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Home Collections 15 Minute Meals

Lemon Pepper Chicken

By:Nagi
Published:10 Oct '16Updated:29 Jan '19
81 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Forget store bought Lemon Pepper seasoning. The best way to make homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken is with lemon zest (no juice!), black pepper, garlic and olive oil. Simple, fragrant and delicious. Make this with any cut of chicken you want, grill it, bake it or sear it.

So simple and easy to make, you can make this tonight!

Forget store-bought seasoning! This homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken is so simple and fast, you can make it tonight. It tastes incredible! recipetineats.com

Sometimes, the simplest of ideas turn out to be annoyingly difficult to achieve. All I wanted was to make a homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken i.e. without using a packet of Lemon Pepper seasoning.

Making a homemade Lemon Pepper seasoning to sprinkle onto chicken requires slow baking lemon zest to dry it out before mixing with salt and pepper. So essentially making a flavoured salt.

But I wanted something I could make tonight, any night, on a whim. Because Lemon Pepper Chicken is definitely a midweek-meal-type-food, don’t you think? Something you should be able to make right now.

Forget store-bought seasoning! This homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken is so simple and fast, you can make it tonight. It tastes incredible! recipetineats.com

Forget store-bought seasoning! This homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken is so simple and fast, you can make it tonight. It tastes incredible! recipetineats.com

As it turns out, finding a short cut way of making a chicken with a real lemon flavour (i.e. not just lemon sour flavour) wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be because the actual lemon flavour in lemons is not in the juice, it’s in the zest. The juice is a bit lemony, but mostly it is sour. But Lemon Pepper Chicken is not sour or even tangy.

So anyway, I won’t take you through the various methods I attempted before landing on “the recipe”. Suffice to say the challenge was figuring out an easy way to get the zest and pepper to actually stick to the chicken, along with garlic (or onion) powder for extra flavour.

So this is how I do it: mix zest and olive oil to make a rub, slather it onto the chicken, then dip into flour seasoned with pepper, garlic (or onion) powder and salt.

Forget store-bought seasoning! This homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken is so simple and fast, you can make it tonight. It tastes incredible! recipetineats.com

Not a drop of lemon juice in sight. Only because I wanted to replicate store bought lemon pepper seasoning which is not tangy. You can definitely add a squeeze of lemon juice into the lemon zest slather (is that what it’s called??). But just a bit. Because I find that the key to getting the lemon zest to stick to the chicken is to only use a bit of oil. Too much oil and the zest just runs off.

I don’t use the lemon juice for the seasoning but what I like to do is slice it up and pan fry it, partly for garnish and also to give people the option to squeeze some over the chicken.

Got lemons? Got chicken? Then try this for dinner tonight! – Nagi x

Forget store-bought seasoning! This homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken is so simple and fast, you can make it tonight. It tastes incredible! recipetineats.com

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Forget store-bought seasoning! This homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken is so simple and fast, you can make it tonight. It tastes incredible! recipetineats.com

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 15 mins
Dinner
5 from 22 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
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A homemade version of lemon pepper chicken made without store-bought lemon pepper seasoning. It tastes incredible - fresh, fragrant with lovely pops of heat from the pepper. No marinating time required. Great for pork and seafood too! RECIPE VIDEO BELOW.

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts (~250 - 300g / 8 - 10oz each)
  • 2 lemons (Note 1)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper (adjust to taste) (Note 2)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or sub with onion powder) (Note 3)

Cooking

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Fresh parsley , for garnish

Instructions

  • Cut the chicken in half horizontally to make 2 steaks. Optional: pound to make them even thickness around 1cm / 2/5" thick (I do this).
  • Zest the lemons to make 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp lemon zest. Avoid grating too much of the white part - it's bitter.
  • Place zest into bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and mix to combine. Add chicken and use your hands to slather oil mixture onto chicken.
  • Mix flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a shallow bowl.
  • Dip chicken into flour mixture, shaking to remove excess.
  • Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden.
  • Optional: Slice zested lemon and cook the slices, like pictured.
  • Serve chicken, garnished with fresh parsley if using.

