Tender pieces of Lemon Butter Chicken are simmered on top of the stove in a sauce of lemon, butter, garlic, and fresh minced onion. Easy and delicious, it's perfect as a weeknight (or weekend) dinner!
This Lemon Butter Chicken recipe is from my Grandma Kay and is one of my favorites dishes ever. Grandma Kay was beautiful, intelligent, spunky, and always "told it as it is" and she could cook! She always cooked everything from scratch and prided herself on
Even though Grandma isn't with us anymore, we miss her greatly and are lucky to have such wonderful memories of getting everyone getting together and enjoying her Lemon Butter Chicken.
This dish has a delicious lemon butter sauce that reduces and leaves a tart, sticky residue on the chicken and on bottom of the pan. I remember when I was little, taking a spoon in one hand and the pan in the other, and scraping up all the lemon tastiness to eat.
Like most people, I cherish my family's recipes and love the memories that accompany the tastes and smells every time I make them. Thinking about my Grandmother the other day made me want to make this recipe and it tasted exactly like I've always remembered it.
A note about the versatility of this recipe, it can be successfully made with lime juice instead of lemon and different herbs can be used. The combo of thyme and rosemary herbs works really well with the lemon and fresh chopped cilantro could be used with the lime juice.
Browning the chicken in butter. I used all breasts because it's what I had on hand.
Making the garlic/onion/oil/honey/herb sauce to go on top of the chicken
The sauce on the chicken
Ready to go back on the stovetop
All ready to serve and sprinkled with some finely chopped parsley to make it pretty.
My favorite. The tasty brown goodies on the bottom of the pan. Yum!
Lemon Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 chicken pieces, breasts or thighs (skin-on preferred)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (grass-fed is preferred)
- 2 tablespoons onion, minced
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and brown the chicken pieces on both sides.
- Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl (onion through black pepper). Turn chicken skin side up in the pan, then pour the sauce over the pieces.
- Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over (skin side down) and cook for another 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
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