Garlic and Lemon Pan Fried Chicken
Chicken is one of those things that I used to tire of quite easily. When we first started cooking, Eric and I made chicken dishes most nights of the week. Now we’ve got several chicken recipes that we love, and I don’t ever get sick of any of them. There are so many creative ways to cook chicken, but this method (breading and pan frying) might be my favorite.
This chicken starts out with pan-roasted garlic. The garlic is browned and removed from the pan, leaving behind a flavorful garlic oil. The garlic is then smashed and mixed into the breading for the chicken, and the chicken is cooked in the garlic oil. The garlic isn’t as strong as it would be raw, but it still gives this chicken plenty of garlicky goodness. The lemon adds a bright, fresh flavor. The chicken itself is nice and crisp on the outside and incredibly moist on the inside. This chicken is super easy to make, so much so that our side dish (garlic rice pilaf) was almost done cooking when we started the chicken. This is the perfect weeknight meal, and we’ll definitely be making it again soon.
- YIELD: serves 2
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 big cloves garlic, peeled and slightly smashed
⅓ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon chopped rosemary
Zest and juice from half a lemon
1 egg
2 chicken breast halves, pounded to ⅓-½-inch thickness
- 1
Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes, until golden brown and softened. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and place in a small bowl. Smash with a fork and set aside.
- 2
Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, rosemary and lemon zest in a shallow dish. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the egg and lemon juice to the smashed garlic and whisk to combine.
Heat the garlic oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, then the breadcrumb mixture. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook about 2½ minutes per side. Serve with slices or wedges of lemon, if desired.
This looks so tasty but so delicious!
Love your plates..where did you get those?
Thanks! I love paisley, so they were a natural choice. 🙂 They’re from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I think the name is Misto Paisley.
Hi
Did you use bone-in or boneless chicken breast for this recipe. Also, is that fresh breadcrumbs or dried breadcrumbs.
I used boneless chicken and dried bread crumbs.
So good. Made this with the rice. I loved it.
This recipe makes the best chicken! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I make my breadcrumbs from scratch by throwing some bread (I keep a loaf in the freezer, and freeze the ends of the loaf I never eat) in the toaster, breaking the toast into quarters then grate them up in the Magic Bullet- yum!
Made it last night!! It was wonderful!! Boyfriend absolutely loved it!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Wonderful recipe. Cooked the chicken 5 minutes per side and turned up the heat a little the last couple minutes, but otherwise followed everything exactly.