Learn how to cook chicken breasts on the stove with this easy lemon garlic chicken recipe! A vibrant citrus marinade with a little red pepper for a slight spicy kick, creates tender, juicy, and flavorful chicken breasts. Cooks in 15 minutes!
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: juicy is always the goal! This lemon garlic chicken breast recipe follows this philosophy, using the same tried-and-true technique from my grilled chicken breast and baked chicken breast recipes. This time, I’m pan-searing them in a skillet for a golden brown exterior, and tender–and, yes, JUICY–center.
The impossible choice with chicken breast is that one side is very thick while the other is very thin. That means you often overcook one side, or, worse, undercook the other. The secret is: you don’t have to settle for dry chicken!
For this lemon garlic chicken recipe, I slice the chicken into thinner cutlets so they’re even all the way through then I give them a good soak in flavorful, lemon garlic marinade amped up with red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Flavorful and cooked in less than 15 minutes! It’s a win-win.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Lemon Garlic Chicken
This ingredient list is pretty short, which is part of the beauty of this lemon garlic chicken recipe. The chicken is seasoned simply with aromatic spices and just a touch of red pepper flakes for a little kick. The lemon and garlic to do all the talking!
- Flavor makers. Lemon, garlic, red pepper flakes (optional), salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning gives the chicken breast its bold Mediterranean flavor. You can make the Italian seasoning yourself using my easy recipe, or pick up a jar in the spice section of your local grocery store.
- Olive oil. Enriches the marinade, flavoring the chicken and keeping the lean meat juicy. Any high-quality extra virgin variety will do–you can find my favorites at our shop.
- Parsley. Grab the flat leaf Italian variety, as it tends to be more delicate and less bitter than its curly cousin.
- Chicken. I use lean chicken breasts for this recipe, but you can also substitute chicken thighs if you’d like. If you substitute chicken thighs, budget about 10 minutes per side–especially if you’re using the bone-in, skin-on variety.
How to Make Lemon Garlic Chicken
Be sure to budget at least a half hour for the marinade so the chicken can soak up all that delicious flavor. From there, it comes together in less than 15 minutes! To make it:
At Least 30 Minutes Before Cooking: Marinate the Chicken
- Make the marinade. Zest and juice one lemon into a large bowl. Add ¼ cup olive oil, 5 crushed or minced garlic cloves (use minced for a stronger flavor), 1 ½ teaspoons of Italian seasoning, and ¼ cup of chopped parsley. Optionally, add ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Slice the breasts into cutlets. Place the chicken breast flat on a cutting board and position your non-dominant hand on top. Using a sharp knife in your dominant hand, carefully slice the chicken breast horizontally. Start with the thicker end and cut all the way through to the thin end. You should end up with two thin cutlets for each chicken breast. If the cutlets still need to flatten a bit, cover with plastic wrap and pound with a kitchen mallet (optional).
- Dry and season the chicken. Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry. Season with a big pinch of kosher salt and black pepper on both sides. Add the chicken to the marinade and turn to coat. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. This is a great time to get any sides ready! See below for my suggestions.
Pan-sear the chicken:
- Cook the chicken. In a large cast iron skillet set over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, arrange the chicken pieces in the skillet. Do this in batches if you need to as you do not want to crowd the pan. Sear until both sides are golden brown and the chicken is nearly cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. (Its juices should run clear.)
- Rest. When the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160°F, remove it from the heat. Tent with foil and let the chicken rest for another 5 minutes. The chicken will come up to 165°F and completely lose its pink center while it’s under the foil. While it rests, trim and cut a lemon into slices.
- Garnish and serve. Garnish the chicken with chopped parsley and lemon slices. Serve whole or sliced.
What to Serve with Lemon Garlic Chicken
You’ll want some delicious sides to go along with this lemon garlic chicken recipe. The flavor is versatile so it works well with just about any salad, alongside vegetables, in a bowl with rice and Greek salad dressing—just to name a few ideas.
Italian roasted vegetables, lemon parmesan lettuce salad, Maroulosalata (Greek Lettuce Salad), and tabouli salad, and Mediterranean chickpea salad all come to mind, but you could really use this chicken breast recipe to add lean protein to just about any dinner.
