Weeknight Lemon Chicken Breasts With Herbs

Weeknight Lemon Chicken Breasts With Herbs
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Total Time
20 minutes, plus at least 1 hour marinating
Rating
4(4,007)
Notes
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Boneless chicken breasts suffer a bad reputation, owing in large part to their propensity to dry out. The solution here is a lovely bath in an ample amount of olive oil, white wine and lemon, which seasons and tenderizes the chicken. Later, the marinade becomes an easy pan sauce once it cooks with the breasts. Use fresh herbs in the summer; in the winter, dried herbs will do the trick.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 4medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 ounces each)
  • teaspoons kosher salt
  • teaspoons ground black pepper
  • ½cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
  • 1lemon, thinly sliced into rounds, seeds discarded
  • ¼cup dry white wine
  • 3garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1tablespoon dried herbes de Provence, or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as sage, rosemary and thyme
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

594 calories; 40 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 26 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 51 grams protein; 682 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season the chicken breasts all over with the salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to a gallon-size resealable freezer bag. Add ½ cup olive oil and the remaining ingredients, press out the air and seal the bag tightly so the chicken is fully submerged. Massage the chicken through the plastic bag to evenly distribute the herbs. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

  2. Step 2

    In a large, deep skillet with a lid, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. Remove the chicken from the marinade, add to the skillet, then pour the lemons and marinade on top. Cook until the chicken is golden on one side, about 8 minutes. Turn the chicken, cover and cook over medium-low until chicken is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Serve chicken topped with lemons and sauce.

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4 out of 5
4,007 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Is it safe to use the marinade you have marinated the raw chicken breasts in for the sauce? Is the cooking heat and time sufficient for the sauce to be completely safe?

Before marinating, pound the thickest part of chicken pieces to flatten slightly; before cooking, pull the meat from marinade and pour marinade into a pint jar or glass to allow it to separate; spoon off 2-3 T to use for lightly browning meat. Remove browned meat from skillet, and deglaze pan with marinade, return chicken to cook through.

Simple and delicious! Want to really kick up with sauce the flavor? Pull chicken from pan once it is cooked, add a bit more wine, reduce the sauce and finish with a bit of butter. Excellent with simple rosemary roasted potatoes and sauteed mushrooms and green beans!

This turns out like chicken breasts poached in lemon-infused olive oil. Delicious but one thing to note, if you want the chicken breasts to brown, please wait a few minutes to add the marinade on the first side. In my case, the first time I tried, I had mostly "blonde" chicken breasts. The marinade became more of a poaching liquid. Tastes great.

The recipe mentions using a skillet with a lid but it never says to cover while its cooking. Is it necessary?

I have made this recipe twice now--it was delicious. Added capers the second time which I think added even more flavor. Enjoy!

I deviated a bit from the recipe by pulling the chicken out of the marinade and browning briefly first on both sides before adding back the liquid. This gave the chicken a bit of color. But it was easy to make and very good. Just saw the suggestion that at the end swirl some butter in the sauce and will try that next time.

Browned the breasts on one side, added the marinade (made with more wine and fresh herbs) and cover. Cooked until the chicken reached 150 on an instant-read thermometer, removed chicken and caramelized the lemons, then put the lemons on top of the chicken. Added pappardelle to the sauce in the pan and tossed with about a cup of the pasta water. Result was perfectly poached chicken with a delicious side of garlicky pasta.

This is so good I expected chants of “Lock Him Up” to erupt throughout the neighborhood—like maybe something this easy shouldn’t be quite legal. We inhaled. Recommend rice pilaf made with chicken broth, onion, garlic; and some sautéed broccoli with garlic, pepper flakes, splashed with a little broth & wine. Something chocolate, sexy or both for dessert.

I read this recipe and it sounded so good I just had to try it even though I had boneless skinless thighs on hand -- no breasts. No matter, it turned out great! I removed the thighs from the pan when done and swirled a hefty tablespoon of marscapone through the sauce to make it a little tighter and creamier. It was a big hit -- will definitely have a place in my weeknight rotation!

