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Say hello to your new favorite one skillet chicken dinner that’s topped with a lemon garlic butter cream sauce. I used thin chicken breasts, but this recipe would be delicious with boneless chicken thighs too!
Hello, hello to my new favorite creamy, garlicky, lemony, delicious skillet chicken!
You guys, I’ve gone completely head over heels for today’s meal.
As many of you have probably guessed, I love white meat chicken. It’s no dark meat for me. But the good news is that today’s chicken dinner is customizable to your chicken needs. Boneless skinless chicken thighs, sure, why not! *Applause* you’ve only just waited half of FOREVER for me to bring you something that could be made with something other than boneless skinless chicken breast.
This one skillet chicken recipe is my go-to chicken dinner of the week decade. Obvi, this recipe requires just one pan. This means we make the lemon garlic chicken and the sauce all from start to finish in one skillet. We’re talking tender chicken covered in a lemon garlic butter sauce that’s creamier than anything you’ve had before.
And if you love capers, don’t be afraid to throw some into the sauce right before you turn the knob to off and serve up this delicious lemon garlic chicken.
Should I just stop here? Are you on your way to the kitchen, cuz ya should be!
This was PHENOMENAL. I have 4 boys and they devoured it!!! Going on the regular rotation. Easy too!
One Skillet Lemon Garlic Chicken Video:
This recipe is somewhat, kinda sorta adapted and inspired by my Garlic Butter Salmon in Foil. Today’s Lemon Garlic Chicken recipe is inspired by the same sauce, only we add a splash of cream at the end and deck the whole thing out in an abundance of chopped fresh parsley.
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
What makes this chicken dinner to the next level is chicken broth and a big splash of heavy cream. The sauce has a nice creamy consistency that would taste AMAZING tossed in some angel hair pasta. The pasta-abilities are ENDLESS. Seriously. Serve with buttered noodles and some air fryer broccoli for a delicious dinner.
How to make one skillet chicken with lemon garlic cream sauce
Not that you’ll actually have any leftovers because that sauce is actual dynamite. But if you do, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, toss in the microwave, and you’ve got a weeknight-friendly, protein-packed dinner on the table in no time!
Leftovers can also be kept in the freezer; I would just reheat them in the microwave slowly, stopping and stirring often so that the sauce doesn’t break!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- One Skillet Chicken with Fiesta Cream Sauce
- One Skillet Chicken with Garlicky Mushroom Cream Sauce
- One Skillet Chicken with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce
- Cheesy Baked BBQ Chicken
- Garlic Butter Tomato Baked Chicken with Mozzarella
One Skillet Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup finely diced shallots or red onions
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil
- Prepared broccolini for serving
Instructions
- Using a mallet, pound down the chicken breasts/thighs into ½ inch thickness. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken.
- In a 2 cup measuring cup or a small bowl, combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and allow it to brown on both sides for 2-3 minutes per side. Don't worry if the chicken isn't cooked thoroughly; we'll finish it in the oven. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Reduce the flame to medium, and add the shallots to the skillet along with the chicken broth mixture. Using a whisk, scrape the bottom of the pan so all the brown bits are loosened. Kick the heat back up to medium-high and let sauce come to a simmer. Continue to cook the sauce for 10-15 minutes or until about ⅓ cup of the sauce remains.
- When the sauce has thickened, remove from the flame, add the butter and whisk until it melts completely. With the skillet off the flame, add the heavy cream, whisk to combine. Place the skillet back over the flame for just 30 seconds, DO NOT allow the sauce to boil.
- Remove from heat, add the chicken back into the pan and drizzle the sauce over the chicken.
- Place the skillet in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through.
- Top with chopped parsley or basil and serve warm with additional lemon slices. Serve with prepared rice, pasta, or sauteed veggies on the side.
Notes
- Use boneless skinless chicken breasts/thighs that about the same thickness. I pounded mine down to about ½ inch.
- After a few comments from readers, I’ve adjusted the amount of time it takes to reduce the sauce (step #5). Keep in mind, the key is to reduce it to ⅓ cup and that I can only provide an estimate. It may take you more or less time than what is actually listed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
This was delicious!!!! Next time I make it, I will either make more sauce or reduce it to 1/2 cup instead of 1/3 cup. Other than that, this was so good!!!
