Lemon Pepper Chicken - A recipe using only 4 ingredients that yields a crispy, crunchy, delicious lemon pepper chicken. Little effort with maximum flavor results.

up close shot of sliced lemon pepper chicken on a cutting board with a fork, lemons, and parlsey

The Best Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken

This recipe for Lemon Pepper Chicken only has 4 ingredients, comes together super quick and easy, and has a crispy, crunchy crust. It's so easy that it doesn't even quite feel like a "recipe" to me. You guys loved it so much on my Instagram stories that you asked me to share on here so it could be saved for later!

overhead shot of ingredients used to make the recipe

Lemon Pepper Chicken Ingredients

Chicken Breast
Lemon Pepper Marinade
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Panko Breadcrumbs
Avocado Oil Spray (optional)

How to make Lemon Pepper Chicken

(full recipe instructions with measurements and printable card are at the end of this post)

Trim the extra fat from your chicken breasts.
Place the chicken breasts in a container or ziploc style bag.
Add the bottle of marinade.
Marinade anywhere from 15 min to 24 hours. The longer they marinade, the stronger the flavor.
When you're ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a shallow dish (big enough to fit the breasts), add your panko breadcrumbs and lemon pepper seasoning.
Pull each breast from the marinade mixture (don't rinse or shake off the marinade, it is the "glue" for the breading).
Place the breast in the panko mix, covering it completely with breadcrumbs.
Put breaded chicken breasts on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone baking mat (you could also use a casserole style dish).
This is an optional step: spray the tops of the chicken breasts lightly with avocado oil to get them extra crispy!
Bake in the oven until internal temp reaches 165°F. I use thin cut breasts and they are usually done around 25 minutes. Enjoy!

overhead shot of sliced lemon pepper chicken topped with parsley and lemon

Can these be made ahead of time?

You could bake them to completion ahead of time and then freeze them. You could reheat them in the oven or air fryer. I would not recommend reheating them in the microwave. They'll lose their crispy exterior and likely be dry.

Alterations for picky eaters

You can do these in bites instead of whole chicken breast.
For kids or picky eaters that prefer the crispy crunch, be sure to spray with avocado oil and you could even broil for a minute or so at the end to ensure that it's extra crunchy.
Picky eaters who hate the flavor of lemon will likely not enjoy this recipe. Sorry!
One of my picky eaters loves this with ranch so you could also serve with sauces for dipping.

Alterations to lower the calories or WW (formerly known as weight watchers) points

Be sure to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Use a lower point/lower calorie marinade option
You could swap out the type of breadcrumbs, but I wouldn't recommend it.

overhead of sliced lemon pepper chicken with lemons and parsley

Other recipes you might like

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Author: Kara - Sweetly Splendid

Description

Lemon Pepper Chicken - A recipe using only 4 ingredients that yields a crispy, crunchy, delicious lemon pepper chicken. Little effort with maximum flavor results.

Scale

Ingredients

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thin sliced)
12oz bottle lemon pepper marinade (I use Lawry's)
2 cups plain panko breadcrumbs
2-3 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning (depending on how you like it)
avocado oil spray (optional)

Instructions

Trim the extra fat from your chicken breasts.
Place the chicken breasts in a container or ziploc style bag.
Add the bottle of marinade.
Marinade anywhere from 15 min to 24 hours. The longer they marinade, the stronger the flavor.
When you're ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a shallow dish (big enough to fit the breasts), add your panko breadcrumbs and lemon pepper seasoning.
Pull each breast from the marinade mixture (don't rinse or shake off the marinade, it is the "glue" for the breading).
Place the breast in the panko mix, covering it completely with breadcrumbs.
Put breaded chicken breasts on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone baking mat (you could also use a casserole style dish).
This is an optional step: spray the tops of the chicken breasts lightly with avocado oil to get them extra crispy!
Bake in the oven until internal temp reaches 165°F. I use thin cut breasts and they are usually done around 25 minutes. Enjoy!