I made this recipe with spectacular results! Father of 2 extremely picky children, both ate this without complaint (high praise indeed) two nights in a row and my wife said it was the best chicken I'd ever cooked (and it may be the easiest!) I used Moscato for the white wine (all I had in the house) and I used double the called for garlic. At the end of the cooking, I put a tad more olive oil and wine in the pan as the sauce had reduced too much, but what did come out was awesome!

Easy recipe with great flavor. I followed it exactly as written but lt it cook a few more minutes than indicated. It was a little dry. Next time I’ll cut back the time. This is a keeper though.

This is my go-to chicken recipe spring, summer and fall, when my garden is full of fresh herbs. I call it “Simon & Garfunkel Chicken” for the parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. The marinade is wonderful on grilled, baked, or sautéed boneless or bone-in pieces. It’s good with just lemon or wine, or both. Spread a paste of the herbs, garlic, lemon and a little olive oil and spread under the skin of a whole roaster, toss the lemon peels in the cavity, and roast with potatoes and root vegetables.

very easy and quite tasty. as i had little time i marinated it for about an hour outside the fridge. quite lemony, but i served it with roasted sweet potatoes which quieted down the tartness. after i removed the chicken, i deglazed the pan and added a pat of butter and cooked it down quite a lot. poured over the chicken; it was very good

Made this last week for a quick dinner and it was great! I browned the breasts in the pan prior to adding all the marinade/sauce. The sauce is amazing, and the lemons were delicious! I added a large amount of fresh baby spinach to the pan after I removed the chicken, and let it wilt quickly before pouring it all over the chicken. I served it with pasta on the side, but it would be great alone, or served alongside something else like polenta, mashed potatoes, farro, etc. This is a keeper!

Used thighs instead of breasts added capers.

Have made this several times following instructions exactly, usually marinating at least 4 hours. Always very good, but not outstanding. One substitution and one omission changed everything — last night, I sliced up 2 Meyer lemons in place of the 1 regular lemon called for and – whoops – completely forgot to add herbs. Absolutely amazing difference. Meyer lemons cooked up as soft as butter and their milder flavor melted into the sweet garlic. Herbs not missed at all.

I cooked this last night and it was a hit. I followed the suggestion to brown the chicken breasts before adding the marinade to the pan. I also reduced the amount of olive oil in the marinade to 1/3 c, since I was using only 24 Oz of chicken breast instead of the 32oz called for. Kept every else the same. Fast, tender and delicious.

I love this recipe! I agree with others who suggest browning one side or both before cooking in the marinade.

I ended up grilling the breasts after an overnight marinate. Ended up delicious. The marinade was a wonderful “sauce”.

This is an easy "dump it" recipe! I marinated the chicken the night before, drained it by noon, and baked it. I did use a half pound more chicken than called for, and snuck a few shrimp in during the morning. Still worked out.

Definitely brown the chicken before adding the marinade. Delicious!

I’ve made this twice and both times the lemon flavor was bitter and overpowering. Followed everything to a tee, but it’s just not the lemon chicken of my youth!

TOO OILY. Chicken too pale. And too bitter, probably from the peel. I might try it again with a LOT less oil and just use the juice. And saute the chicken before adding the marinade back in.

I'm quite new to "fancy" cooking, so please be kind. What does it mean to deglaze a pan, as stated often in some comments?

After browning meat, splash some wine into the pan and use a spatula to clean all the brown goodness (called "fond") that's stuck to the bottom of the pan. Leave the flame on and let it boil. Then leave the wine and fond in there and add food back in, or pour it off and add to a sauce or gravy.

I added a chicken thigh with the breasts and thought it was better than the white meat. The breasts were too thick, so as others have already mentioned, so the next time I would pound them to make them thinner. Also, I would brown the meat before adding the marinade.

Take frozen breasts out early to marinate longer

I marinated for 3 hours, but I will marinate longer next time. Easy to put together and pretty good.

I didn’t pound the chicken and probably should have (thick). I let the chicken cook on one side before adding marinade to brown more. When chicken was cooked, removed it, added more wine and lots of baby spinach. Served all over pasta.

I made this tonight, and it was surprisingly good - and easy! I didn't have all the required herbs, just sage, and had to use chardonnay instead of a 'dry white wine' but it was excellent nonetheless

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