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!
5 Ingredient Lemon Chicken with Asparagus
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.
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We LOVE simple and easy recipes, and this one is certainly that, with amazing flavoring. And the asparagus just tops the entire meal off. Love it!
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
- Ingredients for Lemon Chicken
- Watch How to Make Lemon Chicken
- Grab Your Pan and Let’s Make Lemon Chicken
- Let’s Chat Lemon Butter Sauce
- Lemon Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.)
- Sauté everything in this cast iron skillet (affiliate link). Easy.
- 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: 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.
Watch How To Make This Chicken
5 Ingredient Lemon Chicken with Asparagus
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 (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
- 1–2 cups chopped asparagus
- 2 lemons, sliced
- 2 tablespoons honey + 2 tablespoons butter (optional, see FAQ notes)
- parsley for topping (optional)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- Assembly: Layer all the ingredients back into the skillet – asparagus, chicken, and lemon slices on top.
Equipment
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- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sauté
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: lemon chicken, chicken with asparagus, chicken recipe
More 5 Ingredient Meals To Love
- 5 Ingredient Spicy Pork (a fancy-feeling meal that comes together in a snap)
- Homemade Cauliflower Gnocchi (little nuggets of pillowy goodness)
- 3 Ingredient Creamy Tomato Shells (so velvety and nutritious!)
- Life-Changing Crispy Fried Pizzas (but for real, LIFE-CHANGING)
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our must-have lemon recipes page. Check it out!
Filed Under: 5 Ingredients All Recipes Dairy-Free Dinner Healthy Lemon Main Dishes Meat and Chicken Quick and Easy Spring
August 12, 2021
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Just wanted to say this recipe was delicious. I made a couple changes out of necessity but I wanted to share them. I had mushrooms I needed to use so I sautéd them with the asparagus; worked fine. Also, I only had one lemon and I didn’t want to miss out on the lemon flavor so I zested it and then sliced it. I added the zest when I cooked the asparagus. I think it all worked out well. My husband was practically licking his plate. Will definitely be making it on rotation
Delicious!! Made it with slight modifications: I cut the chicken into bite-size pieces, and I did not saute lemon slices. Instead, I zested some lemon into the honey butter sauce. I added in some baby bok choy stems with the asparagus, because I some to use up, and it worked really well. Served with farro cooked in veggie broth. Will definitely be making it again.
Very easy and flavorful. I would recommend frying the lemons after removing the chicken and then deglaze the pan with a little water to steam the asparagus in the delicious au jus. I then removed the asparagus and sautéed several handfuls of spinach/super greens in the remaining sauce. Plated the chicken, lemons and asparagus on top of the sautéed greens. Delicious and beautiful.
Made this last night. Delicious!
I made this for dinner this evening. Oh. My. Goodness! It’s so good! I’ll definitely be making it again and again. It’s so good that I regret not inviting friends over!
Looks delicious going to try tonight
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!
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?
what do you do with the honey????????????
You can make a honey butter sauce to go over the top! Notes on this can be found in the FAQ section.
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.
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.
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!
Just made this tonight and it was delish,
Thank you
😊
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
Hi, Mary! We haven’t tried scaling this recipe for 30 people and we don’t know, just with how many chicken breasts can fit in a pan and how this recipe works, if this one would be a good fit to feed a crowd. A different Pinch of Yum recipe we think would work better is our Sheet Pan Chicken Pitas. Check out that recipe here: https://pinchofyum.com/sheet-pan-chicken-pitas
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.
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.
We love hearing this, Jim! So glad the recipe was a hit!
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!
Glad to hear it’s been a hit with your family, Allison! Thanks so much for the comment!
This is absolutely scrumptious and so easy! 5-ingredient recipes make cooking so much simpler. Thanks you!
Would love to try for dinner tonight
Loved it! Even my very picky husband approved. Thanks!
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.
I love this recipe! This has become a regular in my house! Thank you!
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. 😀
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!!
This is one of my favorite chicken recipes! SO easy to make and SO yummy!
Did I miss it?
Where does the honey come in?
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
Hi Ansje! Check the FAQs above the recipe card for information on how to use the honey in this recipe!
Lemon chicken with asparagus was easy and excellent.