5 Ingredient Lemon Chicken with Asparagus Recipe - Pinch of Yum
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5 Ingredient Lemon Chicken with Asparagus

117 reviews / 4.8 average

Juicy, pan-fried chicken with peppery lemon flavors and tender bites of asparagus with a honey butter sauce. A bright and fresh 5 ingredient dinner on the table in 20 minutes!

Lemon chicken and asparagus? It’s bright, fresh, healthy, and ready on your table in 20 minutes. Easiest meal of all time, right here, right now.

Let’s talk juicy, delicious, barely-breaded, pan-fried chicken soaked in peppery lemon flavor and served with tender bites of asparagus and honey butter-ish sauce.

Or, let’s not, and just go ahead and start making it for dinner.

Super Simple Ingredients

Shall we count the short, sweet list for this Lemon Chicken together?

👏 CHICKEN

👏 ASPARAGUS

👏 FRESH LEMONS

👏 FLOUR

👏 LEMON PEPPER

And a little bit of butter, and a little bit of salt, but you already have those things I bet, so I’m counting those as freebies.

In This Post: Everything You Need For Lemon Chicken

Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?

Lemon chicken with asparagus in a pan

The Easiest Grocery List

It’s no secret that I love really simple recipes *cheers and applause* and one of my favorite things is making a recipe that doesn’t require a massive trip to the grocery store for 80 million ingredients.

Or should I say massive multiple trips to the grocery store – because without fail, I will go for asparagus and lemons, and come back with peanut butter, oatmeal, almond milk, spinach, a few frozen dinners, chocolate chips, bananas, and yogurt, and I’m putting the groceries away and it’s so great to have all these yummy foods in my house and what will I make with the chocolate chi… OMG I did not get the lemons and asparagus. WHAT and WHY. This is my life.

But when the ingredient list can be managed on one hand – even I can handle that.

Asparagus in a pan
Sauteed lemons in a pan

So yes, this recipe technically has more than 5 ingredients, but the only ones you need to pay attention to are chicken, lemons, asparagus, and a lemon pepper seasoning because let me guess –> you probably already have butter, flour, and salt, you well-stocked pantry person, you.

Grab Your Pan and Let’s Make Lemon Chicken

Now get ready because this is so beautifully and awesomely easy.

  • Coat the chicken. (It gives the chicken that extra something so you get some lemon pepper flavor and the chicken absorbs a little more of the pan sauce.)
  • Serve! The end.

Let’s Chat Lemon Butter Sauce

A beautiful lemony buttery sauce that YOU MADE! Lemons, butter, a sprinkle of lemon pepper seasoning, and a honey drizzle if you want. It’s going to go right on top of those perfectly pan-crisped chicken breasts – or chicken thighs if you want – and bring this dish together.

I’m serious THAT’S ALL. Put a little piece of whole wheat bread, brown rice, or quinoa on that plate if you want a carb buddy, and dig the heck into that fresh, bright, healthy dinner.

Yummy-roo for you.

Lemon chicken with asparagus in a pan with a fork

Lemon Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my lemons taste bitter?

That’s normal for this recipe actually. The lemons are going to be bitter, especially if you really let them caramelize like shown in the picture in this post. With that in mind, you can use them just as a garnish (pretty!), or you can eat them if you like bitter things, or you can try to make them less bitter by boiling them for a few minutes before adding to the pan. I opted for the garnish.

How do I make the honey butter sauce?

For the honey butter sauce, I just melted the butter and honey in the hot pan after caramelizing the lemons and poured it over the chicken. This mixture definitely picked up some of the residual caramelizy-lemon flavor from the pan, so if that isn’t your thing, just melt the butter and honey in a separate pan.

Can I make this gluten-free?

Sure can! We’d recommend using a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour.

How do I get the crispy bits out of the pan?

We got you! Here’s everything you need for cleaning a cast iron skillet.

Print
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Asparagus and chicken with slices of lemon on it.

5 Ingredient Lemon Chicken with Asparagus


  • Author: Pinch of Yum
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 34 (nutrition is for 4 servings) 1x

Description

Juicy, pan-fried chicken with peppery lemon flavors and tender bites of asparagus with a honey butter sauce. A bright and fresh 5 ingredient dinner on the table in 20 minutes!  


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
  • 12 cups chopped asparagus
  • 2 lemons, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons honey + 2 tablespoons butter (optional, see FAQ notes)
  • parsley for topping (optional)

Instructions

  1. Chicken: Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound until each pieces is about a 3/4 of an inch thick. (NOTE: If your chicken breasts are really thick,you can just cut them in half horizontally to make thinner pieces rather than pounding. Works like a charm.) Place the flour and salt and pepper in a shallow dish and gently toss each chicken breast in the dish to coat. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat; add the chicken and sauté for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown, sprinkling each side with the lemon pepper directly in the pan. When the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, transfer to a plate.
  2. Asparagus and Lemons: Add the chopped asparagus to the pan. Sauté for a few minutes until bright green and tender crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Lay the lemon slices flat on the bottom of the pan and cook for a few minutes on each side without stirring so that they caramelize and pick up the browned bits left in the pan from the chicken and butter. (NOTE: adding a tiny pat of butter in with the lemons also helps prevent sticking and promotes browning.) Remove the lemons from the pan and set aside.
  3. Assembly: Layer all the ingredients back into the skillet – asparagus, chicken, and lemon slices on top.