Absolute heaven! I’ve made lemon chicken before but this tops all! I’m not a fan of spicy however since we’ve all been fighting colds I went for it. Not unbearable. I didn’t add extra sauce on the kids plate since the chicken had enough kick. Too die for, i served it with rice and a broccoli cauliflower blend. I didnt have the rice but I couldn’t get enough sauce on my vegetables! I did add a little parmesean cheese hoping to calm the kick, great addition.
Great recipe, thank you very much for sharing it, this chicken breast turned out just amazing. My husband can’t wait to cook it again. 🙂
After making this for the 1000th time I just wanted to say thanks for this recipie! We always serve with rice or fetuccini, and we always quadruple the sauce! For some people asking how to thicken up the sauce, sometimes I add 1/4-1/2 cup of freshly grated parm and it thickens it right up!
The sauce should thicken when you add the heavy cream! That’s what I did and it was super thick and yummy
Was getting tired of all my usual chicken recipes so did a quick Pinterest search and this was the first one that caught my eye. SO Glad I tried it. I’m no chef and have only been experimenting with cooking for about two months (college student here) and this one was actually easy for me to ace. My boyfriend ate with me and loved it too! This was the first time he didn’t have to fake liking my cooking ? So thank you for sharing!
Needed to use some heavy cream up so googled chicken and heavy cream and I had all the ingredients on hand for this so gave it a go and wow everyone thought the sauce was amazing even after I forgot to put the shallots in on the first reduction. Cheers
I dont have a pan that can be placed in the oven. Do you think i could prepare as listed but then tranafer to a glass pyrex cookware for the baking portion?
I put mine into a glass pyrex for the baking and it turns out perfect. The skillet is easier but the glass works just as good.
Doubled the recipe, maybe should not have doubled up on the red pepper, depends on your taste for heat, but excellent flavor, love it.
Wow! After reviewing all of the comments, I thought this was a sure-fire recipe to try. And I was right! It’s delicious. We will definitely be adding it to the menu on a regular basis.
So I’ve been making this for awhile now and it turns out beautifully every time. Thank you so much! I had been looking for a lemon chicken dish like one served where my hubby used to work for so long. This isn’t it, but just as good. I always make asparagus w it. Goes wonderfully with the sauce. Got my 4yr old and hubby to like asparagus! Try it if you haven’t. I share this with everyone I know who likes to cook.
Wow, what an amazing delicious recipe! family loved it! thanks for sharing!
This was delicious. I used boneless, skinless thighs because that’s what I had. They’re not the most attractive piece of the chicken when cooked, so maybe next time I’ll spend a little bit of time trimming them up to make them pretty. The sauce was excellent and the amount of lemon in the sauce was perfect – very light. Highly recommend. I used brown rice to serve the chicken and sauce over. A new fave with the hubby.
Did you pound the chicken thighs prior to cooking?
This is my new favorite recipe. It tastes restaurant quality and is so quick and easy to prepare! I’ve made it with chicken breasts and thighs and definitely prefer it with thigh meat. The last time I prepared it I sauteed the shallots with mushrooms before adding the stock, and it turned out fabulous! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe!
We LOVE this! I first came across it last year but have been making it quite often recently. Kids and hubby approved. I need to make the sauce by itself because my husband likes it so much. I do wish it was just a little thicker but I think I’ll experiment with some flour next time. I serve with linguine fini
Made this for dinner tonight….delish! I doubled the recipe and made it in an electric fry pan. I served it with rice and sauteed asparaagus…It turned out great and will definitely make it again!
The flavor was delicious but my cream separated from the broth…. not sure why. Broth was off of heat too.
I’m glad to enjoyed the flavor, Lynell! As far as the cream separating it could be something small like the temperature of the cream, fat content, etc. For next time, you can add the heavy cream to a bowl, stir in about a tablespoon of the prepared sauce from the pan and then add the cream mixture to the pan. This should keep it from separating. 🙂
I don’t have a oven safe skillet. Can I cook the whole thing on stove top?
I think a few commenters mentioned cooking it completely on the stove top, haven’t tried it myself though!
This looks amazing! Just wondering if anyone has made it in the Instant Pot?
I made this with pork chops on the bone, and “OH MY” they were delicious!!! Will do again, with chicken next time! ?
I made this last week and everyone loved it. I’m making it again tomorrow for dinner and I forgot the shallots at the grocery store today. Are the shallots absolutely necessary for flavor?