This baked lemon chicken is coated in a butter and herb sauce, then roasted to perfection. A super easy dinner option that even the pickiest eaters will enjoy!
Chicken breasts baked in the oven can sometimes come out dry, but this recipe will never let you down! These baked lemon chicken breasts come out juicy and delicious every time, and the delicious sauce will have you licking your plate. When I want juicy baked chicken, I make bacon wrapped chicken, baked chicken parmesan or this delicious chicken.
Sometimes I just need a quick and easy protein option to get dinner on the table in a hurry! I love the convenience of baked chicken, but I find that sometimes the end result can be disappointing with bland, rubbery chicken. This baked lemon chicken comes out perfectly delicious every time, and my whole family adores it!
This chicken is delicious with side dishes like fried corn, cauliflower casserole or mashed red potatoes. Pick your favorite side dishes and make your favorite meal!
How to make baked lemon chicken
For this recipe, you’ll need boneless skinless chicken breasts. I brown the breasts before I put them in the oven, it takes a few extra minutes but I feel like the added flavor is so worth it.
After the chicken is golden brown and crispy, it goes into a baking dish with some lemon juice, butter, garlic, herbs and chicken broth. If you have an oven proof skillet, you can simply brown the chicken breasts, pour the sauce over the top and bake directly in the skillet instead of transferring the chicken to a baking dish.
What I love about this recipe is that it’s so easy to bake as few or as many chicken breasts as you need. You can bake 2 or 20 chicken breasts, same process!
The final step is to add a little chopped fresh parsley and lemon slices. This baked lemon chicken is best served over rice, mashed potatoes or pasta. Be sure to spoon all that extra sauce at the bottom of the baking dish over the chicken when you serve it; the sauce is the best part!
I often make extra chicken to chop up and use in other recipes during the week. It’s a great basic chicken that works in so many dishes like casseroles, soups and pasta.
More chicken recipes
- Firecracker Chicken
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Baked Fried Chicken
Baked Lemon Chicken Video
Baked Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- lemon slices for serving optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper and the Italian seasoning.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until browned.
- Transfer the chicken to a baking dish.
- In a small bowl, mix together the butter, garlic, chicken broth and lemon juice. Pour the butter mixture over the chicken.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Bake time may vary depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts.
- Spoon the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish over the chicken, then sprinkle with parsley and serve. Garnish with lemon slices if desired.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Creme de la Crumb.
- When I make this recipe I use chicken breasts that are about 1 inch thick. If you use thinner chicken breasts, be sure to decrease the bake time accordingly.
I’ve made this several times, it’s the BOMB! Fantastic!
Every time I make the lemon butter sauce the mixture curdles. How do I prevent this?
Does it look curdled after you mix it before you add it to the pan, or after it comes out of the oven?
It curdles right when I mix the lemon and butter
My family loves this recipe! I have made it 3 times already. I do add small potatoes around the chicken and they taste incredible in the sauce. We raise meat rabbits and I’ve made it once with rabbit, fabulous also. Thanks for the great recipe!
This was incredible! Super easy & so tasty! Had extra sauce from the chicken cuz I only made 2 breasts & poured over the rice I made & made it even better! Steamed some broccoli on the side! Yum yum
Can this be made with chicken tenders rather than breasts? How would you recommend the cooking time be adjusted? I’ve made this is the past with breasts and we loved it.
You can do it with tenders, I’d bake them for 12-15 minutes!
I made no changes. It was delicious.
My husband and I were blown away. We can use this for so many different meal plans. Thank you 😊
Can this recipe be down with chicken thighs?
That should be fine!
Can I make it without butter
You can but I’d add a little olive oil, maybe half the amount of the butter so the chicken doesn’t dry out.
Use olive oil
This was outrageously good and easy to boot! I made it in a 12” cast iron pan that I used to brown the chicken and then put directly into the oven for quick clean up. The chicken was very tender, and the juice was incredible. I was having it with a saucy pasta, but will double the sauce and serve with orzo next time. And there most certainly will be a next time!
Thank you Sara, I love your recipes. Ima longtime fan of Dinner At The Zoo but never commented before. I’m on a low sodium diet but find your recipes easy to tweak for sodium and they all still turnout fantastic. This is a go-to site for me when wanting a new recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
Because my husband is allergic to garlic (a bigger challenge than you might think) I sautéed one large, thinly sliced onion after sautéing the chicken breasts. I then followed the recipe as written except for adding one can of drained and rinsed petite diced tomatoes. This removes the highly acidic seeds (another of my family’s many food sensitivities — I know, what a bore.) The second time I made it I doubled the sauce, terrific on pasta. This is a wonderfully adaptable/customizable recipe, so good, so easy, and would almost certainly be even better with garlic!