You know I’ve always been about easy, delicious yet impressive meals! The light and fresh yet indulgent flavors of this creamy lemon garlic chicken make it perfect for any meal. You will impress the whole family but only spend 35-40 minutes making this flavor-packed dinner.
The beauty of this dish is the sauce. It’s a perfect balance of fresh citrus flavor and rich creamy texture. This sauce comes together within minutes, yet it is life changing if I do say so myself. And the best part, it is so versatile! Of course it pairs perfectly with chicken, but you can substitute with pork, turkey or fish.
As you already know, I am a chicken thighs kind of girl. The perfectly seared chicken thighs paired with the lemony garlic sauce is a match made in heaven. I perfer to use bone-in chicken thighs, but this is completely up to you! You can choose to use boneless, skinless thighs or breasts. The choice is all yours!
How to serve our Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs:
To serve, I really enjoy adding some crunchy lightly seasoned and seared vegetable and another good carb option like cauliflower rice or sweet potatoes.
I am a huge fan of broccolini. Although it’s available all year round, there is something about broccolini that screams spring! It’s earthy flavor add freshness to any dish. And that is definitely the case with here! Pairing the broccolini with this creamy lemon garlic chicken is the combination you’ve been waiting for! Try adding another source of good carbs like sweet potatoes or squash to complete the meal.
Now, this recipe is Keto and Whole30 friendly. If you’re on the Keto diet, you can definitely use heavy cream instead of nut milk. But using nut milk is a great way to keep this recipe both Keto and Whole30 friendly.
Check out these recipes if you need more inspiration for delicious sides.
Let’s get cooking
Let’s get cooking
CREAMY LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN
Seared chicken thighs nestled in a rich and creamy lemon garlic sauce. It’s the perfect dinner to impress the whole family!
Seared chicken thighs nestled in a rich and creamy lemon garlic sauce. It’s the perfect dinner to impress the whole family!
Prep Time:5 mins
Cook Time:25 mins
Total Time:30 mins
Yields:4 SERVES
1X
2X
3X
Ingredients
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1
lb. bone-in chicken thighs -about 4-5 thighs (you can use boneless, skinless thighs or breasts)
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salt and pepper
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smoked paprika
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2
tbsp. Avocado oil or grass-fed ghee
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4
garlic cloves
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1
tsp. arrowroot starch
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1/2
a cup chicken bone broth
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2
tbsp. lemon juice
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1/2
cup almond milk or heavy cream
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1
tsp. Italian seasoning
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lemon slices
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fresh parsley or basil to garnish
Instructions
- To begin, pat the chicken thighs dry and season them with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika on both sides.
- Heat the avocado oil or ghee in a cast iron or any oven-safe skillet and add the chicken (skin side down). Sear the chicken for ~5 minutes over medium-high heat until it develops a brown crispy skin. Flip the chicken and continue to cook them for another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set them aside.
- Now, lower the heat to medium and add the garlic to the same pan. Continuously stir the garlic until its fragrant (about a minute or 2). Add the arrowroot starch to the pan and stir. Cook the arrowroot for about a minute until it’s well incorporated with the garlic. Now, to deglaze the pan, pour in the bone broth and stir until the mixture is well combined. Make sure you scrap all the bits and pieces from the bottom of the pan.
- Now use a whisk and slowly add the lemon juice until it is well combined with the sauce. Then do the same thing with the heavy cream or milk. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes (while continuously stirring) and season it with the Italian seasoning and salt if necessary.
- Now, set the oven to broil.
- Return the chicken and their juices to the sauce and add the lemon slices on top. Transfer the skillet to the oven and broil for 5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, and garnish the chicken with fresh basil or parsley.
So so so good!! My husband was obsessed and actually licked the plate clean. I did this with 3 chicken breasted over cauliflower mash and some roasted asparagus! Amazingggg 🙂
Love it!
Made this tonight and it was so good!! My chicken thighs weren’t done at the end but maybe they were just big and needed a few minutes longer during the sear.
Thank you, Sarah! And yea larger chicken thighs will definitely need longer cooking times. But I am so happy you enjoyed it!
This was delicious! So easy and flavorful, I will definitely be making this again!
Thank you Janice!
Tried this last night and loved it! That bubbly lemon cream sauce was addicting once it came out of the oven. I think next time I’ll try deboning the chicken thighs ahead of time (leaving the skin on) and upping the garlic.
YES!!! Thank you for sharing Lydia. I love that you can’t go wrong with more garlic.