20-Minute Lemon Herb Chicken

Life gets, well, busy. Close to everything, learned it will be. Getting a tasty and nutritious dinner on the table in record time? It will appear that you have done the impossible. Once in a while, we can't be bothered to cook and go instead for takeout menus, or stand before the fridge open grocery delivery in hand, praying for some brilliant idea to strike. What if you could enjoy a top-quality restaurant meal with fresh, tangy luxurious flavors and yet spend less time making it than you did dithering over pizza toppings?

This is where the magic and appeal of a truly fast chicken recipe comes in. With none of the complex steps or long cooking times that were mentioned previously: a humble meal! Simple elegant and extremely satisfying-This 20-Minute Lemon Herb Chicken is an essential part of your weeknight meal prayers. It's a chicken that'd be hard to ambush Pudica-rich tasteless white meat wrapped up in rosy lids of off-brand tequila a cause for redemption recipe that gives you new life both physically and morally in terms of taste. Every week, get ready to reincarnate something new as your new favorite!

Why You'll Love This Quick Chicken Recipe

Before we dive deeper, let's take a moment to look at what makes I forget person on this page is so uninteresting and tasteless.

• Clock speed: True to its name, this takes only 20 minutes from preparation to serving! An ideal quick dinner idea for those days when time, but still yearning for a taste of home style cookery.
• Flavor: The tang of lemon, bursting with fragrance garlic, and fresh, lively herbs all combine to give a sauce that smears perfectly right around those tender chicken cubes. Old fundamental pairings like this never die.
• Simplicity: Just a few everyday ingredients and a single pan make this recipe accessible to any level of cook. Plus, one dish equals an easy cleanup!
• Health: This receipt is naturally low carb, gluten free and heady with lean protein. It demonstrates that healthy eating can be outrageously flavorsome and fun.
• Versatile: This chicken is a chameleon. Serve it with pasta, rice, roasted vegetables or a salad. The possibilities are legion, so this makes great base for many different meals.

Fast Flavour Fixing

The beauty of this summer kitchen favorite lies in its simplicity. You don't need a long list of fancy ingredients to create a memorable meal. Here's a look at the key players and how they combine so wonderfully.

For the Chicken:

• Chicken Breasts: We are using boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. They are lean, cook quickly and form the perfect setting for our sauce. To guarantee that they will cook in under 20 minutes, we will trim them in half horizontally so these thinner cutlets can raise their sweet aroma more quickly down below on the stove. This simple step is all important for speed and even cooking. You could also use chicken tenderloins, which are naturally thin and cook just as quickly.
• Olive Oil: You need good quality olive oil to sear the chicken and build the base of our sauce. It gives a watermelon flavor and helps bring about that wonderful golden skin.
• Salt and Pepper: The absolute foundations. Be sure you put on enough seasoning here; proper treatment of the chicken before it goes into the pan is what makes for a tasty finished product.

For the Lemon Herb Sauce:

• Garlic: Freshly minced garlic brings an pungent, aromatic sound depth to is simply unrepeatable with jar diced garlic. It provides the sauce with its savoury undercoating.
• The base liquid for this is Chicken Broth which brings flavor and also deglaizes the pan gathering up all those wonderful bits of browned residue on the bottom (referred to as "fond"). Choose a low-sodium broth to better control the saltiness of the dish.
• Lemon Juice, Freshly Squeezed: There are no two ways about this: You must use freshly squeezed! A healthy dose of fresh lemon juice with that gentle acidity and burst of brightness will cut through this richness giving it new life, making the whole flow like silk again because its star show would never arrive without it.
• Fresh Herbs (Parsley, Thyme, or Rosemary): Fresh herbs add complexity and what the French call 'zest'. Should you be using flat-leafed parsley it provides a clean bright flavor in the mouth. Thyme has an earthy taste with a hint of flowers, while Rosemary smells like a more robust pine-scented breeze. You may use one or combine them all.
• Butter: Just a tablespoon of unsalted butter added at the end has a miraculous effect on the sauce. It imparts a bit of body and richness, helps thicken the sauce a bit and gives it that lovely, shiny look.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Perfect Lemon Herb Chicken

Ready to go? Grab your skillet and let's turn this easy dinner idea into reality. The key to a 20-minute meal: have all of your ingredients ready and your pots filled with cold water boiling before you ever lay eyes on the burner fire. Chefs call this preparation mise en place.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes

Step 1: Preparing the Chicken (3 minutes)

Take your chicken breasts out and place them on a cutting board. If they are quite thick, this is important: you must cut them in half horizontally. The safe way to do this is put one hand flat on top of the breast keeping it steady and with a sharp knife cut through middle at side parallel to board, making two thin cutlets.

The first part involves Pat the chicken cutlets completely dry with paper towels. This step is crucial for getting a good sear. Moisture is the enemy of browning! Season both sides of each cutlet generously with salt and black pepper.

Step 2: Sear the Chicken (7-8 minutes)

Place a large skillet (cast iron or stainless steel work best) over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering but not smoking, it's ready.

Carefully place the seasoned chicken cutlets in the hot pan, ensuring they are not overlapped. If your pan isn't big enough, cook the chicken in two batches. Let the chicken cook, undisturbed, for about 3-4 minutes per side. You're looking for a deep golden-brown crust. The chicken should be cooked through. To check, you can make a small cut in the thickest part; the juices should run clear.

Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Do not clean the pan!

Step 3: Build the Sauce (4-5 minutes)

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic to the same skillet and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly until it becomes fragrant. Be very careful not to let it burn, as burnt garlic will make the entire dish bitter.

Pour in the chicken broth and lemon juice. As the liquid hits the hot pan, use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom. This process, called deglazing, is where so much flavor comes from.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing it to reduce slightly and the flavors to concentrate.

Finally, stir in your chopped fresh herbs.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the cold butter and stir until it fully merges into the sauce, making it smooth and shiny. Transfer to a bowl, but do not refrigerate it until after it has been reheated; then add the fresh herbs of your choice.

Step 4: Finish and Serve (1 minute)

Return the cooked chicken breasts to the skillet, spooning some of the delicious lemon herb sauce over the top of each one. Serve immediately and enjoy your masterpiece!

The trick is simple but sublime: don't crowd the pan.

Creative Serving Suggestions

This incredibly versatile lemon herb chicken recipe suits well with a variety of other foods. It can make an excellent meal all by itself, but paired to perfection with the right side dish and lo! a complete balanced supper is born.

• Classic Comfort: The chicken and its sauce can be served with fluffy white, brown, or quinoa rice. The rice will absorb the delicious sauce beautifully. If it's a little more extravagant option you seek, try over creamy mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles instead.
• Low-Carb and Healthy: For an extra light and healthy chicken recipe, pair it with steamed asparagus, green beans sautéed in butter or roasted broccoli. If you're looking to lower the number of carbohydrates in this dish, substitute "zoodles" for pasta as we show here with zucchini pasta and cauliflower rice.
• With Pasta: Toss in some pre-cooked angel hair pasta or linguine as we show here in a photo. The chicken provides a rich sauce, and these thin pastas grab and hold on to sauces well. Add another seasoning note by topping each serving of the lemon herb chicken recipe with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese or romano cheese to give it an extra zesty edge.
• In a Salad: After letting it cool, slice the chicken and lay the pieces on some mixed greens which also include cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices. Oh--and don't forget a good vinaigrette applied liberally around the edges!
• With Crusty Bread: Never underestimate the power of a good crust of bread! You can use it to mop up every drop of that delicious lemon herb sauce from your plate.