Lemon Butter Chicken

Name: Lemon Butter Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, (boneless, skinless); ½ tablespoon smoked paprika; ⅛ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper; ¼ teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, (divided); 4 cloves fresh garlic, (chopped); 1 cup chicken broth; ½ cup heavy cream; ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, (freshly grated ); juice of 1 lemon; ¼ teaspoon dried thyme; splash of dry white wine, (optional); 2 cups fresh spinach; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, (chopped)

Yield 4 people

Cook 30

Prep 10

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

Start Cooking

This savory lemon butter chicken is super easy to make and over the top in taste! Full of flavor, every bite is unforgettable. The lemon butter sauce is hands down the best homemade sauce you'll ever make at home and pairs perfectly with the tender and juicy chicken!

Black pan containing 3 Lemon Butter Chicken Breasts, crossed spoons and lemon slices on table.

Jump to:

Why This Recipe Is Better Than The Rest:
Everything You Need To Know Before Making This Recipe:
👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tip: Don't Worry If the Sauce Looks Thin
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
🔪 How to Make Lemon Butter Chicken: Step-by-Step Instructions:
🙋🏼‍♀️ Questions I Get Asked About This Recipe
🥗 Here's What I Serve With This Chicken
🥘 More Chicken Recipes You Just Have To Try!
Lemon Butter Chicken

Why This Recipe Is Better Than The Rest:

✅ The lemon butter sauce is the star! This isn't just a chicken recipe topped with melted butter and lemon. The sauce combines fresh garlic, chicken broth, heavy cream, freshly grated Parmesan, lemon juice, thyme, and optional white wine for a rich, creamy sauce with bright lemon flavor. We're talking restaurant quality.

✅ It's a one-pan dinner! The chicken, sauce, and spinach are all prepared in the same oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven, which means fewer dishes to wash afterward. The recipe starts on the stovetop and finishes in the oven.

✅ It's versatile, You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, swap the spinach for kale, and add ingredients such as mushrooms, capers, or sun-dried tomatoes.

✅ The sauce is flour free. It doesn't need flour to become creamy. If you want it thicker, you can use a simple cornstarch slurry instead.

Helpful Reader Review

"We have been making this for a few years now, and my whole family loves this meal. All six of my kids have it on their list of favorite meals and try to lay claim to the leftovers for lunch." - Nicole ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Black pot containing 3 breasts of lemon butter chicken, topped with parsley.

Everything You Need To Know Before Making This Recipe:

Types of Chicken to Use for this Recipe: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best for this recipe, but you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If your chicken breasts are especially thick, use a meat tenderizer to pound them to a more even thickness. This helps the chicken cook more evenly and keeps it tender.
Use Fresh Garlic and Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice: Because garlic and lemon are two of the main flavors in the sauce, fresh ingredients make a huge difference taste wise! Freshly chopped garlic gives the sauce so more flavor, while freshly squeezed lemon juice adds a super fresh citrus flavor.
Use an Oven-Safe Skillet or Dutch Oven: You'll need a skillet or Dutch oven that can safely go from the stovetop to the oven. A shallow Dutch oven or deep cast-iron skillet works really well!
The Chicken Isn't Fully Cooked After Searing: The chicken is only seared for about 2–3 minutes per side at the beginning. It will finish cooking in the oven once it's added back to the lemon butter sauce. Always use a digital meat thermometer and cook the chicken to 165°F.
Store and Reheat Leftovers: Store leftover lemon butter chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. When reheating, gently warm the chicken and sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through. Do not freeze this recipe, as the creamy sauce can change in texture when frozen and thawed.

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tip: Don't Worry If the Sauce Looks Thin

The lemon butter sauce will look fairly thin while it's cooking, but that's completely normal. As it simmers, the sauce will begin to thicken and become creamy.
If you want a thicker sauce, make a simple cornstarch slurry by whisking together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Slowly whisk the slurry into the sauce while it's over medium heat and continue cooking until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
Don't use flour to thicken this sauce. It can give the sauce a pasty texture and alter the flavor. Cornstarch gives you a much smoother result.

