This Lemon Chicken with Easy Butter and Garlic Sauce is made with simple ingredients, but has a delicious flavour you'll want to make again! Serve golden and juicy chicken breast on a bed of pasta and greens, and drizzle over a lemon butter garlic sauce with thyme. Delicious and full of flavour, this is sure to be a family favourite recipe for busy weeknights.
What is Lemon Chicken with Easy Butter and Garlic Sauce?
This easy chicken dinner is made of thinly slicked chicken breast cooked in butter and oil to make a juicy chicken breast that has a lovely golden crust. We'll then make a white wine and garlic sauce reduction, then slowly add butter cubes to thicken the sauce. Serve juicy chicken breast on a bed of pasta and green vegetables and drizzle over the buttery sauce. This will become a family favorite in no time!
What ingredients you need to make this Lemon Chicken with Butter Sauce
You will need the following ingredients for this recipe:
- 1 bunch of Broccolini (also known as tenderstem broccoli), which will be trimmed and sliced.
- ½ bunch of fresh Thyme, the leaves of which will be used in the recipe.
- 4 tablespoons of Plain flour, used for coating the chicken.
- 350 grams of Fusili pasta (or any short pasta variety you prefer).
- 1 tablespoon of Olive oil, used for cooking.
- 700 grams of Chicken breast, which will be sliced and cooked.
- 4 cloves of Garlic, minced for flavor.
- ⅓ cup of White wine, used in the sauce.
- 60 grams of Salted Butter, which will be used both in cooking and for the sauce.
- 200 grams of Green beans, added for extra vegetable goodness.
- 2 Lemons, from which zest and fresh lemon juice will be used to add a zesty and tangy flavor to the dish.
Substitutions and Add-ins
Gluten-free substitutions: You can use a gluten-free pasta and swap plain flour for cornflour.
Dairy free substitutions: You can swap butter for dairy free butter like Nuttellex.
Chicken: I suggest to use boneless, skinless, chicken breast fillets, however if you prefer thigh fillets you can use these instead. You will want to cook these at a higher temperature.
You can use unsalted butter instead of salted butter if you prefer.
Add-ins
- You might like to add chicken broth to your sauce instead of white wine.
- You can make a creamy sauce by adding some heavy cream, I'd recommend only a few tablespoons. This will also thin the sauce out.
- You can serve with finely grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
- In addition to the thyme, you could add Italian seasoning to the chicken sauce or serve with fresh parsley.
How to Make Lemon Chicken with Butter Sauce
This delicious chicken recipe really is an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love. Let's make it!
Trim broccolini and green beans, and slice both into thirds, lengthwise. Place a pot of salted water on the stove and bring it to a boil.
Pull leaves from thyme and divide them into two. Zest the lemon and juice it into a glass. Mince the garlic.
Place flour on a plate. Slice the chicken in half horizontally, so it is thin, then dip it in the flour to coat and set it aside.
Add pasta to the boiling water and cook it for 1 minute less than what the packet indicates. When the timer goes off, add green beans and broccolini and cook for 1 minute, then drain.
Heat a heavy-bottom frying pan over medium-high heat, then add olive oil and butter.
Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until it turns golden brown and is cooked through. Remove it to a plate.
There should be leftover oil and butter in the pan (if not, add a little more). Reduce the heat to low, sauté garlic and half of the thyme in the pan for 1 minute.
Add white wine, lemon zest, and juice, getting all the lovely chicken and garlic flavors. Cook for 1-2 minutes on low to reduce.
Once the sauce has reduced, remove it from the heat and add the remaining butter, a teaspoon at a time, mixing until it turns into a thick sauce. Season it to taste.
Return the pan to low heat, then add the chicken to warm and cover it in the sauce. Dish up the pasta and green veggies, top with the lemon chicken, and drizzle with the sauce. Finally, sprinkle over the remaining thyme.
Top tip
Chicken breast can dry out if you cook it at too high a temperature. Because we are cooking for 4 minutes on each side, in butter and olive oil, you want to cook it on medium-high heat, not high.
Also, when you add the butter to your lemon butter sauce, do make sure it has cooled a little before you start to add the butter cubes, or it will just turn into liquid butter. You really want the butter to emulsify and thicken the sauce, so it needs to be warm, but not hot.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- Kids may prefer you to serve them plain pasta, plain green vegetables, and slices of chicken breast separately.
Equipment
You will need a frying pan, a pot and a stovetop.
More Creamy Pasta recipes
If you like this creamy pasta recipe you'll also enjoy my Salmon Pasta Alfredo, my Spaghetti Carbonara with Sweet Potato, and my One Pot Greek Chicken Risoni.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Broccolini
- 200 g Green beans
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ bunch Thyme
- 2 Lemons
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 tablespoon Flour plain or corn flour
- 2 Chicken breasts large
- 350 g Short pasta Fusilli, orecchiette or penne
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup White wine
- 40 g Butter
Instructions
- Trim broccolini and green beans, and slice both into thirds, lengthwise. Place a medium pot of salted water on the stove to boil.1 bunch Broccolini, 200 g Green beans, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Pull leaves from the thyme, and divide into two piles. Zest lemon and juice into a glass. Peel and finely chop garlic.½ bunch Thyme, 2 Lemons, 4 cloves Garlic
- Put flour on a plate. Slice chicken in half horizontally, then dip in the flour to coat and set aside.2 tablespoon Flour, 2 Chicken breasts
- Add pasta to the pot of boiling water, and add a timer for 1 minute less than indicated on the packet. When the timer goes Add green veggies and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until just turning bright green, then drain.350 g Short pasta
- Heat a heavy bottom frying pan over medium high heat, then add olive oil and butter.1 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter
- Fry chicken for 4-5 minutes each side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- There should be leftover oil and butter in the pan (if not, add a little more). Reduce the heat to low (you may even need to take the pan off the heat), then saute garlic and half the thyme (reserve the rest for garnish) in the pan for 1 minute.NOTE - it should be around now that you add the green veggies to the pasta water.4 cloves Garlic, ½ bunch Thyme
- Add white wine, lemon zest and juice, to deglaze the base of the pan, getting all the lovely chicken and garlic flavours. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes on low to reduce.¼ cup White wine, 2 Lemons
- Once sauce has reduced, remove from the heat and add the remaining butter, a teaspoon at a time, mixing until it turns into a thick sauce. Season to taste.40 g Butter
- Return the pan to low heat, then add chicken to warm and cover in sauce. Dish up pasta and green veggies, top with lemon chicken and drizzle with sauce and sprinkle over remaining thyme.
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