Lemon Pepper Chicken
91 Comments
Updated May 23, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
Weeknight dinners just got even easier with this lemon pepper chicken. Chicken breasts are coated in a bright and tangy lemon pepper seasoning, seared until golden, and then topped with a drizzle of the best lemony garlic butter sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Pepper Chicken
I always say that simple is best, and that’s definitely the case with this lemon pepper chicken. I’m a busy gal, so when I want to get a tasty meal on the table fast, this is my go-to recipe. And in terms of flavor, it’s almost a cross-between my Greek lemon chicken and chicken piccata, but unique in its own way. Here’s why you’ll love it:
- It’s a quick 15-minute dinner with minimal ingredients. Who doesn’t love the sound of that? Especially on busy weeknights when we have low energy and a hungry appetite. Plus, everything is cooked in one pan for minimal cleanup.
- It’s a great healthy choice. Chicken breasts are lean, protein-packed, and pair beautifully with a variety of vegetable sides. So if you’re looking for more delicious ways to serve up boneless skinless chicken breasts, this recipe is a great choice.
- It’s a flavor everyone loves! We can thank Atlanta, Georgia for popularizing lemon pepper chicken wings. The seasoning is bright, tangy, and salty, but not overpowering. And it’s well suited to these chicken breasts as well!
Lemon Pepper Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: Grab two bigger chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds) since you’ll be slicing them in half. If you can only find smaller chicken breasts, you can alternatively use four smaller pieces and pound them flatter.
- Flour: You can use cornstarch or arrowroot flour if you’re gluten-free. This will be mixed with the seasoning to give the chicken a delicious golden crust.
- Seasoning: The key to this recipe is grabbing a good bottle of lemon pepper seasoning. Most brands will work but watch out for any filler ingredients. I’ve linked my favorite bottle to the recipe card below.
- Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce: To enhance the lemon pepper chicken, I’m making a simple sauce with butter, fresh lemon juice and zest, minced garlic, and chicken broth. For the garlic, I recommend going with fresh versus powdered for a more robust garlic flavor and delicious garlic bits!
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Lemon Pepper Chicken
Slice and season the chicken. Carefully slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally. Then, mix the flour seasoning and sprinkle it evenly over both sides of the chicken, pressing in with your hands.
Cook the chicken: Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, then flip over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes (until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160 to 165°F). Then, remove the chicken to a plate so you can cook the sauce.
Make the sauce: Add the butter to the pan, and sauté the garlic in the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and reduce the sauce for a minute or two until slightly thickened.
Finish and serve: Add the chicken back to the pan, and spoon the sauce on top to soak up all that flavor. Garnish with lemon zest, and if you’d like, chopped parsley and lemon slices to make it a fabulous-looking dish. Enjoy this right away with some of the side dishes I mention below or store this away to enjoy throughout the week. You can find storage instructions in the recipe notes within the recipe card.
A few Helpful tips
- Add more flavor to the sauce by adding a splash of white wine and extra garlic! Similar to how I do on my shrimp scampi recipe. And if you want more sauce or to make it thicker, add more broth and stir in extra flour.
- Turn this into a complete meal by serving this over a bed of zucchini noodles (for a pasta-like dish) or pairing it with sides such as creamy mashed potatoes, garlic herb roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus, or sautéed green beans.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Soup: The most comforting and nourishing meal.
- Air Fryer Chicken Breast: Juicy chicken breasts, always!
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken: It’s called “Marry Me Chicken” for a reason.
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps: A fun yet delicious chicken dinner.
- Or any of these delicious chicken breast recipes!
I hope you love this lemon pepper chicken recipe as much as I do! If you make it, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your review will help other readers in the community.
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Description
Video
Equipment
- Le Creuset Braiser My favorite braiser pan for so many stovetop dishes!
Ingredients
For the lemon pepper chicken
- 2 large chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (or flour of choice)
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- ¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- optional: garnish with freshly chopped parsley and lemon slices
Instructions
- Cut the chicken: Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally.
- Mix the seasoning: In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, lemon pepper seasoning, and salt.
- Season the chicken: Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over both sides of the chicken, pressing it in with your hands.
- Cook the chicken: Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, then flip over and cook another 3 to 4 minutes (until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160 to 165°F). Remove to a plate.
