Lemon Butter Chicken
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Easy crisp-tender chicken with the creamiest lemon butter sauce ever – you’ll want to forget the chicken and drink the sauce instead!
Happy New Year! I know I should really be sharing some sort of salad or quinoa recipe with the start of the year but you know me and my chicken thigh obsession. I just can’t get enough, especially when a lemon butter cream sauce is involved.
And if you’re in the need of some clean greens for the new year diet, well, this dish has plenty of baby spinach. Good enough, right?
Plus, these chicken thighs carry quite a bit of punch with that fresh, zingy lemon flavor and that smoky goodness from the paprika. And this cream sauce is absolutely heavenly. Just be sure to have a spoon ready because you’ll want to sip on it straight from the pan!
Lemon Butter Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Season chicken thighs with paprika, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
- Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the Dutch oven. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan, lemon juice and thyme.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat, stir in spinach, and simmer until the spinach has wilted and the sauce has slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the Dutch oven.
- Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Looks scrumpious! I was wondering instead of putting this dish in the oven, can i cook it in my crockpot casserole.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-converting-recipes-to-the-slow-cooker-189343.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I did have a few questions though. Do I make the sauce in the same skillet that the chicken was cooked in, with all it’s juices? My sauce did turn out a little thinner and with a layer of grease on top, maybe next time I’ll try skinless chicken. I will definitely be making this dish again and again. Thank you for sharing!
Yes, it is best to use the same skillet to use up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. That’s where all the flavor is! But if there is too much oil, you can certainly drain some of it before proceeding with the lemon butter sauce.
Looks great! However the print button isn’t working…..Any suggestions?? Very excited to try this and others! But would love to be able to print….
Internet Explorer has recently made some updates that are causing print problems. I recommend using a different browser, such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari. But if you can only use Internet Explore, you can highlight the recipe, left-click, and print from there. Easy peasy!
I copy and paste recipes into a Word document and save them to my hard drive. They are easy to acces at any time and eliminates the paper (my computer is in my kitchen). I group them for ease of finding by starting all chicken recipes with the word Chicken, then add the actual recipe title for the individual recipe, for example. I start pasta recipes with Pasta, soup recipes with Soup, apple recipes with Apple and so on. If a recipe could fall under two categories, such as beef & roasted vegetables, I will change the first word and save it in both categories. This recipe I would group under both chiken recipes and also save it with sauce recipes.
I need to add that I always include the web address below the reecipe title in case I want to view it again to see any new comments.
This recipe sounds amazing, i have seen quite a few interesting recipes, but we do not eat cheese of any kind, would this recipe work as well without?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Please use your best judgment.
Made this tonight and the chicken and sauce were great. Easy to make as well. I didn’t have any thyme so I substituted rosemary instead. Wonderful. But I served it with small boiled potatoes and they just didn’t work. The texture was wrong. Next time I think I’ll try rice.
Hi, i’ve cooked this amazing dish twice already and absolutely love it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I have some guests over friday Night and would like to prepare the chicken a few hours early. Would you recommend baking it in advance or just preparing all steps up to the oven and then bake it right before they arrive? Thanks for your help!
I’m so glad you tried this dish! As for the preparation, I recommend baking right before your guests arrive since this is really best when served immediately.
I love this dish and can’t wait to try it. I’m a diabetic so I was thrilled to see how low in carbs this dish is! I’m going to make it and cook some more spinach on the side. Thank you for this recipe!
Could this be made as a freezer meal (freezing before cooking)? I wonder how the cream would do when thawed.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
What can I use instead of heavy cream please. We don’t have it in this country (NZ).
Yu can try substituting milk or even heavy cream but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome.
I tried to read all the comments to find an answer but didn’t see it.
I do not have an oven-proof skillet. I usually just use my LeCruset casserole dish. Will that work?
Yes, Susie. If you do not have an over-proof skillet, you can transfer the chicken to an oven-safe baking dish.
Love the chicken thanks
for sharing recipe
My new favorite chicken dish. The second time I made it I increased the sauce because it was delicious over jasmine rice as a side dish. Also I think it is better to throw in the spinach when it comes out of the oven rather than cook it with the chicken. It stays bright green and doesn’t need any other cooking. Thanks for the recipe. Five stars.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I just wanted to leave a note- you take the most beautiful pictures. I pin a ton of recipes and I always know which recipes are yours just from the pictures. You are an amazing food photographer!!
I made this last night…it was GREAT!! I added garlic powder in addition to the other spices on the chicken. It’s definitely one I’ll be making again soon.
Absolutely awesome! The smoked paprika is absolutely key to this dish. I can’t wait to try it over baked fish and as a shrimp scampi sauce. Thank you!
What side dishes can I serve with this dish?
These garlic parmesan roasted potatoes and/or roasted vegetables would be great accompaniments!
Going to try this recipie out tommorow . Wish me luck!!!
I made this last night for my boyfriend and I, we loved the sauce but it turned out rather watery for me and I’m not sure why. Hopefully the next time I make it, it will turn out thicker. Thank you for the great recipe.
I tried this recipe and when I tell you it was delicious and it came out picture perfect as shown on this web site and the butter sauce I poured over the rice it was so good the kids ask could I do it again this Sunday and I said sure I will.
Hi, I would love to try this today (Chinese new yer) but i don’t have a baking oven. Is it okay to use microwave? Thanks
I do not recommend using a microwave for a dish like this. It is best to use an oven or a convection oven.