Succulent chicken in a fresh and zesty sauce with a hint of sweetness. This Honey Lemon Chicken is ready in 20 minutes. A brilliant weeknight meal to serve with rice or pasta.
What Do You Need?
Chicken breasts– use 2 large chicken breasts, so you have enough meat for 4 people. Some supermarkets sell ‘quick cook’ chicken breast steaks – which are basically chicken breast that have already been sliced in half – these work great too. Alternatively, you can replace the chicken breast with well-trimmed boneless chicken thighs.
- Lemons – use fresh lemon juice rather than the stuff in a bottle. For this recipe the fresh flavour is important.
How to make Honey Lemon Chicken
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Coat the sliced chicken breast pieces in seasoned flour and fry in oil and butter until golden.
- Add garlic, chicken stock, lemon juice, honey and lemon slices and stir together, then bring the sauce to the boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes until slightly reduced. The sauce will thicken slightly as it starts to cool.
Serve with a sprinkling of parsley over pasta, or over rice.
PRO TIP:
I also like this dish served with orzo or couscous and a green salad for an even lighter meal.
Notes:
Can I make it ahead?
This dish taste best cooked and served immediately, but you can make it ahead too if you prefer.
Make the whole dish, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day.
Reheat in a pan over a medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Place a lid on the pan to keep the heat in during reheating. It’s a good idea to add a good splash (1/4 cup or so) of hot chicken stock to help loosen up the sauce again.
The chicken also tastes great cold for lunch the next day as part of a salad or wrap.
Ingredient swaps:
- Swap out the chicken breast for well-trimmed boneless chicken thighs.
- Add some heat with a tablespoon of sweet chili sauce or a teaspoon of sriracha to the sauce.
- Add some quick-cook vegetables to the pan – such as mange tout, baby corn or asparagus.
More Recipe Suggestions:
Hot Honey Baked Chicken Breasts
Sweet and Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Thighs
Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Chicken
Garlic Butter Chicken Bites with Creamy Parmesan Pasta
Honey Lemon Chicken
Equipment
- Large Skillet (I prefer cast-iron, it goes from stove/oven to table)
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts around 7oz each, sliced in half to make 4 thin chicken breasts
- 3 tbsp plain all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 Cup chicken stock
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice juice from approx. 1.5 lemons
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 lemon sliced into half-moon slices
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on a tray or board. Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Coat both sides of the chicken with the flour mixture.
- 2 large chicken breasts,3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp paprika
- Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, until the butter melts.
- 1 tbsp olive oil,2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 7-8 minutes, turning once, until both sides are golden brown.
- Add the garlic, stir for 30 seconds (don’t let the garlic burn), then add the chicken stock, lemon juice, honey, and lemon slices.
- 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup chicken stock, 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 3 tbsp honey, 1 lemon
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce is slightly reduced.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with rice or pasta.
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley, cooked rice