- Make the sauce: Add the butter to the pan, and saute the garlic in the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and reduce the sauce for a minute or two.
- Finish and serve: Add the chicken back to the pan, and spoon the sauce on top. Garnish with lemon zest, and if you'd like, chopped parsley and lemon slices.
Lisa’s Tips
- To store for the week: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Make sure to save all the extra sauce left in the pan as well!
- To freeze: Store any leftovers or a second batch in the freezer! It will keep for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container
- To reheat: If frozen, thaw in the fridge the night before, then warm up in the microwave for a minute or two.
- You can use your favorite flour of choice. If you’re gluten-free I recommend using arrowroot powder, tapioca flour, or cornstarch. If you’re not gluten-free, you can use all-purpose flour.
- Watch the ingredient lists on store-bought lemon pepper seasonings. Some have fillers and low-quality ingredients. I’m using the Simply Organic brand (linked above in the ingredients).
- This is the instant-read thermometer I use.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
I’d like to know if the Lemon Pepper Chicken recipe can be made using chicken thighs?
Yes, you can use chicken thighs if you’d like!
Delicious, tender and perfectly seasoned!
I served it with angel hair pasta. The family asked if I could make this more often.
Happy to hear the whole family loves this lemon pepper chicken, Megan!
This chicken is so delicious and simple, it has become a go-to meal weekly. In fact, if I make chicken at all, I may switch up the seasoning but always make it using this technique! It comes out so tender and juicy each time—even my 2-year-old daughter enjoys it! I like to substitute the bone broth with a lemon-herb bone broth and omit the lemon juice and it’s absolutely amazing. 10/10 either way you make it!
Amazing! I’m so glad this lemon pepper chicken has become a staple, Sarah.
This was excellent! I used chicken tenders so it was pretty quick prep. I even put the sauce on it and kept in the oven on 300 for a half hour before serving and it was great!
Glad this recipe turned out great with chicken tenders instead!
Excellent way to prepare chicken It turned out so moist and flavorful. I have doubled and even tripled the recipe and always turns out great. Great to serve to guests the recipe comes together so easily. Thanks Lisa…another winner!
You’re more than welcome, Sandy! Enjoy. :)
I just made this recipe. It was very good. I watched the video first before starting. As I was watching the video, I started putting the seasoning mix together according to the video. It said mix 1 Tablespoon of arrow root powder with 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning and 1 tsp. of kosher salt….which I did. When I went back to the recipe, it’s written to use 1/2 tsp kosher salt. I checked the comments to see if anyone else had that dilemma…and if so, which is correct. I decided to make a new mixture with 1/2 tsp kosher salt…and in the end, I’m glad I did. One tsp. would have been too salty. It turned out great. Thank you!
Hi Christine – thanks for that catch! I may have accidentally said the wrong amount on the video. But yes, do follow the written instructions. Happy you enjoyed it!
This dish was extremely tasty! My hubby and I loved the sauce. Made the chicken with green beans and a baked sweet potato. Delish! Will definitely make this again and double the sauce.
Hi Angelita – Thrilled to hear you two enjoyed this lemon pepper chicken!
Just made this for our tea, amazing. So delicious, served with new potatoes, broccoli and green beans. Just a stunning recipe. All the family agree.
Hi Debra – Thrilled to hear this lemon pepper chicken is a family favorite!
I was hosting a dinner party for friends and this recipe definitely stole the show. It is so easy, light with gorgeous flavors. I had never even heard of lemon pepper, but it will be a regular in my kitchen from now on. Thanks again Lisa for the inspo!
Hi Babette – That’s amazing! I’m so glad this lemon pepper chicken worked out perfectly.
Oh, forgot to ask… What brand zester, citrus juicer & garlic press did you use? Thx :-)
Hi Sharon – You can find all of that either in the Shop page on my website or Amazon storefront!
¡¡¡FABULOSO!!! Lots of lemon flavor first, then the peppery goodness follows. Simple really is better with the right ingredients.
I knew by the lemon pepper, amount of lemon juice & the sprinkle of zest that it would be great. Other recipe sites had only regular pepper & a mere teaspoon of lemon juice. So glad I found this.
