Chicken breast recipes can be so dull – time to step it up! Cream and lemon are a luscious combination and is sensational served over golden crispy chicken. A quick and easy 10 minute recipe with few ingredients, serve this Creamy Lemon Chicken with pasta, mashed potato or for a low carb option, creamy cauliflower mash!
Chicken Breast Recipe
I was browsing my Instagram feed the other day, and all I could think was “it’s so yellow and orangey.” I shared this observation with my mother, and her immediate response was “Well, of course. You post so many cheesy bread, potatoes and meat. Everything you like is yellow and brown. Even Dozer is yellow.” (Imagine this with a Japanese accent and finished with a snort of laughter).
I had no smart comeback for that. Because it’s completely true. 😂
So one of my (many) New Years’ resolutions will be (yet again) to post more green foods on RecipeTin Eats.
But for now – more yellow food.
In fact, a whole pan of yellow food. Golden brown (yellow!) chicken breast with a yellow lemon cream parmesan sauce. Bring on the yellow! 🙌🏻
What you need for creamy lemon chicken breast
Chicken breast – or boneless skinless thigh
Chicken broth/stock – gives the sauce flavour (it’s pretty dull without it)
Cream and lemon – because we’re making a creamy lemon sauce
Parmesan – for umami AND to help thicken the sauce
Mustard – sauce thickening and extra flavour/tang
Flour – to dust chicken (gives it a crust that the sauce wants to cling to, optional)
Garlic – because garlic goes in 99% of my savoury foods
Butter – because butter makes everything better
How to make creamy lemon chicken breast
You’re 10 minutes away from having this for dinner!
Here’s how it goes down:
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, dust with flour;
Pan fry until golden then remove
Add everything else in, then simmer for 3 minutes until thickened;
Return chicken into skillet to rewarm; and
Serve over pasta, mashed potato or for a low carb option, Creamy Mashed Cauliflower.
There’s plenty of creamy lemon sauce for this chicken breast recipe. Enough to toss through pasta!
What to serve with Creamy Lemon Chicken
Serve this with a crisp garden salad with a tangy French Dressing or Balsamic dressing. Or try one of these:
Side salad suggestions
Also, some warm bread rolls to mop the plate clean wouldn’t go astray! If you’re in the mood for homemade bread, try these easy No Knead Soft Dinner Rolls or this simple Irish Soda Bread (I call it Emergency Bread!).
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Creamy Lemon Chicken Breast
Ingredients
Crispy Chicken
- 600g / 1.2lb chicken breasts (2 large) (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt (kosher salt)
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 1/4 cup flour (plain / all-purpose)
- 40g / 3 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 1 – 2 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth/stock
- 3/4 cup cream , heavy/thickened (Note 2)
- 3 – 4 tbsp lemon juice (adjust to taste, start with 3 tbsp)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese , freshly grated OR store bought finely shredded (Note 3)
To serve
- Pasta of choice (I used linguine)
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
Crispy Chicken
- Slice chicken breast horizontally to create two thin steaks (so you end up with 4 thin steaks in total).
- Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper, then coat with flour, shaking off excess.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken 2 minutes on each side until golden and crispy, then remove onto plate.
Sauce
- Add a touch of butter if your pan is dry – but you shouldn't need it. Add garlic, stir 10 seconds.
- Then add chicken broth, cream, lemon and Dijon mustard. Bring to simmer and scrape the bottom of the pan to dissolve brown bits into the liquid. Use a whisk if needed to dissolve mustard.
- Add parmesan then simmer rapidly for 3 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Add salt, pepper and adjust lemon to taste.
- Return the chicken to the pan (pour in any juices on the plate too), turn to coat.
- Place chicken on serving plates with pasta or mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if using. Spoon over Lemon Sauce and serve! (Bread for mopping wouldn't go astray either)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published January 2016, updated with new photos and video in November 2019.
Life of Dozer
In the big fancy house I’m currently housesitting while I’m in between houses – when he gets fed up following me up and down the stairs, he parks himself halfway!!
Love this recipe! Perfect when craving something with lemon. I’ve made this several times for my family and they love it!
Made this recipe about 4 times already. It is excellent. I served it with white rice and broccoli. The sauce poured over the chicken & rice was perfect. Will continue to make it again & again. I have recommended it to several family & friends and they all agree it is a recipe to keep.
Yum. I didn’t have long pasta or potatoes, so diced the chicken, proceeded with recipe and served tossed in with macaroni. Added Greek oregano too.
