Chicken al Limone
Light, bright, and deliciously lemony, Chicken Limone has become a weeknight staple at our house. Made with just 5 ingredients plus a handful of pantry staples, this easy lemon chicken recipe is the 30-minute meal your dinner rotation needs.
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3 lb Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts trimmed of fat, halved hamburger-style to thin, and pounded to ½-inch thickness
- 3 tablespoon Cornstarch or swap potato starch or AP Flour
- 3 tablespoon AP Flour can also use GF AP flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- 1.5 tablespoon Olive Oil divided, as needed for pan-frying
Lemon Sauce
- 2 C Chicken Bone Broth or sub chicken stock of choice, but protein content will be lower and sauce will be less viscous
- 1 Lemon approx. 1 teaspoon zest and 1 oz juice
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- ¼ C Parsley
- Kosher Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep chicken by halving like a hamburger bun and trimming any extra fat or ligaments. (We save the extra meat and fat to render in the pan first to give to the doggies!) Pound to a thickness of about ½-inch using meat mallet
- Make brine by dissolving salt and sugar in warm water. Add chicken to brine for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to overnight. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
- Mix cornstarch, flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow plate/bowl. Dip chicken in dredge to coat on both sides, shaking off any excess.
- Add olive oil to skillet over medium heat. (Depending on size of skillet, you may need to work in batches. I used a 12-inch Hexclad and had to do 2 batches.) When shimmering, pan-fry chicken breasts on both sides until golden and cooked through (remove from heat around 162F so it can continue cooking to 165F under foil). Remove to plate and tent with foil.
- Add chicken stock and lemon zest to skillet, scraping up any fond. Reduce by half, about 15-20 minutes of simmer time.
- Remove from heat. Add lemon juice and butter, stirring to emulsify the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Plate chicken, then cover with sauce and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations:
- Gluten-Free - Swap in gluten-free AP flour, or use exclusively cornstarch for your dredge base.
- Dairy-Free - Use your favorite plant-based butter to keep this lemon butter chicken lactose-free.
- Corn-Free - If you’re like my Mom and can’t have corn, swap in potato starch in place of the cornstarch.
- Dark Meat - If you’re on a serious budget, boneless, skinless thighs are cheaper than breasts.
- Chicken Limone, Buca di Beppo-Style - If you order Buca di Beppo chicken limone, you get something I’d actually consider chicken picatta, which includes white wine and some briny pops of delicious capers. To make it:
- Pan-fry ¼ cup of drained, rinsed, and dried capers in the olive oil before adding the chicken in step 4. They should become crisp and some will burst open. Remove them with a slotted spoon, then proceed with the recipe as written.
- Add ¼ cup of dry white wine when you add the chicken broth to the pan in step 5.
- Sprinkle the fried capers on top of the chicken when you add the parsley in step 7.
- Save the extra meat and fat from trimming your chicken breasts. We like to render it in the pan while the breasts are brining — not only does the chicken fat add yummy flavor to the recipe, but the plain, unseasoned scraps are a nice treat for the doggies!
- Don’t skip the quick brine. It adds tons of flavor and keeps the chicken moist, plus you can let it sit while you prep the other ingredients, so you don’t have to tag on too much extra prep time.
- Make sure to pound the chicken to even thinness. It only takes a few minutes, is an excellent way to get out any aggression (😂), and ensures your chicken cooks evenly.
- Let the pan and oil get hot before adding the chicken. The oil should be shimmering.
- Depending on size of your skillet, you may need to work in batches to brown the chicken. Don’t overcrowd the pan, or you’ll miss the opportunity to get the chicken nice and golden all over.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the pan when they hit around 162F. They’ll continue cooking to 165F under foil, ensuring you have the juiciest chicken possible while still maintaining food safety standards.
- Bone broth adds extra protein and makes the sauce thicker. If you swap in plain chicken or veggie broth, you may want to add a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up a touch.
Nutrition
Calories: 368kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 52gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 5421mgPotassium: 888mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 343IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!