Chicken breast recipes can be so dull β time to step it up! Cream and lemon are a luscious combination and is sensationalΒ served over golden crispy chicken. AΒ quick andΒ easyΒ 10 minute recipe with fewΒ ingredients,Β 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 InstagramΒ feedΒ the other day, and all I could think was βitβs soΒ yellow and orangey.β I shared this observation with my mother, and her immediate response was βWell, of course. You post so many cheesy bread, potatoes and meat. Everything you like is yellow and brown. EvenΒ DozerΒ is yellow.β (Imagine this with a Japanese accent and finished with a snort of laughter).
I had no smart comeback for that. Because itβs completely true. π
So one of my (many) New Yearsβ resolutions will be (yet again) to post moreΒ green foods on RecipeTin Eats.
But for now β 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! ππ»
What you need for creamy lemon chicken breast
Chicken breast β or boneless skinless thigh
Chicken broth/stock β gives the sauce flavour (itβs pretty dull without it)
Cream and lemon β because weβre making aΒ creamy lemon sauce
Parmesan β forΒ umami AND to help thicken the sauce
Mustard β sauce thickening and extra flavour/tang
Flour β to dust chicken (gives it a crust that the sauce wants to cling to, optional)
Garlic β because garlic goes in 99% of my savoury foods
Butter β because butter makes everything better
How to make creamy lemon chicken breast
Youβre 10 minutes away from having this for dinner!
Hereβs 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.
Thereβs 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 wouldnβt go astray! If youβre 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!).
Β β 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 β 2 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth/stock
- 3/4 cup cream , heavy/thickened (Note 2)
- 3 β 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 β 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 Iβm currently housesitting while Iβm in between houses β when he gets fed up following me up and down the stairs, he parks himself halfway!!
I made the lemon/cream chicken last night, it was definitely delicious but..the sauce was much too thin, it would not cling to the past. I made it with heavy cream, a real splurge
Thank you for your comment June. I really appreciate people who cook the recipe and then give feedback. I also found the sauce a little runny, but eventually when mixed with the pasta it ended up pretty good. My issue was that I didnβt crisp up the chicken enough, was a bit pale looking. But the taste was very nice. Iβll make it again and crisp it up a bit more. Thanks for the recipe Nagi!
Heryl
Hi Cheryl! So glad you enjoyed the flavour!! The sauce needs to be cooked long enough to make it to the thickness desired but you are right, it certainly does thicken as it cools and when it is poured on the pasta!! Hope you have a FANTASTIC weekend Cheryl!! Thank you again for taking the time to leave your comments!! N x
Hi June! Glad you loved the flavour! Try simmering the sauce a bit longer, when it simmers down, it thickens!! <3 N x
I recently found your page and I am so glad to have come across these amazing recipes!! Everything looks so gorgeous!! Iβm in love and I canβt wait to try them out!! ???
Happy New Year my dear! Your mom is too funny β I can just hear her saying, βeven Dozer is yellow.β Lol!
As a kid, my mom would make a crispy lemon chicken dish that was always one of my favorites. Though over the years, I had forgotten all about it! How does that happen?! In any event, thank you so much for posting this! Iβm really loving the gravy youβve added β we didnβt have that! This is a dish I will certainly be making very soon! Also, sending this to my mom to remind her π
Happy New Year to you too!!! I canβt wait to read about your trip!! Oooh, that reminds me of your orange chicken. So good. SO SO good!! I have to make it again soon. Must!
Sooo glad you are going to post the Salmon Alfredo recipe! Will be making both of these soonβ¦Thanks!
Soooo glad you approve!!! Iβve been worried about not posting enough GREEN foods!!
How about some sort of posh caesar salad, Nagi? Iβm sure you can hide a decent amount of cheese in that.
Donβt worry, dear, I posted a chocolate recipe this week. 2 rebels together β¦ ha! And Iβm not even planning to post anything green.
Absolutely LOVE this meal of yours β love that youβve served it with asta.
BA HA!! You mean you didnβt kick off the new year with healthy food either?? π
I do love the short ingredient list. This looks quite easy to prepare at home. Happy new year Nagi and a lucky 2016.
Hi Elaine! Happy New Year to you too!! I havenβt been over to see your recipes in a while, Iβm keen to have a browse, popping over now!
Iβm sure that if I could, I would only eat yellow and brown too. This is now on my list of things to make.
BA HA!!! Itβs so true, yellow and brown foods, they are the BEST!!! π
My taste buds wonβt stop singing when I look at this recipe!! And I totally agree you canβt go wrong with cream! π
βSingingβ is a good description!! Love it!! <3
I hear you Nagi ! Actually my New yearβs resolution is to include greens in all my recipes . And so far I donβt think itβs going pretty well. Oh Well β¦will see how things go.
You canβt beat easy, tasty, creamy chicken like this . What a great way to start up the New Year!
Oooh, Imma, I know you understand!!! Weβve had the βbrown foodβ conversation before!! PS Your chickpea curry was happening again last weekend! Iβm OBSESSED!!
