This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
An Easy Lemon Rosemary Chicken recipe that requires just ten simple ingredients! The chicken is seasoned with lemon pepper seasoning, seared and then cooked in a simple lemon rosemary butter sauce.
Weekdays are for easy chicken dinners!
Easy Lemon Rosemary Chicken. It starts with the humble chicken breast, just a few shakes of lemon pepper seasoning and a quick sear in a hot skillet.
While that’s happening, we’re going to just combine a few ingredients in a measuring cup and make the sauce in the microwave. And once it’s all hot and bubbly, we’ll pour the sauce into the skillet and throw it all in the oven and sit back while the chicken practically cooks itself.
What you’re left with is a tender chicken breast that’s perfect to serve over fluffy mashed potatoes and leftovers are great to use over salads, with steamed vegetables and some rice.
Meal prep? Done. And dinner is too!
Secretly, I’ve started a new Monday tradition in our house – EDM. No, we’re not listening to electronic dance music! My type of EDM is all about Easy Dinner Mondays.
But in all seriousness, what I love most about my lemon rosemary chicken recipe is that you can make it as simple or fancy as you’d like. Serve it with steamed veggies and fluffed rice or quinoa to keep it weeknight friendly. Make it with homemade focaccia and roasted brussels sprouts if you want to impress your guests.
What all of these recipes have in common is that they’re all big on flavor, easy on clean up, and quick to make.
Ingredients lemon rosemary chicken
- Chicken: I like to use skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, but chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken thighs will undoubtedly work as well. Please also remember that the cooking time may vary if you change the type of chicken. Be sure to use a instant-read thermometer to be check and make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches a 165ºF.
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning: You’ll want a lemon pepper seasoning that you enjoy the taste of. Most seasonings contain lemon zest, cracked pepper, and some source of sodium, amongst other ingredients. If your lemon pepper seasoning contains kosher salt, you can skip the amount listed. Mine didn’t, so I added a big pinch (¼ teaspoon salt) to the dry rub for the chicken.
- Butter: we’ll use most of the butter for the lemon rosemary sauce and a bit of it will be used to sear the chicken breasts. If you’re lactose-free, follow a paleo/keto diet you can also swap the butter for ghee. If you’re dairy-free, you can use margarine or olive oil/avocado oil in place of the butter.
- Lemon juice: goes into the lemon butter rosemary sauce we’ll make.
- Minced garlic: I like to use about 5 cloves of minced garlic or about 1 large heaping tablespoon of pressed garlic.
- Chicken broth: the chicken broth is used to make the pansauce for this recipe.
- Chopped herbs: you’ll need both fresh rosemary and some fresh parsley. The parsley is mostly for color
- Red pepper flakes: adds just a hint of spice to the recipe. You can omit this, or use more or less to your preference. We don’t find that the red pepper flakes add to much heat!
- Honey: I like to use honey for the lemon rosemary sauce but you can also use maple syrup or agave here if you’ d like.
Instructions for Lemon Rosemary Chicken
- Start with the oven. You’ll want to preheat the oven while you’re preparing the melted butter sauce and searing the chicken breasts.
- Make the sauce. In a measuring cup, combine the butter with minced garlic, chicken stock, rosemary, parsley, red pepper flakes, and honey. Microwave the sauce until the butter melts. Set this aside for now.
- Sear the chicken. Season both sides of the chicken with the lemon pepper seasoning and a big pinch of kosher salt. Add the remaining butter to the skillet and let it melt. You want to be sure to use an oven proof skillet so that you can go directly from the stove to the oven. Sear the chicken on both sides in the hot skillet. Remember, we’re not cooking the chicken all the way through, we’re just giving the outside a little color! If you don’t have an oven proof skillet, you’ll want to transfer the chicken to a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake until the chicken is done. Pour that delicious lemon rosemary sauce all over the chicken and roast until the chicken reaches 160ºF. You can let it finish carry over cooking on the counter to 165ºF (covered) for another 5-10 minutes or cook to 165ºF if you’re really worried. Spoon the sauce over the chicken a couple of times during baking so that the chicken doesn’t dry out.
FAQs about this recipe:
Yes! I removed most of the sauce from the skillet before shooting this recipe, so what you see in the pan is only a portion of the sauce. A lot of readers have mentioned they like having extra sauce, so I’ve specifically made this recipe with extra sauce! Drizzle it on rice/ pasta or your veggies!
You can serve this simply with steamed broccoli, cheddar mashed potatoes, green beans, roasted Brussels sprouts, zucchini and corn saute, steamed or grilled asparagus, twice baked potato casserole, superfood broccoli salad, rosemary focaccia bread, over cauliflower rice/gnocchi. Really, the possibilities are endless.
Recipe Tip
The lemon slices that you see in the pictures aren’t really a part of the recipe. I just sliced a fresh lemon and heated it in a warm pan and used it for presentation. If you’d like to do the same, feel free to do this in the skillet before searing the chicken breasts!
Other easy chicken dinner recipes:
- One Skillet Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Mozzarella Chicken
- Bruschetta Chicken
- Balsamic Tomato Baked Chicken
- Cheesy BBQ Chicken
Easy Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 ¼ pounds total
- 1¼ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 garlic cloves minced or pressed
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- 1¼ teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1¼ teaspoon fresh parsley chopped
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
- additional lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- SAUCE: In a 1-cup measuring cup, combine 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, minced garlic, chicken broth, freshly chopped rosemary, parsley, red pepper, and honey and microwave in 30-second increments until the butter melts. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t boil over!
- CHICKEN: Season the chicken breasts with lemon pepper seasoning on both sides and a big pinch of salt.
