Lemon Pepper Chicken - A recipe using only 4 ingredients that yields a crispy, crunchy, delicious lemon pepper chicken. Little effort with maximum flavor results.
The Best Lemon Pepper Baked 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!
Baked 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!
Lemon Pepper Chicken Recipe FAQs
Lemon juice adds flavor and acidity to the chicken. It's often assumed that lemon will "tenderize" chicken, but it actually does not.
Lemon can dry out chicken over time. In the same way that lemon works in ceviche with fish, it will begin effecting the protein of the chicken. It will give a similar texture effect that overcooking does.
If you're unable to find lemon pepper seasoning and need to substitute it, I recommend using some freshly squeezed lemon juice, a few dashes of salt, and a couple teaspoons of black pepper.
Lemon pepper seasoning is a combination of dried lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Some variations also add in a small amount of garlic powder and onion powder to their mix.
Lemon pepper is a primarily citrus flavor with a little peppery undertone.
Lemon pepper isn't very spicy. It has a brighter, citrus flavor with just a touch of black pepper.
Lemon pepper spice is thought to originate in India. It is commonly used in seafood and chicken.
Lemon pepper seasoning is acidic due to the primary ingredient being dried lemon zest.
Can this 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.
How to store and reheat Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast
Leftover lemon pepper chicken should be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days in the refrigerator. To reheat, I recommend placing it in the oven or air fryer. By doing so, you'll get that crispy exterior from when it was originally made.
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.
What to serve with Lemon Pepper Chicken
Some great options to serve with lemon pepper baked chicken include:
Other recipes you might like
Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts thin sliced
- 12 oz bottle lemon pepper marinade I use Lawry's
- 2 cups plain panko breadcrumbs
- 2-3 tablespoon 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!
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