You’ll Also Love: More Chicken Breast Recipes
Entree
Grilled Chicken Breast
Meat and Poultry
Italian-Style Skillet Chicken Breast with Tomatoes and Mushrooms
Meat and Poultry
Za'atar Roasted Chicken Breast Recipe
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Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade:
- 2 lemons
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 large garlic cloves crushed or minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
For the chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 large chicken breasts)
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Make the marinade: Zest and juice one of the lemons into a large bowl (save the other lemon for later). To the bowl, add olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and parsley and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Slice the breasts into cutlets: Place the chicken breast flat on a cutting board and position your non-dominant hand on top to hold it firmly. Using a sharp knife in your dominant hand, carefully slice the chicken breast horizontally starting with the thicker end and all the way through to the thin end. You should end up with two thin cutlets for each chicken breast. If the cutlets still need to flatten a bit, cover with plastic wrap and pound with a kitchen mallet (optional).
- Dry and season the chicken: Use a paper towel to pat the chicken dry. Season with a big pinch of kosher salt and black pepper on both sides. Add the chicken to the marinade and turn to coat. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
- Cook the chicken: In a large cast iron skillet set over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, arrange the chicken pieces in the skillet. Do this in batches if you need to, as you do not want to crowd the pan. Sear for about 4 minutes on each side, or until both sides are golden brown and the chicken is nearly cooked through. (Its juices should run clear.)
- Rest: When the internal temperature reaches 160°F, remove from the heat. Tent with foil and let the chicken rest for another 5 minutes. The chicken will come up to 165°F while it’s under the foil. There should be no pink on the inside. While it rests, slice the remaining lemon.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish the chicken with chopped parsley and lemon slices. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Only marinate the chicken for a maximum of two hours as the acidity may toughen the meat.
- You can also substitute chicken thighs if you’d like, but budget about 10 minutes per side–especially if you’re using the bone-in, skin-on variety.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams and spices.
Easy to make and with ingredients that I already had in my pantry! I am by no means a chef, but this made me look like gold - loved it. It also reminded me of chicken that a local restaurant makes that I love and I'm so glad that I can now make it at home and it's basically the same taste.
i love the way you explaind
thanks for the delicious recipe
I have made this dish 6 times in the past month. My family LOVES it!!!!! This is a new weekly staple in my home. SO easy!
This was so easy and delicious. Definitely will make again. My daughter was practically licking the plate of chicken juices. I don’t blame her! Next time I will pound my chicken instead of slicing the cutlets for a more even thickness of meat.
Delish! I cut up whole chickens, left out the red pepper and lemon zest. Be sure to marinade and save that wonderful broth for soup!
A hit with the family (and I heeded your advice and didn't check my email while searing)!
LOL! Good job, Bruna :).
Same! No checking the email with this dish!
I love your recipes -but for some reason can no longer print them ??
Guess I have to find a new site
Hi, Kathleen. All of our recipes are still printable. I'm wondering if the web browser you are using might be causing some issues. You may want to change to a different one and see if that helps.
I grilled the marinated cutlets and served them with a Caesar salad for a family-style dinner. For lunch the next day, I made chicken wraps with feta. Romaine lettuce, leftover Caesar dressing, a squeeze of lemon, and flour tortillas. Delicious! Will definitely make this again.
Ooo! This would be so good in wraps! Thanks for sharing, Kim!
Just cooked the lemon garlic chicken recipe, absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks so much, Chris!
This was very good. And very easy. Would make again.
So glad you enjoyed it, Sue!
Very tasty!! I put the left overs in a salad. Will be making this again 😋
Great idea!
This was so yummy and easy! Served with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes. Then I used the leftover chicken in a Cobb Salad for dinner the next night. I've printed out copies of this recipe to share with my friends!
Thanks so much, Tracy!
This was easy and incredibly delicious and tender! I will be making this often. I used Aleppo chilies for the marinade.
Delicious moist tender chicken I used boneless skinless chicken thighs marinated for 1.5 hours. I will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Hello, Suzy! I use many of your recipes following the MIND diet. This one with the chicken is a favorite! Thank you so much. We enjoy your news letters as well!
So glad to hear this, Barbara! Thank you!
What is wrong with your website. It took 31 minutes to watch the video and print the recipe. The video kept freezing up and locked my computer. This happens every time I go to your recipes.
Also, if using bone-in skin-on thighs, should I allow extra 10 minutes for marinade or cooking?
Hi, Beverly. If using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs here, the marinade time would be the same. The cook time would be a bit longer. Hard to say the exact time, as we've never tested this recipe with bone-in, skin-on thighs, so it would be best to use a meat thermometer for test for doneness. The chicken thighs will be fully cooked when they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.