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Lemon Chicken Scallopini with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce is the weeknight dinner that tastes like a special occasion. Thin, golden cutlets simmer in a bright lemon garlic pan sauce that turns silky and spoonable, perfect over pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.
This chicken scallopini recipe blends two favorites in one skillet. You get the zesty punch of lemon garlic chicken and the comfort of a creamy lemon sauce, so every bite of Lemon Chicken Scallopini is tender, tangy, and totally satisfying.
What Makes This Recipe Work
Thin, evenly pounded cutlets sear fast, stay juicy, and build flavorful browned bits that power the sauce. A quick deglaze with lemon, garlic, and capers balances richness and brightness, so Lemon Chicken Scallopini tastes fresh and comforting in one bite.
One pan keeps the process simple and the sauce silky, especially when you finish with a splash of cream for creamy lemon chicken scallopini. Pantry staples make this chicken scallopini recipe reliable on busy nights, and the sauce clings beautifully to pasta, rice, or potatoes.
What Goes Into Lemon Chicken Scallopini
A few simple staples make Lemon Chicken Scallopini shine with bright citrus and a silky finish. These are the heroes that build flavor fast and keep the sauce creamy.
- Chicken Cutlets: Boneless skinless breasts halved and lightly pounded cook quickly, stay tender, and soak up the lemon garlic sauce.
- Fresh Lemons: Juice (and a little zest if you like) brings clean acidity that lifts every bite and defines this chicken scallopini recipe.
- Garlic: Minced cloves perfume the pan and anchor the sauce with savory depth to balance the cream and citrus.
- Light Cooking Cream: A splash turns the pan juices into that creamy lemon chicken scallopini finish that clings to cutlets and pasta.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Lemon Chicken Scallopini
- Prep And Season: Pat chicken dry, then season both sides with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over each fillet and rub it in.
- Optional Dredge: Place flour in a shallow bowl and dredge each fillet, shaking off the excess. Set the floured chicken aside while you heat the pan.
- Sear The Chicken: Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium high until the butter melts and the pan is hot. Fry chicken 4 to 5 minutes per side until golden and cooked through, then transfer to a warm plate.
- Build The Sauce: Add onion and garlic to the same pan and cook until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low medium, add broth, season with salt and pepper, and simmer about 6 minutes to reduce slightly.
- Make It Creamy: Stir in the light cooking cream and bring to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened. If needed, whisk in the cornstarch slurry and stir until the sauce thickens, then add lemon juice and Italian herbs and simmer 1 more minute.
- Finish And Serve: Return chicken and any juices to the pan and spoon the sauce over the cutlets until coated. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices, then serve Lemon Chicken Scallopini over rice, pasta, steamed vegetables, or zucchini noodles.
Serve it with Bloomin’ Onion Garlic Bread (Pull Apart Bread) for tear-and-share crunch to soak up the lemon garlic cream, Sheet Pan Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli & Green Beans for crisp roasted veg that echo the savory notes, and Avocado Tomato Corn Salad for a cool, juicy finish that brightens the plate.
Recipe FAQ’s
Scallopini refers to very thin slices of meat that cook quickly in a skillet and finish in a pan sauce. In Lemon Chicken Scallopini, the thin cutlets stay tender and soak up the lemon garlic flavors.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts halved and lightly pounded are ideal because they cook fast and evenly. You can trim large pieces into smaller cutlets for consistent results.
Absolutely. Use chicken broth to deglaze the pan and build the sauce. The bright lemon keeps the flavor lively without wine.
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Lemon Chicken Scallopini with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts large, halved horizontally to make 4
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch cracked pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed, juice of half a lemon
- 4 tablespoons flour all purpose or tapioca – optional
For The Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 brown onion medium-sized
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced, or 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1¼ cup chicken broth stock
- 2/3 cup light cooking cream
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice (adjust to your tastes)
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian mixed herbs
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 2 lemon slices or wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Season chicken with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Squeeze the lemon juice of half a lemon over each fillet, rubbing it into each fillet. (The next step is optional): Add the flour to a shallow bowl and dredge each fillet in the flour; shake off excess and set aside.
- Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet or non stick pan over medium-high heat until butter has melted and pan is hot. Fry the chicken until golden on each side, cooked through and no longer pink (about 4-5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your chicken). Transfer onto a warm plate.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan and fry until onion is translucent (about 3 minutes). Reduce heat to low-medium heat, add the broth. Season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook to reduce down slightly (about 6 minutes). Add in the cream and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes until it begins to thicken. (If the sauce is too runny for your liking, add the cornstarch/water mixture into the centre of the pan and mix through fast to combine into the sauce. It will begin to thicken immediately).
- Pour in the lemon juice, allow to simmer gently for a further minute to combine. Stir in the Italian herbs. Add the chicken back into the pan, cover with the sauce and serve over rice, pasta, steamed vegetables or zucchini noodles. Garnish with lemon slices or wedges and parsley.
Notes
*If you don’t have access to Italian dried herbs, use 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the second of your recipes I’ve made this week and WOW. This tastes absolutely incredible! The juicy chicken in the amazing, creamy, lemony, garlic sauce comes together incredibly. I made it with roasted sweet potato chunks and kale, then had the leftovers for lunch today. Beautiful dish…and I have to admit to eating spoonfuls of the sauce from the pan too!
Karina, another winner, winner chicken dinner ??. This was lush. I’ve tried 3 of your recipes this week and they have all been AMAZING. Needed some inspiration and you provided it in bucket loads. Thank you xxx
Tried this recipe last night with just a few modifications…it was AWESOME…so thank you, Karina, for the recipe and inspiration! Instead of seasoning the chicken, I created a brine with the salt, pepper, a few garlic cloves, and lemon juice. I let it sit while I prepped/got out the rest of the ingredients and waited for the pan to heat up. Then, I went on with the recipe until I got to the point of adding the broth…used a cup of the brine with 1/4 cup of water. I still added a bit more lemon juice and some fresh grated Parmesan…OMG! Served with some roasted asparagus…my family ALL enjoyed it and ACTUALLY AGREED ON SOMETHING FOR ONCE!!! 🙂
Made this tonight, it was SO good…and my hard to impress daughter even said it was very good. (I too drank the sauce from a spoon, it was amazing!). Love your site and recipes!
Love love love your recipes-one of the best recipe sites I have seen. However…… I made this last night and I found it totally tasteless. I am wonderibg if you have any suggedtions as to what spices I could add to this to make it more tasty because it’s very pretty looking
I love your recipes Karina!! This one, like so many other recipes I’ve made of yours, is amazing! I made a lemon butter rice to go with it, and steamed broccolli, and poured the sauce over everything. It was fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing all of these amazing recipes!
Thank you very much for sharing with us such a great work ! I’m a very bad cooker and been eating poorly since 1 year because I don’t have any idea what and how to cook. Right now, all i can say that my stomach hurts a lot these days food poisoning, acne, tired, poor eating, junk foods…but after I saw your cooking yummm yummm you opened my appetite again! I would definitley try your recipes ! Thank you!
Made this yesterday exactly as written–we loved it. Served with mashed potatoes and broccoli salad–delish. Love you’re recipes, thank you very much!!!!!
Karina, this looks fabulous. Do you suppose there is a way to do most of this ahead? I’m thinking of having a dinner party, and don’t want to be in the kitchen frying chicken while my guests are present.
Your recipes are great but too convoluted to get directly to the recipe. This o darn hard. Not user friendly.