Beautifully zingy chicken dish to awaken your tastebuds! This Italian classic, known as Pollo Al Limone, is an easy and affordable one-pan recipe that comes together within 30 minutes! Perfect dish for weeknight dinner but elegant enough for entertaining, this Chicken Limone is a wonderful way to bring some excitement into a simple chicken dish!
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Italian Cuisine Beyond Pizza and Pasta
We love Italian! And most frequently, when we eat Italian food it’s either pasta or pizza! But, then other times it is a beautiful risotto… And then the wonderful stews, like Caponata! And fish… Not to mention all the world-renowned Italian desserts, like Panna Cotta, Cannolis and Panettone.
Ok, let’s just say Italian food is awesome and stretches way beyond pasta and pizza! And some of my favourites are actually Italian Chicken dishes, including Chicken Picatta, Chicken Cacciatore and this absolutely amazing Pollo Al Limone!
Why You Will Love This Italian Pollo Al Limone Recipe
- Delicious dinner in 30 minutes? Yeah, alright!
- You will only need 6 everyday ingredients, and you are likely to have some ingredients (like stock cubes, butter and flour) at home already!
- If you like our Classic Chicken Picatta or Chinese-Style Crispy Lemon Chicken, you are going to love Chicken Limone too!
- One pan recipe only means one thing – minimal washing up!
Ingredients and Substitutes
Can you make a ridiculously flavoursome chicken dinner with just 6 ingredients? Absolutely! Our Chicken Limone recipe is just that! You will need:
- chicken breasts: skinless and boneless. You will ideally use chicken breasts that aren’t overly thick (that way you can cook them a lot quicker). If your chicken breasts have mini fillets attached, we recommend removing them and cooking them separately.
- plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour.
- butter: we used unsalted butter, or you can substitute it with ghee.
- lemon: because we will use both zest and juice in this pollo al limone recipe, choose fresh and juicy unwaxed lemons.
- garlic cloves.
- chicken stock: or chicken broth. You may substitute it with vegetable stock. Make sure it’s hot when you add it to the pan.
Tips For Best Results
This Italian Lemon Chicken Recipe is extremely easy to make, so even beginners can make it. But for best results, here are a few tips and tricks.
- Try to use thinner smaller chicken breasts, so that they cook quicker. You can always make them thinner by cutting off the mini fillets and even flattening or butterflying larger breasts.
- Don’t skip the flour coating in this recipe. Whilst it may seem counterintuitive to coat chicken in flour and then cook it in sauce, however, the flour on the chicken will actually act as a sauce thickening agent.
- Use unwaxed lemons, as you will be adding lots of zest to the sauce.
- Make sure the chicken breasts are fully cooked through but don’t overcook them. The easiest way to check is to use a kitchen thermometer. The internal temperature in the centre of the thickest part of the chicken breast should read 74°C (165F).
- Take the chicken out of the pan onto the chicken board and let it rest for 2 minutes. It will make it easier to slice.
Method
Place the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl.
Roll the chicken breasts in flour to ensure they are fully covered.
Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken breasts into the pan. Fry on medium heat for 3 minutes on each side, until slightly browned on all sides.
Transfer the chicken breasts onto a plate.
To the same pan, add the lemon zest, garlic and butter. Stir on medium heat for about a minute. Squeeze in the lemon juice and pour in the hot stock. Stir and bring to a gentle boil.
Add the chicken breasts and cover them with a lid. Let the chicken breasts finish cooking in the sauce (it will take 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts). If your chicken breasts are very thin or you’ve flattened them, you may not need to cover the pan with a lid, as they will cook relatively quickly and the sauce will need less time to thicken without the pan covered with a lid. The sauce should reduce by about half and thicken.
Serve the chicken breasts with a drizzle of lemon sauce on top! Garnish with parsley or chives.
Recipe FAQs
Insert a kitchen thermometer into the thickest part of your chicken. It should read 74°C (165F) when the chicken is safe to eat. Try not to go over 78°C, as the chicken will start drying out and be overcooked.
The flour coating acts act as a thickening agent to the sauce. Once chicken breasts are added back into the sauce, lemon and stock reduce by evaporating and thicken with the help of flour.
Storing And Reheating Leftovers
If you have any leftovers, cool them down to room temperature, then add the Chicken Limone to an airtight container and pour the sauce over it. Store the cooked lemon chicken in the fridge for up to two days.
The best way to reheat it is in a microwave. However, you can slice the chicken and heat it with the sauce and a splash of water in a small frying pan too.
What To Serve With Chicken Al Limone?
Chicken Limone worked equally well with fluffy white rice, a bowlful of spaghetti and creamy mashed potatoes.
But here, at Somebody Feed Seb, the meal is never complete without a lovely vegetable side dish. We always serve this Italian Lemon Chicken with Lemon & Garlic Tenderstem Broccoli. But it is also good with:
Other Easy Chicken Breast Recipes
We love cooking chicken breasts – they are so versatile and loved by everyone! Here are some of our other easy chicken breast recipes to try:
- Crispy Almond Chicken Breast with Cherry Tomato Basil Sauce
- Lazy Chicken Karahi | Pakistani Chicken Curry
- Quick & Easy Honey Chicken
- Chicken with Grapes in Cream & White Wine Sauce
Recipe Card
Chicken Limone (Pollo Al Limone)
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts skinless
- 3 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
For Lemon Sauce:
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 50 g butter
- 60 ml chicken stock hot
Instructions
- Place the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl.
- Roll the chicken breasts in flour to ensure they are fully covered.
- Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken breasts into the pan. Fry on medium heat for 3 minutes on each side, until slightly browned on all sides.
- Transfer the chicken breasts onto a plate.
- To the same pan, add the lemon zest, garlic and butter. Stir on medium heat for about a minute. Squeeze in the lemon juice and pour in the hot stock. Stir and bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the chicken breasts and cover the pan with a lid. Let the chicken breasts finish cooking in the sauce (it will take 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts). The sauce should reduce by about half and thicken.
- Serve the chicken breasts sliced with a drizzle of lemon sauce on top! Garnish with parsley or chives.
Notes
- Boiled long-grain rice OR
- Creamy mashed potato AND
- Tenderstem Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon
Nutrition
Mahy
This may be one of my new favorite recipes. That flavor is out of this world!
Ieva
Mahy, this is such lovely feedback! Thanks a lot 🙂
imsen
loved the recipe! def gonna try it next time!
Carrie Robinson
Loving the flavors happening here! 🙂 So perfect for a busy weeknight when you are short on time.
Katherine
Oh wow, that lemon sauce makes this chicken out of this world good!
Dannii
I love anything with lots of lemon flavour and this chicken was amazing.
Ieva
Thanks 💗