Are you in a chicken rut? Cooking the same ol’ boring chicken breast week after week? Yeah, then you need to try this Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken ASAP. It’s savory, tart, and peppery, and has a delicious pan sauce that you’ll want to spoon over your entire plate! This one is so quick and flavorful, I know it’s going to go into your regular rotation. ;)
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What Kind of Chicken Should I Use?
This quick skillet cooking method requires thin chicken pieces that cook quickly, like boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into thinner pieces), chicken tenders, thin-cut chicken breast, or chicken thighs. This method is not suitable for bone-in chicken.
Do I Need Fresh Lemon?
Nope! While I did garnish this dish with some fresh lemon slices (I had those leftover from another dish), you actually don’t need fresh lemon to make this lemon pepper chicken! Most of the lemon flavor comes from the potent lemon pepper seasoning. The small amount of lemon juice added to the pan sauce can be bottled.
What Is Lemon Pepper Seasoning?
The lemon pepper seasoning I used to flavor this recipe is a mix of lemon zest, pepper, citric acid, and salt. Most major spice brands in the U.S. as well as many major generic store brands make their own lemon pepper seasoning, so it should be easy to find in just about any grocery store in the U.S. If you can’t find lemon pepper at your local store, there are plenty of recipes online for homemade lemon pepper seasoning.
Make sure to check if the lemon pepper seasoning you have contains salt. If it does not, you may need to add more salt to the recipe below.
What to Serve with Lemon Pepper Chicken
I went full-on lemon and served my Lemon Pepper Chicken with Lemon Parsley Pasta, but it would also go great with some Sautéed Vegetables, Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad, Roasted Broccoli, Lemon Garlic Roasted Asparagus, Spinach Rice with Feta, Spanish Chickpeas and Rice, or Pasta Primavera.
Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs. total) ($6.79)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp lemon pepper seasoning ($0.30)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth ($0.07)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.14)
- 1 tsp lemon juice ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional) ($0.10)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to carefully fillet the chicken breasts into two thinner pieces (or use thin-cut chicken breasts).
- Combine the flour and lemon pepper seasoning in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over both sides of the chicken breast pieces and then rub it in until the chicken is fully coated.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium. When the skillet and oil are very hot, add the chicken and cook on each side until golden brown (about 5 minutes per side). Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate and cover to keep warm.
- Add the butter and minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for about one minute.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet and whisk to dissolve all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the lemon juice and allow the sauce to simmer in the skillet for 3-5 minutes, or until it has reduced slightly. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed (I did not add any).
- Finally, return the chicken to the skillet and spoon the sauce over top. Allow the chicken to heat through. Season with a little freshly cracked pepper and fresh chopped parsley (optional), then serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Lemon Pepper Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Use a sharp knife to carefully fillet two boneless, skinless chicken breasts into thinner pieces (or use thin-cut chicken breasts).
Combine 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour and 1 Tbsp lemon pepper seasoning in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over both sides of the chicken pieces.
Smear the flour mixture over both sides of the chicken until they’re evenly coated.
Heat 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a skillet over medium. Once hot, add the chicken pieces and cook on both sides until golden brown (about 5 minutes per side). Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate and cover to keep warm.
Add 1 Tbsp butter and one minced clove of garlic to the skillet. Sauté the garlic for about one minute.
Pour ½ cup chicken broth into the skillet and whisk to dissolve all the browned bits off the bottom. Add 1 tsp lemon juice to the broth, then let the broth simmer in the skillet for 3-5 minutes, or until it has reduced just slightly. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed (I did not add any, but this will depend on the salt content of your lemon peppers seasoning and broth).
Return the chicken to the skillet and spoon the sauce over top. Allow the chicken to heat through (a few minutes).
Top the chicken off with some freshly cracked pepper and chopped parsley (optional), then serve!
The lemon helps keep the chicken extra tender, juicy, and flavorful! Enjoy!
So easy and delicious. Thank you!
I made this recipe tonight and it turned out so tasty! My whole family loved it. The only thing I did differently was thicken up the sauce with some cornstarch so all that deliciousness stuck to the chicken! While cleaning up the kitchen I saved washing the pan for last so I could run my finger through the leftover sauce and eat it. It is that good!
Seriously delicious. Followed the instructions exactly and it turned out perfect. I served with the lemon parsley pasta and oven roasted summer vegetables.
Oh wow this was AMAZING. It was easy to put together. I served it with roasted red herb potatoes and roasted broccoli + parm. I will absolutely make this regularly now.
This turned out so good! I made pasta on the side and mixed it all together. Delicious! Thank you!
So delightfully tasty and delightfully easy. I used Trader Joe’s Citrusy Garlic seasoning blend since that was what I had on hand. I made this last night and today my husband had to go out of town for work for a few days. On his way out of the house, my husband— who is not particularly effusive about my cooking—said “I’m just so bummed I’m not here for those leftovers.
Thanks for this yummy recipe! It’s a new favorite!
Haha! You’ll have to make it for him again when he returns. :)
This was a really great recipe! It ended up being the juiciest chicken that I’ve cooked in a skillet and the flavor was phenomenal! t was perfect & one of the best dinners I’ve made ever. Thank you so much! 5 stars for sure!
Made tonight and my daughter ate the whole meal. Thank you!
If you double recipe do you double all the ingredients?
Correct. :)
Can you bypass the lemon juice
The end result will be a little less tart and lemony, but I suppose you could if you needed to.
So good! Loved this recipe, the chicken stayed moist and juicy and had plenty of flavor. was such an easy dish and was served with some steamed broccoli to make a lunch that took 20 minutes total from prep to table.
Fantastic! I doubled the sauce so we would have more for the pasta. A hit meal for us and the kiddos.
This was really good, I added a splash of cream to the sauce and it turned out great.
Loved this recipe!!! Easy and so much flavor. Will make again and again.
Beautiful sauce. I’m so glad to find another use for my lemon pepper seasoning.