This lemon pepper chicken with butter sauce is a simple recipe that’s ready in just 20 minutes! The perfect dinner for a busy weeknight.
When I need easy dinner recipes, I turn to classics such as Chicken Vesuvio, chicken adobo, stuffed green peppers, slow cooker chicken breast, and this zesty lemon pepper chicken.
I’m back with another chicken recipe – because really, is there ever such a thing as too many chicken recipes?! This lemon pepper chicken recipe is on the table in 20 minutes, perfect for those nights where you need dinner on the table ASAP. You probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry to make it tonight! Add an Italian salad and some roasted red potatoes for a memorable meal.
Table of Contents
Lemon Pepper Chicken Ingredients
To make this recipe you’ll need chicken breast, flour, lemon pepper seasoning, salt, olive oil, butter, lemon juice and parsley.
How Do You Make Lemon Pepper Chicken?
Star by mixing together flour, lemon pepper seasoning and salt. Coat both sides of the chicken breasts with flour, then cook them in a large skillet until they’re golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan, then add butter and lemon juice to the pan. Place the chicken back in the skillet, then spoon the sauce over the top, sprinkle with parsley and serve. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley sprigs if desired.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- All lemon pepper seasoning is not created equal. When I purchased my lemon pepper for this recipe, I read the ingredients of 4 different brands and they varied quite a bit. Some lemon pepper brands contain salt, others use citric acid instead of actual lemon peel, and some even use yellow food coloring! I recommend choosing one with a more natural ingredient list.
- I recommend using thin cut chicken breasts because they cook quicker and more evenly than thick chicken breasts. If you don’t have thin cut breasts, you can pound regular ones to a thinner consistency with a meat mallet.
- Leftover lemon pepper chicken will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
quick Tip
No fresh parsley on hand? Try using a different herb such as basil, thyme or chives.
Recipe FAQs
The sauce for this dish is made with drippings from the pan, lemon juice, and butter. The lemon pepper seasoning is added to the chicken coating rather than the sauce so that it’s evenly distributed and you get plenty of lemon pepper flavor in every bite.
Serve your chicken with a side of mashed red potatoes, rice pilaf or angel hair pasta. I also recommend vegetables such as sauteed asparagus, roasted broccoli or green beans almondine.
I do not recommend using a substitute such as lemon juice and pepper for lemon pepper seasoning. It will not have the same intensity of lemon flavor compared to lemon pepper seasoning, which uses dried lemon peel. You would need to use a lot of lemon juice to replicate the flavor, which could make the dish too acidic.
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Flavor Variations
While this dish is great as-is, you can change up the ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Protein: Instead of chicken breast, try thin cut pork chops, or fish fillets such as tilapia. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you pound them thin.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add veggies to the pan to cook after you remove the chicken. Some great options include onions, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, or mushrooms.
- Flavorings: Amp up the flavor of the lemon sauce of this dish with dried Italian seasoning, minced garlic, a splash of heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh lemon zest, or finish the dish off with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
I’ve made this lemon pepper chicken countless times over the past few months, even my kids love it! I hope your family enjoys this dinner as much as we do.
More Chicken Recipes
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
3 hrs 5 mins
Baked Bacon Ranch Chicken
50 mins
Firecracker Chicken
50 mins
Chicken Ranch Tacos
30 mins
Lemon Pepper Chicken Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 thin cut boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning or more to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- sliced lemons and parsley sprigs optional garnish
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, lemon pepper seasoning and salt to taste. Pour the flour mixture onto a plate or into a shallow bowl.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, turning to coat evenly.
- Place the chicken in the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes per side or until done.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate. Cover to keep warm.
- Melt the butter in the pan, and whisk in the lemon juice. Season with salt to taste.
- Place the chicken back in the pan. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve, garnished with lemon slices and extra parsley sprigs if desired.
Notes
- All lemon pepper seasoning is not created equal. When I purchased my lemon pepper for this recipe, I read the ingredients of 4 different brands and they varied quite a bit. Some lemon pepper brands contain salt, others use citric acid instead of actual lemon peel, and some even use yellow food coloring! I recommend choosing one with a more natural ingredient list.
- I recommend using thin cut chicken breasts because they cook quicker and more evenly than thick chicken breasts. If you don’t have thin cut breasts, you can pound regular ones to a thinner consistency with a meat mallet.
For some reason I never use lemon pepper, but I love lemon so think I need to get hold of some to make this ASAP, as looks delicious!
Added a little heat with red pepper flakes and it was amazing!
I’m on keto, going to try this with crushed pork rinds! Sounds delicious!
I’ve made this couple times and its delicious 😋 is there anyway to bake it?
I bake mine and baste w/ sauce!
This chicken was amazing. Very flavorful! Came across this recipe trying to do something different for dinner. This did not disappoint!
I am NO chef, so I was ecstatic to come across this quick recipe with minimal ingredients that I already had in the pantry (plus got to use up a single leftover lemon). Tasted more amazing than I imagined! Will make again!
Wonderful recipe! My bf told me to make sure to keep this recipe.
Delicious! Will definitely make again! Thank you as always!
Outstanding. I added some lemon pepper to the chicken before flouring as did another commenter. Definitely will make this again.
The only change I made was sprinkling some extra lemon pepper on the chicken directly before dredging it in the seasoned flour. It was so good even with bottled lemon juice instead of fresh. This will be in my regular rotation.
Used with gluten free flour and vegan butter. It was amazing!! Thank you!
salt to taste? how much would that be…
Are the macros per serving? How much approx does 1 serving weigh?
Each serving is a 4 ounce chicken breast!
Great recipe. Easy to make and I’m the hero of dinner.
I absolutely love this chicken! It is so easy to make and so flavorful. Thank you!
I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before but this one turned out so well , thank you! Super easy to make and delicious.
I loved this recipe, simple and delicious. I’m in my first trimester of pregnancy and so picky lately haha. But this was so good! My other half enjoyed it as well!
I never comment on blog recipes but I needed to let you know – my extremely picky 6-year-old said “I approve of this chicken” which is high praise from him. My extremely picky 37-year-old husband said it was the best chicken I’ve ever made. Thanks for the recipe. Easy to follow and delicious.
What sauce is it talking about? which sauce did you add at the end?
Are you referring to the lemon butter sauce in the recipe?
Such an awesome recipe. I tried it tonight and Oh boy, is it delicious.
A nice recipe, thank you. Can you substitute the all purpose flour with either bread flour or perhaps Panko bread crumbs? Also, if I want to do this ahead of time, can I store the breaded/seasoned uncooked chicken in the fridge for a few hours before cooking, or is it best to do the breading/seasoning right before cooking? Thank you.
That should be fine, although storing it ahead of time could make the coating soggy as it absorbs moisture from the chicken.
If you put the breaded chicken in the fridge on a rack uncovered for up to a few hours it will be fine. The fridge Actually dries uncovered meat. This is not a bad thing.