Absolutely delish, thanks Nagi x
Wonderful dish for a rainy night. Made from ingredients we had on hand. Only had light cream so thickened the sauce with a cornstarch slurry (turned out just fine). Added sautéed mushrooms + spinach at the last minute. Didn’t have pasta, so served over rice. It all worked out.
We all loved it! Even my 2 stepsons (10/14). This will become a regular !
Woah, that’s great!! N x
This recipe is even better than the one with the creamy mushroom sauce (which got a bit too creamy halfway through the meal). We chose not to use butter or Parmesan in this recipe (cos we snuck in boneless thighs with skin) and it is to die for. Imagine what it would be like if we had included them! This has become one of our favs along with the honey garlic recipe. Thanks, Nagi, for another winner!
Hello Nagi, I made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. My husband and I loved it. I followed the recipe exactly up until the Parmesan. I only had the store bought Parmesan in a container, so the consistency of the sauce was not as smooth, but still tasted great! Thank you so much for providing another wonderfully, simple recipe!
I’m so glad the taste was there though Janine!! N x
I love this chicken dish, but felt it was missing a little something… added 1/2 tsp oregano because oregano and lemon go fantastic together (Greek), and sliced up a package of mushrooms I threw in with the chicken when it went back in… delish! this ready is now in my ‘favourites’ recipe binder… 🥰
Made this for the family tonight – hubby and teenage boys loved it. I made it to the recipe but with fresh dill (had no parsley), served with fettuccine; so quick and easy and the chicken breast was so tender. Only wish I’d made a double batch – for leftovers. Delicious!
This recipe was amazing! Doubled the lemon as suggested by other reviews. My family loved it!
Yet another gorgeous Nagi recipe to add to the folder! Advice pls: I can never get panfried chicken to cook through and always end up finishing the dish in the oven. For ‘bashed’ thighs I’m doing 3 minutes each side on 6/7 induction hob. Thoughts??
Hi Juice! Thighs usually take around 8 minutes on medium high for a standard stove, or medium for stronger stoves 🙂 The other thing that will affect it is how good the pan you use is (thin, flimsy, economical = not as good heat distribution = burns before cooks in middle) and obviously how thick it is too. Another trick is to cut slashes in the thick part of the flesh (ie not the smooth side, the other side) so the chicken “butterflies” and spreads thinner which helps it cook through better. Hope that helps! N x
… and perhaps she needs to turn the element down a bit…😉
Nagi,
I am guilty of gravitating to mostly yellow/orangey recipes…who doesn’t love a good cream sauce, pasta or Mac n’ cheese, potatoes dishes…more cheese. Carbs and fat are definately my friend lol (yes in moderation, balanced diet…blah blah, side of broccoli etc) 😉
Looking forward to try this tonight, looks amazing!!
Holly x
This was excellent! Served with linguine and roasted broccoli.
I made this tonight for my family! Very easy recipe to follow, Delicious!
It will definitely be a keeper.
Thank you!
Hi Nagi. This looks delicious.
I was thinking of doubling the recipe and freezing half for a later date. Would this recipe be suitable do you think??
Yes 100% Linda! Enjoy! N x
Thanks for responding Nagi.
I made this tonight – it was a hit!! No leftovers for the freezer though.
Thanks again for all your wonderful recipes!!
Forgot to rate this recipe on my last comment….of course it got five stars!!!
This recipe far exceeded my expectations. I was going to make a schnitzel for dinner until I realized I had no bread crumbs in the pantry. So, I did a search online and found this recipe. I didn’t hold high hopes, but wow! Blown away by how easy, tasty, tender this chicken recipe was. It was seriously good. Thank you for sharing this online! I have saved this recipe for the future and will definately make again, and again, and….:)
That’s so great to hear Rose, thanks so much for the awesome feedback!! N x
One of my RecipeTinEats favourites! The flavour is so more-ish and really easy to make. I serve with Rice and some grilled Asparagus…To die for!
Hello, made three of your recipes on my two days off. They were all really great tasting and simple, easy to make. Web page is marvelous, dear. This lemon chicken was awesome, too
Super easy and delicious, I swapped out cream for coconut cream and used a lime as had it handy, will deffently make again 😋
Yummers After reading the comments I added more lemon juice too …. added 1/4 cup lemon juice and the zest of the lemon. Then added 2 tbsp. Of honey to sweeten it.
Also added 1 tsp. of dried tarragon which just took it OVER the top ! Makes lots of sauce ,,,, will serve over rice or pasta. Good enough for company and me !