I only had chicken thighs on hand so there was a lot of fat. Cooking time was longer but the flavor was still amazing. Will definitely use chicken breast in the future.
Thanks Lisa :-)
Hi Sharon – Happy to hear you’re loving this lemon pepper chicken!
This was easy to make and so flavorful.
Thanks so much, Stacey!
Awesome receipe!My friends raved about how great it came out. It was simple and easy.
Wonderful! Happy to hear you all enjoyed it.
Such a great recipe!! It was so delicious. Everyone gobbled it up!!
Yay, love to hear that!
Delicious and easy! Also fast to make. We had streamed asparagus with some of the delicious sauce drizzled on top, and baked potatoes. Definitely a keeper recipe! Thanks 😊
Hi Lana – I’m so glad you enjoyed this lemon pepper chicken!
I loved made this with chicken breast and everyone loved it!! – so quick and easy!!
This is now one of my very fast dinner recipes!!
I’m happy to hear you loved the recipe, Phyllis!
I just made this with turkey breasts and it was delicious. Fast and easy lunch. Didn’t even have the chance to take the picture. Thumbs up!
We don’t normally have lemon pepper seasoning to buy in Croatia, but I just mixed some lemon zest, ground pepper and garlic.
Yes, it works great with turkey breasts as well. So happy you loved the recipe, Mia!
Wonderful! So glad to find your site. I didn’t have lemon pepper seasoning, so I made my own as I had all the ingredients…..found on Pinterest. Love your recipes! Always good to find something different to fix. Thanks!
Hi Nancy – I’m so glad you enjoyed this lemon pepper chicken!
I just made this for dinner this evening and it was delicious!
Awesome! Happy you loved it, Katie!
Fantastic. Wonderful marriage of flavours. Made it with Yukon mashed potatoes and air fryer green beans. Definitely having this as a regular meal. Thank you.
Hi Kelly – I’m so glad you enjoyed this lemon pepper chicken!
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. The lemon butter sauce was so flavorful, and the chicken was so moist. I served it with roasted asparagus. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes.
Hi Vicky – Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this lemon pepper chicken!
Made this tonight for dinner….it was a hit with my guys….the only complaint they had was I did not make enough. Definitely a family favorite. I actually make a lot of your recipes. Thanks for all you do!
Hi Lyn – Happy to hear this lemon pepper chicken was a hit with your family!
I’m sure this recipe would’ve been very tasty had mine not come out the way it did…. As I was not able to taste the seasoning until after the chicken was already cooked, I didn’t know until I tasted it that it was VERY salty. I used the exact measurements so I couldn’t understand why it came out like that. I finally realized that it possibly had to do with my lemon pepper seasoning, which already had lots of salt in it, so adding the additional salt made it WAY too salty. I’d like to think that it maybe my lemon pepper was different than others and that it would’ve been great otherwise, but I can’t say for sure as the meal was nearly inedible.
Hi, Lisa!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
I’ve just made it and it’s awesome.
I just wanna to ask, the nutrition of recipe is for 1 serving or for 100g?
P.S. Sorry for my english. It’s not my native language.😅
Hi Katerina – The nutritional information will always be per serving.
Another hit, thank you! I served it with some mashed potatoes but was too tired to make any veggies. Do you recommend storing the leftover chicken and sauce separately, or does it matter? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer – You can store the chicken and the sauce together!
Quick and easy chicken recipe that wows the palate with a fresh citrusy taste! As well as it is delicious, it also looks fantastic on a bed of sautéed shaved sprouts.
Hi Michele – Happy to hear you enjoyed this lemon pepper chicken!
As usual, this recipe was easy to follow and delicious! Served it with rice and a Greek side salad and the flavors all paired together wonderfully. The pan sauce was so good my husband said he wanted to literally lick the plate!
We used flour this time as mentioned in the recipe card as an alternative to arrowroot. I think I’ll try cornstarch next time as mentioned up in the post to see if it gets a little more sear on the chicken.
Hi Danielle – Love how you served this lemon pepper chicken!
Made this for a second time with cornstarch in place of flour and it was even better! The sear on the chicken and the taste of the pan sauce were incredible! I served it this time with your Mediterranean chickpea salad and rice… sooooo good!!
Hi Danielle – Glad this worked out great with cornstarch!
