This easy one pan lemon garlic chicken recipe is ready in no time! A quick, weeknight chicken dinner that tastes great over rice or pasta.
This easy lemon garlic chicken is one of my favorite fall recipes.
It's ready to go in under an hour, uses just one pot, includes spinach because #vegetables, and makes a simple, lemon-y, garlicky broth that's perfect for pouring over rice, pasta, or sopping up with a few slices of homemade crusty bread.
Also, this lemon chicken recipe makes great leftovers (perfect for meal prep!)
Ingredients you'll need
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs - We're using chicken thighs here because they pack a ton of flavor, stay a bit more tender than other cuts, and are easy to fit in the pan. Boneless skinless chicken breasts work just as well here though!
- Diced yellow onion and plenty of minced garlic - We'll sauté these aromatics together to create the base of our sauce.
- Fresh thyme gives some extra depth to this recipe. Dried thyme works, too!
- Lemon is the star of the show here: Fresh lemon juice adds brightness and flavor to our sauce. Use more or less lemon juice depending on your preference!
- Chicken stock (or chicken broth) gives our sauce some volume and extra flavor.
- Fresh spinach lends a pop of color and plenty of nutrients.
- You'll also need a few basics: olive oil, salt, and pepper help us bring this dish together.
Order of operations
First, sear the chicken
Adding a quick sear to our chicken thighs locks in a bit of moisture and gives us some super flavorful drippings to use as the base for our sauce.
Season your chicken thighs on all sides with plenty of salt, then sear the chicken with a bit of oil in a deep, large skillet until the meat is lightly browned on all sides. Set the chicken aside, then use the same pan to make the sauce.
Build your sauce + bake
- Sauté onion and garlic with a bit of oil until soft.
- Add salt, pepper, and fresh thyme, then squeeze in the juice of one lemon.
- Stir chicken stock and spinach into the sauce.
- Return the chicken thighs to your saucepan, then bake in a hot oven until cooked through.
Riffs and substitutions
These lemon garlic chicken thighs are ultra forgiving and easy to customize! A few of our favorite swaps and additions:
- For a creamy sauce, stir in a splash of heavy cream or Magic Cauliflower Cream.
- Use white wine in place of ½ cup of the chicken stock for extra flavor!
- For more lemon flavor, add the lemon zest from your lemon in addition to the juice (or add another lemon entirely!) You can also top the chicken thighs with lemon slices just before baking for a beautiful presentation and extra flavor.
- Add diced potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, kale, or carrots to make it a little heartier.
- Use whatever cut of chicken you have on hand - this recipe is equally delicious with boneless, skinless chicken breast (just make sure to add a few minutes to the cook time if you're using a larger cut- a good meat thermometer can help you with this).
What to serve with lemon garlic chicken
We love serving this chicken with pasta (we love ravioli or tortellini!), rice, quinoa, farro, or a pile of zucchini noodles. It's also great with:
- Small Batch Crusty Bread
- Classic Homemade Mashed Potatoes
- 5 Minute Lemon Arugula Salad (you can also use spinach in this salad!)
PS - Love this recipe? Try our Spinach Artichoke Chicken →
VIDEO: HOW TO MAKE LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN
Easy Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
Description
An easy baked lemon chicken recipe for busy weeknights!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 large sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 lemon
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 2 heaping cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Instructions
SEAR THE CHICKEN (10 MIN)
- Heat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Season both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat olive oil in a large, oven-safe pan (I like to use a wide, deep skillet) over medium heat.
- Place chicken thighs in the hot pan and sear for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Remove chicken to a plate and set aside, then return pan to stove over medium-high heat.
MAKE THE SAUCE (5-10 MIN)
- Add onion and garlic to pan. Sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. If the pan is looking a little dry, add another drizzle of olive oil to help the onion cook.
- Pull leaves off of thyme sprigs. Add thyme leaves to the onions.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Juice the lemon, removing any seeds, and add lemon juice to the onion mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add chicken stock and spinach to onions and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer.
- When mixture has reached a simmer, return seared chicken thighs to pan and spoon some of the broth over the top of them to help them stay moist.
BAKE (15-20 MIN)
- Place pan in 400° F oven, uncovered, and cook 15-20 minutes more until chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately.
Notes
Can I make this in an Instant Pot? Yes! Visit our Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken post for full instructions.
Substitutions. Use bone-in, skinless chicken thighs or boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. With larger or bone-in cuts, you may need to extend the baking time to ensure chicken is cooked through (when we tested this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, we increased the cook time by 8 minutes or so). Use ½ cup of white wine in place of ½ cup of the chicken stock if you like. Add kale, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, or any vegetables you have on hand in place of or in addition to the spinach. We recommend adding broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots just as you put the chicken in the oven to avoid overcooking.
How to serve this lemon garlic chicken: Serve this lemon chicken over rice, quinoa, farro, pasta (we love ravioli and tortellini!) or mashed potatoes. It's also delicious as a stand-alone entree with some roasted vegetables on the side.
