Lemon garlic chicken. Imagine juicy, pan-fried chicken thighs with green olives and lemon, served in a honey-garlic-butter sauce. It’s bright, fresh, delicious, and ready in less than 30 minutes. It’s sure to become a new favorite.
Why you’ll love this lemon garlic chicken recipe
In addition to being easy, this recipe is packed with flavor. Made with creamy and mild Castelvetrano olives for a touch of brine, thyme for herby earthiness, honey for some sweetness and caramelized lemon for a deep tangy flavor and acidity. We finish everything off with red pepper flakes for that extra kick.
And the almonds? They make this dish more textured and generally just satisfying and interesting.
This easy one-pan dinner is really something. Just put a piece of crusty bread, baked potatoes or orzo on that plate, add a big salad and dig into that tasty dinner.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
Helpful tips
- This is a super versatile recipe!
- Swap chicken thighs for fillets, or turkey fillets.
- If you want to use bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs: Once they have crisped nicely in the skillet, make the sauce and add chicken back to the skillet. Dot your thighs with lemon slices and fresh thyme sprigs, and finish them in the oven for another 20 minutes.
- Castelvetrano olives are optional, but if you want to keep the brininess, try adding a tablespoon of capers. Or add black olives for a more buttery flavor. And if you’re not a fan of olives, you can just leave them out.
- If you don’t have white wine on hand, just add more chicken broth.
- Add veggies instead of olives like green asparagus, green peas, broccoli, spinach or cauliflower.
- Swap in rosemary sprigs or oregano for the fresh thyme.
What to serve with lemon garlic chicken?
- Country bread or garlic bread
- Orzo, rice, crispy potatoes
- A big tomato feta salad drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil
More one-pan dishes, please!
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
- 3.5 ounces green olives preferably Castelvetrano
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- 6 thyme sprigs
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes for sprinkling
- flaky salt for sprinkling
- 2 tbsp almonds optional
Instructions
- Season the chicken thighs with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and sweet paprika.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes on each side, until golden brown. When the chicken is cooked through, transfer to a clean plate.
- Place the lemon slices flat on the bottom of the skillet in a single layer and sear over high heat for 30 seconds on each side without stirring, or until caramelized. Remove the lemons from the skillet and set aside.
- Add garlic and onion to the skillet, sauté until fragrant. Deglaze with white wine. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to release the brown bits. Add honey and thyme. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
- Add chicken back to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, or until heated through. Add olives, and layer lemon slices on top.
- Finish off with almonds, flaky salt and red pepper flakes. Serve with bread, orzo or baked potatoes and a big side salad. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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anything with olives is great with my hubby and I, but this dish is really outstanding – the olives are the star!
Thank you Anne! It makes me so happy to hear that!
This is a wonderful and delicious favorite in my house! Any recipe that takes so little time and makes my wife this happy is going to be in my back pocket every week or two!
Thank you Christopher! So glad you enjoyed!
This was another winning recipe from your blog. I used bone in/skin on chicken thighs, because it’s what I had, and followed the cooking adjustment suggested in the blog post and it was great.
It is a fast, easy, and company worthy dish.
Thank you Darcy! It makes me so happy to hear that!