Quick Lemon Thyme Chicken
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You’ll love this quick and easy lemon thyme chicken recipe for a go-to weeknight dinner! With a no-fail method for cooking tender and juicy chicken breasts in a skillet, it pairs perfectly with a simple sauce of garlic, herbs, white wine, and citrus. No cream!
One thing we could all use more of is quick, no-fail, delicious weeknight recipes. Whether you are coming home harried from work, errands, or kids’ activities, or just wrapping up another long day, it’s just plain comforting to have a dinner plan. Bonus points if you know the meal is simple to prepare and tastes great, because however easy it is, you still won’t want to cook it if you don’t want to eat it, too! 🙂
Along those lines, this recipe has become a go-to for us. Tender, juicy chicken breasts with a light crust pair beautifully with a sauce of citrus, garlic, and thyme. A little white wine and butter don’t hurt, either! From a process perspective, making the chicken and sauce in the same skillet is a double win: the sauce takes on extra flavor, and you have only one pan to clean.
Serve with breadsticks or orzo and a jumbo salad for a one-skillet chicken dinner that feels special but is completely achievable on a busy weeknight!
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Thyme Chicken
- Simple, fresh ingredients—most of which you probably already have
- Can be fully prepared in less than 30 minutes
- Good enough to serve company but also works for a quick weeknight meal
- The sauce has a touch of richness but isn’t weighed down by cream
- All the tips to keep your chicken tender, juicy, and flavorful
What Others Say:
“This was absolutely amazing! I made this with chicken tenderloins and fresh thyme…. I used white cooking wine, minced garlic and lemon juice. Served with green beans…. It was sooooo good!” -Nicole
“I’ve been making this for over a year now. My husband asks for it at least once a week! Easy to make and I always have ingredients on hand.” -Lindsey
Ingredient Notes
One thing that’s not in this recipe: heavy cream or half-and-half. Many recipes for lemon chicken with herbs do call for a cream sauce, but I recommend giving it a try without: you really don’t need cream here to make a sauce that tastes rich and flavorful.
Also, adding cream with citrus does introduce a risk that the sauce will separate and therefore requires more care with the heat and cooking time. So leaving it out makes this recipe a touch healthier AND easier to make. Win-win!
How To Make Lemon Thyme Chicken
Pan-fried chicken breasts are such an easy and approachable way to make dinner, but a few simple tricks go a long way to making sure your chicken stays tender and flavorful, rather than dry.
One of the simplest and best tips I know for cooking chicken is to let it rest out of the fridge for a few minutes before you do anything else. Stone cold meat tends to cook less evenly—specifically, the outside edges can overcook and dry out by the time the inside is done. It’s easy to fix this by setting your chicken on the counter for a few minutes while you prep the rest of your ingredients or start a quick side dish.
- When ready to cook, season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge each piece lightly in flour, and sauté briefly on each side, just until browned on the outside and cooked through. Voila! This chicken stays tender!
- Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate. Cover with foil to keep it warm, if you like.
- Now, in the same skillet, make the sauce. Add a bit more olive oil if the pan looks very dry, and sauté the minced garlic and thyme just until they are fragrant. Add the white wine, then the chicken broth, and let it all simmer for a few minutes.
- Now stir in the lemon juice and butter. When the butter is melted, you’re ready to eat! I like to add the chicken back to the skillet for a minute or two, so it warms through, soaks up that delicious sauce, and looks pretty.
Don’t forget to spoon the extra sauce generously over any side veggies or pasta. So worth it!
Easy Entertaining!
This dish is 100% worthy of casual entertaining, and you can make it look gorgeous just by tucking extra sprigs of fresh thyme around the skillet and topping everything with a few charred lemon slices. Make these either in the same skillet before you start the chicken, or, to save time, in a separate pan while you prepare the chicken and sauce. Cut thin slices of lemon and brush or spray them lightly with olive oil. Place in a skillet over medium-high heat and don’t touch! Check them every 3 minutes or so; flip when the underside starts to blacken. Gorgeous and easy!
Complete the Meal
Lemon thyme chicken goes beautifully with roasted asparagus, broccolini, or carrots. My recommendation is to keep any vegetable sides simple, because you can drizzle the pan sauce on top for big impact with low effort. If you’re craving something fresh, an arugula salad is wonderful.
Don’t let the rest of the lemon thyme sauce go to waste—it’s equally incredible spooned over pasta or swirled up with your favorite bread!
Lemon Thyme Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Cut the chicken in half lengthwise so you have four thinner cutlets, then season both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl or plate, then lightly dredge each piece of chicken through it to coat, shaking gently to remove any excess.2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté for 2-3 minutes per side, until cooked through and lightly golden. Remove the chicken to a plate, tent with foil if desired, and set aside.1 Tablespoon olive oil
- If the pan looks extremely dry, add a tiny bit more olive oil. Add garlic and thyme to the skillet and sauté for about 1 minute, just until fragrant.3 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- Add wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet to loosen any browned bits, then stir in the chicken broth. Bring the liquid to a simmer, and cook until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, 5-6 minutes.1/2 cup dry white wine, 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- Add the lemon juice, followed by the butter, and stir until butter is melted. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Return the chicken to the pan to warm briefly, spoon the sauce over each piece, and serve.juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tablespoons butter
Notes
- Chicken Tip 1: Start with fairly large boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe since we’re cutting them in half lengthwise. You can instead buy “thin-sliced” chicken and skip the cutting step, but in this case be sure to start with 4 pieces—or even more—to yield 4 servings since the store-bought thin-sliced cutlets are often really thin.