For added texture, wait to add the spinach until you're ready to serve. Stir it into the hot broth and let it wilt just slightly. (We add the spinach before baking in this recipe for ease, so you can go right from the oven to the table - but if you have the time and prefer your spinach to have more texture, add it right at the end!) This recipe has a very light, broth-y sauce.
If you prefer to thicken the sauce, stir in a cornstarch slurry, a splash of heavy cream, or a few spoonfuls of our Magic Cauliflower Cream just before serving. (You may also want to check out our creamy one pan chicken and potatoes recipe, which features a thicker, creamy sauce!)
To make this recipe in a slow cooker, sauté the onions and garlic in a small skillet. Add sautéed onion mixture to your slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir chopped spinach in when you're ready to serve. (While you can certainly skip the sauté step if you like, we strongly recommend sautéing the onions and garlic even if you're using a slow cooker because the texture is so much better!)
Save leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, warm in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat until heated through. Taste and add extra chicken stock, lemon juice, and seasonings as necessary before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 362
- Sugar: 1.9 g
- Sodium: 357.8 mg
- Fat: 15.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.5 g
- Protein: 47.6 g
- Cholesterol: 215.8 mg
Ashley
Ok Jesse, I've made this dish twice and it is FANTASTIC. I'm trying to be low carb so I doubled the liquid (subbing half for white wine) and made it like a soup. OMG TO DIE FOR. It works wonderfully with both chicken thighs and boneless skinless chicken breasts. I made it w spinach one time and collard greens the next. I think the collards were my favorite, as they keep their integrity in the sauce. Anyhow, thank you so much for this recipe. My toddlers were sopping the juices up with thick slices of french bread!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Ashley,
WOW! What a fantastic idea, we love when creativity takes over - thank you for sharing!
TNLawGirl
My husband came home and couldn't believe that the delicious smell was ME cooking! LOL! This was a winner and really impressed him. Next time I will double the sauce because it was SO fabulous! After reading the other comments, I would agree that adding white wine, mushrooms, capers and more spinach are all great suggestions that would work well. The recipe is just fine as is, and the beauty is that you can tweak it how you like it. Delicious and economical, too, using chicken thighs.
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Wohoo! We love happy husbands 🙂
Yes, all the suggestions for adds to the recipe are excellent!
Cyndi
Delicious! The only thing I did differently was to finish cooking on the stovetop.
Karla
Making this tonight with bone in thighs after it comes out I'm going to add heavy cream and parmesan after it reduces I'm going to add pasta and turn it into a creamy lemon chicken pasta
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Karla, that sounds wonderful!
Jean
Ingredients call for 1 large lemon - it never appeared in the directions for making this dish
When do you add it?
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Jean! You'll juice the lemon and add the lemon juice as directed in Step 8 of the recipe. Hope that helps!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Jean,
In step 8 of the instructions, the lemon is juiced.
Hope this helps!
JoJo
Easy and delicious! I made basmati rice and lentils to complete the dish. Did not have fresh spinach, so I used frozen - it may have added a little more moisture to the dish. I would add a little more lemon. Love Love Love - will definitely make again!
Jessie
So happy you liked it, JoJo! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Jeanie
Loved this recipe and it fits my diet perfectly without modifications. The lemon flavor was dominant ( I had a big lemon)and I love lemon. For company I would use a little lesson.
Amelia Warwick
Can I use,kale instead of spinach?
Jessie
Definitely! This is great with Kale. You can even sauté it with the garlic and onions for extra oomph.
Jennyfer Fernandez
Yes! Kale is awesome for this recipe...1st time i made this, kale is what i had on hand... Its the only way i make this now!
Sarah
Quick and good. I doubled the spinach. Will make Again.
Susan
I roughly followed your recipe (I didn’t feel like pulling out the measuring spoons and cups) and it came out delicious! My chicken dishes always fail even when I follow recipes but this one is a winner. Thank you for sharing!
Jessie
I'm so happy to hear that, Susan! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out!
Christine
I have a basic lemon chicken recipe so thought this would be the same. Not at all. Next level. I added lotsa of spinach and my boys still LOVED it. So easy too! Thanks 💛
Jessie
I'm so happy to hear that, Christine! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Zoe
Made this a few ago, loved it!
Can I use my slow cooker for this dish?
Thanks
Zoe
Missed the word 'weeks'
Jessie
So glad you liked it, Zoe! I haven't tried this in the slow cooker but you could certainly give it a go - let me know how it turns out if you do!
Wendy
Making this tonight! ♥️♥️
Linda
Found your website today and tried the recipe Easy Lemon Garlic Chicken. Just as the recipe title says it was easy to make and very delicious. I had lots of extra sauce and it would definitely be good served over rice, couscous, or pasta.
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked it, Linda! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Felicia Thayer
This was absolutely delicious!!! My guests were raving with each bite!
Jessie
I'm so happy to hear that, Felicia! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Tania
Super easy and super delicious... Thank you! So happy to have found this blog your other recipes look great as well. Can't wait to try them!
Jessie
I'm so happy to hear that, Tania! Thanks!