Our Creamy Lemon Chicken is a low carb, decadent dish that cooks in just one skillet in about 20 minutes! Our lemon sauce for chicken is hard to resist and adds so much flavor!
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Lately, I’ve just been obsessed with lemon.
I’ve even started putting lemon in my water, which seems like a normal thing that people to do, but it’s completely new for me. I had never been a lemon wedge kind of girl before the last couple of weeks.
On a hot day, it tastes refreshing and zippy. On a cold day, it reminds me of the summer sun.
This Creamy Lemon Chicken is definitely an all year round dish in my house. Cooking chicken in a lemon sauce is so simple, but gosh, it adds big flavor.
I love dinners like this – it’s naturally low carb, there are no funky ingredients or weird steps to cut out carbs, and pretty much everyone I’ve ever served this to has raved about it!
Let’s do this!
👩🍳Ingredient Notes:
Chicken – We’re using thin sliced chicken breasts, so that they’ll cook quickly and evenly. You can also pound out your chicken to an even thickness, rather than slicing them thin.
Creamy Sauce – Our lemon sauce for chicken is made up of that broth with some lemon juice, garlic, heavy cream, and butter.
Herbs – We sprinkle in some dill for a little pop of freshness. Basil or parsley would also be delicious.
- Start to finish in 22 minutes! You can’t beat that.
- This dish is naturally low carb – no funky swaps or tricky steps to eliminate carbs.
- You can serve this with a side of steamed veggies or over zucchini noodles, mashed cauliflower, or even pasta (for the carb eaters, of course).
How To Make Lemon Garlic Chicken:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then cook it in a hot skillet with a bit of oil. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Deglaze the pan by adding in a splash of chicken broth and scraping up the browned bits. Add the remaining broth, lemon juice, and garlic and bring to a boil and reduce by half.
Add the cream and butter to make the sauce nice and creamy.
Return the chicken to the pan and let it simmer for a minute or two and then serve.
🍋Lemon Sauce For Chicken:
Our lemon sauce is so simple and only takes a few ingredients. It can be drizzled over any chicken you like, like our crispy baked chicken thighs.
Try making this sauce and serve it over grilled or roasted chicken next time. It adds so much fresh, zippy flavor.
Make this lemon sauce for chicken exactly as directed here, starting with step 4 in the recipe. No need to deglaze the pan, since you’ll be starting with a clean pan.
❓Recipe FAQs:
You can keep leftovers store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2 to 3 days. You can reheat in the microwave or on the stove. The sauce should thin back out as it reheats. You can add a little extra cream or milk if it is too thick.
If it seems like the creamy garlic lemon sauce is too runny and not thick enough, you probably just need to give it longer to reduce. The longer it cooks the more it will reduce and thicken!
I haven’t tried it with this recipe but I see no reason why boneless chicken thighs wouldn’t also work!
I’ve only tried this with the cream but some readers have commented that almond milk and coconut milk work too, though it may not be as thick or creamy.
🍽 More Low Carb Chicken Recipes:
Spinach Stuffed Chicken: This one was an instant hit here on the blog and for good reason! It’s easy, healthy, and full of goodness.
Slow Cooker Chicken Wings: These wings start in the slow cooker and then crisp up under the broiler. Easy!!
Air Fryer Chicken Breast: The perfect way to make some fried (low carb) chicken! The air fryer makes everything easy.
Low Carb Taco Soup: This recipe includes instructions for pressure cooking and slow cooking.
Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice: This is one that my kiddos love for a quick lunch. I start with shredded cooked chicken and the whole thing comes together so quickly!
Creamy Lemon Chicken with Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 pound thin sliced chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon dill
Instructions
- Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until browned on each side and cooked through, about 8 minutes total. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the chicken broth, to the pan and whisk to deglaze the pan. Add the lemon juice and garlic to the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Allow chicken stock to reduce by half, about 10 minutes.
- Whisk the butter and cream into the chicken stock until butter has melted and mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Return chicken to the skillet and sprinkle with fresh dill. Cook for 1 minute to rewarm the chicken.
- Serve immediately.
Dianna says
Such a tasty dish! I had some large frozen breasts and this made them juicy. Will definitely make it again.
Lori A. says
My husband LOVED this chicken! He has already requested it for later this week. I didn’t have heavy cream on hand so I used half & half. The sauce wasn’t as thick, but was still delicious!
Karly Campbell says
So glad it was a hit! 🙂
Donna says
Rge recipe shows chicken broth in the ingredients but chicken stock in the instructions. Which one is best?
Donna says
I meant “the” recipe. Typing without glasses agsin.
Karly Campbell says
I use them interchangeably. You can use either.
Saundra says
Made this exactly as directed but did not have any dill so replaced the dill with capers. Absolutely delicious. It’s a new favorite. Thanks so much. Tomorrow is your Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts. Can’t wait to try them.
Karly Campbell says
Capers sound like a great addition!
sharon stewart says
This is the second recipe I’ve tried online and yours is the best! I did 4 chicken breasts last time, i ate one, my husband wasn’t feeling well so he only tasted it. Next day i went to fix me some leftovers for lunch and all 3 breasts were gone! He took them all in his lunch! I was so upset i didn’t get any! Making this dish again tonight, it’s so yummy, we LOVE it. I’ll be sure to hide me some for tomorrow!
