🍋 Charred Lemon & Herbed Chicken Breasts with White Wine Butter Sauce

Real Fancy but Real Simple

📝 Why I Love This Recipe

This is one of those dinners that makes you feel like you really tried… but you didn’t. It’s fast, easy, healthy-ish, and totally doable after a long day (though full disclosure — I’m a teacher and it’s summer, so my “long day” right now is running errands and maybe a little Pinterest scrolling with a glass of wine). This lemon chicken with white wine butter sauce comes together in under 30 minutes but tastes like something you'd order at a fancy restaurant.

Fast. Fresh. Fancy. And done in under 30 minutes.

I try to cook meals like this 3–4 nights a week using ingredients from the outside of the grocery store — fresh produce, lean proteins, all that good stuff. The other nights? Pasta or dinner out (with wine, obviously).

🛒 Ingredients:

• 2 -3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1 lemon, halved or sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 4 tbsp butter, divided

• 1/3 cup dry white wine

• 1 tsp chopped thyme

• 1 tsp chopped rosemary

• Kosher salt & cracked black pepper

Ingredients laid out for lemon chicken recipe

👩‍🍳 How to Make It:

1. Prep the Chicken

Pound the chicken breasts slightly to even thickness. Season both sides with salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary.

2. Char the Lemon

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil, then place the lemon halves (or slices) cut-side down. Sear 2–3 minutes until golden and caramelized. Remove and set aside.

3. Sear the Chicken

Add a little more olive oil if needed, then place chicken breasts in the skillet. Cook 3–4 minutes per side, until golden and mostly cooked through.

4. Add Garlic + Butter

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 2 tablespoon of butter and the minced garlic. Spoon the garlic butter over the chicken as it cooks for 1–2 minutes.

5. Deglaze with Wine + Lemon

Pour in the white wine and squeeze in the juice from the charred lemon. Let simmer 3–5 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked (internal temp should be 165°F) and sauce reduces slightly.

6. Finish with Butter

Swirl in the last tablespoons of butter for a silky finish. Spoon sauce over chicken when serving.

👩‍🍳 A Few Tips from My Kitchen

• I like to pound the chicken just a bit so it cooks evenly.

• The recipe calls for halved lemons, but I sliced mine and charred the slices right in the skillet. So easy and it looks pretty, too.

• Then I squeezed the rest of the lemon straight into the pan with the wine to pick up all those golden bits.

• You can absolutely use fresh herbs, but I won’t judge if you reach for dried. That’s what I do on weeknights when I just want to eat and not fuss.

  
  

  

  Chicken getting golden and soaking up all the lemony-garlicky-wine goodness.

🍽️ How to Serve It

This is so good with roasted veggies (like broccoli — I threw on a little shaved Parmesan after roasting), or even just some crusty bread to mop up that buttery wine sauce.

🍷 Wine Pairing:

I served this with Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc — bright, citrusy, and the perfect match for the lemon and herbs in the sauce. It cuts through the butter and makes this feel like something you'd order on vacation or whip up for a stay-at-home date night.

🛍️ Shop My Kitchen

• My go-to nonstick skillets for Convection Ovens

• Dried thyme & rosemary

• Meat thermometer — saves me from dry chicken

• Citrus juicer for every vinaigrette or pan sauce

• My favorite olive oil

• Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc or these wine glasses

  
  

📍 Final Sip

If you make this one, tag me on Instagram @midlifewinewander so I can see your version — especially if you pair it with a glass of something fabulous.

• This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them — at no extra cost to you. I only link products I truly love and use myself.