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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!
Could you please add the nutrition values and calories for this recipe
I don’t have that information calculated, but if you plug the URL of this page into myfitnesspal it will automatically calculate it for you!
I love this! I enjoyed it so much that I made extra sauce and tossed with angel hair pasta and the chicken. Delicious! So glad I found your recipe.
Love that you doubled the sauce and tossed it with pasta – how delicious!
Does anyone know the nutrition facts on this? Specifically, Protein, Fiber, Carbs, Fats, and calories?
This sauce was sooo delicious! Will definitely make again
That’s awesome, happy to hear it, Jill!
This was the BEST! One of my daughters wanted to put the sauce in a glass and drink it!!! I WILL BE MAKING THIS AGAIN! THANK YOU! I had a thought for the next time I cook this. I’m going to add artichoke hearts to it! It will be fantastic! 5 STARS!
LOL! I’m so happy to hear it was a hit, Dee! Great idea on the artichoke hearts – I have a recipe similar to this one that uses spinach and artichoke hearts here in case you’re interested in trying it 🙂
I have made this recipe probably about 10 times now lol my husband LOVES it. It was actually his Fathers Day Dinner request! The sauce is soooo delicious, we put it on our broccoli as well. Lol! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Love hearing that! So glad to hear you make it so often! 🙂
Made this for a party at home last week and it turned out really really good! Everyone has been talking about it ever since and today, I am making it again for my family. thank you so much! Looking forward to your other recipes!
So glad to hear it was a hit, Vidya! Appreciate you taking the time to come back and leave a comment 🙂
I made this recipe about a month or so ago, I really enjoyed the taste. I already recommended it to my friends. I’m making it tonight for dinner❤
would you happen to know the nutrition on this recipe ?
I loved this! I doubled the butter, cream and stock to make more sauce. I also gave your website a shout-out on the Aldi Keto Nerds FB page!
Go glad you enjoyed it, Chandra! And I so appreciate the shout out ♥ ♥
This was so good!! I have to hide my veggies in my food, so I grated some zucchini in and I ate all of it. Super good!
What a clever idea! Thanks for sharing, Kelly!
Oh. My. God. This was so yummy!
I decided to jazz it up a little by adding some sliced cremini mushrooms, sliced sundried tomatoes, and a bit of lemon zest. A HUGE hit in our house. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s going to be in our regular rotation.
PERFECT! My bf literally kept going on about how good it was. I paired it with turnip greens, potatoes. Love it!
I don’t have a skillet that can go in the oven. Would you recommend cooking the chicken through the first time or allowing it to cook in the skillet at the end?
Absolutely delicious, and so easy to make! The whole family loved it, thank you!
Third recipe in 2 weeks from your site and we have another smash hit. I managed in 1.5 hours with prep and doubling the sauce. I also didn’t hammer one of the breasts enough so added bake time. Delicious over mashed potatoes! I’ve made similar recipes with capers which I missed this time, but the overall recipe was much more streamlined than previous attempts. Thank you!!!
Made this tonight for my parents and it was a big hit! Everyone got seconds (including me). That sauce is incredible. I doubled it and cooked some pasta and asparagus on the side. I’ll be making this regularly. Thank you!
Ahmazziinngg recipe. I’ve been surfing the web looking for inspiration and somehow came across this little gem. It’s now a regularly requested item from the super picky hubby. Thank you SO MUCH!
We can’t eat onion, so have been leaving that out. I’ve tried the recipe both cooking the garlic before adding the main liquids, and adding it with the liquids as per the recipe, and didn’t find much difference in that case. Guessing since it’s a small amount and the sauces simmers for a while, but who knows.
I often double the sauce ingredients to serve over pasta with a side of broccoli. Makes great leftovers evidently! I also toss in a random Tbs of baby capers just before adding the butter to the sauce. DELICIOUS.
Finally, purely because I’m lazy, I usually cut my chicken breasts down to 1/4″ – ish thickness rather than pounding them. So far, prepping my own, I’ve had excellent results every time with no dryness.
It’s amazing to me that I can create fine dining quality fora quick (once you get the timing down) mid week meal. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this recipe!,
This was really good. I added more than the amount of pepper flakes than the recipe called for because we like spicy food. It was better than expected, will definitely make again!
Oh, and I made it completely on the stovetop because my oven is in the fritz, just let the sauce reduce a little more so it wasn’t so watery since I wasn’t putting it in the oven. Really, really good!
Did a quick search of chicken recipes and came across this recipe and decided to give it a try. So glad I did because it is DELICIOUS!! My husband loves it and has asked me to make it a few times!
Came across this whilst looking for low carb recipes, Tried it last night and it was outstanding, full of flavour but so simple to make, this will definitely be a regular dish in our house!