Lemon Butter Chicken
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
This is to die for!! We are literally licking the pan every time I make it, which has been about 5 times so far. I have done both thighs and breasts and both turn out great. I do add more Parmesan cheese, cause I love it so much. I have served over jasmine rice and with near east roasted garlic and olive oil pearled couscous and it’s amazing! My husband usually saves leftover sauce to throw some shrimp in later and he loves it! Thank you so much for this recipe.
This is so delicious! I’ve made it several times before and it’s always such a big hit in our family. The only change I make to it is to double the spinach (because we love spinach). Yes, the sauce is saucy, not thick like a creamy pasta sauce, but that’s perfect for pasta or rice dishes. The flavour is amazing. This latest time, I served it with red potatoes oven roasted in butter, garlic, and lemon, and my husband and I practically licked our plates clean.
This recipe is a tasty, quick, weeknight must. I used thighs and would like to try breast next time, I was in the mood for a lighter chicken flavor/texture tonight. I will say, I used a cast iron skillet and it became too hot, and held heat too long, interfering with the sauce. The meat turned out perfectly, but after my sauce sat in the oven for 23 minutes, it reduced into a black goo. I remade the sauce on the stove and let it simmer 5 min or so, added the cooked chicken from the first try, and let it simmer another 5-10 min. Turned out yummy, but I’m sure if I’d been able to get it right the first time it would have been even better. I’ll have to try again! What is the best oven safe skillet??
Thanks
B
I had this recipe pop up on my yahoo page. Made it for my self . It was amazing. Then I tripled it for 12 added in all the chicken pieces.. Made extra sauce added extra spinach and served it over pasta for a family gathering. Now everybody asks for it when I visit. They ask what I call it .. Lemon butter chicken
We all loved this. I served it on a bed of fresh linguine, which I tossed with a little of the sauce. Yum! I will make this again for sure! Thank you
This was a terrific recipe! Used boneless skinless breasts and it turned out great. Both daughters liked it and were eating the leftover sauce. Definite keeper!
So delicious!! I prefer chicken breasts , cut in half. Thank you!
I absolutely love this dish. I follow it word for word, except for the fact that I use thighs for myself and my daughter and boneless breast for my husband and son, they don’t eat thighs. Crazy, I know! It is so very flavorful and the sauce is awesomeness!!! I always think reviewers that don’t follow the recipe shouldn’t complain when it doesn’t turn out as expected. You cooked a different dish! Geesh! This will always be in rotation at my house!
Well said Aly! I also modified the recipe due to the ingredients I had on hand exchanging for
smoked paprika, organic yogurt, grass fed cheddar instead
of parmesan and peas instead of spinach. Served over
leftover linguine …wow … fab… hubs asked what is this awesome dish I made and I told him it’s called “internet chicken”’LOL Five Star and versatile recipe!
I was low on groceries and had no clue what to make for dinner. I googled a few items in my fridge, and this page was the first result I clicked on. Thankfully, I had all the ingredients on hand.
I used chicken breasts (I was out of thighs), and it turned out great. I put the chicken and sauce on a bed of grilled asparagus, and topped it off with fresh parsley and pine nuts. I also added a small side of egg noodles, baguette bread and a glass of white wine.
Super easy to make and delicious too. Going forward, this will be a go-to recipe!
Do you think adding potatoes would make any changes to the taste and outcome? I love potatoes.
I made this recipe last night and I made rice for the side. I made some mash potatoes because I love them and it was delicious. The sauce is like a thin gravy and spinach mixed with the potatoDezirae es nicely.
Delicious! So flavorful. I added 2 extra cloves of garlic and doubled the cream and parmesan to make the sauce a little thicker. It was a HIT, everyone in the family loved it and said the flavor was off the charts. Thank you for this super easy, yet incredibly delicious recipe.
My daughter said she was SO proud of me because it was so delicious shes 5
I substituted the cream with coconut cream because I didn’t have the regular one and it tasted the same as with regular cream if anyone was thinking of a substitute. But equally tasty either way. One of our family favourites. Thank you for sharing
Can I prep everything in the morning, refrigerate, and then bake the chicken and sauce in the evening?
I love this recipe. It is now a firm family favourite! Do NOT add flour to the chicken when browning Clare as it will burn and burned flour tastes really nasty.
Thanks so much for the recipe Chungah.
Another home run by Damn Delicious!
I made this recipe a month ago for the first time and we love it so much, we have had it twice more since then! The sauce is the BOMB! Do yourself a favor and double the ingredients for the sauce… it’s the star of the show in this dish and the more the better.
I have used frozen spinach (cooked) when I didn’t have fresh and it was just as good. I have also made this dish with chicken breast and love it because the chicken breast absorbs the sauce very nicely.
Do yourself a favor and use fresh grated parmesan as advised. The parmesan in the shaker bottle has no flavor.
We have served this dish over penne pasta, white beans and polenta at various times and each option was great. It’s so delicious it’s perfect to make for company too. 🙂
I needed a recipe to make with chicken thighs and saw this. Can I jus say the gravy was DELICIOUS. Thank you for sharing. I followed the recipe jus doubled the sauce bc I made 12 thighs instead of 8. I also don’t have an oven so I improvised and simmered for 30 minutes instead- stirring occasionally.
Thank you and God bless you!! After multiple flop attempts at cooking something as simple as rice, I cooked basmati rice today thanks to your step by step guide and it was perfect. Had perfect rice after such a long time! Best wishes your way
This is the best chicken dish ever. The sauce is so good you could eat it on it’s own! In fact, I had some leftover sauce and set it aside to have with bread later.
I made this for the first time last night and it was delicious! My boyfriend loved it. I served it with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. Mmmm so good! I’ll definitely be making this again!