Oh! you are killing me!! this looks divineβ¦
Sorry! π Donβt mean to torture you!!
I grew up with French folks and cream was always in use and if that was too much for someone, they just used butter.
I love your creamy lemon chicken and Iβm sure both my grandmothers would be happy to tuck in to this dish.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you too!! Did you get my message re your servers??
Iβve been following your recipes for a while now (I made those sticky drumsticks a few weeks ago, so good!) from around the world during my travels, but Iβve settled in Australia and now Iβm extra obsessed. Thanks for not using crazy ingredients. I love that I can come here and usually whip up a recipe without an extra trip to the store or searching for an ingredient Iβll use once/no one has ever heard of.
This chicken is happening in 2016.
Hi there!! Welcome (back to?) Australia!!! I love travelling but Iβve known always that Australia is where my home is π Thanks for your kind words! Iβm so glad you are enjoying my recipes!!
This doesnβt look like a fail to me! Mmmmmβ¦ Green and purple food and wait a day or two. π
YOUR food is so much more colourful than mine!! Jealous!
As my return-to-work date draws nearer and nearer (4.5 weeks to go), I am stockpiling recipes that are quick and easy, with ingredients I would normally find in my fridge. This recipe is perfect!!! Although cream is not something I would normally find in my fridge (Chinese Cantonese people, especially my family, donβt cook with cream either), I may have to make sure I have a small carton floating around in the fridge from now on! Now I just need to befriend someone with a lemon tree in their yard β or try and grow one myself.
I canβt believe youβre going back so soon!!! Are you returning to your previous job or a new one?
Hehehe Iβve had nearly 2 years off with my Small One, so it is well and truly time to go back. Returning to an existing job, but I have no idea which team Iβm working in/with as there have been 3 restructures since I went on maternity leave in Feb 2014! Wish me luck!
You donβt need luck! <3
PS β I would quit my job in a heart beat if you offer me a job! :-p
So wishing I was at that point in my careerβ¦..
Cant a Mother just cut you with one blow!, Never mind Nagi I dint mind cream or those delicious colours. Cooking from the heart is better than cooking by colour. X
I know, right?? She cracks me up!!!
Well, I donβt care whether it is green, red, or purple as long as it tastes good and Nagi β all of your recipes taste fantastic. Now, what did I do with all the extra heavy cream that we bought for the holidays?? We made no-churn ice cream. Naughty of us, right?? Well, we just gave it to our kids and grandkids. Out of sight, out of temptation. Looking forward to all of your great recipes β brown, yellow or puce.
You made no churn ice cream? Did you blog it? I keep meaning to try it!!! What did you think?? PS Puce coloured foodβ¦.so pretty! All I can think of is baking π
Love your mumβs comment! Mums are always best to give you their uncensored honest opinion! Cheers to a green 2016, not that I didnβt like orange 2015! (you might struggle with blue 2017 if thatβs what youβre going for!). Happy New Year my lovely, and the creamy chicken would also be served with pasta in my house!
Happy New Year to you too Mel!! Mothers β TOO honest for their own good sometimes!!!
Hi Nagi! Perfect for the days I want a good dinner, but donβt want to stand in the kitchen for an hour or two! I see green in there, parsley counts! My dogs and cat are all black and white β must mean I like caviar on mashed potatoes β doesnβt sound bad to me! π
BA HA HA!!! Caviar and mashed potato!! You crack me up Dorothy!!
Thank you Nagi. My husband thinks Iβm a genius every week, thinking your dishes I make have come from my own brainstorm. I am always very eager to get yet another of your special meal ideas. Yes, and looking forward to vege/salad dishes. Letβs go to lunch β letβs all go lunching !
You ARE the genius!!! Youβre the one who makes the food!! I promise I have some interesting salads coming up π I keep meaning to post them but I keep getting distracted!!! I have a really yummy buffalo chicken salad coming up soon. So healthy but still so satisfying!!
Perfect timing yet again, Nagi. I picked my first Meyer lemon crop yesterday from my cute little tree and need lemon recipes! Making this tonight. And where was your sprinkle of parsley for some green?!?! ?
Made this tonight, and you are spot on, Nagi! Quick to prepare, not complicated, and outstanding results. Mr. Fussy gave it 4 1/2 martinis (his own rating, now on my blog): between βoff the chartsβ and βpretty darn good,β leaning toward the former. He couldnβt stop raving about the sauce! I added a bit of garlic to the sauce and used chicken tenders, which I pounded to make sure they were really tender.
Hehe
I love Mr Fussyβs scale!!!!
Made me giggle!
BA HA HA!!! I love that rating system!! Martinis!! What a legend! Please thank Mr Fussy on my behalf and let him know that Iβm very happy that he approved. How lucky you are to have an official taste tester!!
You have your own Meyer lemon tree? Jealous!! We donβt even HAVE meyer lemons here in Aus!!
Yes, a tiny one (so far) that my daughter gave me for Hanukkah last year. I keep meaning to put a pre-harvest photo on my FB page. I actually didnβt use the Meyers for this, as I wanted the tartness of regular lemons.