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 skillet of yellow food. 🙌🏻
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 salt
- Black pepper
- 1/4 cup (35g) flour
- 3 tbsp (40g) butter , unsalted
- 1 - 2 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/4 cups (325ml) chicken broth/stock
- 3/4 cup (185ml) cream , heavy/thickened (Note 2)
- 3 - 4 tbsp lemon juice (adjust to taste, start with 3 tbsp)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup (75g) 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!!
How about some sort of posh caesar salad, Nagi? I’m sure you can hide a decent amount of cheese in that.
Don’t worry, dear, I posted a chocolate recipe this week. 2 rebels together … ha! And I’m not even planning to post anything green.
Absolutely LOVE this meal of yours – love that you’ve served it with asta.
BA HA!! You mean you didn’t kick off the new year with healthy food either?? 😉
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 haven’t been over to see your recipes in a while, I’m keen to have a browse, popping over now!
I’m 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!!! It’s so true, yellow and brown foods, they are the BEST!!! 🙂
My taste buds won’t stop singing when I look at this recipe!! And I totally agree you can’t go wrong with cream! 😉
“Singing” is a good description!! Love it!! <3
I hear you Nagi ! Actually my New year’s resolution is to include greens in all my recipes . And so far I don’t think it’s going pretty well. Oh Well …will see how things go.
You can’t beat easy, tasty, creamy chicken like this . What a great way to start up the New Year!
Oooh, Imma, I know you understand!!! We’ve had the “brown food” conversation before!! PS Your chickpea curry was happening again last weekend! I’m OBSESSED!!
Oh! you are killing me!! this looks divine…
Sorry! 😉 Don’t 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 I’m 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??
I’ve 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 I’ve settled in Australia and now I’m 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 I’ll use once/no one has ever heard of.
This chicken is happening in 2016.
Hi there!! Welcome (back to?) Australia!!! I love travelling but I’ve known always that Australia is where my home is 🙂 Thanks for your kind words! I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes!!
This doesn’t look like a fail to me! Mmmmm… Green and purple food and wait a day or two. 🙂
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, don’t 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 – or try and grow one myself.
I can’t believe you’re going back so soon!!! Are you returning to your previous job or a new one?
Hehehe I’ve 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 I’m working in/with as there have been 3 restructures since I went on maternity leave in Feb 2014! Wish me luck!
You don’t need luck! <3
PS – 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 career…..
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 don’t care whether it is green, red, or purple as long as it tastes good and Nagi — 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 — 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 food….so pretty! All I can think of is baking 🙂
Love your mum’s comment! Mums are always best to give you their uncensored honest opinion! Cheers to a green 2016, not that I didn’t like orange 2015! (you might struggle with blue 2017 if that’s what you’re 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 – TOO honest for their own good sometimes!!!
Hi Nagi! Perfect for the days I want a good dinner, but don’t 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 – must mean I like caviar on mashed potatoes – doesn’t sound bad to me! 🙂
BA HA HA!!! Caviar and mashed potato!! You crack me up Dorothy!!
Thank you Nagi. My husband thinks I’m 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. Let’s go to lunch – let’s all go lunching !
You ARE the genius!!! You’re the one who makes the food!! I promise I have some interesting salads coming up 🙂 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 “off the charts” and “pretty darn good,” leaning toward the former. He couldn’t 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 Fussy’s 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 I’m very happy that he approved. How lucky you are to have an official taste tester!!
You have your own Meyer lemon tree? Jealous!! We don’t 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 didn’t use the Meyers for this, as I wanted the tartness of regular lemons.
Looks delicious! I love the combo of lemon and cream. One question, is there a way to lower the cholesterol and saturated fat, or is that the price we pay for luscious creamy flavor?
You could probably use low fat cream cheese instead of cream. Would make for a thicker sauce too
Hi Gail! For this one the most I would do to change it is using the absolute lowest fat cream you can find. I don’t even make this with evaporated milk which is my ultimate tip for making creamy things skinny. To make a skinny version of this, you could start with a roux then add milk instead of cream?
Oh my…look at this creamy yumminess! Skip the salad and go straight to main course.
Don’t encourage me Linda! I must must must post more salads!!
OH YUMMY!!!!
That sauce!!! It looks so good!! I adore lemony creamy pasta. I cook a Rachel Ray lemon, cream and leek pasta all the time. But the crispy chicken in your dish takes this over the edge!!! I cannot wait to try it.
Green food………That is what a side salad is for 😉
I had cream left over too!!!!! I used it up today with some cheesy potatoes….kind of wish I had waited….this chicken (and pasta) is calling my name!
PINNING!
p.s that salmon pasta is on my list too!!!! can’t wait to read that one! YUM
NO!!! Seriously??? OMG I made your chicken today, for a post. But I stupidly used drumsticks instead of sticking with fillets which I used previously. Taste is fab but doesn’t have that same even gloss so I’m making them again using thigh fillets!!
HEHE.
I am going to rename that post “Top Food Blogger Nagi’s Favourite Honey Soy Sesame Chicken”
p.s Thanks for the heads up on the drumsticks! I would have thought they would turn out better, good to know for the future. I don’t often cook drumsticks as then the kids have to deal with bones and they end up acting like a scene from ‘The Flintstones’!!!
x
mmm…creamy goodness…looks delish! And I love how quick and easy it is to make! Fantastic, looking forward to trying it out 🙂 I assume the “paste of choice” to serve is meaning pasta? Sorry, bit of a spelling/grammar geek here…
GUH. ME TOO! ie spelling geek 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!!