This quick and easy chicken with lemon garlic cream sauce is bursting with rich citrus flavor and is ready in 20 minutes!
Lemon chicken is wonderful if done right. I’ve made a crunchy and buttery lemon pepper version before and some baked juicy crispy-skinned thighs as well. The lemon-infused flavor really brings life to your regular, boring old chicken breast or thigh.
For this recipe, instead of enjoying just one layer of flavor from the fresh citrusy taste of lemon, we’ll add some sweetness from some honey for a slight combination flavor of sweet and sour. We’ll also be adding a few dashes of red pepper flakes for some heat and to kick up the taste just a little.
Coupled with a cream sauce, this combo is creamy and rich but filled with fresh, zesty flavors. It’s wonderfully delicious and easy to get ready for weeknight dinners.
You can use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, whichever you prefer, and serve it with some greens like some broccoli, green beans, or asparagus and/or some carbs like mashed potatoes or some fully loaded baked potatoes. Let’s start cooking.
CHICKEN WITH LEMON GARLIC CREAM SAUCE RECIPE TIPS
I flattened the breasts to help them cook evenly. For this recipe, I used fresh chicken breasts but frozen chicken breasts work just as well. Get make sure to pound them down to about 1/2″ of thickness and you’re good to go.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels before seasoning them so they can sear up nicely over the stove. Then we pan-sear it in some butter and olive oil. Depending on the thickness of your chicken, it should take about 10-15 minutes to fully cook.
The easiest way to stop the guesswork of whether the chicken is fully cooked is to cut it in the thickest part to see if the meat is white instead of pink, or if you want to keep them pretty and presentable use a meat thermometer.
You might also need to do the cooking in two batches, depending on the size of your breasts and the skillet you use. Just don’t overcrowd them too much and if you want to keep your kitchen clean, use a splatter screen.
Then we combine the sauce ingredients and let it simmer until thickened. Stir in the heavy cream, add the chicken back to the pan and toss it in the sauce to coat. Let it simmer some more until the sauce is as thick as you want it. Make sure to taste the sauce to see if it’s to your taste and add more salt and pepper or pepper flakes if needed.
And that’s about it. Serve with some lemon wedges and if you need more lemony goodness, just squeeze some onto the chicken.
Happy cooking!
MORE LEMON CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY
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Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This quick and easy chicken with lemon garlic cream sauce is bursting with rich citrus flavor and is ready in 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
LEMON GARLIC CREAM SAUCE
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- Red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
- Wrap the chicken breasts in plastic wrap and pound into 1/2″ thickness.
- Pat the chicken dry and season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
- Over medium-high heat, melt butter and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Pan-sear the chicken breasts until browned on one side, about 5 minutes.
- Lower heat to medium and flip the chicken to the other side.
- Cover and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until internal temperature is 165°F and juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet.
- Combine the sauce ingredients and stir to mix.
- Pour sauce into the skillet and scrape up any browned bits from the chicken.
- Simmer until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream and mix.
- Return chicken to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce.
- Dish and serve hot with lemon wedges and parsley (optional).
- Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Comments & Reviews
I made it last night,lemons are my favorite to begin with so I love this this was extremely easy to follow the instructions and it only took 25 minutes I doubled the recipe, it’s already one of my favorite go to recipe! Thank you
You’re welcome, Sherry! Thanks for trying this recipe and I’m glad it worked out so well for you. I’m a big fan of lemony flavors too – one of my favorites is baked honey lemon chicken. The lemon slices are roasted along with the chicken and you get caramelized and charred lemon slices to dip your chicken into for extra flavor!
Can I make the sauce by itself with the heavy cream?
Absolutely, it just won’t be a creamy sauce. You’ll get the same flavors, without the cream so skipping the heavy cream won’t break the recipe. Good luck cooking, Brandon!
Loved it! Instead of dried pepper flakes, I threw in about 1 tsp of Sambal Oelek chili paste 😀 highly recommend!…Then again, I’d recommend Sambal on almost anything…
I’m a big fan of sambal myself 🙂
Every time I cook either chicken or pork chops they always seem to dry out. Please help
It sounds like they are overcooked, Mary. That’s the safest assumption I can make without knowing the full recipe. Unlike beef, the longer you cook chicken the tougher and dryer it gets! I remember when I first started trying out cooking with a slow cooker, I let the chicken sit in there longer than it should have and kept it warm for a long time. Boy did that chicken come out dry!
What white pan did you use? Looks perfect
I used GreenPan from Target. Snagged it while it was on clearance there.
Another delicious dish – i must say i subscribe to a few blogs for recipes and yours without fail are the best around with such easy instructions.
Thanks for your inspiration and help in what to cook next lol
Thank you for saying so, Meggan! It never gets old hearing that I’m heading in the right direction for easy, approachable recipes 🙂
This looks amazing! But I am trying to watch intake of fats! What about replacing heavy cream with greek yogurt?
I’ve used plain yogurt in my curries to thicken them before in the past and it worked. Just add in the yogurt in the end off the heat or lower the heat down so it doesn’t curdle. I haven’t tried it with greek yogurt though. Good luck!
The chicken breast look perfectly cooked, the sauce is creamy, and the ingredients although simple but combined brought out a great flavor 🙂
Simplicity at its best! 🙂