This parmesan-crusted Lemon Chicken Recipe is so EASY to make and completely ready in 30 minutes! The quick garlic and lemon butter sauce enhances the flavor of the chicken and adds so much flavor to the dish!
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I’m convinced you’ll love my Lemon Chicken with the best Lemon Butter Sauce.
Lemon Chicken Recipe:
This dish is going to become a favorite chicken dinner recipe for BUSY evenings. The chicken breast is generously coated in parmesan and pan-fried to give it a crispy crust. The chicken is then smothered in a lemon butter sauce with garlic that adds so much flavor to the chicken.
We love easy 30-minute chicken recipes for busy weeknights and some of our go-to’s include Chicken Marsala, classic Chicken Parmesan and of course this easy lemon garlic chicken. With these recipes in your arsenal, you can make restaurant-quality meals for a fraction of the price of eating out.
How to Make Lemon Chicken:
With just a few simple ingredients a few minutes of prep time, you can have yourself the most DELICIOUS crispy chicken breast in a buttery garlic lemon sauce!
- Cut chicken in half lengthwise and beat with a meat mallet to an even thickness.
- Prepare Egg Mixture – whisk together eggs, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Prepare Parmesan Mixture – in a separate bowl, mix together the parmesan cheese and flour.
- Dredge the Chicken – coat in the egg mixture, then generously coat in parmesan mixture, shaking off excess.
- Cook Chicken. Add oil to a hot skillet then add breaded chicken and cook 4-5 minutes per side, until golden brown and the internal temperature reads 165˚F with an Instant Read Thermometer.
Cook’s Tip – If the chicken crust begins to brown too quickly, reduce heat allowing the chicken to fully cook through.
How to Make Lemon Butter Sauce:
This 5-minute EASY lemon butter sauce will become a staple in your home. The sauce is tangy from the fresh lemon and butter and the garlic just brings all the flavors together – SO GOOD!
For a quicker dinner, prepare the lemon sauce in a separate saucepan or skillet while the chicken is cooking. Then just pour the sauce over the chicken once it is cooked. Or, you can just cook the chicken, remove it from the skillet (cover to keep warm) and prepare the sauce in the same skillet, then add the chicken back.
- Saute the garlic and butter until fragrant.
- Whisk in the lemon juice, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Allow the sauce to cook over med heat for about 2 minutes.
NOTE: We love the fresh and tangy lemon flavor in this recipe. If you prefer a less lemony flavor, reduce the lemon juice.
Can I make this Ahead?
If you like to prep dinner in advance, slice the chicken and add it to the egg mixture, cover and refrigerate until you are ready for dinner. Allowing the chicken to marinate will result in a juicier and more tender chicken breast. Then, just continue with the remaining recipe instructions.
Can I make the Lemon Chicken without Parmesan Crust?
Yes! For a healthier option, completely omit the egg mixture and parmesan mixture. Slice the chicken breast and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Then, continue with the preparation of the sauce.
Substituting for Chicken Thighs?
This lemon chicken will work with chicken breast, chicken thighs, and even chicken tenderloins. You will want to prepare the recipe according to the instructions, the only difference will be in the cooking time. The cook time will depend on the size of the thighs, you want the internal temperature to reach 165F on an instant-read thermometer.
Adding Vegetables to the Chicken in Skillet:
Yes, you may definitely add vegetables to complete the dish. Asparagus, green beans, and zucchini will all go great with the lemon sauce and compliment the chicken
I can’t wait for you to give this simple chicken dinner recipe a try!
What to Serve with Lemon Chicken?
The EASY chicken dish is completely ready in just 30 minutes and can be served with our Mashed Potatoes or your favorite pasta and it pairs well with Caesar Salad.
More Chicken Recipes to Try:
- Chicken Cobb Salad – so easy with rotisserie chicken
- Spatchcock Chicken – one-pan baked chicken dinner
- Chicken Fried Rice – a great way to use leftovers
- Chicken Carbonara- Olive Garden copycat recipe.
- Tender Chicken Thighs- Easiest and juiciest baked tender thighs.
Lemon Chicken with BEST Lemon Butter Sauce

Ingredients
Ingredients for Parmesan Crusted Chicken:
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast, (2 large), patted dry with paper towels
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, to sautee
- 1 Tbsp parsley, to garnish (optional)
- 1/2 lemon, sliced for garnish (optional)
For the Egg Mixture:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
For the Parmesan Breading Mixture:
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Ingredients for Lemon Butter Sauce:
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Lightly beat with a meat mallet until even in thickness.
- In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the egg mixture. In another bowl, combine the ingredients for the parmesan mixture. Dip chicken into the egg mixture, then dredge chicken in the parmesan mixture. Allow any excess ingredients to fall off from each bowl.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet. Once hot, add the chicken and cook 4-5 minutes per side, or until crispy, golden and cooked through to 165˚F on an Instant Read Thermometer. Reduce the heat if chicken browns too quickly.
- Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, melt butter and garlic, cook until fragrant. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice and pepper. Allow the sauce to cook for about 2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken, turning to coat. Garnish with lemon slices and finely chopped parsley if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This is a wonderful and wonderfully easy recipe! I will prepare it no a second time for my husband and me. The first time I prepared it I served it over angel hair pasta, and I will do the same this evening. It was much like a chicken piccata! Thank you for sharing this recipe on Pinterest.
You’re welcome Pam. Thanks for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you loved it!
Can I bake this in the oven instead??
Hi Inna, Here’s what one of our readers said “It worked in the oven! I used 1 cup of panko bread crumbs and 1 cup of parmesan cheese instead of the flour/parmesan mix, used cooking spray in my pan, and baked at 375 for 30-35 minutes. My family wanted it crispier, so next time I’ll broil for a few more minutes at the end.” I hope that helps.
Hi, I made this recipe, but there was no the flavor inside the chicken even though I followed the instructions. Do you know why? Thanks.
Hi Fatin, I haven’t had that experience. Was anything altered in the recipe? Is it possible you used more chicken than what the recipe called for?
I used the same size of yours. My family told me that the chicken is very delicious w/o the sauce, but I prefer to get the flavor of the sauce inside the chicken.
Loved this recipe of Lemon Chicken. Thanks for such amazing recipe.
Thanks for your great feedback!
This was delicious and easy to make !
Thank you!
You’re so welcome! Thanks also for your great feedback.
Oooo yea. This was good. Added honey to the lemon sauce. Also accidentally bought shredded Parmesan instead of grated. Still tasted great. Served with mash potatoes and zucchini
Nice to know that it was great with parmesan too! Thanks for sharing that with us.
I love making your recipes! I feel like a real chef. Some have become weekly favorites and request.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles
A perfect lemon chicken recipe for any summer holiday. This recipe is really amazing.
Thank you Natasha. I have made 19 of your recipes. My family loved them all. You are my BFF. My family is so happy I found your recipes. This one was also a hit. You are the best, despite us gaining some weight
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Donna! I’m all smiles
Hi Natasha!
What can I substitute the chicken broth with?
Hi, a vegetable broth would also work well.
I made this dish for my family last night and visiting family and they LOVED it! It was delicious and easy. Thank you, it was perfect.
You’re welcome, Melissa. I’m so glad your family loved this recipe! Thanks for sharing your good feedback with us.
Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Loved this recipe and it was easy to do. No problems with coating staying on I think having the pan oiled well and hot helps. A lot of sauce so saved some. The sauce and chicken were delicious. Would recommend to make with no changes to recipe.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
This was the most delicious chicken recipe! We loved it so much that I put chicken on the grocery list for the week following. I had a lot of the lemon butter sauce left over from the first time I made it so I saved it in the refrigerator to see if it would keep. Much to my delight The lemon butter sauce was as delicious as it was when I first made it. That really cut a lot of work out of remaking the recipe. when I first made it I had the same problem with the coating staying on the chicken once it was in the pan and cooking. So currently my chicken is in the refrigerator marinating in the egg mixture with the hope that the coding will stick to the chicken this time and not fall apart in the pan. It will be an A+ recipe if that works but delicious no matter what. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that! Thank you for that awesome review!
Can you make this with park and panko crumbs instead of flour so more like a cutlet?
Hi Natalie, that may work! Here’s what one of our readers wrote “! I used 1 cup of panko bread crumbs and 1 cup of parmesan cheese instead of the flour/parmesan mix..” I hope that helps
Hello! We are making this for dinner tonight! Very excited! What is the serving size that the nutrition facts are based on? Do you know? Thanks for sharing such a delicious sounding recipe!
Hi Heather, the number of servings is listed towards the top of the recipe card. This recipe has 4 servings.
Hi Natasha from Sydney,
I have cooked a few of your recipes and love them all – I love your style, but unfortunately, mm this was a miss for me. Way to much butter for my liking. Did like the Parmesan/Flour combo though without the usual breadcrumbs so will be using that technique on a couple of my other go to sauces.
Looking forward to the next recipe of yours I try.
Hi Travers, was there anything that you changed in the recipe? This one normally gets great reviews and I am always happy to help troubleshoot.
My son is very picky and he loved this. Thanks for helping me add to a very small recipe file!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
This is the first time I have cooked lemon chicken and it is now a definitive favourite. The flavours were fabulous. Thank you for sharing. Will now be added to the weekly menu. Even my sons liked it and they can be fussy.
So glad to hear that you loved it, Sue. Thanks for sharing that with us and for your great feedback!
Delicious and easy to make. I dredged mine in flour, then the egg mixture. The I coated with half parmesan cheese and half Italian bread crumbs.
Sounds oh so yummy! Thanks for your wonderful feedback.