Easy Lemon Rosemary Chicken

An easy lemon rosemary chicken recipe that requires just ten simple ingredients! The chicken is seasoned with lemon pepper seasoning, seared and then cooked in a simple lemon rosemary butter sauce.

Mondays are for easy chicken dinners!

I declare this Monday to be Easy Lemon Rosemary Chicken day! It starts with the humble chicken breast, just a few shakes on lemon pepper seasoning and a quick sear in a hot skillet. While that’s happening, we’re going to just combine a few ingredients in a measuring cup and make the sauce in the microwave. And once it’s all hot and bubbly, we’ll pour the sauce into the skillet and throw it all in the oven and sit back while the chicken practically cooks itself.

Quick Monday night dinners make life worth living.

Secretly, I’ve started a new Monday tradition in our house – EDM. As in, we’re not having any electronic dance party! My type of EDM is all about Easy Dinner Mondays.

But in all seriousness, what I love most about my lemon rosemary chicken recipe is that you can make it as simple or fancy as you’d like. Serve it with steamed veggies and fluffed rice or quinoa to keep it weeknight friendly. Make it with homemade focaccia and roasted brussels sprouts if you want to impress your guests.

And there are other options too! Easy chicken dinners are totally my jam. Starting with the first of its name, one skillet lemon garlic chicken, which you guys have loved and made as much as we have! Seriously, it’s the most popular recipe on Little Spice Jar. In recent years, I’ve shared my mozzarella chicken, bruschetta chicken, honey lemon chicken, balsamic tomato baked chicken, cheesy bbq chicken, which is basically a bbq chicken pizza gone crustless, and the list goes on and on.

What all of these recipes have in common is that they’re all big on flavor, easy on clean up, and quick to make.

What you need to make lemon rosemary chicken:

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• lemon pepper seasoning
• salt
• lemon rosemary sauce (ingredients listed below)

Will chicken thighs work for this recipe?

Yes, you can swap the boneless, skinless chicken breasts for chicken thighs here. Just be sure to use the same amount of chicken required. Please also remember that the cooking time may vary. Be sure to use a meat thermometer to be check and make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches a 165ºF.

What you need for the herb butter sauce:

• butter
• lemon juice
• minced garlic
• chicken broth
• chopped herbs
• red pepper flakes
• honey

What can I use in place of the butter?

If you’re lactose-free, follow a paleo/keto diet you can also swap the butter for ghee. If you’re dairy-free, you can use margarine or olive oil/avocado oil in place of the butter.

How to make the lemon rosemary sauce:

I’ve never made anything easier:

1. Place the ingredients for the sauce in a microwave-safe measuring cup and zap it till the butter melts! That’s it!

Does this make enough sauce to drizzle on veggies or rice?

Yes! I removed most of the sauce from the skillet before shooting this recipe, so what you see in the pan is only a portion of the sauce (I’d say there’s at least just as much I didn’t picture.) A lot of you have mentioned you like having extra sauce with your recipes, so I’ve specifically made this recipe with extra sauce! Drizzle it on rice/ pasta or your veggies!

What vegetables would go well with this chicken recipe?

You can serve this simply with steamed broccoli, green beans, sautéed zucchini, steamed or grilled asparagus, over cauliflower rice/gnocchi. Really, the possibilities are endless.

Sides that would go well with this recipe:

• mashed potatoes
• the best brussels sprouts
• zucchini and corn saute
• twice baked potato casserole
• superfood broccoli salad
• roasted garlic Italian couscous salad
• rosemary focaccia

P.S. The lemon slices that you see in the pictures aren’t really a part of the recipe. I just sliced fresh lemon and heated it in a warm pan and used it for pictures. If you’d like to do the same, feel free to do this in the skillet before searing the chicken breasts to make it easier for cleanup!

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Yield: serves 4

Easy Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

An easy lemon rosemary chicken recipe that requires just 10 simple ingredients! The chicken is seasoned with lemon pepper seasoning, seared and then cooked in a simple lemon rosemary butter sauce.

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Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( 1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1 ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• 3 tablespoons EACH: butter AND lemon juice
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• ⅓ cup chicken broth
• 1 ¼ teaspoon EACH: freshly chopped rosemary AND parsley
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (more/less to taste)
• 2 teaspoons honey (or maple syrup)
• additional lemon slices, for garnish

Instructions

1. PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF. 
2. SAUCE: In a 1-cup measuring cup, combine 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, minced garlic, chicken broth, freshly chopped rosemary, parsley, red pepper, and honey and microwave in 30-second increments until the butter melts. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t boil over!
3. CHICKEN: Season the chicken breasts with lemon pepper seasoning on both sides and a big pinch of salt. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to an ovenproof skillet placed over medium-high heat and when it's hot, sear the chicken breasts. Do not overcrowd the pan or your chicken won’t brown. You may want to do this in two batches. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side. If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, transfer the chicken to a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. 
4. BAKE: Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken. Bake for 13-17 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF. Feel for firmness on the thickest part of the breast if you don’t have a thermometer. Spoon the sauce over the chicken breasts a couple of times during the baking process to keep the chicken moist! The amount of time required for the chicken to bake just depends on the thickness.

Notes

• The lemon slices that you see in the pictures aren’t really a part of the recipe. I just sliced fresh lemon and heated it in a warm pan and used it for pictures. If you’d like to do the same, feel free to do this in the skillet before searing the chicken breasts to make it easier for cleanup!

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!