Lemon Chicken: A pan seared chicken breast, cooked in a delicious creamy, low carb, lemon sauce and served with asparagus!
This creamy lemon chicken dish is everything you want from a meal, and the fact that it is low carb doesn’t hurt a bit. The chicken is tender and flavorful, and that pan searing helps give it that golden caramelized crust that adds so much flavor. The sauce is what all my dreams are made of with lemony creamy goodness, and the asparagus is crispy but tender, making this a complete meal the whole family will enjoy.
I am obsessed with skillet chicken dishes like this teriyaki chicken or this tuscan chicken. There is just something about taking chicken and adding a tasty sauce, searing it and cooking it all in one pan that makes me happy. A complete one-pan meal is the epitome of eazy peazy. And this creamy lemon chicken is no exception. It gives me all the feels!
Step two: Sear the Lemon Chicken
The next step is to sear your chicken, and after years of trying to get the perfect sear, I have a few tips to give you on this score.
- Heat your pan before putting your chicken in it. You want to make sure your pan is hot, and your oil is hot. But not smoking. When you tip your pan, and the oil runs it should have “legs” meaning it should separate into rivulets, but not be smoking or popping. I like to use a medium to medium-high heat to achieve this.
- Once your pan is hot set that chicken in it and then don’t touch it again. A sear gives the chicken breast flavor as well as the spices. It caramelizes the exterior. If you move it around a bunch it won’t ever get that flavorful golden brown. So just leave it alone.
- I like to set a time for 6 minutes. Of course if your chicken is thick, or your pan isn’t very hot, it might take more or less time than this, but 6 minutes is a great average. At 6 minutes, flip it. Then set the time for another 6 minutes. You should have a golden crust. Don’t stress out if your chicken isn’t all the way cooked through as you will be adding it to a delicious lemon cream sauce, and let it finish cooking through a little later on in the recipe.
Step three: Cook the Asparagus and Onions
Once your chicken is browned, you want to cook your asparagus so it is tender. This only takes a few minutes, and should be done in the same pan with some butter. Remember, don’t clean the pan between the chicken and the asparagus. We are working on a lot of pan flavor to make our sauce with.
Step four: Make the Creamy Lemon Sauce
Deglazing the pan means we are going to scrape off all the brown bits that are cooked onto the bottom from searing the chicken and cooking the asparagus, and they are going to serve as flavor enhancers to our sauce. Again trust me!
So to deglaze you want your pan to be nice and warm, and you are going to add liquid to it. In this case, chicken stock and lemon juice.
You will want to use a wooden spoon and simply scrape the bottom of the pan and it will all combine with the liquid to form a fragrant and flavorful base for our lemon garlic cream sauce.
You will then add the other ingredients and let it all simmer down into this amazing lemon-y, garlick-y, creamy, cheesy sauce that you want all over everything!
Step five: Add your seared chicken back in
Now is when it all comes together and this creamy lemon chicken and asparagus becomes a masterpiece. You could turn it into a baked lemon chicken by adding your chicken in and finishing it in the oven. But I prefer to keep it all stove top, since we have our pan seared chicken nearly cooked through, it only takes a few minutes to finish cooking the chicken.
Once the chicken reaches that magical internal temperature number of 165 degrees F, add your asparagus in and enjoy! I like to top it with some parmesan and fresh parsley for pops of color and flavor!
How do I make the best lemon chicken?
How do I make the best lemon chicken?
Want more quick and easy dinner ideas using chicken? Try some of these:
- Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken and Vegetables
- Greek Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Meal
- Asian Lemon Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Lemon Chicken Piccata
Or want a different protein?
Creamy Lemon Chicken + Asparagus
creamy lemon chicken and asparagus is a skillet chicken with a creamy pan sauce that offers the saltiness of parmesan, the tanginess of lemon, and a whole lot of creaminess. Served with asparagus, this is a complete one-pot meal.
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Servings: 4 people
Calories: 473kcal
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to even thickness
- salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 pound asparagus stalks trimmed
- 1 yellow onion sliced
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 whole lemon juiced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Garnish:
- 1 lemon sliced
- ¼ cup Parsley chopped
- ¼ cup parmesan freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika, and onion powder
- Generously Season chicken with spice mixture, then add to the skillet
- Cook chicken for about 6 minutes per side, until a golden crust forms, and chicken is nearly cooked through.
- Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Add butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat.
- Add asparagus and onions to skillet; cook for 3-4 minutes, or until just tender depending on thickness of asparagus.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Deglaze pan with chicken stock and lemon juice, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon.
- Add garlic, half and half, and parmesan and bring to a boil, add chicken back into the pan, and lower heat to a simmer.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until chicken reaches internal temp of 165 degrees.
- Remove skillet from heat. Add asparagus and onions back into the pan, coating with sauce.
- Serve chicken breasts topped with lemon slices and garnished with fresh parsley and parmesan.
Notes
Adapted from: https://diethood.com/creamy-lemon-chicken/
Nutrition
Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 153mg | Sodium: 429mg | Potassium: 839mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2370IU | Vitamin C: 32.9mg | Calcium: 267mg | Iron: 3.9mg
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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