🛒 Ingredients You'll Need

Garlic - use fresh garlic instead of the jar version. Fresh chopped garlic tastes way better!
Lemon juice - the same rule applies when it comes to lemon juice...freshly squeezed juice from the lemon adds a hint of zesty freshness.
Spinach - while frozen spinach can work in a pinch, fresh spinach holds up better in this dish.
Paprika - You can use regular paprika, but smoked paprika adds a subtle smoky flavor and more depth to the chicken. It's one of those simple ingredients that makes a big difference.
The White Wine is Optional - A splash of dry white wine, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, adds another layer of flavor to the sauce, but you can leave it out if you prefer to cook without wine.

Recipe Card

👩🏼‍🍳 Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients, exact measurements, and step-by-step instructions.

🔪 How to Make Lemon Butter Chicken: Step-by-Step Instructions:

Three chicken breasts sprinkled with smoked Paprika, salt and pepper in a black pan.

Step 1

Start by seasoning the breasts with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.

Three sauteed chicken breasts in a black pan.

Step 2

Next, add the unsalted butter and sauté for about 2-3 minutes, on each side. When it's finished sautéing, remove the chicken breasts from the heat and set aside set on a plate so you can sauté the garlic and butter.

👩🏼‍🍳 Important Note: The chicken is NOT done at this point!

Chopped garlic and butter sauteing in a black pan.

Step 3

When the garlic is sautéd, you're ready to start making the sauce.

Skillet filled with ingredients to make the sauce.

Step 4

Combine the sautéd garlic, broth, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and thyme. Oh - and if you're adding a splash of wine, add it now! Bring the sauce to a slow rolling boil.

skillet filled with fresh spinach being added to a skillet.

Step 5

Add a large handful of fresh spinach to the sauce and stir once to coat.

Lemon Butter Cream sauce with spinach sauteing in a black pan.

Step 6

The spinach will start to wilt as the sauce gets hot and starts to slowly thicken.

Step 7

When the sauce slightly thickens, add the sautéd chicken into the dish with the sauce so it can bake together with the other ingredients. The sautéd garlic mixed with the juices and other ingredients makes you want to eat it at this stage...but since the chicken is not fully cooked, you'll have to wait a bit longer!

Step 8

Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. When done, remove the dish from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Top with fresh chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Enter your email to receive this recipe, along with weekly food inspiration!

🙋🏼‍♀️ Questions I Get Asked About This Recipe

What is lemon butter sauce made of?

In this recipe, it's made with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, chicken broth, butter, garlic, lemon juice, thyme, and a splash of white wine. It's so good you'll want to eat it by the spoonful!

Can I use frozen spinach instead of fresh spinach?

Yes, you can use frozen spinach, but I strongly recommend fresh spinach for this recipe. Frozen spinach releases a lot of water when it thaws, so it's important to completely thaw it and squeeze out as much of the excess liquid as possible before adding it to the sauce. If the spinach isn't drained extremely well, the extra liquid will make the lemon butter sauce too thin and may prevent it from thickening properly.

Can I make lemon butter chicken ahead of time?

This recipe should not be made ahead of time. It's best fresh out of the oven.

White plate containing a breast of lemon butter chicken, fork in a piece of chicken.

🥗 Here's What I Serve With This Chicken

🥘 More Chicken Recipes You Just Have To Try!

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you tried this lemon butter chicken, let me know how it turned out in the comments below! I love hearing from you! And, please leave a 🌟 rating while you're there!

📧 Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter, so you don’t miss out on any of my other delicious recipes!

Comments

4.85 from 60 votes (16 ratings without comment)

Lemon Butter Chicken

Why This Recipe Is Better Than The Rest:

Everything You Need To Know Before Making This Recipe:

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tip: Don't Worry If the Sauce Looks Thin

🛒 Ingredients You'll Need