Name: Chicken Limone (Lemon Chicken)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast; 1 egg; 2 teaspoons water; 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 3 tablespoons butter (divided); 2 whole lemons; 4 cloves garlic (minced); 2 small shallots (thinly sliced); 1/2 cup chicken stock; kosher salt (to taste); fresh ground black pepper (to taste); 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Jump to Recipe

Chicken Limone is a delicious Italian lemon chicken recipe. This simple weeknight meal is full of fresh lemon flavor. Serve it over a bed of pasta for a bright and delicious meal your whole family will love.

A white plate on a marble background. The plate contains a chicken breast with two lemon slices on top, with a side of fettucine and arugula. Two forks sit to the side of the plate, and a pan with more chicken limone is in the corner.

This chicken limone recipe was a huge win at my house today! Called pollo al limone in Italian, this is a simple lemon butter chicken recipe that is perfect for even a beginner cook. Thin chicken cutlets are coated in flour and fried in butter and olive oil. The breaded chicken is topped with a lemon butter pan sauce that is easy and delicious. Full of bright flavors and made with super simple ingredients, this easy recipe is perfect any day of the week.

Serve this popular chicken dish over a bed of cooked pasta for a cozy weeknight meal. Or try a side of cauliflower rice and green beans for a lower carb option. This chicken would be perfect with lemon garlic orzo and an arugula caesar salad on the side.

Can’t get enough easy chicken recipes? Try creamy sun dried tomato pesto chicken or inside out chicken cordon bleu!

What is chicken limone?

Called pollo al limone in Italian, this is a simple lemon butter chicken recipe that is perfect for even a beginner cook! Thin chicken cutlets are fried in butter and olive oil and served with a simple lemon butter sauce. Chicken limone is very similar to chicken piccata. Both are Italian chicken cutlets served in lemon butter sauce. The main difference is that chicken piccata includes capers.

Ingredients

For this simple lemon chicken recipe, you will need the following ingredients (exact measurements are in the recipe card below):

Chicken breast cutlets: Your chicken breast cutlets should be about 1/4 inch thick. You can cut a full size chicken breast into cutlets yourself, or you can buy them pre-cut. You could also substitute chicken tenders in this recipe.
Egg
All purpose flour
Salted butter
Olive oil
Shallot: You could substitute leek or sweet white onion.
Fresh garlic cloves: Because this recipe is so simple with so few ingredients, I recommend fresh garlic here (rather than garlic powder). It adds a lot of flavor!
Chicken broth: This is used to deglaze the pan and add some body to the sauce. You could substitute white wine.
Fresh lemons: The lemons are the star of the show in this dish! Be sure to use fresh lemon juice, NOT bottled lemon juice.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh herbs: I garnished my chicken with fresh thyme but you could substitute fresh chopped parsley.

Instructions

Step One: Cut the chicken breasts into 1/4 inch thick chicken cutlets. Use a rolling pin or meat mallet if necessary to make sure the cutlets are an even thickness. Follow this great tutorial if you haven’t done this before!

Step Two: Pat the chicken cutlets dry with a paper towel. Beat the egg with a teaspoon or two of water, and add it to a shallow bowl or plate. Add the flour to a separate shallow bowl or plate. Dip each cutlet into the egg mixture, letting any excess egg drip off. Then coat each cutlet with flour and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.

A grey cutting board holding chicken breasts coated in flour. Bowls of salt, pepper and lemon are to the side.

Step Three: Put a large skillet on the stove top over medium heat. Add the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter to the skillet. When the oil is warm, add the chicken cutlets. Fry the chicken cutlets for about 3-5 minutes per side, until they have a nice golden brown crust and have reached a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and keep them warm while you make the sauce.

Note: Make sure the cutlets are in a single layer and not overlapping. You may need to fry them in two batches depending on the size of your frying pan.

A large white skillet on a marble background. The skillet holds chicken cutlets being fried in oil.

Step Four: Cut one lemon into thin slices. Add the lemon slices to the pan and let them cook for 1-2 minutes per side, to get a little bit of color and let out a little juice. Remove the lemon slices and set aside.

A large white skillet on a marble background. The skillet holds lemon slices being fried in oil.

Step Five: Add the sliced shallot and minced garlic to the pan and saute for a minute or two. Add the chicken stock and deglaze the pan, scraping any brown bits off the bottom. Juice the remaining lemon, and add 1/4 cup of the fresh lemon juice to the pan. Allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes to reduce. When the sauce is slightly thickened, add the final two tablespoons of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

A large white skillet on a marble background. The skillet holds a yellow lemon butter sauce with two pats of butter melting into the sauce.

Step Six: When the butter is melted, return the chicken to the pan. Spoon sauce over the chicken cutlets, and top each pieces of chicken with the lemon slices and herbs. Serve immediately!

A large white skillet on a marble background. The skillet holds 4 chicken cutlets topped with lemon slices and a sprig of thyme.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. To reheat chicken, microwave it in short bursts on 50% power until warm. Microwaving it slowly will help make sure you don’t overcook it upon reheating!