Easy Lemon Chicken
You’ll never guess how quickly this crisp, tender chicken comes together with just a handful of ingredients!
I don’t know about you guys but five ingredient dishes are my absolute favorite. They usually require pantry staples so I can skip the emergency grocery run and get right to cooking. And it’s definitely an added bonus when you can make it in less than 30 minutes.
This lemon chicken is exactly that – it takes just 5 additional ingredients, most of which can be found right in your pantry. And with Just BARE® fresh boneless skinless chicken breast fillets, this dish comes together so quickly in just 20 minutes, perfect for those busy weeknights!
It’s just a simple chicken breading with Italian bread crumbs and fresh lemon zest, which then gets cooked to absolute crisp perfection. You also can’t forget the fresh lemon zest garnish for that extra lemon pizzazz!
style=”text-align: center;”>Just BARE® Chicken +5 Ingredient Challenge
The best part about 5 ingredient dishes is that you can also join the Just BARE® Chicken +5 Ingredient Challenge! Between January 14 to February 28, be sure to visit www.JustBAREChicken.com/Plus5 for a chance to win $500! You can start with Just BARE® chicken, and think of five more ingredients, entering once a day. Ten finalists will each win $500, and their entries will become new recipes created by national food bloggers, including me! Online voting on the Just BARE Facebook page will help determine the grand champions. Think healthy, be surprising and get inspired! Follow the challenge on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #ChickenPlus5.
Easy Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
- Zest of 2 lemons, plus more, for garnish
- 1 pound BARE® Chicken’s fresh boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets, cut crosswise in half
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs and lemon zest; set aside.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Working one at a time, dredge chicken in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in bread crumbs mixture, pressing to coat.
- Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet, 2 or 3 at a time, and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve immediately, garnished with lemon zest, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Just BARE® Chicken. All opinions expressed are my own.
I made this the other night and it turned out amazing! the lemon zest in the breadcrumbs and then to top it off makes this chicken extra special. My boyfriend even loved it and he wanted another serving. I definitely agree with cooking it on medium heat so it doesn’t burn. I even made a lemon butter sauce to go with it but the chicken on its own was great! So simple, easy, quick and delicious thank you!!
i had a ton of lemon that I needed to use up and some chicken breasts in the fridge, so I threw this together for lunch. It was so good! My dad, who isn’t even a fan of lemon, took a bite and asked if I made any more of it. Great recipe!
This was so good and easy….made it last night. No problem with burning and the chicken came out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. A squeeze of lemon juice finished it off. Served with orzo and artichokes! Yum!
Fixed this last night and the results were perfect. I made sure the oil was fairly hot when I put the chicken in and then turned it down to cook the chicken through. Crisp outside, tender inside. Added some garlic to the Panko since I didn’t have the Italian seasoned crumbs. Finished the chicken off with a squeeze of lemon juice. Fresh tasting and easy! Thank you!! Dinner was Damn Delicious!
can i bake this instead of fry? if so what temperature and how long do i cook it for?
Unfortunately without further recipe testing, I cannot advise on the appropriate temp and time. Please use your best judgment.
Try baking at 325 for 45 minutes, then check the internal temperature, additional time may be required, however, I doubt it. When cooking chicken, low and slow is my way to go.
This was soooo good! Made it tonight for me and my husband. The lemon zest created an amazing scent that filled the kitchen and the flavor didn’t disappoint at all!! I ended up using panko breadcrumbs and it had a very nice crunch.
What a nice change up to boring chicken. I think this recipe will make its way into the rotation a lot. Would be a perfect dish for entertaining guests too. Thanks for sharing!!
Aw darn. I tried making this, but I guess the stove in my apartment is way too hot at med/high because the bread crumbs burned before the chicken was even fully cooked. By the time the chicken was edible the outside was completely black. Guess I’ll try this again at a lower temperature. ):
Rebecca, it is best to keep your heat source at a medium range or else it will result to burnt chicken!
Me again! I don’t know why I can’t get this right. It’s frustrating me because I don’t usually have this much trouble cooking. I figured out that my first issue was that I didn’t cut the chicken in half. However, even setting it to medium and cutting down the thickness of the chicken it still cooks the outside too fast. I’ve redone this twice and ended up baking the chicken to finish it ):
Rebecca, it sounds like your heat source is set too high, causing the chicken to overcook on the outside.
This chicken was fantastic! It brought back good memories of living in Germany when we used to eat lemon schnitzel. I will definitely make this again and add more lemon zest!
Loved it! and so did my parents 😀 but the only thing is if you have a highly effecient stove top, I would reccomend using low to medium heat instead of medium to high!! first tester turned out extremely burnt and raw:( but once i lowered the heat A LOT, perfection.
I would like to make this for my daughter birthday party. Do you think I could freeze them and warm them up in the oven before dinner? And would you have any tips on the best way to do that? Thanks!!
Jamie, you can prepare the chicken and freeze them in individual pieces (uncooked) in saran wrap. For serving, let the chicken thaw 1-2 hours before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. Hope that helps!
Freeze them breaded? I’m just trying to do everything before the guests get here. I can’t be cooking them 2 or 3 at a time. 🙁 Thanks for your help!!
look delicios i must try ….http://best-foood.blogspot.com/
This really looks damn delicious ;). I need to give it a try!!!
Hi! This recipe looks wonderful! I have all the ingredients except for lemons. Is lemon juice usable as a substitute somehow?
-from an inexperienced cook
Yes, that should work just fine.
Thank you!
Pingback: Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken by Damn Delicious — Bonbon Break
I made this tonight, and it was very good. However, I wonder if you have any tips on frying food in batches. The first batch turned out beautifully, but by the time I put the second batch in some residual breading from the first batch was burning and smoking and pretty much ruined the second batch (I did have the burner between med. and med/high–so not too hot). I generally shy away from frying in oil like this because of this issue of burning (and then my house stinking for couple of days!) What am I doing wrong??? I would love to try this recipe again because it was delicious, but not if I have to end up throwing away three pieces of chicken 🙁
Thanks for any advice you might have and for a yummy recipe!
Amy, I personally like to use a mesh strainer to strain the crumbs between batches to prevent this issue. It also seems like your heat temperature is set too high, causing the residual crumbs to burn. I recommend lowering the heat between batches as well.
We really enjoyed this dish! Simple prep and the chicken stayed super moist. Thanks for all the awesome meal ideas you’ve given me!
Such a beautiful and simple combination of ingredients! It’s hard to believe today is already the final day to enter the Chicken +5 Ingredient Challenge–so many great entries!
This looks great, it reminds me of a German Schnitzel. It would be great with a mushroom sauce.
Hi! I loved this recipe, and want to try it this weekend!
Could you suggest any side dishes to go with it?
Thank you!
Rice and/or veggies would work great as side dishes.
Can you bake this chicken instead of cooking it on the stove? Thanks!
Yes, you certainly can. You will have to adjust cooking time as needed.
Absolutely. Tip: I spray the chicken with butter flavor Pam for the golden color to start with.
Cook on 375 for 15 minutes and turn for 5 more minutes, approximately, spraying with Pam on any dry or non-golden areas. Use a non stick cookie sheet with sides and adjust time if more than one cookie sheet of chicken is made.
Note: I keep a mixture of one cup flour, 2 cups parmesan and 3 cups crushed corn flakes pre-mixed in my pantry because it works for chicken, pork or shrimp and mixed in burgers with an egg. In this case just add the lemon zest.