My take on Pollo Al Limone (Lemon chicken) is super easy to make. The chicken is tender on the inside and crispy on the outside and delightfully lemony.
If you feel like something really fresh but still a little indulgent, you can’t go past this Lemon Chicken. It’s such an easy weeknight meal, with very little prep and a lot of flavour. The butter beans, broccolini, parsley and lemon go so well with crispy fried chicken, you’ll be going back for more!
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Lemon Chicken Ingredients
- Lemon
- Garlic
- Plain flour
- Olive oil
- Skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets
- Parsley
- Capers
- Broccolini
- Butter beans
- Salt and pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Lemon Chicken
1. Zest 1 lemon and juice all the lemons. Peel off most of the outer layers from the garlic, then slice in half horizontally.
- 2 lemons
- 1 head garlic
2. Add half the lemon zest to a plate with flour, salt and pepper.
- ⅓ cup plain flour
- Salt and pepper
3. Heat a large, lidded frying pan or casserole dish over medium (not high) heat, and add olive oil.
- ⅓ cup olive oil
4. Dip chicken thighs in the flour mixture then add to the pan, along with garlic (cut side down), and cook, covered, for 7 minutes.
- 4-6 skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets (500g)
- 1 head garlic
5. Meanwhile, finely chop parsley and capers. Trim and slice broccolini into thirds. Drain butter beans.
- 1 bunch parsley
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 1 bunch broccolini
- 2 cans butter beans
6. Turn the chicken and continue to cook, lid off, for 5 minutes. Make sure chicken is cooked through, then remove to a plate and cover with the lid from your frying pan to keep warm. You can slice up your child’s portion of chicken now and serve on their plate if they prefer to keep it plain.
7. Move garlic to one side of your pan, then add parsley, the remaining zest, lemon juice, capers (optional - you can add these to adult plates at the end if preferred), and broccolini to the pan, and cook, tossing, until parsley has softened and broccolini starts to turn bright green.
- 1 bunch parsley
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 1 bunch broccolini
8. If little ones would prefer beans separate you can add a portion of beans to their plates, then for adults, add remaining beans back to the frying pan and mix through, then add chicken back to the pan and cover for 2 more minutes to make sure everything is warmed through.
- 2 cans butter beans
9. Serve crispy chicken on a bed of lemony beans and greens, and season well with salt and pepper.
For little ones, you can serve their chicken, beans and greens separately.
- Salt and pepper
Substitutions
- Vegetarian - To make this vegetarian swap the chicken for cauliflower “steaks” - slice cauliflower into 2-3cm pieces, they’ll work really well.
- Gluten Free - To make this recipe gluten free swap plain flour for corn flour.
- Dairy Free - This recipe is dairy free.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- To make this recipe kid friendly you can always separate out the chicken and beans before adding them back into the lemony herbs, and slice chicken into fingers.
Equipment
You will need a deep lidded frying pan or casserole dish, a stovetop.
Top tip
You can use just about any green vegetable in this recipe, I chose broccolini, but zucchini, beans, peas - anything will work.
Recipe
Pollo Al Limone (Lemon Chicken)
Equipment
- Deep lidded frying pan or casserole dish
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 1 head garlic
- ⅓ cup plain flour
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 4-6 chicken thigh fillets skinless and boneless, about 500g
- 1 bunch parsley
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 1 bunch broccolini
- 2 cans butter beans
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Zest 1 lemon and juice all the lemons. Peel off most of the outer layers from the garlic, then slice in half horizontally.2 lemons, 1 head garlic
- Add half the lemon zest to a plate with flour, salt and pepper.⅓ cup plain flour, Salt and pepper
- Heat a large, lidded frying pan or casserole dish over medium (not high) heat, and add olive oil.⅓ cup olive oil
- Dip chicken thighs in the flour mixture then add to the pan, along with garlic (cut side down), and cook, covered, for 7 minutes.4-6 chicken thigh fillets, 1 head garlic
- Meanwhile, finely chop parsley and capers. Trim and slice broccolini into thirds. Drain butter beans.1 bunch parsley, 2 tablespoon capers, 1 bunch broccolini, 2 cans butter beans
- Turn the chicken and continue to cook, lid off, for 5 minutes. Make sure chicken is cooked through, then remove to a plate and cover with the lid from your frying pan to keep warm. You can slice up your child’s portion of chicken now and serve on their plate if they prefer to keep it plain.
- Move garlic to one side of your pan, then add parsley, the remaining zest, lemon juice, capers (optional - you can add these to adult plates at the end if preferred), and broccolini to the pan, and cook, tossing, until parsley has softened and broccolini starts to turn bright green.1 bunch parsley, 2 tablespoon capers, 1 bunch broccolini
- If little ones would prefer beans separate you can add a portion of beans to their plates, then for adults, add remaining beans back to the frying pan and mix through, then add chicken back to the pan and cover for 2 more minutes to make sure everything is warmed through.2 cans butter beans
- Serve crispy chicken on a bed of lemony beans and greens and season well with salt and pepper. For little ones, you can serve their chicken, beans and greens separately.Salt and pepper
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