Recipe Background
Sometimes, when a meal sounds this good, you don't need any explanations. Creamy Lemon Thyme Chicken simmers the savory, juicy chicken in a profoundly delicious and luscious sauce: creamy, zesty, fragrant, and of course rich and buttery. This is the kind of sauce that you'll want to serve with some crusty bread because you can't help but mop up every last bite. Plus it all cooks in a single pan for easy clean-up. Creamy Lemon Thyme Chicken takes weeknight dinners to whole new places, and they're places you'll want to visit again and again!
Sometimes, when a meal sounds this good, you don't need any explanations. Creamy Lemon Thyme Chicken simmers the savory, juicy chicken in a profoundly delicious and luscious sauce: creamy, zesty, fragrant, and of course rich and buttery. This is the kind of sauce that you'll want to serve with some crusty bread because you can't help but mop up every last bite. Plus it all cooks in a single pan for easy clean-up. Creamy Lemon Thyme Chicken takes weeknight dinners to whole new places, and they're places you'll want to visit again and again!
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless, and pounded to roughly even thickness
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/3 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves plus more for garnish, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/3 cup heavy cream at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed and at room temperature
Directions
- Sprinkle both sides of each of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to the hot oil and cook, flipping once, until browned and nearly cooked through, for about 7-8 minutes. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover tightly with foil.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Transfer the skillet from the heat and add the broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, onion, garlic, and thyme to it.
- Return the skillet to the heat and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Allow the mixture to boil uncovered until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and butter.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the sauce.
- Place the skillet in the oven.
- Bake until the chicken is fully cooked through at 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
- Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned on top and garnished with the remaining fresh thyme.
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