Have healthy lemon chicken ready in less time than it takes to pickup takeout.
If you’re craving takeout but don’t want to splurge on the calories, MSG, or sodium, this is the recipe for you! We’ve got dinner dialed in with this delicious Lemon Chicken Skillet. In our recipe, tender chicken coated in a vibrant, zesty lemon sauce will satisfy your takeout cravings while boosting your health. To complete an ultra-tasty meal, serve this healthy chicken dish on top of brown rice, quinoa, or alongside some tasty greens!
A Takeout-Inspired Dish with Healthy Ingredients
Unlike conventional takeout dishes, our healthy Lemon Chicken Skillet uses all clean ingredients you can feel good about. This drool-worthy chicken recipe gets its tangy flavor from the mouthwatering lemon sauce. The three lemons used in this dish creates delicious flavor while also offering a multitude of health benefits.
First, lemons boast a high fiber content, which can improve digestion and help the meal feel more filling. The fruit also carries vitamin C and antioxidants, which can boost the immune system and help fight cancer-causing compounds. As a bonus, pairing a vitamin C-rich fruit with chicken helps your body absorb the chicken’s iron more easily. Women tend to have iron deficiencies, so an ingredient that helps you better absorb the mineral has our vote!
Chicken—the spotlight of this recipe—tastes fantastic and serves as an excellent source of lean protein. Chicken makes an appearance in countless takeout dishes, but it loses its nutritional value when cooked in processed oils and additives. Our Lemon Chicken Skillet, on the other hand, calls for just a few tablespoons of coconut oil.
Cooking with Coconut Oil
Coconut oil offers a myriad of health benefits, and it can be used at high cooking temperatures. In this Lemon Chicken Skillet, coconut oil brings out incredible, Asian-inspired flavor while adding vitamins and minerals to every bite. By cooking with just three tablespoons of oil, you’ll shave off a large chunk of calories.
Coconut oil tops the charts when it comes to powerful superfoods. Interested in learning more? Check out 6 Reasons You Should Eat a Tablespoon of Coconut Oil Daily and 7 Ways a Spoonful of Coconut Oil Will Boost Your Health.
Our Lemon Chicken Skillet Takes it Easy on the Sodium
Takeout recipes tend to run high on salt, with 500 to 3500 milligrams per serving on average. By contrast, our Lemon Chicken Skillet clocks in at just 153 milligrams, so enjoy this tasty meal without the salt-induced guilt! We manage to keep our salt intake in check by using light soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce, and we don’t add any MSG. Using light soy sauce or other healthy alternatives such as Braggs liquid aminos is a great way to cut back on a recipe’s overall sodium content.
How To Serve this Skinny Lemon Chicken Skillet
This Skinny Lemon Chicken Skillet makes a simple one-pot dish that’s easy whip up for a weeknight dinner. It tastes absolutely delicious when served on a bed of whole grains, or alongside a Kale Salad or Roasted Vegetables. With its sophisticated flavors and presentation, this chicken dish makes an impressive main course at your next dinner party as well! Add a few Asian-inspired sides such as bok choy or edamame, and your meal will feel like a feast.
Skinny Lemon Chicken Skillet
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts cubed
- 3 lemons juiced and zested
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce Braggs aminos, or coconut aminos as substitute
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup green onions diced
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden brown, turning with a spatula every 2-3 minutes to evenly cook.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, vegetable broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and honey. Drizzle over the cooked chicken.
- Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Sprinkle with poppy seeds and green onions. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Have you made this recipe?
Tag @skinnyms on Instagram or hashtag it #skinnyms
Make sure that you subscribe to our newsletter so you won’t miss out the latest and greatest posts!
For more tasty recipes, healthy lifestyle tips, and whole-body workouts, check out our Facebook page and follow us on Pinterest.
We’d love to hear what you think of this post, or what you’d like to see on our site. Leave us a comment in the comments section below.
Can I make this dish without the poppy seeds or do they add flavor to the dish?
Megan, Absolutely you can make it without the seeds. They add a bit of texture, and only a subtle flavor.
This looks delicious! I reblogged this on my blog lipstickandlifting.com. Thanks for the great recipe!
Heather, Thanks for the link. Loving your blog!
This is my first visit at this site and am very impressed. Look forward to making use of this site on my journey to getting healthy and losing weight.
Just made this and LOVED it!! Thank you for sharing…
I'm very impressed with this meal. With your entire site, actually.
Do you drain the oil off before adding the sauce?
We didn't drain the oil since it adds a lot of the flavor and is heart friendly. 🙂
We loved this dish! My kids included! Do you think this will freeze well if prepared ahead of time?
We’re so glad your family liked the recipe. Thanks for sharing! We haven’t tried freezing this particular dish, but we can’t see any reason why it shouldn’t work well.
I made this for dinner tonight and my husband and I thought it was delicious! I served it over quinoa. As a side dish I roasted cubed sweet potatoes and chopped onions (drizzled with EVOO), which surprisingly complimented this dish very well!
Amy, YAH! I love you sides and will have to try them next time I make the Lemon Chicken. 🙂
Hello!
I’m excited to make this. Is the brown rice or quinoa included in the calorie count/ nutrition info?
Thanks!
Jennifer
Jennifer, Unfortunatley not. 🙁
However, the good new is, add 1/2 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice, per serving, and it’s only an additional 110 calories. Well worth it! 🙂
Tried this tonight and the family loved it! Simple and quick. Thanks.
Looks amazing! Are there any substitutes for the coconut oil?
Maggie, Canola or olive oil. 🙂
I’ve made this over and over. Everyone loves it. It feels like some delicious lemon honey tea when you’re feeling sick. It pairs amazingly with Jasmine rice. Thank you.
Miriam, Great tips! Thank you. 🙂
What’s the estimated cook time for this recipe? How long does it take the sauce to thicken?
The chicken should take about 15 to 20 minutes to cook and the sauce should take no more than 10 min to thicken.
Is the calorie content correct? Aren’t kcals 1/1000 of a calorie which would make this 372000 calories!!
It’s 372 calories.