- COOK: Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to an ovenproof skillet placed over medium-high heat and when it's hot, sear the chicken breasts. Do not overcrowd the pan or your chicken won’t brown. You may want to do this in two batches. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side. If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, transfer the chicken to a 9×13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
- BAKE: Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken. Bake for 13-17 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF. Feel for firmness on the thickest part of the breast if you don’t have a thermometer. Spoon the sauce over the chicken breasts a couple of times during the baking process to keep the chicken moist! The amount of time required for the chicken to bake just depends on the thickness.
Notes
- Lemon slices: aren’t really a part of the recipe. I just sliced fresh lemon and heated it in a warm pan and used it for persentation. If you’d like to do the same, feel free to do this in the skillet before searing the chicken breasts to make it easier for cleanup!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
So making this was actually my first time making chicken (crazy, I know) and it turned out fantastic! I will definitely make this again. Served asparagus, white rice, and a salad on the side.
Well I heated the mixture up in the microwave till i boiled a bit. let it cool just a few minutes. I poured it over the chicken in a bowl, let it set about 20 minutes.
since the chicken was cool The butter and other stuff stuck to it.
I put it in the air fryer and pour some of the rest of the sauce on them. Spooned really. Cooked them in the air fryer for 15 minutes on 350, then I flip them and cook another 10 minutes. Then I turn the heat up for about 5-10 minutes to brown the tops. It was fabulous, I have done this buy=t never with the honey and chicken broth. I had to cook the breast a bit longer because it was still pink. I think because it was thawed out and probably still cold in the center.
So if anyone asks if it works in the air fryer, tell them to read my comment.
I am doing ths in my air fryer. I plan to let it soak awhile. Something I have done is take stir fry veggies. I live alone so I don’t need a lot. I make a cup of the Vegetable soup cubes. I use Hot water from water dispenser- it’s close to boiling. I put the frozen veggies in a bowl or a cup and pour the hot soup over it. I let it soak in that while my meat cooks
When the meat is about 10 minutes or so left to cook I strain the veggies and put them in. That short soak gives them quite a bit of flavor but it’s not over powering. I will let you know how it works in an Air Fryer.
Can I use chicken cutlets for this? The chicken breasts look thinner in the pictures!
Hi Ashley! If you use chicken cutlets, you probably won’t need to bake them at all as they cook very quickly. I suggest checking the internal temp when you’re done searing to see if it’s close, and then maybe just letting them cook through all the way. These are smaller chicken breasts (they were thicker than they appear in pictures!) Hope that helps 🙂
I don’t usually comment, but I sure had to thank you for sharing this gem! It was so amazing – cooked perfectly. My husband requested that it make the rotation and my 8 year old son ate every bite. That’s a win-win. I sauteed a combo of quartered baby red potatoes, red onions, and green beans with garlic and Italian seasoning.
Hi Deborah! I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed by all! Your sides sound delicious!
So good! I made this for my hubby for date night and it was a huge hit. Moist and flavorful. The red pepper flakes gave it a nice extra kick of flavor. I served with rice and roasted broccoli–the sauce was soooo good with the rice. It’s going straight into my recipe box. Thank you!
My husband loves this dish and cooked it this time on his Big Green Egg. It was delicious the 2nd time, took.
Absolutely delicious!! Will definitely make again, and again, and again…
Happy to hear that, Chris! Appreciate you taking the time to comment 🙂
This was great! Very easy and quick to cook and the entire family loved it!!. We will be saving this recipe for sure!
I really liked this! I used bone-in skin-on chicken thighs because that’s what I like, but its also what I had – just had to bake a little longer.
Could you substitute dry herbs for this recipe? Can’t wait to try it.
Sorry, don’t know how I missed this. Dried herbs should work for this recipe. I’d use roughly half the quantity listed for each that you replace.
I’ve recently made several different grilled chicken recipes that I’ve found on Pinterest, and this recipe is the ONLY one I’m absolutely in love with!! I just had to pop in to write a review because it’s legit my new favorite meal to make for my work trips. I’m a flight attendant, so eating grilled chicken can get to be a bit boring after a while. NOT THIS RECIPE, this chicken was soooo delicious and flavorful, I could eat it every day! Love it so much! ?
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the rosemary chicken, Sara! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
My husband and I loved it!!! It was very moist and delicious with some amazing flavors
Absolutely one of the best chicken dishes!!
Easy to make and sooo yummy!! Thank you for sharing !!
Love ur recipes
I can literally eat this through the screen. Printed out the recipe. Going to add this to as a last min holiday dinner addition.
Is it possible to make this without the use of an oven? 🙁
I’d like to know if it’s possible to make this without the use of an oven?
I’m gonna try tonight.
I’ll be honest and say this is the 5th time i’m making this recipe as every time it has gone down an absolute hit with everyone. Simple and one of the best chicken recipes. Thanks!
How many calories per serving? I’ve made this twice now and it is AMAZING!!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I don’t have the calories calculated but if you pop the url of this page into My Fitness Pal it’ll calculate it for you!
I have a quick question. When you say bake do you mean I should put in in the oven if i am using a skillet or only for the pan.
It goes in the oven regardless of the cooking vessel 🙂 I just mention the baking dish for those that don’t have an oven-proof skillet.
Absolutely loved this recipe, so did my husband. Made this recipe just as it was, except I did not have red pepper flakes, so I substituted cayenne pepper. This gave it a bit of a kick, but we like food on the spicy side. Served with califlower rice. Yum-O! Thanks so much for sharing. Will make again for sure.
So happy to hear that, Michelle! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