My Honey Lemon Chicken is perfect for weeknights! Chicken breast lightly coated in seasoned flour, pan fried until golden and served with a gorgeous honey lemon sauce. At just 320 calories a serve – with plenty of sauce – and on the table in 15 minutes, this is a fantastic back pocket recipe for busy days!
This rarely happens, and it usually only lasts 24 hours, but I can officially say: I’m cooked out. Between cooking for Easter both in real life and for RecipeTin Eats and client work, the amount of food that has come out of my pokey little kitchen over the past couple of weeks is extraordinary.
My freezer is jam packed, the homeless guy is getting 2 meals almost every day, and every friend I see gets sent home with food.
So today, it’s fitting that I share something super fast to make but, as always (!!), super tasty – this Chicken with Honey Lemon Sauce.
I start off by dusting the chicken with lightly seasoned flour which serves two purposes: 1) so the chicken forms a lovely golden brown crust; and 2) it helps thicken the sauce (via brown bits stuck on the pan mixed into the sauce and popping the chicken back into the sauce at the end).
The key to this recipe is the golden brown bits left in the pan from cooking the chicken. It’s gold and it should never be wasted. Whether you’re cooking fish or protein, swish a little liquid of some sort (broth/stock, wine, lemon juice, even water), bring it to a simmer to loosen the brown bits and use a spatular to scrape it off the bottom of the pan and into the liquid.
It’s free flavour and it’s the key to making this simple Honey Lemon Sauce so tasty even though there are so few ingredients in it.
This Honey Lemon Chicken is actually a really healthy meal too, at just 320 calories per serving. Serve it with a simple side salad and a couple of slices of bread to mop up the sauce, and you’ll have a complete meal for less than 500 calories.
Something to mop up the honey lemon sauce is key! It’s rude to lick the plate (in front of others, home alone is perfectly acceptable). So make sure you have some bread to wipe your plate clean!! – Nagi x
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Honey Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb / 500g chicken breast (2 pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup / 35 g flour (any)
Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup / 185 ml chicken broth / stock
- 1/4 cup / 85g honey
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml lemon juice (fresh)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp water
To serve (optional)
- Lemon slices
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast horizontally to form 4 steaks in total. OPTIONAL (for more even cooking): Pound to even thickness about 1cm/ 2/5" thick.
- Sprinkle each side generously with salt and pepper.
- Place flour in shallow dish. Coat the chicken in the flour, shaking off excess.
- Mix 1 tsp of the flour (reserved from step 3) with the water. Set aside.
Cooking
- Place butter and oil in a skillet over medium high heat until butter is melted and hot. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Turn and cook the other side until golden brown, then transfer onto a plate to rest.
- Add garlic into the skillet and stir for 20 seconds or until golden. Add chicken broth / stock and bring to simmer. Use a spatula to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan into the liquid.
- Add honey, lemon juice, soy sauce and flour/water mixture (from step 4) into the skillet. Mix and bring to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until thickened into a syrup. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve, pour Sauce over the chicken and garnish with parsley and lemon slices if using. Alternatively, return the chicken to the pan for 30 seconds (to reheat), turning to coat in the sauce.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Honey Lemon Chicken recipe video! Note: The recipe is missing the soy sauce which is in the ingredients, returned to the recipe by popular demand by readers who loved the original recipe!
You changed this recipe didn’t you? I went to make it again last night and was lazy so i just printed it off before I left for work and noticed it’s different. No soy sauce, more honey? Am I seeing things?? Still delicious but curious….
Hi Nancy! You’re right, I made it again to make a video and improved / simplified it a touch. 🙂
Any chance of posting what changes were made? I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for awhile and we LOVED it. I saw that it was different and tried it anyway, and it was too sweet for our tastes. I can’t remember the old proportions and how much soy sauce to use…
DONE! I dug up the original recipe on an archived version of my site and updated the recipe back to the original – because you are not the first person who has said the same 🙂 So the recipe is now back to the original recipe. N xx
Thank you! My husband and I love this recipe. Sometimes I cube the chicken, then Brown and cook in my pressure cooker. It’s such an awesome sauce!
I made it awhile ago and loved the soy sauce! Do you remember how much the recipe called for?