Recipe Notes:

1. You need enough lemons to make around 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp of lemon zest. 2 medium size lemons is usually enough.
2. I make cracked pepper using my mortar and pestle to roughly crack whole peppercorns because I like large pops of black pepper. You can just use a coarse pepper grinder. If you only have fine ground pepper (like the pepper that comes pre-ground), only use around 3/4 tsp.
3. Option to mix minced garlic into lemon zest slather instead of using powder. I prefer powder because it has a smoother flavour finish, more akin to store bought seasoning.
4. This recipe also works great with pork and seafood. It's a little too delicate for lamb and beef, in my opinion.
Homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings.
homemade-lemon-pepper-chicken-nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 141gCalories: 291cal (15%)Carbohydrates: 5.6g (2%)Protein: 41g (82%)Fat: 11.6g (18%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 10.6gCholesterol: 107mg (36%)Sodium: 436mg (19%)Fiber: 0.5g (2%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.


WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT


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81 Comments

  1. SpudToronto says

    June 12, 2020 at 3:44 am

    5 stars
    Made this today for lunch. Simple ingredients but packed with flavour! Another keeper.

    Reply
  2. Steve says

    May 27, 2020 at 12:10 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi and Dozer, just tried the recipe, simply delicious! Our lives have been transformed since I found your fantastic web site. I thought I was a competent cook until I found your recipes. Thank you so much, we had this with a mixed vegetable cheese dish, we used a frozen packet of mixed veg with a cheesy topping, lovely, keep up the good work thanks from sunny Cyprus.

    Reply
  3. Angie says

    May 19, 2020 at 1:54 pm

    5 stars
    Made this tonight for dinner – a well seasoned dish! I made a glaze (white wine, butter, chicken broth, touch of garlic powder) – super duper!!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 19, 2020 at 7:45 pm

      Sounds fab Angie! N x

      Reply
  4. Bree says

    November 15, 2019 at 2:00 am

    5 stars
    Delish! Another hit with the family, Nagi! I don’t even bother looking anywhere else for recipes now x

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 15, 2019 at 8:42 am

      That’s the best compliment ever!

      Reply
  5. Peggy Lospennato says

    July 23, 2019 at 6:52 am

    I made your crispy garlic shrimp and it was a big hit! My son thought it was one of the best shrimp dishes that I’ve made. The butter, garlic and lemon sauce was fantastic. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 23, 2019 at 12:42 pm

      That’s awesome to hear Peggy!

      Reply
  6. Chris says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:57 am

    Hi I haven’t cooked this recipe yet but i would like too . Is there a healthy flour choice I can use … Ive never cooked with flour recipies before but I’d like to try and keep it healthy as well. Thanks !

    Reply
  7. Noelene says

    March 22, 2019 at 9:12 am

    Nagi. thank you for all your beautiful recipes. And this one looks super easy and tasty. Do you think it would work with fish? Noelene

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 22, 2019 at 11:03 am

      Hi Noelene, yes this would be terrific with fish!

      Reply
  8. Tony Jae says

    March 1, 2019 at 3:49 pm

    5 stars
    Lemon pepper seasoning in a bottle is usually too peppery, too sour, or too bitter. The chicken maintains moisture, does not retain a thick, greasy crust, and produces incredible flavor without using a drop of lemon juice! Hoping to achieve the same goodness with tilapia filets.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 1, 2019 at 5:41 pm

      You’ll far surpass anything from a bottle with this recipe! I hope you love it!

      Reply
  9. Div says

    May 1, 2018 at 11:44 pm

    Hi Nagi,
    What kind of accompaniments would you recommend for this recipe?

    Ps: you have a lovely website 🙂

    Reply
  10. Nicola says

    April 5, 2018 at 1:47 am

    Hi Nagi,
    I was just wondering if this recipe would still work as well if i used smaller cuts of chicken.
    Thank you, Nicola x

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 5, 2018 at 8:43 pm

      Absolutely Nicola! Even tenderloin will be great 🙂 N x

      Reply
  11. Karen says

    March 20, 2018 at 6:47 pm

    Made this recently as a week night meal for the family. Very quick, easy and tasty so I will definitely make this again. Thumbs up from the family too 🙂

    Thanks Nagi

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 26, 2018 at 7:55 pm

      I LOVE hearing that Karen! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx

      Reply
  12. Steve Yager says

    March 2, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi,
    We are always looking for healthier dinner options, so I decided to try this for dinner tonight. I knew by the way it smelled cooking, that it would be good. It was actually better! I made it just as you described, including pounding out the breasts after cut in half. My wife snagged the 2 extra pieces and put them in her lunch meal preps. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 3, 2018 at 7:31 pm

      Love hearing that Steve! so glad you enjoyed it! N x

      Reply
  13. Melanie Dugas says

    February 16, 2018 at 2:16 am

    This recipe worked incredibly. I did not use the garlic powder but it is a great recipe. Thank you so much !! I’m passing this over to my mom.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 17, 2018 at 5:58 pm

      🙌🏻 I’m so glad you enjoyed this Melanie, thanks for letting me know! N x

      Reply
  14. SUSAN says

    January 23, 2018 at 5:51 am

    5 stars
    You are a genius! My husband and I had this for lunch. We ate the whole thing. I like that I had all the ingredients on hand already. No special trips to the store for esoteric ingredients. I like that there was just enough coating for the one pound of chicken breast. No waste. I like that this is a “healthy” fried chicken. My husband loves fried chicken. And I could serve this to guests, too. But I’d better make a triple recipe!

