Lemon Herb Chicken

Name: Lemon Herb Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken breasts; 8 cloves garlic, minced; 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided; 2 whole lemons, juice and zest; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; 1 teaspoon oregano; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes ((optional and to taste) ); 1/2 teaspoon black pepper ((or to taste) ); lemon slices, fresh chopped parsley and oregano for garnish

This Lemon Herb Chicken Recipe is a quick, healthy, and easy recipe that is the perfect protein for any meal, any time of the year. This flavorful chicken is perfect for the entire family, so make a big batch to eat throughout the week!

delicious lemon herb chicken breasts topped with fresh parsley, oregano, and lemon slices.

Save This Recipe! 💌

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

This simple recipe calls for a quick marinade that injects a ton of bright flavor. This lean meat is juicy and delicious. This easy chicken dish is the perfect main course or an addition to salads.

Looking for more delicious chicken recipes? Be sure to try this mozzarella stuffed chicken wrapped in parma ham, this jalapeño popper chicken skillet, or this chicken and broccoli pasta bake!

We know you'll also love our chicken pomodoro recipe or our Cajun chicken alfredo!

Jump to:

❤️Why we love this recipe
🍋Ingredients
✨Substitutions & variations
📖Instructions
✨Tips & tricks
🍴What to Serve With This
💭Frequently asked questions
More Recipes to Consider
📖 Recipe
💬 Community

❤️Why we love this recipe

Made with simple, fresh ingredients. Simple, staple ingredients, and big flavors! Most of these ingredients you probably already have on hand in your pantry or in the fridge.
Perfect for busy weeknights. Don't have much time? Make the perfect weeknight meal in under 35 minutes. It's the perfect quick and easy protein to serve alongside roasted vegetables or a salad any night of the week.
High protein, low carb, and gluten free. This recipe fits a lot of diets, naturally, and can also be made dairy free if desired.
Great for meal prep. Just like it's great for busy weeknights dinners, it's also fabulous to pack up for meal prep during the week. It's extremely versatile and tasty.

🍋Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts. Chicken thighs can also be used if you prefer. We like to use thinner cut breasts, but you can use large chicken breasts if you prefer, or cut them yourself and pound them with a meat mallet at home. Just please note, that larger chicken breasts (if left uncut) will take longer to cook all the way through.
Fresh lemons. This recipe uses plenty of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.
Garlic cloves. Finely minced. The fresh garlic really adds a lot of flavor, but you can use garlic powder if you prefer.
Olive oil & butter. We like a mixture of both to make the chicken really flavorful.
Fresh herbs. You can use your favorite fresh herbs for this. We garnished with fresh parsley and oregano. Basil would also be an excellent choice.

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions & variations

The ingredients are pretty straightforward, but here are a few simple swaps you can make.

Dairy free. Use a dairy free or vegan butter, or just more olive oil instead of regular butter.
Spicy. Love a spicy kick? Add extra red pepper flakes, or even a tablespoon of crushed Calabrian chilis (affiliate link).
Buttery. If you're looking for something extra creamy, use all butter instead of butter and olive oil.
Additional flavor. Feel free to add more seasonings like a little onion powder, or fresh thyme to the mixture for extra flavor.
Use other herbs. We used a little of everything in this recipe, as chicken goes well with many herbs. You could always add thyme, rosemary, fresh basil, or sage!

🔪Prep work

Dry the chicken very well on all sides with a paper towel.
Mince garlic.
Zest and juice the lemons.
Slice a few lemons into thin slices for garnish, as well as chop fresh parsley.

📖Instructions

Marinate the chicken

Place the raw chicken in a large bowl or Ziploc bag. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice, and zest. (Image 1)

raw chicken breasts in a white ceramic bowl covered in lemon juice and zest.

Add in the fresh garlic. (Image 2)

Finally, add all of the dry seasonings. (Image 3)

raw chicken breasts in a large white bowl with lemon juice, zest, and fresh garlic.

raw chicken breasts in a bowl with oregano, red pepper flakes, onion powder, italian seasoning, lemon juice, zest, and fresh garlic.

Toss to coat all sides of the chicken completely. Set aside 10-15 minutes for a quick marinade. (Image 4)

raw chicken in a large ceramic bowl tossed with seasonings, garlic, and lemon.

⭑Pro tip: Don't allow the chicken to sit in the lemon juice for much longer than 25 minutes, as the acid from the lemon juice will begin to cook the chicken.

Cook chicken breasts

Preheat a skillet over medium heat.

After the time is up, add the butter and remaining olive oil to the hot pan. Add the marinated chicken in a single layer, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Be sure to discard any remaining marinade.

Cook until an instant-read thermometer reads at least 165°F into the thickest part of the chicken breast. Depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts, time will vary. We used thinner cut breasts and it took about 4-5 minutes on each side. (Image 5)

chicken breasts in a large skillet cooking in olive oil and butter.

⭑Pro tip: If the pan or chicken begins to dry out too much, you can always deglaze the pan with a little bit of chicken stock, broth, or a little white wine.

