Honey Lemon Chicken
Golden brown, pan-seared chicken, sauced with a lively blend of sweet honey, tangy lemon, and silky butter. You need five ingredients, one pan, and less than 20 minutes.
One-pan-meals with short ingredient lists are on every cook’s wish list. Not only are they perfect for busy weeknights, when ingredients are joined in one pan, flavors have a chance to commingle and evolve. I mean, think about it – when you cook your chicken in one pan, and your sauce in another, there’s no flavor-crossover. And now you have two pans to clean. The recipe below showcases how to make an incredibly easy, ultra-flavorful one-pan chicken dish that features a buttery, honey-lemon sauce. Plus, extra flavor comes from the caramelized bits of chicken nestled in the bottom of the skillet after the chicken has been seared.
Here’s the simple process for making this winning chicken dish
- Season chicken breasts with salt and black pepper.
- Sear the chicken in hot, bubbling butter until golden brown.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate while you make the quick-and-easy pan sauce.
- Combine chicken broth, lemon juice, and honey in the same pan you used to sear the chicken. Bring the sauce to a simmer and scrape up the flavorful browned bits that were created by searing the chicken.
- Add a little more butter and return the chicken to the pan (adding butter at the end of cooking helps thicken the sauce while making it satiny).
- Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens.
How should you serve your Honey Lemon Chicken? To round out the dish, I suggest you serve a “starch” on the side, such as roasted red or gold potatoes, fluffy white or brown rice, regular or pearled couscous, curly quinoa, or your preferred grain of choice. You can also add your favorite steamed vegetable, such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans, snap peas, carrots, and/or spinach.
What type of chicken should you use for this dish? This recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken breast halves. If you can find chicken breast halves that are about 4 to 5 ounces each, you simply need to pound them out until they’re about 1-inch thick (this promotes even cooking and keeps the chicken tender).
If you purchase larger chicken breast halves (about 8 to 10 ounces each), halve them crosswise and pound them out until they are about 1-inch thick. Alternatively, you can halve the larger chicken breast crosswise and through the middle (as if slicing a bagel) to create four equal-sized chicken breast fillets that are about 1-inch-thick.
In some stores, you can find thin-sliced chicken breast fillets that are about 4 to 5 ounces each; these will also work, and they require no extra effort on your part (no need for pounding out).
Honey Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 4 to 5 ounces each, pounded to 1-inch thickness
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is bubbly, add the chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and honey to the same pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and incorporating them into the sauce. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter.
- Return the chicken to the pan with any accumulated juices from the plate. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, and the sauce reduces and thickens. Top with parsley, if using, and serve.