This Italian chicken al limone, or chicken in a delicious lemon cream sauce, is the perfect 30-minute meal for any day of the week! All you need are a few simple pantry ingredients to bring this easy lemon chicken recipe together. The best part? This comfort food recipe comes together in just one pan with very minimal effort - it's an easy recipe that your whole family will love!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple ingredients: This easy creamy lemon chicken recipe only needs 8 easy-to-find ingredients. This means you won't need to make any special trips to the grocery store to have a flavorful chicken recipe on your table on busy weeknights.
- One Pan Recipe: This creamy chicken limone recipe is cooked entirely in one pan, which means less dishes to take care of at the end of the night.
- Easily Customizable: This flexible recipe is excellent for adding vegetables like spinach and mushrooms or meats like bacon or pancetta. The sauce is a great base for endless add-ins, and will adapt to the flavors you add.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken breasts: Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts are a great cut to use in this popular chicken dish. The cooking time will increase slightly, so be sure to keep that in mind.
- All-purpose flour: You can skip using all-purpose flour if you prefer to. A light dusting of cornstarch will also give you a similar crust that all-purpose flour does. The all-purpose flour works well enough on its own, so you will not need to use an egg mixture to dredge the chicken.
- Chicken broth: Chicken bouillon concentrate paste is a good substitute for chicken broth and won't alter the recipe. Be sure to reduce any added salt in the sauce, as bouillon concentrate tends to be on the saltier side. You will also want to add some additional water to the sauce, as bouillon concentrate is not a liquid. If you do not have bouillon concentrate, you can use bouillon cubes as a last resort.
- Dry white wine: You can leave the wine out and use more chicken broth instead.
- Heavy cream: Half and half cream or creme fraiche will provide the same amount of richness and creaminess to your chicken limone.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
Substitutions
- Chicken breasts: Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts are a great cut to use in this popular chicken dish. The cooking time will increase slightly, so be sure to keep that in mind. You can also use quick-cooking chicken tenders instead of chicken cutlets.
- All-purpose flour: You can skip using all-purpose flour if you prefer to. A light dusting of cornstarch will also give you a similar crust that all-purpose flour does.
- Chicken broth: Chicken bouillon concentrate paste is a good substitute for chicken broth and won't alter the recipe. You will want to add additional water to the sauce, as bouillon concentrate is not a liquid. If you do not have bouillon concentrate, you can use bouillon cubes as a last resort.
- Dry white wine: You can leave the wine out and use more chicken broth instead.
- Heavy cream: Half and half cream or creme fraiche will provide the same amount of richness and creaminess to your chicken limone.
Variations
- Greens: Add healthy greens to your chicken limone with some spinach, green beans, or frozen sweet peas a little before cooking is complete.
- Capers: To make this lemon butter chicken more similar to chicken piccata, add some drained jarred capers to the sauce. They will add a delicious brininess to the sauce that will complement the lemon.
- Bacon: Crispy bacon adds a lot of rich flavor and texture to chicken limone. I recommend using freshly cooked bacon cut into pieces for the best results.
- Mushrooms: Sauté fresh mushrooms and add them to your creamy lemon sauce for some earthiness.
- Pescatarian-friendly: This sauce will be just as delicious with a white fish like halibut, or your favorite shellfish like shrimp or scallops.
- Spices: Add your favorite Italian seasonings to the spice mix for some extra flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all ingredients: This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Mince the garlic: Mince the garlic as finely as possible using a knife, or a garlic press for convenience.
Season the flour with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a shallow bowl. Whisk together until the spices are combined in the flour. Dip chicken breasts on both sides into the seasoned flour and dust off any extra flour. Ensure to get flour on all sides of the chicken breast. [photo 1]
Heat a large skillet pan over medium high heat You can also use a heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet. Add equal parts butter and extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Add the dredged chicken to the hot oiled pan. [photo 2]
Sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. The chicken should have an internal temperature of 165°F with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the cooked chicken breast from the pan and set it aside on a plate.
To the same skillet, add another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the minced garlic, and sauté until it is lightly brown and fragrant. Once the garlic is lightly browned, add the white wine to the pan to deglaze. Using a spatula, scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine simmer for 3-5 minutes to cook off the alcohol and the raw wine taste. [photo 3]
Once the wine has cooked down, add the chicken broth and lemon juice. Cook together and let the sauce continue to simmer for another 3 minutes. This sauce cooks quickly, so you do not need 15-20 minutes of simmering time with this recipe.
Lower the heat to medium-low, and add the heavy cream and a tablespoon of butter to the sauce. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste, and place chicken pieces into the creamy sauce in the pan. [photo 4]
Let the chicken simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes, to allow the flour on the chicken to thicken the sauce slightly. Garnish with lemon zest and fresh parsley, and serve. Optionally grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top of the chicken when serving.
