If the sound of golden crispy chicken bathing in a lemon garlic cream sauce makes your mouth water, this delicious, creamy chicken al limone recipe is for you! Simple ingredients that can all be mixed together in just one pan, make it a great recipe for busy weeknights when all you want is some comfort food with minimal effort - all ready in 30 minutes! Serve with garlic smashed potatoes, steakhouse mashed potatoes, or savory garlic monkey, for a complete meal!
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👩🏽🍳Why This Recipe Works
- Quick, Easy, Delicious: This easy creamy lemon chicken recipe requires only 8 easy-to-find ingredients (not including pantry-staple seasonings). With just a few simple steps, you can have dinner ready in 30 minutes or less! Nothing fancy needed over here!
- One Pan Recipe: No need to worry about having to wash a bunch of dishes. This creamy chicken limone can be cooked entirely in one pan!
- Easily Customizable: Want to get creative with it? Go ahead! This flexible recipe is excellent for adding vegetables like spinach and mushrooms or meats like bacon. The sauce is a great base for endless add-ins.
🥘Ingredients
- Chicken breast cutlets - Boneless chicken make the perfect cut for a filling meal. Cutlets are generally thinner, and cook quickly.
- All-purpose flour - Adds a crispy crust to the chicken while also thickening the sauce.
- Chicken broth - I like to use a reduced sodium broth to control the salt content.
- Dry white wine - Adds a layer of acidic flavor (the alcohol will burn off while cooking). Be sure to use a wine that you would drink!
- Lemon - Fresh lemon juice adds brightness to the sauce. I recommend using fresh instead of bottled to really get that zesty taste. If you love the brightness that lemon brings, my lemon bucatini and lemon caper pasta have similar flavor profiles!
- Heavy cream - Makes the sauce rich and creamy!
- Salted butter - The secret to finishing a sauce and making it nice and silky.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖Substitutions
- Chicken breasts: If you prefer a different cut of chicken, bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts hold lots of flavor!
- All-purpose flour: Wheat allergy or out of flour? This recipe will do just fine without it!
- Chicken broth: Chicken bouillon concentrate paste is a good substitute for chicken broth and won't alter the recipe.
- Dry white wine: No wine at home or prefer to omit the wine? No problem! Just use more chicken broth and leave out the wine.
- Heavy cream: Half and half cream or creme fraiche will provide the same amount of richness and creaminess to your chicken limone.
🔪Variations
- Greens - If you'd like to add some healthy greens to your chicken limone, toss in some spinach, green beans, or frozen sweet peas a little before cooking is complete.
- Artichokes - Artichoke hearts add an earthy, herbaceous taste that really elevates this quick meal! Just rinse thoroughly, drain, and cook until heated. I advise using canned artichoke hearts as jarred artichokes tend to have too strong a flavor.
- 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 a more earthy, dynamic dish. Just slice them up on a cutting board and add them to your pan with the lemon juice and chicken broth, and you'll be golden!
⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Coat the chicken - First, season the flour with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Then add the flour mixture to a shallow dish or plate. Dredge the chicken breasts on both sides into the seasoned flour and dust off any extra flour. [photo 1]
Once you coated your chicken, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Heat butter and place the chicken into the heated skillet.
Sear the chicken for 3-4 on each side until golden brown. You want the chicken to read 165°F with an instant-read thermometer. After searing, remove the tender chicken breast from the pan and set it aside on a plate. [photo 2]
To the same pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Heat 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. Using a spatula, scrape up the 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]
When 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.
Next, lower the heat to medium-low and add the heavy cream and butter to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and return the chicken to the creamy sauce in the pan. 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! [photo 4]
💭 Expert Tips
Use fresh lemon juice! Lemons are the star of this sauce, and you really want the freshness and brightness that you get from fresh lemons. Not to mention, the zest is an important part of making this sauce sing!
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. While drinking wine like that is great, it isn’t the best for a sauce.
🍽 Make Ahead & Storage
You can make this chicken ahead of time and reheat it right before serving. However, because of its bright flavors, keep in mind that the sauce might lose its fresh lemon-garlic taste.
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- For best results, reheat the sauce in the microwave until heated through and the chicken in the oven at 400°F for 15 minutes.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
Lemon juice both tenderizes and adds vibrancy to your average chicken dish. The flavor and acidity of the lemon make for a super flavorful, juicy, and tender chicken that you cannot resist!
Lemon can have a drying effect on chicken, especially if it is overcooked. As long as you use enough oil in your chicken recipe and don't cook it too long, you should be okay!
You don't need to. Cooking your chicken to its proper temperature will kill off any bacteria.
📝More Chicken Recipes
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Creamy Skillet Chicken Limone
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
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, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Then add the flour mixture to a shallow dish or plate. Dredge the chicken breasts on both sides into the seasoned flour and dust off any extra flour.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 over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoon of butter and olive oil to the pan. Heat the butter and oil and place the chicken into the heated skillet.
- Sear the chicken for 3-4 on each side until golden brown. You want the chicken to read 165°F with an instant-read thermometer. After searing, remove the chicken breast from the pan and set it aside on a plate.
- To the same pan, 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. Using a spatula, scrape up the 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
- When 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.¼ cup Chicken broth, 1 Lemon
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add the heavy cream and butter to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and return the chicken to the creamy sauce in the pan. Garnish with lemon zest and fresh parsley, and serve!¼ cup Heavy cream, 1 tablespoon Salted butter, Salt, Pepper
Equipment
Notes
- Use fresh lemon juice! Lemons are the star of this sauce, and you really want the freshness and brightness that you get from fresh lemons. Not to mention, the zest is an important part of making this sauce, sing!
- 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. While drinking wine like that is great, it isn’t the best for a sauce.
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