    Reply
  15. Ashley says

    January 5, 2018 at 10:10 am

    5 stars
    This was very very good! I worried it wouldn’t have enough lemon flavor so I added a squirt of juice from my zested lemon and I think it was probably a little too much lemon. Follow the recipe! Yum!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 8, 2018 at 10:00 pm

      I’m so pleased to hear that Ashley!! Thanks for sharing that! N xx

      Reply
  16. Amanda says

    November 16, 2017 at 7:20 am

    How does chicken cook in two minutes?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 19, 2017 at 5:04 pm

      On each side 🙂 N x

      Reply
  17. Catherine mora says

    June 23, 2017 at 8:58 am

    Will limes work?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 23, 2017 at 7:51 pm

      YES!!!

      Reply
  18. Susan says

    February 18, 2017 at 9:00 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi,
    Stumbled on your site searching for a turkey breast, slow cooker recipe. (excellent, simple and delicious). Since then I have tried many of your recipes and LOVE them all.

    With the lemon pepper chicken recipe: After the chicken is done, I place the sliced lemon in the pan and let them simmer for a bit along with the the remaining flour (I use rice flour due to a gluten issue) and a bit of veggie stock and it makes a wonderful sauce.
    I’m all about sauce and simple, healthy comfort food. Another reason why I love your site.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 18, 2017 at 12:12 pm

      I’m so pleased to hear that Susan, thank you for letting me know! And what a fabulous tip for making a sauce, thank you for sharing! N xx

      Reply
      • Kunal says

        April 26, 2017 at 10:29 am

        5 stars
        HI Nagi,
        you got crazy delicious recipes here. Just the pictures make my mouth watery.

        i have two questions:
        1. What camera are you using for photos?
        2. Can I add some of your delicious dishes to my menu and provide a link to your website? I don’t mind giving full dish credit to your website/you. My restaurant is still in works but i think my future customers will love it. 🙂

        thanks in advance.

        without people like you the internet wouldn’t be the same.

        Thanks,
        Patel

        Reply
        • Nagi says

          April 26, 2017 at 7:42 pm

          Hi Kunal! I use a Nikon D750 🙂

          Reply
  19. Nina Sidhu-Mason says

    February 11, 2017 at 10:46 am

    5 stars
    Nagi!
    It was 430pm mid week. My husband had been at work for 12 hours. Our 9 month old twins refused their naps all day and were cranky. I still had to think about dinner. I needed something quick. I browsed your site under chicken and saw this required minimal ingredients. I did not expect it to be such an amazing flavour explosion!! My husband thought I cooked for hours! I used the chicken and made caesar wraps and they were the best chicken caesar wraps we had ever had, all thanks to your chicken recipe! Thank you SO much, yet again. This has gone into my favourite folder! I don’t know where we would be without your trusted recipes these past few years. Everything I make is from you and we love it all. You’re the best.
    Much Love,
    Nina

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 12, 2017 at 8:10 am

      Aww Nina! This message is literally everything that I hope my site to be ? Thank you so much for sharing this message for me 🙂 I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, thanks for letting me know! N xx

      Reply
  20. Deena says

    October 26, 2016 at 7:52 am

    OMG- I am down on “bed rest” after a medical procedure. I came across your blog and have been stalking your blog, youtube for the last few hours! My printer has been hard at work printing your recipes. I have already decided I need a special “NAGI” folder! You are AMAZING!!! I am SO blown away by your recipes! I can’t wait to try, but I am having a hard time deciding what to make first! The self saucing BBQ chicken is in the lead, but I do love lemon chicken and can’t wait to try this! Not to mention the others! I admit, I don’t like to cook, but I do cook for my family. Your recipes look easy and so DELISH! Nicely done!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 27, 2016 at 5:36 am

      Hi Deena – I’m sorry to hear you’re on bed rest, I hope you recover quickly. 🙂 Thank you for your lovely message, I do hope you make and enjoy some of my recipes!!! N xx

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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