Best Lemon Pepper Chicken
on Mar 11, 2021, Updated Jan 29, 2024
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Lemon Pepper Chicken is tender and tasty with citrus and pepper flavor. This simple but delicious chicken dish is pan fried, quick, & easy!
This quick chicken recipe packs tons of flavor in a short cook time! Goes great with a side of The Best Mashed Potatoes or some Garlic Roasted Green Beans.
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Isn’t chicken just wonderful? Few other types of meat get as lean or as nutritious as this humble but delicious poultry. It’s definitely some of the tastiest stuff you can get on the cheap- which makes it great for quick and easy weeknight dinners! We have plenty of recipes on the site for chicken dishes that’ll keep you and the family fed after a long work-day. Today’s recipe will fill you up just as well and it’s bringing a bit of pepper and zest too!
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Chances are, you’re more familiar with Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings- an Atlanta favorite you can now find all around the country. But that flavor will work wonders on any kind of chicken- which is why we’re using it on some chicken breasts! Mixed in with some flour, the lemon pepper will provide a nice peppery and citrusy bite to our chicken while forming a nice crust.
Giving that a quick pan fry will make it delicious enough, but take it a step further and mix up a quick pan sauce. A bit of butter, garlic, and some extra citrus in the form of lemon juice is going to make a delicious coating for our chicken!
This Pan Seared Lemon Pepper Chicken could be one of your new favorites! Few other recipes pack this much flavor in as short and quick of a cooking time. Paired up with some easy sides, it’ll make for a simple but tasty and filling family dinner. You’re going to love this stuff- it’s delish!
Enjoyed our Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken recipe? Try these Coated Chicken recipes next!
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Our Parmesan Crusted Chicken is one of our all-time favorite recipes here on the site! Using some shredded parmesan cheese, we were able to make a rich and delicious for some tenderized chicken breasts. Pan-fried in a bit of butter and oil, you get a delicious chicken that’s better than any breaded chicken you’ve ever had before!
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If you love that tasty combo of ranch and chicken, try some Ranch Crusted Chicken. This is an easy baked dish that sees chicken breasts dredged in ranch sour cream before being breaded in some crispy panko bread crumbs. Throw some cubed potatoes dusted with ranch seasoning in with them for an easy side.
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For another easy weeknight favorite, check out our Potato Chip Crusted Chicken. Using potato chips gives you a nice, crispy crust that bakes up perfectly in the onion and pairs with a wide variety of sauces. Mix and match different chip flavors and find your favorite potato chip coating!
Ingredients for this Recipe
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Chicken – We used chicken breasts for this pan-fried recipe.
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Lemon Pepper Seasoning – If you’ve been wondering how to use lemon pepper seasoning, this recipe is perfect for it! If you don’t have any or can’t find any at groceries near you, the site Substitue For has a few alternatives you can try.
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Flour
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Butter
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Lemon Juice
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Garlic
How to make Lemon Pepper Chicken
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Prep your chicken breasts and coat them in lemon pepper and flour mix.
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Pan-fry your chicken breasts until golden-brown and cooked through.
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Prepare a pan-sauce using some butter, lemon juice, and garlic before returning the chicken to the pan before serving.
First things first, this recipe works best if you prep your chicken a certain way. We want to butterfly our chicken breasts in half- especially any thicker ones- and then tenderize them with a meat mallet. Once prepped, we can focus on the flour coating: for that, whisk together some lemon pepper seasoning and flour.
Once the coating is mixed up, drop your breast-halves into the flour one at a time. Give them a few flips to give them a nice coating of that flour before setting it aside.
Get some oil heating in a pan over medium-high heat. Once it’s warmed up, carefully place your chicken into the pan and leave it alone for a bit so it can develop a nice crust.
It should take about 5 minutes for each side of the chicken to cook. Once they’re cooked through and you’ve got that beautiful, golden-brown skin on each side, pull from the pan.
Set those on a plate, cover with foil to keep warm, and set aside while we make a sauce. First, melt some butter.
Once the butter’s melted, add your garlic and let it blonde a little bit before squeezing and mixing in some lemon juice.
Cut the heat and return your chicken to the pan. Give a quick toss in the sauce to coat before serving and enjoying!
Can you prepare chicken ahead of time?
If you work quick enough after pulling your chicken from the fridge, I think you could prep the chicken ahead of time. Work quick when you cut, tenderize, and flour your breasts before returning them to the fridge. The longest I’d wait before making them at this point would be two days- prepping ahead is ideal for the following day. When it’s time to cook, optionally coat with a bit more flour- I’ve heard this may result in a coating that’s a bit more like a breaded chicken!
What goes with Lemon Pepper Chicken?
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Potatoes – Either mashed, wedges or some french fries.
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Veggies – Steamed or roasted, just to keep things easy. We enjoyed pairing up with some green beans!
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Rice – A nice, simple side of rice might work as well.
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 3 tbsp Lemon Pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1/4 tsp minced Garlic
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- Butterfly chicken breasts to make 4 thin servings and pound slightly to eliminate thicker sections.
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour, lemon pepper and salt.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Dredge the chicken portions in the flour mixture on both sides.
- Cook the chicken in the skillet for 5-6 minutes per side until browned.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet.
- Add the butter to the skillet and allow it to melt and scrape loose the fond on the bottom.
- Add minced garlic to skillet.
- Stir in the lemon juice until blended. Add more salt, if needed.
- Return chicken to the skillet and spoon the sauce over the chicken.
- Garnish with parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
This looks yummo. I’d like to know what you serve with this
Thanks