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
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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Hi, this looks amazing, just two questions before I attempt to make this. First is there a difference between smoked paprika and regular paprika and second since I do not have a pan large enough to fry all of the chicken at once can I possibly halve it and then transfer all into a baking dish? Thanks in advance,
Yes, there is a difference between the two kinds of paprika. You can read more about it here: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-hot-sweet-68134.
And yes, you can definitely transfer it to a baking dish without any changes to the recipe.
Thanks so much, can’t wait to try!
Thank you for this recipe. It was absolutely amazing! You were not kidding about the sauce!
This recipe makes my mouth water and I would love to try this BUT my oven broke. So my question is this – can this be also made stove top? If stovetop made I know the skin of the chicken might not crisp as well and the cooking time might have to be adjusted. If I make it stovetop would chicken breast be a better choice? Any suggestions? I truly would love to try this recipe. Thank you!
Doris, I actually have not tried making this without the use of an oven but here is a great article on BuzzFeed that may be of help: http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/stovetop-chicken-recipes#.qhNqe5ly3.
Thank you for your reply and thank you for the suggested link. I will check it out. I might even try to do a stove top version. If so, I will let you know how it turned out.
Please do!
I’ve cooked tons of chicken thigh recipes on the stove top before. The key is to let it cook on a medium to medium low flame, add a bit of extra water, and cook with the lid on for 10-15 minutes (or longer if you have big chicken thighs) – stirring every 5 minutes or so. You would want to add the lid when the recipe says to put it into the oven. The chicken won’t be quite as tender but it will work as your steaming/sauteing it rather than roasting it. You may want to hold off on adding the cream though until the last 5 minutes or so though otherwise it can separate. I don’t mind if it separates so I add it in earlier. As for using breasts, if you use boneless/skinless you will lose a lot of the flavor. If you use bone-in breasts, they will cook less evenly, take longer, and get a bit stringy on the stove top. Bone-in thighs (skinless or with skin on) are actually easier than legs or breasts for the stove top because they are the same thickness throughout.
Wow just made this!! So good!! I made a side of white rice to put some juice on! Delicious!!
I have this in the oven now, can’t wait to try it!!
This may sounds ridiculous but my pan states that it’s “oven safe up 350 degrees” should I… a) Take a chance or b) increase the cooking time?…THANK YOU!!
If your pan states that it is only safe up to 350 degrees F, I would not take the chance and increase the cooking time and ruining that pan. It may be best to use an oven-safe baking dish instead with the appropriate temperature.
I’m with Samantha, can you sub Greek yogurt for the heavy cream?
You can certainly try substituting Greek yogurt 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.
can this dish be frozen?
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.
Anything different I need to do if the spinach is frozen? That is all my store has right now.
Hope you can respond as I am making this very soon. Thank you – it looks wonderful!
Helen
I would recommend thawing and draining the spinach prior to using. Also, please note that by substituting frozen spinach, I cannot speak for how this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish, and it may also lead to a mediocre outcome.
This was amazing! My husband and kids loved it! Thank you!
hi can i use fresh thyme and if so how much thank you?
Yes, fresh thyme will work just fine. The ratio for fresh to dry herbs is typically 3:1.
I just made this recipe. I used coconut milk instead of heavy cream, work it also. This chicken is delicious!
Thanks for comment re coconut milk, I was wondering if it would work. Cheers 🙂
Just made it for my son and I! Love super easy recipes that won’t kill the waistline 🙂 Smells amazing in the oven!
I made this last night and the sauce was indeed yummy but I’ll probably try skinless boneless chicken breasts in place of bone-in thighs next time. It might have just been due to the amount of fat and skin on my chicken thighs, but they rendered so much grease that I had to skim quite a bit off the sauce when it came out of the oven. I served it with whole wheat couscous and some roasted asparagus. Next time I’ll try with the boneless chicken and and maybe serve it over pasta!
Has anyone tried to use a substitute for the heavy cream? My husband has lactose issues…I was thinking greek yogurt might help to make the sauce creamier?
Plain full-fat yogurt work but I would wonder if it would still create lactose issues. I would think greek yogurt would work well but you would want to scale back on the lemon due to the increased tartness of greek-style yogurt. It may also separate using yogurt…but the taste would still be yum. I would suggest beating the yogurt in a small cup with a spoon first (like you would if a recipe calls for a beaten egg) as it makes the yogurt very smooth. I would also wait to add it until after you’ve reduced the heat to a simmer to avoid curdling. Finally, in Indian cooking they often use a creamy paste made of ground melon seeds or cashews to create thickness & richness. You may wish to try those as alternatives to dairy.
Thankyou for these alternatives re dairy free 🙂
I made this tonight and it certainly was DAMN DELICIOUS! I served it over egg noodles. I will definitely make this again!
Omg! I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I used chicken breasts instead of thighs just because I prefer that. The sauce was amazing as well and was great even poured over rice. Definitely making again!
My daughter forwarded this to me so I could make it for her birthday dinner this week. It looks heavenly and I can’t wait to try it! What do you serve this with ~ rice, egg noodles, etc.? I’ll also make a side veggie but wondered what I could use for all that delicious sauce. Thanks!
Barbara, these roasted veggies would be a great side dish but if you want to use some of the sauce, a neutral side dish like rice would be more appropriate.
I seldom comment, but this dish was amazing!!! I followed it except subbed 1/2 & 1/2 for the heavy cream I didn’t have on hand. It’s one of those dishes I have thought about daily since I made it and DH likes it just as much. We are having the leftovers over pasta for supper tonight, can’t wait!!!
We made this tonight! It was great! I used boneless skinless breasts because it’s what I had on hand. Also substituted dill weed for the thyme and lots of extra spinach. Didn’t bake it, just covered and simmered until the chicken was cooked throughout. Added rice flour at you’re end to thicken the sauce. Served over pasta. My family loved it! Kids asked if I would make it again!!