Lemon butter chicken with cream sauce is an easy and tasty dish that is cooked on the stovetop and then baked in the oven in one pan. Chicken thighs are cooked in a flavorful lemon and garlic cream sauce for a simple and delicious meal.
I’m all about one pan dinners, not only does it mean less clear up time, but I find the flavors really develop when everything is cooked together, and his dish is no different! Get ready for a simple to make dinner that will be a real hit with everyone!
Table of Contents
How to make Lemon Butter Chicken with Cream Sauce
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Place chicken thighs in a bowl and add salt and lemon pepper. Toss to combine. Set aside.
- Heat a medium/large skillet (oven safe) over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and allow to melt, making sure the entire base of the skillet is coated.
- Add the chicken, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and sear other side. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Return skillet to the heat and add additional 1 tablespoon butter. Allow to melt, stirring and deglazing the pan.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken broth, heavy cream, parmesan, lemon juice, and thyme. Stir to fully combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
- Allow sauce to thicken for 5 minutes and then stir in spinach leaves.
- Stir to wilt leaves slightly but not fully.
- Add chicken back to skillet and bake the entire pan in the oven for 25 minutes or until internal chicken temperature reaches 165F.
- Serve and enjoy the lemon butter chicken!
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
Serving Ideas
This chicken makes for a great dinner, and it’s really versatile so you can serve it up with your favorite sides! Pasta and rice make great choices, or you can serve it alongside mashed or roasted potatoes and sautĂ©ed veggies.
Creamy Lemon butter chicken thighs
For this recipe, I went with chicken thighs rather than breast, and the chicken thighs have bone in and skin on. Chicken thighs are more flavorful than breast meat and work wonderfully well in this recipe.
Keeping the bone in helps the chicken to stay succulent, and after baking in the oven, the skin is deliciously crispy.
Baked Lemon Butter Chicken
The searing of the lemon butter chicken is done in the skillet on the stovetop to help get the skin nice and crispy. Once the sauce is made, the whole dish goes into the oven to be baked.
While the chicken is in the oven, you can get on with preparing your sides, whether that be rice, pasta or veggies.
Bone-in Chicken Thighs
Use bone in, skin on chicken thighs. This will result in the most flavorful and juicy chicken possible!
Top Recipe Tips
- Use organic chicken not raised on antibiotics.
- Remember to pre-heat your oven.
- If you have any leftovers, keep covered in the fridge for a cold chicken salad the next day!
Be sure to check out these other skillet chicken dinners!
- Chicken Piccata
- Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
- White Wine Chicken
- Stuffed Chicken
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Pineapple Chicken
- Chicken Marsala
- Dijon Mustard Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
If you have tried this Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Lemon Butter Chicken (Creamy)
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 3 tablespoons salted butter divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced. or 1.5 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves plus more for garnish
- 5 ounces baby spinach one bag
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Place chicken thighs in a bowl and add salt and lemon pepper. Toss to combine. Set aside.
- Heat a medium/large skillet (oven safover medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and allow to melt, making sure the entire base of the skillet is coated.
- Add the chicken, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and sear other side. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Return skillet to the heat and add additional 1 tablespoon butter. Allow to melt, stirring and deglazing the pan.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken broth, heavy cream, parmesan, lemon juice, and thyme. Stir to fully combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
- Allow sauce to thicken for 5 minutes and then stir in spinach leaves.
- Stir to wilt leaves slightly but not fully.
- Add chicken back to skillet and bake the entire pan in the oven for 25 minutes or until internal chicken temperature reaches 165F.
- Serve over rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, or alone. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh thyme. Enjoy!
KUMI VERDIER says
I accidentally thawed drums instead of thighs, but it worked fine, I will do thighs next time. The recipe was excellent, I put too much broth in so I did have to add a little corn starch to thicken it, but was my fault but did make a gravy so I was not unhappy 🙂
Becky Hardin says
That still sounds delicious! I’m glad it worked out and you loved it so much!
Olga says
I made the recipe and I and my family loved it! My daughter said , she never rated anything this good
I don’t cook and this was soo easy to make and delicious . I will definitely make it again
Thank you
Becky Hardin says
Yay! Happy to hear that, Olga!
Monica Dyer says
This was absolutely delicious!!!! I made quinoa to go with it and it was gone in an hour. Thank you so much for this recipe
Becky Hardin says
I love the addition!
Angela Voss says
I was looking forward to this dish but the sauce never thickened. I did double it, can you tell me what I’ll need to do next time to get the sauce to thicken? (smells fantastic)
Becky Hardin says
You will want to make sure to bring it to a boil and after let it thicken for at least five minutes!
Pamela Bierman says
Can you use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Becky Hardin says
You can definitely give it a shot!
Nicole M. says
My family loves this recipe, mostly me! Is it okay to use a baking dish in place of the skillet and if so is there a difference in oven heat and bake time?
Becky Hardin says
I personally haven’t done it like this. Just make sure it’s cooked all the way through!
Natalie Steward says
This is so delicious!!!! I roasted spaghetti squash to use instead of pasta…it was truly a hit.
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Natalie!
Karen says
I made this for dinner tonight. It was absolutely delicious. ,
My husband was worried about it tasting to “lemony” but was very surprised it wasn’t. Will definitely make this again.
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for stopping by, Karen!
Mia@MiaTheReader says
My whole family of six loved this dish, including my picky eaters! Next time I will double it so we can have some leftovers. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for sharing, Mia!!
Denise says
This recipe is so good and easy to make. I made it awhile back, my husband went back for seconds. I told my sister about it( she was having our brother and his wife for dinner) they all loved it. Its a keeper
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for sharing, Denise!