Easy Lemon Chicken Recipes to Perk Up Your Dinner Routine
Add some zest to your meal plan with these easy lemon chicken recipes. Ranging from family-friendly sheet-pan lemon chicken breast recipes to air-fryer roast chicken that’s perfect for dinner party menus, these easy lemon chicken recipes are definitely worthy of a spot on your regular rotation.
Pesto Chicken and Radicchio Skewers
Bored by boneless, skinless chicken breasts? A punchy marinade is one of the best ways to infuse more flavor and moisture, and the process requires minimal prep time. In this lemon chicken recipe, we call for pumping up the protein with a soak in a combo of store-bought or homemade pesto, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil. After 4 to 8 hours in the fridge, thread the herbaceous chicken and wedges of sturdy radicchio onto skewers, and grill until the veggies are charred and the chicken is cooked through.
Chicken and Lemon-Broccoli Alfredo
Some recipes are timeless, including this easy lemon chicken recipe. Since we originally tested, perfected, and shared it in 2011, it’s been consistently one of the most popular dinner ideas in the BHG archives. We can see (and you’ll soon taste!) why: You need just 20 minutes and 5 ingredients, including chicken, lemon, and jarred Alfredo sauce, to make it possible.
Lemon Thyme Air-Fryer Rotisserie Chicken
Channel your inner Julia Child and wow your dinner crowd with a classic and juicy roast chicken entrée. We’ll let you in on the secret to its speedy cook time and crispy-on-the-outside, succulent-on-the-inside results. The air-fryer! Beyond that and the bird, you’ll be ready to try this lemon chicken recipe once you round up some fresh thyme, a lemon, salt, and pepper.
Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Chicken Salad
If you’re in a hurry, turn to chicken cutlets as the centerpiece of your meal. In this easy lemon chicken recipe, the thin pieces of protein grill to perfection in a mere 10 minutes. That’s just enough time to shake together the simple vinaigrette and slice and toss the greens to act as the foundation of this chicken salad. To make this light lunch a meal, consider pairing it with a side of crusty bread or a fresh fruit salad.
Sheet-Pan Chicken with Lemons and Green Olives
This baked lemon chicken recipe is “super easy, and the chicken came out delish! So flavorful,” confirms one BHG fan who tried it at home. The healthy sheet-pan dinner delivers maximum deliciousness for minimal effort thanks to the lemons that roast on the same pan as the chicken thighs. Squeeze that sweet-tart juice over the chicken, and in tandem with the briny olives, and luscious pan sauce scented with shallots, you have a restaurant-quality dinner ready to devour.
Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken with Fingerlings
This lemon chicken breast recipe proves that a simple method and ingredient list certainly doesn’t always mean simple flavor. This chicken skillet is a fan-favorite since it results in a complete meal—including an herb-infused starchy side—in a single pan. Cooking the chicken with shingles of fresh lemon slices on top makes the meat extra-juicy, tender, and tasty.
Mediterranean Grilled Chicken with Lemon-Cucumber Relish
The next time you’re dreaming about a trip to Greece, feed your cravings (well, at least your taste buds) with this easy lemon chicken recipe. The topping to the grilled chicken breasts is overflowing with fresh flavors from cucumber, tomato, lemon (juice and zest), and onion. “The combination of the chicken, the salsa and the yogurt sauce is more than the sum of its parts,” one BHG home cook raves. “I'll be making this again!”
Chicken and Cauliflower Pasta
Cauliflower has become a popular replacement for chicken in certain dishes like Buffalo “wings.” Why choose one or the other, though, when you can enjoy both cauliflower and the budget-friendly protein in the same lemon chicken pasta recipe? We turn to this quick veggie pasta when we have leftover chicken on-hand from earlier in the week and want to give it new life. Tart sun-dried tomatoes, peppery arugula, nutty Parm, and crunchy roasted chickpeas deliver on that promise. Serve with lemon wedges to brighten things up just before you give it a twirl.
Lemon-Braised Chicken Tenders and Cauliflower
Cauliflower also stars in this lemon chicken breast recipe, but here, we give those “blank canvas” ingredients a totally different twist. Olives, dates, spinach, and pistachios take this entrée to Morocco. To balance out the savory chicken and chicken broth and the sweet dates, add both lemon zest and juice. Those two citrus elements make all the difference in the protein, veggies, and luscious sauce that’s best served piled over rice.
Skillet Chicken and Green Beans with Lemon-Tahini Sauce
Green beans are not just for casseroles anymore. We call for 8 ounces of fresh green beans and 8 chicken thighs in this flavor- and protein-packed lemon chicken skillet dinner. The easy pan sauce features sesame seed-based tahini, lemon juice, and chicken broth—as well as all the savory chicken drippings—for a “perfect weeknight recipe that’s delicious enough to serve to guests,” according to one five-star reviewer. “It’s quick, easy, satisfying, and only uses one pan.”
Chicken Marbella
Chicken leg quarters aren’t the most common choice, but they’re one of our Test Kitchens’ favorites. Inexpensive and ideal for feeding a large crowd, they shine in this lemon chicken recipe. It’s inspired by a classic Spanish dish, and is a riff on one of Ina Garten’s most popular recipes of all time. Prunes, green olives, capers, oregano, and garlic join forces in the red wine vinegar-based marinade. Then brown sugar, and a splash of white wine, parsley, and lemon join the party in the pan. The result? Juicy, tender, and totally worthy of a spot in your monthly (or even weekly) repertoire.
Lemon Butter Chicken Breasts
You’ll feel like you’re dining at a fancy bistro when you sit down to a plate of this lemon pepper chicken breast recipe. Only you will be privy to the fact that it takes just 30 minutes and one pan to pull together! A bottle of lemon pepper seasoning, lemon slices, and fresh lemon juice make this citrus chicken dish extremely worthy of its name, and the kicker that really elevates this to “favorite chicken dinner” territory is the coating. A light dredge in seasoned flour makes the exterior of this lemon pepper chicken breast recipe delightfully golden and slightly crispy.
Lemon-Sage Roasted Chicken Thighs
The next time you’re in the mood for Thanksgiving dinner, but don’t want to spend all day or week recreating the full spread, consider this chicken thigh recipe. Fresh sage, roasted shallots, and garlic always remind us of turkey and gravy, and the pan gravy for this lemon chicken recipe features all of the above. And for a festive touch, we also call for ¼ cup of white wine. After plating the easy yet elegant main dish, which includes a side of carrots, pour yourself a glass from that bottle to say “cheers” to a job well done.