Made this tonite
Quick and very yummy
That’s terrific to hear! Thanks for letting me know – N xx
This is BEST lemon and honey chicken I have ever cooked. The chicken was so tender and so tasty, I was amazed with such simple ingredients that something like this could taste so good. I wasn’t too sure about the flavour of the sauce at first. Thought it was just another lemon sauce that wasn’t very tasty , a bit tart. But oh my, when the chicken was added to the sauce it just became this restaurant quality meal. We loved this one. Resting the chicken made the chicken even more succulent. I always stay away from chicken breast because of how bland and dry it can be. But I thought I would do exactly what the recipe said and the chicken just melted in the mouth. This is going into my family recipe book, look no further for lemon chicken recipes. I served this with broccolini, carots and roasted potato. Yum!
That’s so great to hear Wendy! Thank you for letting me know – N xx ❤️
Delish! I added some capers, great recipe 🙂
So pleased you enjoyed it Rita! Thanks for letting me know! N xx❤️
Just found your page and I’m really excited about it! This chicken recipe is the first one I will try.
Hope you love it Dawn!
Made it tonight … wife and I loved it. Tks
That’s terrific to hear Joe! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
Made this last week, everyone loved it.
Loved all your recipes so ar.
4 thumbs up.
Thanks Jenny! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed this one too! 🙂 N xx
Tried this tonight and it was so good – so many lemon chicken recipes overdo it on the garlic, but this had plenty of lemon and honey flavor (two of my favorites). I don’t have a meat tenderizer so I didn’t flatten the chicken – just cooked it a little longer and it was fine, cooked through but still juicy. Thanks!
Fantastic to hear Theresa! So glad you enjoyed it! N xx
It says to cook chicken for 2 min each side or until brown and return for 30 seconds later. Is that enough time for chicken to be completely done? Looks delicious and want to make it tonight. Thanks
Hi Maggie! Because the chicken is quite thin, yes it is long enough 🙂 In fact, it is cooked just enough which means you get maximum juiciness in the chicken! Nothing worse than overcooked dry breast 🙂
Can the sauce re ipetin be doubled
Sure can Paula! N x
I am 79 years old and have been eating Chinese food since the age of 11 and all over the U S A. My late wife and I enjoyed the most; Lemon Chicken. Every time we have had it, the chicken was served on a bed of what appears to be soft lettuce, as though the lettuce had been par-boiled or sauteed. Yet, when I look up Lemon Chicken Recipes, none of them have the bed of heated lettuce. Do you know why restaurants serve it this way but when one is looking for a recipe, all they find is various recipes for Lemon Chicken, but no lettuce? To me, the lettuce bed is just as good in taste as the lemon chicken. In fact they go together. One without the other is not Lemon Chicken, to me that is. Your help would be appreciated, and thank you in advance.
Hi Godfrey, what a lovely message to receive! Yes in China sautéed lettuce is actually quite common. I don’t think the Western palette has got their heads around cooked lettuce yet! Try making it with my stir fry sauce. I think you’ll like it! https://discountspot.info/real-chinese-purpose-stir-fry-sauce/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Is there a substitute for chicken broth/ stock?? Can I just use water?
Hi Avery! The sauce won’t have as much flavour unfortunately. For this one I really urge you to use broth 🙂
Thank you for this delicious recipe I’ve tried it, I can eat it everyday ????❤
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed this Eman! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
Made this last night, so good will make again .To die for Thank you
Thanks for trying my recipe Phyllis, so glad you enjoyed it! N x
Hi! This sounds delicious! I was overlooking the recipe and was wondering about when it says to ‘add remaining ingredients’ which is the honey, lemon, clove, and soy sauce, do I mix those together first? Or do I just add it all separately on top and let it mix itself?
Thanks:)
Hi Brittany! Nope just add them in then mix 🙂
Being Greek, honey and lemon are staples for cooking and this recipe did not disappoint! I served this with some orzo pasta and grilled asparagus and it was a hit. Easy enough for a weeknight too. Great dish! Just found you through Delish. Bookmarking!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Joyce! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
Made this the other night and it was to die for!! Sooooo good!! Staple in my home!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Bia! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂 N x
I was looking for a low calorie meal with chicken and this came up and what a delicious meal it was instead of bread I made some mashed potatoes and asparugus and my picky eaters asked when I was going to make it again.. thank you
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Liz! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂 N x
NAGI
Merry Christmas
My family made this for Christmas Eve dinner…..very simple….but elegant….Taste is fantastic…
This is a staple in my family cookbook now…thank you
Reym Family
Hi Steph! I’m so honoured to have made your family Christmas roster!! 🙂 Thank you for trying it and I’m glad you enjoyed it! N xx
I don’t eat dairy or soy. What could I substitute for these two ingredients?
Olive oil for the butter, and either fish sauce or 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce + extra pinch of salt 🙂