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Lemon Butter Chicken with Tarragon

This easy skillet Lemon Butter Chicken with Tarragon recipe comes together in no time flat. You can serve it with rice pilaf, potatoes or pasta for a 30 minute meal that brings restaurant quality flavors to the table.

Lemon Butter Chicken With Tarragon

Easy Lemon Butter Chicken with Tarragon Recipe

The flavor of lemon pairs so well with chicken. It’s one of those flavor combos of which I never grow tired. The flour coating is seasoned with lemon pepper which gives a real boost to the lemon in this dish. It’s dredged in a light coating and not a heavy breading you might associate with fried chicken. Serve this lemon butter chicken with tarragon with a side of teriyaki rice pilaf with mushrooms and peas or grilled garlic rosemary smashed potatoes.  So many choices, you can’t go wrong. How to make Lemon Butter Chicken with Tarragon: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

  • Chicken – Place the chicken cutlets between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound to 1/2 inch thickness.
  • Coating – On a plate whisk together the all-purpose flour, lemon pepper, garlic salt and onion powder.
  • Dredge – Coat the chicken pieces with the seasoned flour.
  • Heat Oil – Heat butter and a couple of drizzles of olive oil in a large skillet.
  • Cook – Fry the chicken in batches until golden. Remove to a platter.
  • Lemon – Place the lemon slices in the pan and brown on both sides. Remove from the pan.
  • Sauce – Add the remaining butter, chicken broth, lemon juice and chopped tarragon to the pan to deglaze. Scrap any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Allow to simmer and reduce slightly.
  • Combine – Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the juices on top. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped tarragon.
  • Serve immediately over rice pilaf or pasta.
Lemon Butter Chicken With Tarragon

How to Make the Best Lemon Butter Chicken with Tarragon Recipe

I love serving restaurant quality meals at my own kitchen table.  Spending less money makes this frugal girl happy, too. This skillet chicken is so easy and packs a lemon laced punch of flavor that comes together in less than 30 minutes for an easy weeknight meal. It’s tasty enough for company, too.

  • Ingredients you’ll need to make Lemon Butter Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh lemon juice and fresh tarragon, lemon slices, butter, all purpose flour, lemon pepper, garlic salt, onion powder and chicken stock or broth. You could also use white wine in place of chicken stock.
  • Kitchen tools you’ll need: A large 12 inch skillet, a meat mallet with a smooth side, sharp knife and cutting board, measuring cups and spoons.
  • The purpose of pounding the chicken breasts is to make the chicken pieces the same thickness. This will allow the chicken to cook evenly. Use the smooth side of the meat mallet, there’s no need to tenderize the chicken simply pound it to even thickness.
  • Dishes to serve with Lemon Butter Chicken: While you really can’t go wrong, you can serve this chicken with a side of Scalloped Potatoes and Garlic Parmesan Roasted Vegetables. If you’d like to serve it with pasta a big batch of Fettuccine Alfredo and a Wedge Salad with homemade bleu cheese dressing will do the trick.
  • Store leftover Lemon Butter Chicken chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in single servings in the microwave or on a sheet pan in a 375°F oven for 5 minutes.
Lemon Butter Chicken With Tarragon

More Easy Chicken Recipes to Make

Whether you’re looking for Southern style chicken, barbecue chicken, chicken tacos or casseroles, I’ve got you covered! More easy chicken recipes you may like to try:

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Lemon Butter Chicken With Tarragon

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Chicken, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Southern
Keyword: chicken-breast-recipes, easy-chicken-recipes, lemon-butter-chicken
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 406kcal
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • 6 6 oz chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp lemon pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 large lemon sliced
  • 4 Tbsp butter divided
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup chicken stock
  • 2 Tbsp fresh tarragon

Instructions

  • Place the chicken cutlets between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound to 1/2 inch thickness.
  • On a plate whisk together the all-purpose flour, lemon pepper, garlic salt and onion powder. Coat the chicken pieces with the seasoned flour.
  • Heat 1 Tbsp of butter and a couple of drizzles of olive oil in a large skillet. Fry the chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes per side until golden. Remove to a platter. Repeat 1 Tbsp butter and a couple of drizzles of olive oil for the second batch.
  • Place the lemon slices in the pan and brown on both sides. Remove from the pan.
  • Add the remaining 2 Tbsp butter, chicken broth, lemon juice and chopped tarragon to the pan to deglaze. Scrap any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Allow to simmer and reduce slightly.
  • Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the juices on top. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped tarragon.
  • Serve immediately over rice pilaf or pasta, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 165mg | Sodium: 602mg | Potassium: 573mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

16 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this recipe tonight. So easy and absolutely delicious and moist. We all loved it and the chicken dish will be on our table quite a bit.

    1. Great question! I’ve never done so but, I’m intrigued. I think it could be.Perhaps wait and add the fresh herbs before serving it.I haven’t tested it so, if you give it a try come back and let us know.

  2. Made this wonderful chicken for dinner tonight (I live in Switzerland, it’s already 7.30 pm) with your Grilled Garlic Rosemary Smashed Potatoes and it was sooooo delicious! 🙂

    Thank you for all those wonderful recipes! I love to cook them!

    1. Wow,I should have come to Switzerland to have dinner with you! Thanks so much for visiting, I’m delighted you’re finding some dishes to enjoy.

  3. Re: storing recipes

    I use Pocket (an app from iTunes) to store recipes and find it helpful as it can be searched and tagged. It’s on my computer, iPad, and iPhone. Hope this helps Sandra.

  4. Thanks for answering me always. Now I have another question. I am still trying to figure out what the best software was for storing my recipes. Some of the ones I used have closed so its either printing or saving to hard drive but no organization. Please help me find a good site to put my recipes on. Probably my own program would be better. You should invent one and make a killing as no one seems to have one. Can’t wait to hear back from you.

    Love your recipes. Sandy

    1. Hi Sandy! I know this is an ongoing challenge for readers. Since Ziplist went offline I’m not sure I have an answer for you. I will keep it in mind. In the mean time, Pinterest or Yummly are great reference tools. And, I’m busy working on my cookbook set for release later in 2016. Thanks for stopping by!

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