This is the best Lemon Pepper Chicken you will ever try. It’s lemony, creamy, super flavorful, and a family favorite! Forget about the boring chicken breasts with lemon and pepper. This is a whole different recipe with a crazy good sauce.
If you’ve been around for a while you know me well. I’m all about the sauces. Sauces make everything delicious! And after the huge success of my Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken, Easy Lemon Garlic Chicken, and Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup I got it, you guys love lemons! So why not mix that delicious ingredient with another favorite ingredient: green pepper!
The Ingredients & Replacement Suggestions
Make sure you get the black pepper that comes canned or jarred and in brine. For whatever reason, grocery stores don’t always have it next to the other spices but rather in other places so ask around or get it online. (This is an affiliate link). I do not recommend using any other peppercorns as they will be pretty hard and strong and spicy.
Other than this all ingredients are super simple:
- Chicken Thighs: you can replace them by chicken breasts but I recommend thighs because they are juicier.
- Crème Fraîche: you can easily replace with sour cream or cashew cream to make it dairy-free.
- Lemon: I’ve tried this recipe with lime and it works fine and tastes good. It does taste better with lemon though.
- Parsley: This is optional to begin with, so you can omit if you don’t have any or you can use any other soft fresh herb (cilantro, basil, dill).
- Chicken Broth: any other broth or stock will work but obviously chicken broth is the one that makes the most sense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I serve this dish with?
Since the chicken covers the protein in your meal and the lemon and pepper are pretty flavorful I suggest you serve it with a carb and a vegetable or with a salad that contains some carbs. You can keep it simple with roasted sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus. Or you can make rice or farro and serve a salad with it.
Can I freeze the chicken with the sauce?
Yes, this recipe freezes well. To defrost place it in the fridge overnight and after reheating make sure to whisk the sauce back together.
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil - optional
- 1 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs
- sea salt
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 Tbsp FRESH green peppercorns - see notes
- lemon
- parsley - optional
Instructions
- Preheat a large pan over medium-low heat and once hot add butter and olive oil and pan-fry chicken thighs for 3-5 minutes on one side and then 3-5 minutes on the other. Season with sea salt on both sides in the pan.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm. Add chicken broth to the pan juices and scrape off any burnt bits and pieces. Add crème fraîche and stir until well combined. Once bubbling, reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally. Let simmer and reduce until creamy. Add lemon zest, 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, green peppercorns and try for salt and then add chicken thighs back into the sauce.
- Add to a plate and pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with roasted sweet potato and asparagus or a salad.
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Kornelia Rothhaupt-Messing says
Hello, I made it yesterday, today we had the left-overs! It was delicious, simple to make and the taste was extremely good!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!! Best wishes from Germany!!!
Pilar says
I wonder if I could substitute crème fraîche with greek yogurt?
Lorena Grater says
You can but it won’t be as creamy and rather more liquid.
Kat says
It was so easy and quick to make. It was so delicious. I didn’t have fresh cream or green peppercorn so I used sour cream and capers. I normally don’t like butter and lemon combo (remind me of scampi grease) but this one wasn’t greasy or heavy at all. Thanks for the recipe. xoxo