- Chicken Tip 2: If you can, let your chicken rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before you begin cooking it. Fridge-cold chicken breasts tend to cook less evenly, i.e. they can be overcooked and dry on the outside by the time they are fully cooked on the inside.
- Chicken Tip 3: If you slice your chicken breasts into cutlets and they’re still noticeably uneven, you have the option to pound them out until the thickness is more uniform. Just put the chicken on a cutting board, cover with a piece of plastic wrap, and smash the overly thick parts down a few times with either a meat mallet or just a rolling pin. It’s actually kind of satisfying. 🙂
- White Wine: If you don’t want to cook with wine, just use more chicken broth instead.
- Flour: Substitute almond flour or just skip this step to keep this dish gluten-free.
- Charred Lemon Slices: If you want to up the visual presentation of this, tuck extra sprigs of fresh thyme around the skillet and top with a few charred lemon slices. Make these either in the same skillet before you start the chicken, or, to save time, in a separate pan while you prepare the chicken and sauce. Cut thin slices of lemon and brush or spray them lightly with olive oil. Place in a skillet over medium-high heat and don’t touch! Check them every 3 minutes or so; flip when the underside starts to blacken.
- Recipe: Originally adapted from Taste of Home and Everyday Annie.
Nutrition Estimate
Related Recipes
Easy recipes like this creamy Tuscan chicken, honey mustard chicken and green beans, or my popular brown butter sage chicken skillet hit the spot when you need to liven up this basic building block.
We also love a great garlic and herb butter chicken, chicken piccata, or lemon chicken pasta to get your whole dinner together in one pan. Want to enjoy these same flavors but with a healthy seafood meal? Try my baked lemon salmon with herbs.
This post was originally published on April 5, 2017, and has been regularly updated with new photos and more information about the ingredients, instructions, and recommended pairings.
This was great!! A friend & I made it together and it was super easy. She couldn’t believe how tasty it was! I could imagine it being good atop a bed of angel hair pasta (though we made it with broccoli and oven roasted potatoes).
This was absolutely amazing! I made this with chicken tenderloins and fresh thyme…. I used white cooking wine, minced garlic and lemon juice. Served with green beans…. It was sooooo good!
This recipe sounded so good, I decided to try it for meal prep. It was a big hit with the family. they have already asked for it again. I served it with roasted carrots and potatoes.
So happy to hear that! Those sides sound like a delicious combo.
I’ve been making this for over a year now. My husband asks for it at least once a week! Easy to make and I always have ingredients on hand.
This recipe is a breeze — and very satisfying — to make, and is delicious, particularly when served with a simple salad. I use oak leaf lettuce, and simply drizzle the sauce from the pan over it and the chicken. A nice, cold and crisp Chardonnay compliments this dish well.
Simple and delicious! I made this last year and loved it and have put it into regular rotation. Tonight I made the chicken and sauce, with thyme from my garden, was out of chicken stock so added an extra splash of wine.I did put the chicken into the pan with the sauce for just a few seconds each side. I have a lot of amazing peaches and decided to slice one, put them in the pan with the sauce for just a minute with the heat off, made a salad and it was a perfect summer night dinner.
Very easy and delicious! My husband who says he doesn’t like chicken love it! I followed the recipe exactly. I made it in our iron skillet and served with mashed potatoes and green beans. Thank you.
My boyfriend said it was his favorite thing I’ve made so far! It was so yummy! We had it with roasted potatoes and green beans on the side!! Very satisfying!
Will chicken strips work? And how would I cook the chicken differently to keep it frim being dry?
Do you mean uncooked chicken strips, like chicken tenders? If so that should work just fine! You might watch the cooking time and, if they are on the thin side, take them off a bit sooner to be sure they don’t dry out.
Outstanding. Just the right amount of lemon. My lemon was very small, and if I used a larger one, I’d use juice of half a lemon.
I just tried this with the grilled asparagus and a white rice with garlic side. Both me and my BF loved it. Thank you!
So happy to hear that! Thank you for the 5 stars!
Such a nice combination of flavors! My husband was soaking up the sauce with his bread so he wouldn’t miss a drop ! Would not change a thing.
Oh, Ann, that made me smile because that’s just exactly what my husband does, too! 🙂 So glad this dish was a winner, and thank you so much for leaving this review!
do you have the nutrition information on this recipe?
Hi Jennifer, I don’t offhand, but I am slowly going back and adding nutrition estimates to older recipes – I’ll try to prioritize this one! In the meantime, I know people get pretty results plugging recipes into myfitnesspal.com, that might be worth a try!
Made this tonight was absolutely delicious. Was easy prep too.
Ooooh! I want to come to your house for MVP night!! This chicken looks so flavorful and I love your tip of pouring the sauce over the greens. That would be better than me standing at the stove scooping it with a spoon! 😀
Haha – come over anytime! 😉
This is the perfect weeknight recipe! It looks so fresh and pretty – and healthy too. What a lovely recipe.
Thanks, Oriana!
Truly, my kind of meal! Simple, beautiful and elegant! Yum!
Thanks, Linda!
This chicken looks so appetizing. I would serve it over a bed of parsley orzo and maybe add a few mushrooms – just cause! Definitely putting this in rotation!
Ooh, I love that idea!
Yum. This chicken dish looks fabulous! I love using fresh thyme! And I too would pair it with some broccolini! Great recipe!
Thanks, Elaine! Definitely agree – dried herbs do the job in a pinch, but you can’t beat the flavor of fresh!