Lemon Butter Chicken – a weeknight favorite!

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This easy Lemon Chicken Recipe is a quick & easy dinner, packed full of flavor. Great for a weeknight meal when you are staring at the fridge and pantry “what to make… what to make?!” Got a lemon? Some pasta? Great! We’re in business!

Step by step instructions, with photos are included in this post – making your dinner time dash super easy! 

I am making an educated guess that if you’re here on Kylee Cooks – you probably need some quick and easy meals! During the school year,  weeknights are chaos. In midst of homework, activities, packing bags, making lunches, folding laundry, keeping the house in order etc –  I need to produce something for us all to enjoy for dinner. Now that school is about to start up again, I need to pull this one out of summer retirement, and make it again (and again, and again).

I love to cook, obviously, but I don’t always have time to get fancy, sometimes I just need to cover the bases. Protein, vegetables and optional carbs. Never mind, carbs are never optional! This is a fast, easy and really tasty weeknight winner that will appeal to the whole family. With lemon, butter and pasta – how could you go wrong? 

This EASY chicken recipe is one I have been making for years! I made it before I had children, while I was pregnant with said children, and now that my children are 5 and 7, I still make it. And the best part is, that they actually eat it.

It’s definitely my kind of comfort food. Let me know what you think – is this YOUR idea of delicious?

INGREDIENTS:

• CHICKEN BREAST – this is easily switched out for chicken thighs if you prefer
• FLOUR – plain old all-purpose flour
• BUTTER – I use salted butter, always. Olive oil is not a suitable sub for this!
• ONION – dice this up super fine – it is part of the flavor base for the sauce
• CHICKEN STOCK – make your own chicken stock, or grab it from the store – no judgment from me!
• FRESH LEMON JUICE – okay, this is important. As it is the main flavor component for the entire dish, don’t use the stuff from a bottle. Seriously, just don’t!! You’ll need a fresh lemon – and maybe some of the zest.
• DRY EGG NOODLES – I like egg noodles, but you can use any kind of pasta, or none at all! Creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes from my friend at Lemon Blossoms are also a great side for lemon chicken. Soaks up that delicious lemon sauce!!

How to make Lemon Butter Chicken:

1. Slice chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, season with salt & pepper and toss with flour.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter.
3. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook (depending on the size of your chicken chunks) a few minutes per side until chicken is cooked, and golden brown.
4. Remove and keep warm.
5. Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to package directions, drain and lightly butter.
6. Add onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Add chicken broth to pan and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the pan.
8. Add lemon juice and boil until mixture is reduced to about 1/3 cup.
9. Remove from heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
10. Return chicken to pan and heat through.
11. Plate – serve over egg noodles, and spoon the lemon butter sauce over the the chicken. Save the extra sauce, and serve at the table for anyone who needs a little more.

OPTIONAL

• Garnish with parsley (and lemon slices if you wish)

Kylee’s Notes & FAQs

• What side dishes go well with lemon chicken? I like fresh steamed green beans with this meal – or even a bag of frozen vegetables rescued from the back of the freezer drawer. But you just do you, okay?
• Switch out the chicken breast and use chicken thighs if you prefer that cut of chicken
• A very light dusting of parmesan cheese is a great addition to the dish.
• If you really love the lemon flavor, and want to intensify it – add a little lemon zest to the sauce when you add the lemon juice. You may also like to include the zest with the flour. Up to you!
• I regularly include garlic powder to the flour,  or add garlic to the pan with the onion.

Want more chicken or weeknight recipes?

• How about Chicken Pot Pie (made in 1 skillet)? It’s super easy, and an absolute family favorite!
• Simple Sour Cream Enchiladas are great to make ahead and bake when you need them.
• This Italian Style Mozzarella Skillet is the stuff of DREAMS. Try it!
• One Pan Ham & Cheese Pasta – pure comfort food and ready in under 30 minutes. YESSSS!!
• ALL CHICKEN RECIPES
• ALL WEEKNIGHT RECIPES

Just for laughsies – here’s the original photo. 

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5 from 18 votes

Lemon Butter Chicken

Lemon Butter Chicken is a quick & easy dinner, packed full of flavor. Great for a weeknight meal when you are staring at the fridge and pantry "what to make… what to make?!" Got a lemon? Some pasta? Great! We're in business!

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Rate

serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 4 Tbs butter divided
• 1/2 small onion diced finely
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 8 oz dry egg noodles

Instructions

• Slice chicken into bite sized pieces, season with salt and pepper and toss with flour.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter.
  
  
• Add the chicken to the skillet and cook (depending on the size of your chicken chunks) a few minutes per side until chicken is cooked, and golden brown.
• Remove and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to package directions, drain and lightly butter.
• Add onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add chicken broth to pan and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the pan.
• Add lemon juice and boil until mixture is reduced to about 1/3 cup.
• Remove from heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• Return chicken to pan and heat through.
• Plate – serve over egg noodles, and spoon the lemon butter sauce over the top.
• Save the extra sauce, and serve at the table for anyone who needs a little more.
• Devour.

Tips & Notes:

• What side dishes go well with lemon chicken? I like fresh steamed green beans with this meal – or even a bag of frozen vegetables rescued from the back of the freezer drawer. But you just do you, okay?
• Switch out the chicken breast and use chicken thighs if you prefer that cut of chicken
• A very light dusting of parmesan cheese is a great addition to the dish.
• If you really love the lemon flavor, and want to intensify it – add a little lemon zest to the sauce when you add the lemon juice. You may elso like to include the zest with the flour. Up to you!
• I regularly include garlic powder to the flour,  or add garlic to the pan with the onion.

nutrition facts

Calories: 507kcal (25%) Carbohydrates: 51g (17%) Protein: 35g (70%) Fat: 18g (28%) Saturated Fat: 9g (56%) Cholesterol: 153mg (51%) Sodium: 331mg (14%) Potassium: 653mg (19%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 3g (3%) Vitamin A: 425IU (9%) Vitamin C: 6.8mg (8%) Calcium: 32mg (3%) Iron: 2mg (11%)

Nutritional Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Kylee Cooks are for informational purposes only. Kylee is not a certified nutritionist. Nutritional data provided on Kylee Cooks has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration.

Author: Kylee Cooks

Course:Dinner

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Update: This recipe was originally published in 2015, but has been updated to improve reader experience.