This recipe for pan seared chicken breast with spinach is a one pot meal of chicken breasts and vegetables in the most delicious lemon, butter and herb sauce. An easy low carb meal that the whole family will enjoy!
It’s one pot meal time again! This go around I’m bringing you a lemony pan seared chicken breast with spinach, tomatoes and bell peppers. I’m still working my way through our Meyer lemon stash so I’m putting lemon in all our meals these days. These chicken breasts are lightly coated in seasoned flour then seared in butter for a deliciously browned crust. Throw some veggies in the pan, make a 3 minute lemon honey butter sauce and dinner is ready.
How do you make pan seared chicken breast?
I use thin cut chicken breasts for this recipe; the thinner chicken cooks much quicker and gives you a better crust to chicken ratio. I buy my chicken breasts already cut thin, but you could easily cut thicker breasts lengthwise or pound them thin with a meat mallet. After you’ve made the pan seared chicken breast it’s time to incorporate the veggies. I saute a little bell pepper and spinach in the pan, then add in cherry tomatoes. I don’t cook the tomatoes because I like the texture better when they’re fresh, but you could cook them for a few minutes if you prefer.
The sauce for these pan seared chicken breasts couldn’t be any easier to make – it’s simply browned butter with a little bit of honey, lemon juice and fresh thyme leaves stirred in. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and vegetables and dinner is done. I like to serve some bread on the side to round out the meal, or if you don’t mind cleaning one more pan some orzo pasta would be nice. Regardless of how you serve it, this one pot meal is sure to be a hit!
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More great chicken recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Chicken Santa Fe
- Pineapple Chicken
Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds of thin boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup of butter , divided use
- 10 ounces of baby spinach
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1/2 cup of diced red, orange or yellow bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Optional garnishes: lemon slices and thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, salt and pepper on a large plate.
- Season each chicken breast with salt to taste, then dredge each chicken breast in the flour mixture.
- In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover with foil. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.
- Place the bell pepper in the pan, cook for 3-4 minutes. Add spinach and cook for 3 more minutes or until spinach is wilted and bell pepper is cooked through. Add cherry tomatoes and season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
- Place the vegetables on the serving platter alongside the chicken.
- Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan until the butter has started to brown. Whisk in the honey, lemon juice, thyme leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables and serve. Garnish with lemon slices and thyme sprigs if desired.
Brianna says
Loved this recipe! I didn’t have thymes or peppers, so substituted oregano and onions! Also only used butter for the sauce (I love to over use butter). But absolutely loved it! So did my family
Rochelle says
Quick and delicious.. looks nice when served. Served with Israeli couscous. No leftovers!
Lea says
Made this tonight. My husband loved it. I told him I’ll add more veggies next time to make it more filling and he told me no, it’s perfect just the way it is! Thank you so much. Super light but still filling.
Debra says
I ended up adding some white wine to deglaze the pan before adding spinach. I felt the pan would of been too dry to cook the spinach. The flavor combinations where very nice.
Hannah says
Loved this meal! Doubled the sauce and added pasta with the chicken.
Sharon says
Thanks so much!
Delicious and easy to prepare.
Will definitely make this my “go to” meal….
Sara says
So glad to hear that you liked it!
Debbie says
Perfect healthy easy meal!
Greg says
The chicken looks amazing! What a great idea for a one pot meal.
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
Love the addition of spinach, brilliant!
Citra Kale @Citra's Home Diary says
Super yummy plate you have here. I like your recipe as well, thx for sharing
Marye says
I love all of the color in this dish, it looks absolutely delicious!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
One perfect dinner to me!
Adriana Martin says
what a lovely and simple dish perfect to start the week with a yummy dinner, thanks for sharing =)