So easy and yummy! Was a hit with the Hubby!
Hi Sheryl – Happy to hear this lemon pepper chicken was a hit!
Hi Lisa! Do you know if arrowroot powder affects blood sugar? If it does, do you think I can I use almond flour?
Hi Shelley – That is something you’ll need to consult your doctor about as it can be different for anyone.
I made this for lunch today and it was delicious. I made the lemon pepper from scratch as I could not find a brand without crap or sugar. I love the portion sizes of the scalloped breast. It is also so tender when done this way. I am going to adapt the greek lemon chicken to a stove top version as well.
I love the warmth of the pepper and the tang of the lemon zest.
Thanks for another inspired recipe and good luck with the move!
Hi Ann – Homemade lemon pepper seasoning is the best! Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I made this for dinner tonight and I have to say this is my new favorite dish. I served it with steamed green beans and mashed cauliflower. Sooo good. Thanks, Lisa!
Hi Alan – Wonderful! I’m glad you found a new favorite chicken dish you can keep in rotation.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Thank you!
Hi Jennifer – Happy to hear you loved this lemon pepper chicken!
Made it for my 16 year old brother, who is a picky eater! We both loved it.
Hi Nidji – Happy to hear you both enjoyed this lemon pepper chicken!
Hi, this is a lovely fresh tasting recipe. Very easy with most of the ingredients on hand. I can’t wait to make this again. Thanks,
Hi there – Happy to hear you enjoyed this chicken recipe!
Yes to this!!
I had to make a few adjustments based on ingredients on hand:
I did not have chicken broth, so I used white vermouth.
It was delish – and as a bonus, I sautéed green beans in the pan after I spooned the sauce over the chicken.
Loved it.
thanks
Hi Linda – Good to know this still turned out great with your adjustments!
Wonderful. However. We put angel hair pasta in the sauce and had asparagus on the side. Beautiful.
Hi Donald – Love the way you served this lemon pepper chicken!
This chicken is delicious! I thought I had the lemon pepper spice, turns out I didn’t so I used garlic , salt and pepper and it was still sooo good!
Hi Brenda – Glad this still turned out delicious with your tweaks on the seasoning!
Easy to make and chicken comes out very juicy! My picky 7 year old said it was yummy and my picky 5 year old tried multiple bites (that’s a win!)
Served with gnocchi and salad
Hi Ace – Thanks for the review and happy to hear this lemon pepper chicken was a hit with your children!
i made this last night and all 4 family members loved it, with 2 fussy teens that almost never happens.
Hi Sara – Wonderful! I’m glad you found a winning chicken recipe everyone loved.
Absolutely delicious! Hubby even helped juice the lemons for me after he went and bought them lol! Easy cleanup too!
Hi Lori – This truly is such a simple and easy recipe! I’m glad both of you enjoyed it.
Made this easy chicken recipe tonight and my 21 year-old-son ate three helpings! No leftovers with this tasty and tender chicken dish. He had one helping with rice. We made Lisa’s green bean almondine too and it felt like a Sunday dinner without the fuss.
Hi Sarah – Woohoo! I’m glad this lemon pepper chicken was a hit.
Great recipes thank you for all the information. I just prepared a dish for my mother-in-law who just turned 101 years old. Absolutely delicious.
Thank you, Jim Annicelli
Hi Jamie – Happy to hear this chicken dish was a hit for your mother-in-law!
Absolute delicious. I made this tonight using chicken tenders and paired it with pasta. My whole family engulfed it and they want me to make it again to put over rice. They loved the refreshing taste of the sauce. Also, I doubled the recipe because I wanted to make sure I had plenty of sauce and chicken.
Hi Karen – Thanks for the review and I’m glad this chicken worked out great in a pasta!
Lisa, can I use almond flour? That is what I have on hand.
Hi Karen – Yes, that should be fine!
Hi Lisa. I love all your recipes and every one I’ve done (and I’ve done a lot!) are delicious. I love the look of this recipe but we don’t seem to have lemon pepper seasoning in the UK. What can you suggest as a replacement?
Hi Claire – you can just stick to salt, pepper, and a smidge of garlic powder on the chicken, then use the fresh lemon juice plus lemon zest. Enjoy!