Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make: With only 20 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of cook time, dinner can be ready in no time! Whip this up on busy weeknights or special occasions.
Flavorful: The simple infusion of butter, lemon, and shallots with pan-seared chicken is simply to die for. You will be licking up the sauce; it’s that good!
Versatile: This chicken is so flavorful and simple that it goes with so many things. Try it with my garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and homemade bread twists.
Ingredients Needed For Rosemary Chicken
This lemon rosemary chicken recipe is easy to prepare and uses simple ingredients that won’t break the bank. The taste of this amazing dish will feel like it costs way more! The exact measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Chicken
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: The perfect protein to absorb all of the incredible flavor.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Helps cook the shallots and sear the chicken.
- Clarified Butter or Ghee: Adds an incredibly rich flavor. If you don’t have it or don’t have access to it, you can use olive oil instead.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Provides a bright citrus note that perfectly goes well with the chicken.
- Fresh Rosemary: Gives the dish a fresh, earthy, and slightly piney flavor. If you don’t have fresh, you can use dried instead. Use one tablespoon in place of the fresh.
- Salt and Pepper: To taste.
Sauce
- Shallots: Adds a mild, slightly sweet, savory flavor to the rosemary chicken sauce.
- White Grape Juice or Dry White Wine: Add acidity that helps cut the rich butter sauce and savory flavors.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Brighten the sauce with a fresh citrus flavor.
- Chilled Unsalted Butter: Make sure the butter is chilled. If it is not, the sauce won’t thicken properly.
- Salt and Pepper: To taste.
- Fresh Parsley: For garnish.
Skillet Rosemary Chicken Recipe
You will love how quickly and easily this recipe comes together. I can even have my older kids help make it! They love getting their hands dirty by tenderizing the chicken. Teenage rage, am I right?
- Tenderize: Slightly flatten the chicken breasts so they are of similar thickness. Add them to a medium bowl and toss with three tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Marinate: Add the chicken breasts to a medium bowl. Toss with three tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Cook: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and then add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and clarified butter. Add the chicken breasts to the pan and then cook for 4-5 minutes on both sides. Cook until the center of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Reduce: Add the grape juice (or wine) and shallots to a medium saucepan or skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid is reduced by at least half.
- Melt: Add the butter and lemon juice to the pan and let the butter partially melt.
- Thicken: Once partially melted, turn off the heat and whisk it quickly to melt the remaining butter. This will thicken the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon some melted butter sauce over the chicken, reserving the rest to serve with your side.
Lemon Rosemary Chicken Tips and Variations
If you’re like me, then you like to cook with what you have available. This recipe is great because you can use what you have on hand and it still tastes amazing!
- Rosemary: This recipe is best with fresh rosemary, but you can use dried if that’s all you have. Use 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary in place of the ⅓ cup of fresh that is called for in the recipe. Dried rosemary has a much stronger flavor.
- Chicken: You can use any boneless cut of chicken for this recipe; however, make sure the chicken is pounded or cut to a similar size and thickness to help it cook evenly.
- Clarified Butter: You may skip clarified butter and just use olive oil. You will want to cook the chicken a little longer over lower heat. Olive oil has a lower smoking temperature than clarified butter or ghee. Those have had the milk solids removed from them. If you can use clarified butter, I highly recommend it because of the delicious flavor it adds!
- Grape Juice or Wine: I love the sweetness white grape juice gives this recipe. You can use a dry white wine such as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, or even champagne instead.
- Chilled Butter: Make sure the butter is chilled when it is added to the sauce. Whipping the chilled butter into the reduced juice is what thickens it!
- Serve With: I prefer to serve rosemary chicken with white rice. It’s delicious on its own, or with potatoes, or even quinoa or noodles.
How to Store Chicken Leftovers
Store leftover rosemary chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Reheat Instructions:
- Reheat the sauce 10-15 seconds at a time in a microwave, stirring quickly in between. Alternatively, you can reheat it on the stove over very low heat while stirring, until all the butter is melted.
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