovetop Method

• Wipe the chicken breast dry and season with salt and half the black pepper.
• Heat the oil and half the butter in a well-seasoned skillet or non-stick pan and slide in the chicken breasts. Fry them on medium to high heat until they are golden-brown. Flip and repeat. Take them out on a platter.
• Now, make the lemon sauce. Add the remaining butter, diced onions and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. As you are sautéing, scrape the bottom to release any browned bits of chicken sticking to the pot. Add a few tablespoons of broth if needed.
• Pour in the remaining broth and lower the heat. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, remaining black pepper and dried thyme and oregano. Stir and add the fried chicken breasts. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until the sauce appears shiny and the chicken is cooked through.
• Add the flour dissolved in a few tablespoons of water or broth and cook for a minute or two, stirring all the time. Sprinkle some fresh chopped parsley and serve hot with your favourite sides.

Notes

1. Dry the chicken very well before frying it in the skillet or the instant pot. This makes frying easier and faster as well lends the chicken a nice, crisp exterior.
2. Don't forget to deglaze the pot at the points mentioned in the recipe. Deglazing achieves two things at the same time. It injects a lot of flavour right into the sauce and also prevents the pot from flashing the dreaded burn notice.
3.  If you are willing to go that extra step, you could pound the raw chicken breasts until they are thin and flat. They look better, cook faster and are easier to cut into. Just place each piece between two sheets of plastic cling wrap and pound them with short, firm strokes starting from the middle.
4. The nutritional information is for the chicken only, not the sides.

Nutrition

Calories: 452.8kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 55.7gFat: 21.9gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10.5gCholesterol: 169.5mgSodium: 1020.2mgFiber: 0.6gSugar: 1.5g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!