This one-pan chicken skillet is a lifesaver on busy weeknights! With just a handful of ingredients and in less than 20 minutes, the chicken cooks up beautifully in a delicious honey lemon sauce.
Serve this Honey Lemon Chicken with Green Beans Almondine and a simple Spinach Salad for a healthy, easy family dinner!
When I am looking for quick and healthy dinner options, this recipe for Honey Lemon Chicken is one of my favorites. Made in one pan with only a few ingredients, and in less than 20 minutes, this recipe is nearly effortless.
In fact, I would argue that it is easier than driving through any drive-thru and certainly easier than running into a store to grab a frozen meal that you have to come home and cook.
Not to mention, this skillet chicken recipe is SO much healthier than take-out or frozen meals. It is low in fat, low in sodium, gluten-free, and full of protein!
I am telling you, between the tender chicken cutlets and the sweet and tangy honey glaze, this chicken meal is one you will be putting on repeat as well! And with one dish to clean up after dinner--there is NO excuse not to try this easy chicken recipe.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken Cutlets: I recommend using thin chicken breast cutlets for this chicken skillet recipe. Because the chicken is thinly sliced it will cook quickly, remain tender, and have more sauce to chicken ratio, which translates to more flavor.
- Lemon: Do not use jarred lemon juice--fresh lemon juice is a must for the sauce. It makes for a beautiful presentation to add sliced lemon to the chicken skillet as well, but it is not crucial to this recipe.
How to Make Honey Lemon Chicken
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet.
- Season the chicken evenly with salt and pepper and then sear in the chicken on each side until just browned on both sides.
- Once seared, remove the chicken from the skillet and place it onto a plate.
- Whisk together the honey, lemon juice, chicken stock, and Dijon together in a large bowl.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet and whisk until boiling.
- Turn the heat to a simmer and add the chicken back into the skillet and top with lemon slices if desired.
- Once the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees, remove from heat and serve with a garnish of fresh parsley if desired.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Money-Saving Tip: Chicken breasts are much more affordable than purchasing chicken cutlets. You can prepare your own chicken cutlets using chicken breasts by using a sharp fillet knife to slice the chicken breast horizontally into two even pieces. Place the sliced chicken breast between two slices of plastic wrap and then pound with a meat mallet. For more help, watch the video on how to make chicken breast cutlets out of chicken breasts here.
- Leftovers: Leftover Honey Lemon Chicken can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the chicken in the sauce for up to 6 weeks in the freezer.
- Saute Pan: I do recommend using a nonstick skillet for easier cleanup and less risk of burning the sauce. The honey in the sauce is a bit sticky and high in sugar and can burn quickly if not watched carefully--I never have an issue in a non-stick pan.
More Simple Chicken Recipes
- Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
- Skillet Chicken with Green Beans
- Simple Chicken Asparagus Stir Fry
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
If you try this simple Honey Lemon Chicken, I would love for you to leave a review below.
Honey Lemon Chicken Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon sliced
- ¼ cup chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Sear chicken on both sides in skillet, for about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
- Whisk together the honey, lemon juice, chicken stock, and Dijon together. Pour into skillet and whisk until boiling.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer and add the chicken back in the pan. Lay the lemon slices over the chicken, cover the skillet and let simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- Make you own chicken cutlets by using a sharp fillet knife to slice the chicken breast horizontally into two even pieces. Place the sliced chicken breast between two slices of plastic wrap and then pound with a meat mallet.
- Do not use jarred lemon juice--fresh lemon juice is a must for this chicken.
- The Dijon mustard adds a bit of rich depth to the honey lemon sauce, but if you don't like mustard, feel free to leave it out.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days. This leftover chicken is great used to top a salad.
Toni
I added garlic as many have suggested. Also I found the sauce too thin to fully coat the chicken. I added a little cornstarch diluted in a quarter cup of chicken broth to thicken the sauce after I removed the chicken from the pan. Worked very well and poured the sauce over the chicken. Chicken remained moist with good flavor.
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing how you thickened the sauce Toni!
Jordan
I made this for Father's day for my dad. And this came out AMAZING! I added pasta and spinach best combo in my books. It was also the first time I cooked with meat, I'm proud on how it came out. Though there wasn't any leftovers.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so honored that this was the recipe you selected to enjoy with your dad! I love hearing you all enjoyed!
Brenda
I had some extra time after browning the chicken so thinly sliced some butternut squash rounds into the yummy lemony sauce and poached them for about 5 minutes before adding back the chicken and lemon slices. It was a colorful and delicious addition to the dish.
Margaret Crisalli
This was so easy, light and delicious!! I used fresh lemon juice, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, a chicken bone broth, locally sourced honey and a spicy brown mustard- it was very flavorful!! The sauce was a great compliment over the chicken as well as steamed carrot sticks!! Quite healthy & tasty - adding it to my "favorites file". Thanks for sharing, 😋, 🍽 !
Kristen Chidsey
I am honored that this is going into your favorites Margaret! Thanks for sharing your review!
Meg
This was so yummy !!! We loved it !! I did add garlic because we just love garlic.. Thanks for a great recipe ! I love your recipes and weekly meal plans !!
Letty
Loved the recipe wnd will make it again. Great alternatives to chicken piccata. Sauce is yummy.
Kristen Chidsey
So happy to hear you enjoyed Letty!
Kathy
I, too, found it very bland, which surprised me. The honey/lemon mixture was very nice, but very little of the flavor went into the chicken. Did I saute too long? I will thicken the mixture tonight to serve as a 'gravy' to pour over the leftover chicken.
Kristen Chidsey
I am sorry you found this bland. It may have been that you slightly overcooked the chicken.
Alexa
followed the instructions very thoroughly and came out very bland....
Kristen Chidsey
I am sorry you found this to be lacking in flavor. Because this recipe has so few ingredients, you want to be sure you select good quality ones, like fresh lemon juice and good quality Dijon.
Michael geraty
I made the recipe for my family tonight.
The changes I made were boneless,skin off thighs 3 lbs,half an onion sliced thin,capers. Served on a bed of rice along with brussel sprouts.
Enjoyed the dish.
Amanda
This was so good! Thanks for the recipe ☺️
Lisalen
Simple recipe which I liked on a busy night. The sauce was very thin. I’m going to try it again but I’m going to reduce the liquid by half before covering. Adding garlic from a previous review would also help deepen the flavor. I don’t think a thin cutlet needs another 10 min so I would cut down that time as well.