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Lemon Pepper Chicken is sure to be your new favorite way to enjoy chicken with fresh flavors when you make this easy chicken dinner with a homemade lemon pepper sauce.
With this lemon pepper chicken recipe, you only need a few simple ingredients to enjoy a flavorful meal. Since half of the basic ingredients can be found in your pantry, this also makes for a budget-friendly recipe!
Chicken recipes can be bland and dry, but these lemon pepper chicken breasts will become a go-to recipe in no time!
Add this great recipe to your menu of easy dinner recipes, it is the perfect way to enjoy a healthy yet delicious chicken dinner recipe the whole family will love.
Ingredient Notes
- Seasonings need to make homemade lemon pepper seasoning:
- Dried lemon peel
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried thyme, optional
- For the chicken:
- Protein: get raw boneless skinless chicken breasts from the meat section or the grocery store
- Flour: use your favorite brand of all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
- Oil: for the best result use extra virgin olive oil
- Juice: to get that delicious lemon flavor you will need to use fresh lemon juice or lemon juice concentrate
- Butter: use unsalted butter to create the pan sauce
How To Make Lemon Pepper Chicken:
Lemon pepper seasoning:
- Blend it all: add lemon peel to a coffee grinder or food processor. Grind the lemon peel until it is nicely ground. Mix in salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme (if desired) to create your own lemon pepper seasoning.
Prepare the chicken:
- Cut the chicken in half: Place chicken filets on a cutting board. Carefully filet the large chicken breasts into two thinner pieces.
- Coat the chicken: combine flour with the prepared lemon pepper seasoning. Coat both sides of the chicken with the prepared flour mixture.
- Cook the chicken: heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken to the heated oil and cook on each side until golden brown. You may do this in batches. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Prepare the sauce:
- Make the sauce: add butter and lemon juice to the skillet where you just cooked your chicken. Scrape any browned bits until you have a smooth sauce. Place back in the chicken. Coat the chicken with the sauce.
Serve:
- Serve chicken warm, drizzled with lemon-butter sauce and some fresh lemon slices.
Frequently Asked Questions about Making Tender Lemon Chicken:
Can I Use Thighs In This Recipe?
Yes! If you prefer to use chicken thighs over boneless chicken breast feel free to do so! The flavor profile in the recipe will go great with chicken thighs as well.
Can I Use Store-Bought Lemon Juice?
To keep things simple, lemon juice from the bottle will work just fine in this chicken breast recipe.
Where Can I Find Lemon Pepper Seasoning?
If you would prefer to buy lemon pepper seasoning instead of making your own, you can normally find it in the baking aisle with all of the seasoning and spices.
Expert Tips:
- Lemon pepper seasoning: if you do not feel like making your lemon pepper seasoning, just use one from the store. Make sure you are using quality seasoning.
- If you want, you can also bake the chicken in the oven at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165F. I suggest that you use a skillet as the chicken is juicier.
- For some extra sauce, add 2 tablespoons of chicken stock and ½ tablespoon lemon juice. This will give you more sauce for the chicken. Cook it until slightly thickened.
- If you only have fresh lemons, you can still make your lemon chicken; zest 2 lemons and combine lemon zest with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Coat the chicken with the prepared mixture, then dredge through the mixture of flour, garlic, and onion powder before frying.
Make Ahead & Storage Instructions:
Fridge: Place the leftover lemon chicken and sauce in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Be sure to keep the sauce with the chicken as it will help keep the chicken from drying out in the fridge.
Side dishes to serve:
- Instant Pot Green Beans Recipe
- Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots Recipe
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Cauliflower
- Air Fryer Asparagus
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Lemon Pepper Chicken is sure to be your new favorite way to enjoy chicken with fresh flavors with this easy chicken dinner.
Serving Servings
Ingredients
For the lemon pepper seasoning:
- ½ Tablespoon dried lemon peel
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, optional
For the chicken:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (approx. 5 ounces each)
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon butter (unsalted)
Instructions
Prepare the lemon pepper seasoning:
- Blend it all: add lemon peel to a coffee grinder or food processor. Grind the lemon peel until it is nicely ground. Mix in salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme (if desired)
Prepare the chicken:
- Cut the chicken in half: Place chicken filets on a cutting board. Carefully filet the chicken breasts into two thinner pieces.
- Coat the chicken: combine flour with the prepared lemon pepper seasoning. Coat the chicken with the prepared flour mixture.
- Cook the chicken: heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken to the heated oil and cook on each side until golden. You may do this in batches. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Prepare the sauce:
- Make the sauce: add butter and lemon juice to the skillet where you just cooked your chicken. Scrape any browned bits until you have a smooth sauce. Place back in the chicken. Coat the chicken with the sauce.
Serve:
- Serve chicken warm, drizzled with lemon-butter sauce and some fresh lemon slices.
Notes
- Lemon pepper seasoning: if you do not feel like making your lemon pepper seasoning, just use one from the store. Make sure you are using quality seasoning.
- If you want, you can also bake the chicken in the oven at 375℉ for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165℉. I suggest that you use a skillet as the chicken is juicier.
- For some extra sauce, add 2 Tablespoons of chicken stock and ½ Tablespoon lemon juice. This will give you more sauce for the chicken. Cook it until slightly thickened.
Nutrition
Calories: 117 kcal · Carbohydrates: 2 g · Protein: 12 g · Fat: 6 g · Saturated Fat: 2 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 0.1 g · Cholesterol: 40 mg · Sodium: 502 mg · Potassium: 221 mg · Fiber: 0.2 g · Sugar: 0.1 g · Vitamin A: 64 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 7 mg · Iron: 0.4 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
What is your go to lemon pepper seasoning if you don’t want to make your own.
Any Lemon Pepper seasoning works great – we like McCormicks or Lawry’s
Zesty, quick, and savory! This is a simple, go-to recipe for juicy chicken.