Spinach Lemon Butter Chicken (Print Version)

Tender chicken in silky lemon butter sauce over wilted spinach

# What You'll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5.3 oz each), pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
02 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
03 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
04 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend for dredging

→ Spinach

05 - 14 oz fresh baby spinach
06 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
07 - 1 clove garlic, minced
08 - Pinch of salt

→ Lemon Butter Sauce

09 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
10 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
11 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
12 - Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
13 - 2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
14 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, optional
15 - 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained, optional
16 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
17 - 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish
18 - Lemon slices for serving, optional

# How to Make It:

01 - Pat chicken cutlets dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge each piece in flour, shaking off excess.
02 - Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer, working in batches if necessary. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
03 - Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pan. Add minced garlic and sauté 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in chicken broth, lemon juice, and zest, scraping up browned bits from the bottom. Stir in Dijon mustard and capers if using. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until slightly reduced.
04 - Return chicken to the skillet, turning to coat in the sauce. Simmer gently 2 minutes until heated through.
05 - Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a separate large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add spinach and a pinch of salt, sautéing 1 to 2 minutes just until wilted. Remove from heat.
06 - Arrange wilted spinach on plates. Top with chicken cutlets and spoon lemon butter sauce over. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • The whole thing comes together in under forty minutes, which means you can actually enjoy your dinner instead of collapsing into a chair at nine o'clock.
  • That lemon butter sauce is basically liquid gold—tangy, silky, and it convinces everyone at the table that you're a better cook than you actually are.
  • The spinach soaks up all those pan juices, turning into something tender and elegant that somehow feels like both comfort food and something from a restaurant kitchen.
02 -
  • Don't skip the pounding step—I learned this the hard way when I tried to save time and ended up with chicken that cooked unevenly, with dry edges and a still-slightly-cool center.
  • The moment you see the chicken turn golden is the moment to stop cooking it—it'll keep cooking residually in the hot pan, and overcooked chicken is the one thing a beautiful sauce can't save.
03 -
  • Room temperature chicken cooks more evenly than cold chicken straight from the fridge, so pull it out ten minutes before you start cooking.
  • Save a quarter cup of the sauce after serving to drizzle over leftovers the next day—it transforms even microwaved chicken back into something bright and worth eating.
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