*Note: I only had half and half but i added a little cornstarch to it and it was fine.
Karly Campbell says
Ugh, husbands always take the best leftovers! Haha! So glad it was a hit. Enjoy! 🙂
Ann22 says
So delicious. Only change was used almond milk instead of cream as that’s what I had on hand. We felt it was just as tasty. And the entire meal came together quite quickly. Thanks so much!
Mandy C. says
This Creamy Lemon Chicken is quick, easy & so delicious! I made it for dinner tonight & there wasn’t a bite left between the four of us! I was so excited to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow until my 16 year old son ate the rest of it! Now I have to eat salad again & I’m so sad.
Karly Campbell says
Haha! Hate when that happens! 🙂
Emily Barrow says
I am on the bulletproof diet and can’t have dairy. What can I substitute for the cream if anything. I am on the diet for medical reasons, so I really need to stick with it.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Emily! I’ve only made this recipe as written, but you could try replacing the cream with coconut cream, but I’m not sure how those flavors will work together. I don’t personally like coconut, so I have no idea if it would go well with lemon/garlic.
Clare says
It was really delicious and filling. I usually find something to peck at in the evening after dinner, but I felt comfortably full all night.
Dodie Z says
Hi
I came home this afternoon and I was a bit tired. So I sat at my computer and searched for something that I had ingredients on hand. Low and behold I found a goldmine!! Today I made this chicken recipe and tomorrow the world lol!! NO seriously 20 min Dinner was done!!
I cant wait to make every recipe in your repertoire! Thank you Thank you
Karly Campbell says
So glad you gave the chicken a try and loved it! 🙂
Leanne Allen says
I have made this several times and everyone loves it. My son’s friend requests it every time I go to Texas. Definitely the best chicken recipe around.
Erica Berger says
Just made thus tonight. So easy and delicious! Thank you for recipe!
Karly Campbell says
Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Judith L. Buczkowski says
Are the full nutritional facts posted anywhere? Thanks, this sounds great, but I need the nutritional facts for my diet!
Karly Campbell says
Sorry about that, Judith! I’m not sure where they went, but I just added it all back in. Thanks for the heads up.
Shelia says
I have just started my low carb journey, and have found your recipes to be a lifesaver. I have made many them, always delicious and satisfying! So just a quick thanks to you for keeping me on track. Can’t wait to try your lemon chicken. I can’t find carb count though. Maybe in just flaking out, but could you please let me know?
Karly Campbell says
Sorry Sheila – not sure what happened, but the nutrition info had disappeared. I just added it back in. It’s 2 carbs per serving. Full nutrition is back in the recipe card now if you need more detail. 🙂
Nellie Van der Aa says
I made this last night. Was the nicest chicken dish I have made in a long time and so easy. My husband just loved it.
Jess says
This is one of the best tasting meals I have ever cooked. So creamy.. So garlicy.. So lemony… So easy! Thank you so much for sharing – I’ll be sure to check out your other recipes after this one!
Karly Campbell says
Wow, so glad to hear it was such a hit! Thanks, Jess!
Ang says
I served the chicken and sauce on a bed of garlic Parmesan cauliflower mash. I made this with one butterflied and divided chicken breast. I was looking for a recipe to cook now, so I had to make do with ingredients that I already had, but after skimming through other comments I was confident that I could make it work. I used half and half instead of cream, and left out the dill, (because I didn’t have any cream or dill), and I had more than a cup of broth left in the carton but wanted to use it up, so I just cooked it longer to reduce. Everything went well, but I also used a little extra butter to try and make up for no heavy cream, and it was still tasty, but I think I will try this again with the correct ingredients. I cooked the sauce too long in order to make it thicker and the butter clarified so it was separated, but it was fine because it was served over cauliflower mash.
Lori says
Can I use 1/2 and 1/2 instead of heavy cream?
Karly Campbell says
I’ve only made it with cream, but half and half should work fine. The sauce may not get quite as thick and the carb count will be a bit higher, though.
Lori A. says
I used Half & Half because I didn’t have heavy cream on hand. The sauce wasn’t as thick, but it was still delicious!
Olga gunn says
I adore lemon garlic chicken, will try your creamy sauce. Sounds delish! Ty
Joan pritchard says
It was very tasty all enjoyed.
Asha says
This is such an amazing recipe! I add a little more butter than the recipe calls for, as well as a few veggies. This time, I added broccoli, petit gold cherry tomatoes, finely diced red onion, black olives (halved), yellow and orange bell pepper, and a little chardonnay to taste. This recipe is definitely being added to my repertoire. It stays nicely, too. I make some angel hair pasta to go with it, and put it in a couple Tupperware containers to take to work throughout the week! Also, I triple all of the sauce ingredients because I didn’t feel like it made enough sauce. VERY versatile recipe! Thanks again!
YF says
Can I use water instead of chicken stock? Thank you
Karly Campbell says
You can, but it won’t have as much flavor.