Expert Tips
Do not rush the wine: If you don’t let the wine simmer long enough, you will find that your sauce will taste a little bit off, like raw wine. This will taste overly acidic and will throw the balance of the sauce off.
Shake off excess flour: When dredging the chicken with the flour, shake it gently to remove any excess. This prevents the sauce from becoming too thick or gummy.
Balance the flavors: If the sauce is too sour, you can balance the lemon flavor by adding a pinch of sugar or a drizzle of honey.
Keep the moisture on the chicken: While you usually want to pat the chicken dry before searing, this recipe works best if you keep the exterior moisture on the chicken breasts. This will help the flour stick to the surface of the chicken, without needing an egg wash.
Make Ahead & Storage
If you purchase whole chicken breasts, they can be butterflied or sliced in half into cutlets in advance, and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
When storing leftover chicken, allow it to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. This will help avoid any food safety issues.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
The best way to reheat leftover chicken is in a skillet on the stove, over medium heat. If the sauce has become too thick, you can add a splash of chicken broth to the skillet.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve this chicken recipe over a bed of buttered angel hair pasta for a restaurant-style meal.
- Roasted garlic mashed potatoes, loaded mashed potato rolls, or Instant Pot brown butter mashed potatoes are the perfect side for this saucy chicken.
- Mop up any leftover creamy lemon sauce with homemade ciabatta garlic bread or black pepper focaccia bread.
Recipe FAQs
To prevent the chicken from becoming tough, it's important not to overcook it. Chicken cutlets are thin, and cook quickly. Cook the chicken just until it's no longer pink in the center and has reached 165°F internally. Overcooking will result in dry and tough chicken.
If the sauce is too thin, you can thicken it by simmering it over medium heat for a few extra minutes to allow some of the liquid to evaporate and to let the flour on the chicken to mix with the sauce. You can also thicken with a slurry by mixing equal parts cornstarch and cold water into the sauce.
You can freeze chicken limone, but the sauce may separate when thawing and reheating. The texture will not be as silky and smooth, which is not ideal. This recipe is best enjoyed fresh.
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Creamy Skillet Chicken Limone
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken breast cutlets (boneless, skinless)
- ½ cup All purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon Salted butter
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
For the Sauce
- 4 cloves Garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup Chicken broth
- ¼ cup Dry white wine
- 1 Lemon (juiced)
- ¼ cup Heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Salted butter
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Season the flour with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a shallow bowl. Whisk together until the spices are combined in the flour. Dip chicken breasts on both sides into the seasoned flour and dust off any extra flour. Ensure to get flour on all sides of the chicken breast.½ cup All purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon Garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon Smoked paprika, 4 Chicken breast cutlets
- Heat a large skillet pan over medium high heat You can also use a heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet. Add equal parts butter and extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Add the dredged chicken to the hot oiled pan.2 tablespoon Salted butter, 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- Sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. The chicken should have an internal temperature of 165°F with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the cooked chicken breast from the pan and set it aside on a plate.
- To the same skillet, add another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the minced garlic, and sauté until it is lightly brown and fragrant. Once the garlic is lightly browned, add the white wine to the pan to deglaze. Using a spatula, scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine simmer for 3-5 minutes to cook off the alcohol and the raw wine taste.4 cloves Garlic, ¼ cup Dry white wine
- Once the wine has cooked down, add the chicken broth and lemon juice. Cook together and let the sauce continue to simmer for another 3 minutes. This sauce cooks quickly, so you do not need 15-20 minutes of simmering time with this recipe.¼ cup Chicken broth, 1 Lemon
- Lower the heat to medium-low, and add the heavy cream and a tablespoon of butter to the sauce. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste, and place chicken pieces into the creamy sauce in the pan.¼ cup Heavy cream, 1 tablespoon Salted butter, Salt, Pepper
- Let the chicken simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes, to allow the flour on the chicken to thicken the sauce slightly. Garnish with lemon zest and fresh parsley, and serve. Optionally grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top of the chicken when serving.
Notes
- Do not rush the wine: If you don’t let the wine simmer long enough, you will find that your sauce will taste a little bit off, like raw wine. This will taste overly acidic and will throw the balance of the sauce off.
- Shake off excess flour: When dredging the chicken with the flour, shake it gently to remove any excess. This prevents the sauce from becoming too thick or gummy.
- Balance the flavors: If the sauce is too sour, you can balance the lemon flavor by adding a pinch of sugar or a drizzle of honey.
- Keep the moisture on the chicken: While you usually want to pat the chicken dry before searing, this recipe works best if you keep the exterior moisture on the chicken breasts. This will help the flour stick to the surface of the chicken, without needing an egg wash.
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