Garnish and serve!

Allow the chicken to rest a few moments before digging in. Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.

We also recommend scraping up the juices and brown bits on the bottom of the pan and serving it over top of the chicken. Enjoy! (Image 6)

Serve the chicken with veggies, or over the top of a salad!

lemon herb chicken on a plate with fresh parsley, oregano, and lemon slices.

✨Tips & tricks

Use fresh, high quality ingredients. There are definitely times we think that short cuts in recipes can be just as tasty, but using the freshest and highest quality ingredients you can will make all the difference here. This recipe has very few ingredients, so each one makes a big impact.
Cook the chicken in batches and don't overcrowd the pan. We want to make sure the chicken cooks evenly and gets a little bit of browning going on, so this helps ensure we can do that. We know it can be tempting to put all of the chicken in the pan at once, but truly they cook so quickly it's best to give them a little room.
Don't marinate the chicken too long! As mentioned, this is meant to be a quick marinade situation. There's a lot of lemon juice in this recipe, and all of the acid can begin to cook the meat if left too long. That's why we only recommend marinating for around 15 minutes with fresh lemon juice.
Let the chicken rest. Allowing the chicken, (just like steak or any other protein) the time to rest makes the chicken juicier. This is because the moisture get re-absorbed by the chicken, instead of cutting right in and letting all of the juices escape.

Need supplies? Shop our Amazon store! Stock your pantry, and find all of our favorite kitchen tools! A Full Living LLC earns a small commission through purchases on our storefront to help support this site.

🍴What to Serve With This

Looking for sides to serve this lemony herb chicken with? The opportunities are endless, but here are a few suggestions!

Vegetables. Try serving this chicken with broccoli, some caramelized onions and mushrooms, this air fryer zucchini, these lemon garlic green beans, or this cold asparagus salad. You may also enjoy this crispy pesto cauliflower or this cauliflower and mushroom recipe.
Salad. A great side salad is also a perfect option, like this arugula and spinach salad! Try adding the chicken as a topping to this burrata salad with pesto vinaigrette, or this strawberry goat cheese salad!
Pasta. Make this lemon garlic pasta a meal with the addition of chicken. This also goes really well on this chicken pesto pasta salad.
Creamy, cheesy sides. This cheesy cauliflower bake, this steakhouse creamed spinach, and this Southern baked mac and cheese are all excellent choices to accompany this lean protein!
Potatoes. Potatoes are a perfect match, always! Try serving it over a bed of these redskin mashed potatoes. You may also enjoy these gluten free scalloped potatoes! These air fryer fingerling potatoes and these smashed potatoes with garlic, cheese, and herbs are perfect! You may also enjoy these creamy mashed turnips if you're looking to lower the carbs.
Bread. You can't go wrong with a quick side of air fryer garlic bread, these honey cornbread muffins, or even this sweet potato cornbread!

burrata salad topped with chicken pieces, tomatoes, and pesto dressing.

💭Frequently asked questions

Can I marinate the chicken overnight?

Yes, but with a catch. Just don't add any of the lemon juice until about 15 minutes before it's time to cook it.

In other words, you can add the olive oil, seasonings, and lemon zest, toss to combine, cover, and set in the fridge overnight. Simply add lemon juice before it's time to cook it up.

How do I know when the chicken is done?

It's really important to make sure your chicken is fully cooked before consuming it, so we highly recommend using a meat thermometer to be sure.

Chicken should always be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F.

If you don't have a thermometer, make sure the chicken is completely white with no pink, and when stabbed with a fork, there is a little pushback. The juices should run completely clear.

Can I use garlic powder for this recipe?

Since there are only a few basic ingredients in this recipe, we highly recommend using fresh garlic if possible.

However, you can use garlic powder if that is all you have on hand. One garlic clove is equivalent to ¼ of a teaspoon of garlic powder, so keep this in mind.

Other cooking methods:

Oven baked - To bake the chicken instead, simply preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 20-25 minutes on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet until the chicken reaches at least 165°F.
Air fryer - To make in the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 375°F, and cook in a single layer, flipping halfway through for roughly 10-15 minutes. Spray your air fryer basket or trays with cooking spray if desired.

How to store the leftovers:

Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

To freeze, allow to cool off completely, before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight.

How to reheat the leftovers:

To reheat on the stovetop, we'd recommend adding about 1 tablespoon of water to a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the chicken breast, then cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook until warmed through, about 3-5 minutes.
In the microwave, in a microwave-safe dish, reheat at 70% power in 20 second intervals until completely warmed through, about 1-2 minutes.
In the air fryer, reheat at 300°F until warmed through.
In the oven, place in an oven safe dish with a bit of water. Heat at 325°F until warmed through, about 8-10 minutes.

More Recipes to Consider

Did you try this recipe? Make sure to leave a 5-star review below! 🌟 This helps other readers find our recipes and encourages them to try them. Also, be sure to leave a comment with your experience. Follow along, and tag @AFullLiving on Instagram with your photos!