Creamy Parmesan Lemon Chicken Skillet — 🧀🍋🙌🏻 A decadent tasting yet FAST and EASY chicken skillet recipe that’s sure to impress your family and friends! Tender lemony chicken, onions, red bell peppers, artichoke hearts, and melted Parmesan cheese with a rich cream sauce for a winner of a chicken dinner! Made in ONE skillet, ready in 30 minutes, and the perfect recipe to jazz up chicken breasts on busy weeknights!
Table of Contents
- Easy Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken Skillet Recipe
- Love Skillet ChickenRecipes?
- Ingredients in Creamy Lemon Chicken with Parmesan
- How To Make Creamy Lemon Parmeson Chicken in One Pan
- what to serve with lemon chicken
- Recipe FAQs
- Storage and Reheating
- Creamy Parmesan Lemon Chicken Skillet Recipe
- More Easy Skillet Chicken Recipes:
Easy Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken Skillet Recipe
One skillet meals are my favorite kind, especially when the meal is ready in 30 minutes like this easy and oh-so-creamy chicken skillet.
Along with tender and juicy chicken, I sauteed yellow onions, red bell peppers, and garlic for lots of flavor before adding in lemon juice and heavy cream. The creamy texture of the sauce is decadent and wonderful! There’s a just enough tanginess the lemon juice without being overpowering.
Because I always have a bag of frozen artichoke hearts on hand, I also added them in at the end. When they’re not packed in oil and are flash frozen (or canned/jarred in water) so it’s just artichoke hearts, they’re healthy and add so much great texture to the dish. Although if you’re not a fan, it’s easy to omit then.
Finishing the dish with fresh parsley adds a lovely pop of fresh green color and flavor.
I love creating dinners that impress and taste like a million bucks and that my family thinks are complicated. But in reality, if you’ve got one pan, 30 minutes, and basic fridge and pantry ingredients, this is a perfect busy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients in Creamy Lemon Chicken with Parmesan
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – make sure to pound them with a meat tenderizing tool so they are even thickness and cook evenly and rapidly
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- All-purpose flour
- Olive oil
- Unsalted butter
- Onion – I use yellow or sweet Vidalia but white is fine
- Red bell peppers – or your favorite color
- Garlic cloves
- Low sodium chicken broth
- Lemon juice
- Heavy cream
- Parmesan cheese
- Artichoke hearts – I use Trader Joe’s frozen that I thaw and roughly dice; or use canned or jarred artichokes that you drain. I recommend water-packed but oil-packed are fine but much more oily and greasy (of course) which is not my favorite
- Fresh parsley, optional for garnishing – or the herbs of your choice such as fresh basil, sage, cilantro, mint, etc.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Creamy Lemon Parmeson Chicken in One Pan
This easy one-pan meal is a cinch and fast! With 10 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of cook time, this is a 30 minute total time one skillet wonder!
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, add the flour to a bowl and lighty dredge the chicken breasts through the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Add 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil to a large skillet, and cook the chicken over medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes, searing well on both sides before flipping it. After it’s cooked through to 165F according to a digital thermometer, remove and set it aside on a plate.
- Add more butter and olive oil as desired, and add the onions, bell peppers, and saute for 5 minutes before adding the minced garlic and sauteeing for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to deglaze the pan.
- Add the heavy cream, Parm, and simmer for about 3 minutes, to thicken the sauce.
- Stir in the chopped artichokes and heat to warm.
- Add the chicken back in, toss and flip in the sauce to evenly coat it, optionally garnish with fresh parsley, and serve!
what to serve with lemon chicken
Serving couscous, bread, rice, or mashed potatoes to mop up the cream sauce is a great idea. I also like veggies such as roasted asparagus, roasted curried cauliflower, balsamic brussels sprouts, to name just a few veggie sides.
Recipe FAQs
Not really. That’s because heavy cream is unmatched in terms of giving thickness, richness, and flavor to sauces. I have not experimented with half-and-half so I’m not sure if it will be quite thick and rich enough to do the trick. I can definitively say though, do not use milk. If it’s a choice between milk or nothing, I would do nothing and add more chicken broth.
