I must confess: I’m not a huge fan of baked chicken breasts. I find that a lot of the time it’s hard to escape the dreaded dryness we all try to avoid. As a child and teen, I really wouldn’t eat baked chicken breasts, and I even thought I didn’t like chicken. I would have probably stayed that way forever, but then I moved in with my partner and it all changed.
He absolutely loves chicken, but doesn’t cook all that much, so here we are, almost 5 years later, making all kinds of recipes! I just had to find what worked for me, and you know what? This is it. Try out this Baked Chicken in Lemon Dill Sauce and see what I mean. Creamy sauce with the bite of garlic, zip of lemon, and earthiness of fresh dill. This may look complicated but it’s actually very easy to make and it takes less than an hour to get on the table.
Ingredients
- Chicken
- Butter
- Honey
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Corn starch
- 1/2 & 1/2
- Lemon
- Dill
- Seasonings
. Although it may be tempting to use part of the bird other than the breasts, I wouldn’t stray. The sauce for this dish is very fatty, as are other cuts of chicken, so I’d stick to the breasts to balance out the fat vs. protein content of this meal.
. I used 1/2 & 1/2 for this recipe, but whole milk would work too. The consistency would be a bit thinner, so if you make the swap I recommend using 3/4 cup instead of the entire 1 cup allotted. This is a good idea for anyone looking to consume less fat.
How to Make this Chicken
To start, preheat the oven to 375°. I used a large cast iron for this dish since it can be used for the stovetop or oven, but if you don’t have one just work with what you’ve got. In the pan, heat the butter, honey, and Italian seasoning on medium high heat. Once it’s melted and bubbling a bit, place your breasts in the pan over the sauce so they can brown. The point isn’t to cook them, it’s to give them a nice color and texture on the surface. Make sure to brown both sides, then remove the breasts from the pan and set them aside.
From there, all you have to do is add the remaining ingredients to the pan, stirring or, preferably, whisking it all together. Mix it up until it’s consistent, then taste and assess the viscosity. If it’s too thin, add a tbsp of corn starch and try again. If it’s too thick, add a dash of milk or 1/2 & 1/2 and stir. Remember that once it’s at a more edible temperature, it will thicken slightly. Once you’ve got you sauce right where you want it, place the chicken breasts back in the pan, cover it all with foil, and bake it for 15-20 minutes.
What to Pair this With
This dish is fairly heavy, so I’d serve it alongside a nice and simple salad and perhaps a few crispy potato wedges to sop up the extra sauce you’ll have. You could also bake or steam some heftier veggies like parsnips, brussel sprouts, and radishes. They would pair well with the sauce and would add in some color variation on the plate.
Baked Chicken in Lemon Dill Sauce
Equipment
- Cast Iron Pan
Ingredients
- 2 breasts chicken
- 3 tbsp butter, salted
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or shredded into a paste
- 1/3 cup chicken broth, low sodium preferred
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 cup 1/2 & 1/2, whole milk can be used as a substitute
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp thyme, chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- In a large cast iron pan heat the butter, honey, and Italian seasoning.
- Once melted, turn the heat up slightly and place chicken breasts in the pan to brown. After a few minutes browning on one side, turn over to brown the other.
- Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add all the remaining ingredients to the cast iron pan and heat through, stirring.
- Once the sauce is hot and mixed well, place the chicken back in the pan, cover with foil, and bake 15-20 minutes in the pan.
Notes
- Macronutrients: 19g carb, 35.5g fat, 30g protein.
- To bring the fat content down on this meal, go for milk instead of 1/2 & 1/2.
- If you don't have a cast iron, do your cooking in your best frying pan and then transfer to to bake in a 9x9 casserole dish.
- Browning chicken adds texture and visual appeal, but be careful not to cook it too long.
2 thoughts on “Baked Chicken in Lemon Dill Sauce”
I loved this recipe! It was quick, easy, and produced very few dishes which is big for me. I paired mine with some garlic broccoli and it mixed with the sauce really well! I really like the lemon flavor so next time I will add more lemon. Overall, I thought it was delicious!
I’m so glad you liked it! The pairing of the broccoli sounds delicious. Thank you for taking the time to review this dish!