Equipment

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Sauté
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: lemon chicken, chicken with asparagus, chicken recipe

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One More Thing!

This recipe is part of our must-have lemon recipes page. Check it out!

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399 Comments

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I’ve made this recipe a couple of times and my family loves it! With one caveat…we don’t use the honey butter sauce at all *gasp*! I made it the first time and all I could taste was honey lemon cough drops. I couldn’t get past it! Lucky for me the recipe is quicker without it and we still love it! Thank you!

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I loved the fresh lemony taste of the chicken and asparagus. The honey was a surprising and delicious addition.
    Question: where in the recipe do I add the honey?

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Such a simple and delicious recipe. Tweaked it a bit to fit my family’s pallet, added zucchini while sauteing the asparagus and served with a simple arugula salad. This will definitely be on rotation now.

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Where are the instructions to the Honey Butter? Explicitly, if I do a word search for FAQ, there are only 3 finds, well 3 with my use of this comment.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Hi, Dave! No formal recipe for this one. We have some instructions in the FAQs though. We just melted the butter and honey in the hot pan after caramelizing the lemons and poured it over the chicken. Hope this helps!

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I am hosting a “open house”
    Expecting 30 people.
    I plan to have a good table.
    Can this recipe me modified?
    I would ideally like to do ahead sear and finish bake in oven.

    Your thoughts and directions please

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    What an awesome recipe. Very simple but everyone raved about how great it was. Made the honey butter sauce right in the pan and the flavor from everything with the sauce put this over the top.

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    WOW! Easy and excellent.
    My wife is a great cook and I am normaly the kitchen help and cleaning crew. She is really busy with work so it’s all me this week and this one blew her away. She asked me to send it to her and it’s on our “make again” list which is not easy to get on. This meal fed our souls. It’s amazing what good, healthy food can do to refresh and reinvigorate.

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        Omgosh I made this dish about 7yrs ago when my kids were young and it was an absolute hit with them,! I’ve made this dish for my mum and step dad and again it was a hit! My step-dad even said I should teach my mum how to cook chix bcuz it was juicy and hers is usually very dry. Thank you for this quick, easy, delicious, affordable and scrumptious dish!

        1. Pinch of Yum Logo

          Glad to hear it’s been a hit with your family, Allison! Thanks so much for the comment!

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I tried this recipe a really LOT of times and just want to confirm that it’s fantastic. Chicken is soft, juicy and savory with list crust on the outside. Cooked it many times and each time it’s nice. The only thing is to ensure chicken breast is cut into appropriately thin pieces to be cook through well.

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This recipe is one of our new favorites! It was quick to put together and was absolutely delicious! The only change I made was I used fresh French green beans because that’s what I had on hand. I added about 1/4 cup of water after I sautéed the green beans to soften them up. I served it with cheesy garlic bread. Yum!
    My husband says he’d like this meal 3 times a week. 😀

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Just made this and yum, so delicious. My chicken was a little dry but only because I am paranoid of undercooking. The flavor of the asparagus was so good. My kids and hubby liked it and our neighborhood friend had seconds. Definitely a do over. Thank you!!

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This is one of my favorite chicken recipes! SO easy to make and SO yummy!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Hi! I made this recipe and it was so good, however there was only one problem I had. The spice got really burnt in the pan and the chicken and asparagus had somewhat of a burnt flavor to it because of that. I cooked it on medium high and then turn it down to medium halfway through because it was getting burnt so quickly. Any suggestions? thank you so much

    2. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Hi Ansje! Check the FAQs above the recipe card for information on how to use the honey in this recipe!

  12. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hi Lindsay,
    Printing out several of your recipes but the print is gray, which makes it so faint that I cannot read it…Any way that you can change the font to black to I can print it out and make these? The recipes look great and I’d really like to try them.
    Thanks!
    Martie

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Hi Martie! The recipe text should be dark, dark gray, if not black when printed. Perhaps your toner or ink cartridge needs to be changed?

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        I have the same problem. The print is to light you can’t read it. I do not believe it is toner or printer. I have tried it on two different machines.

  13. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This was so amazing! I always get worried cooking chicken that it’ll be dry and taste too healthy but this was amazing-the juiciest most flavorful chicken ever!! The honey butter sauce is a must to cook in the same pan! It really gives it a great flavor.

  14. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Looks great. It would be more helpful to talk about the honey- butter sauce in the directions rather than in the notes.

  15. Pinch of Yum Logo

    this was a great recipe! i haven’t been cooking real dishes for very long and this wasn’t overly challenging, other than the part with the lemons.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      i forgot to mention the asparagus was so great! i don’t normally like asparagus very much but the way it’s cooked in this recipe is amazing. i’m probably gonna make asparagus like this next time we have steak!