In this case, there is a great sub! I suggest dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or chardonnay. Use 1/2 cup wine rather than 1/2 cup broth.
I use Trader Joe’s frozen artichokes that I thaw and roughly dice before using them. You can also use canned or jarred artichokes that you drain. I recommend water-packed. Technically, oil-packed are fine but much more oily and greasy (of course) which is not my favorite mouthfeel.
If you’re not a fan of artichokes, omit them all together. Or maybe toss in some diced asparagus stalks or green beans as an alternative.
Storage and Reheating
In the Refrigerator: This recipe will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. I don’t recommend freezing this one because cream sauces can be unpredictable in how they will (or won’t) survive the freezing/thawing/reheating process so I don’t recommend freezing it.
To Reheat: I use my microwave for quickness and ease and reheat my leftovers for about 30 seconds on high, or as needed. But you can use your stovetop – whatever is best suited for you.
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Creamy Parmesan Lemon Chicken Skillet
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded gently to an even thickness
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste if desired
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste if desired
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium yellow or sweet Vidalia onion, diced small (white onion may be substituted)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced very small (or your favorite color)
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth, dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or chardonnay may be substituted
- 3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice, (the juice from half of a small/medium lemon)
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, or a bit more, if desired to taste
- 12 ounces artichoke hearts, frozen, thawed, and roughly chopped OR water packed, drained, and roughly chopped; read the FAQs for more info
- Fresh parsley, finely diced; optional but recommended for garnishing
Instructions
- Pound the chicken to an even thickness so it cooks evenly before evenly seasoning it with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Add the flour to a bowl, and lightly dredge the chicken with the flour; shake off any excess.
- To a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of butter, olive oil, turn the heat to medium-high, and heat for about 1 minute to melt the butter, swirling the skillet to help encourage the butter to melt.
- Add the chicken and cook for about 8-10 minutes total, or until done. Flip the chicken over halfway through the cooking time. Cooking Tips – Chicken cooks best when you add it to your skillet and then just let it be so it can sear. Do not compulsively check it, try to peek at the underside, or try to flip it too early. Give it at least 3-4 minutes before you try to flip it. It will actually flip easier/release from the pan easier when it is nicely seared and ready to be flipped. After the chicken is done, set it aside on a plate.
- To the skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil, add the onions, bell pepper, and saute for about 4-5 minutes; stir very frequently to ensure even cooking.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir constantly.
- Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to deglaze the pan, noting they will bubble up and steam. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the heavy cream, Parmesan, and heat over medium heat for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese, and thicken the sauce a bit; stir nearly constantly.
- Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine and warm through.
- Add the cooked chicken back in, and flip and toss it around in the toss to coat it evenly. Taste the sauce and make any necessary seasoning adjustments such as more salt, pepper, more lemon juice, etc. Seasoning Tip – If the sauce tastes at all flat or boring, it likely needs more salt so don't be afraid to add it.
- Optionally (but recommended) garnish with fresh parsley (or your favorite fresh herbs) and serve.
- Storage – Chicken will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high, or as desired. I don't recommend freezing this recipe because cream sauce can be unpredictable in how it will survive the freezing/thawing/reheating process.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Everything chicken recipe looks delicious scrumptious absolutely delightful to make probably as well taste better next day leftovers if there by chance are any left ti savor…..
Thank you so much and glad that it was scrumptious!
This is a great dish! It was easy to prepare, and served ovet pasta it was delicious. The sauce is rich and creamy, and the lemon juice makes is shine. I used frozen artichokes, and they pick up the flavors of the sauce, which I think would not happen with oil marinated hearts of artichoke. A definite addition ot our dinner menus.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Kenneth, and for making it the very day I posted the recipe! Love it when this happens at times! And I agree with your assessment about frozen vs. oil packed artichokes and that the former pick up and absorb the flavor of the sauce better than would the later.