Everybody needs a classic chicken dinner that is simple yet sumptuous, easy yet elegant – this Cast Iron Skillet Chicken recipe is it! Perfect for a weeknight chicken dinner or a small dinner party.
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We can probably all agree: weeknights are a blur of activity. School, work, sports, homework, work events, errands, Netflix binging… All one crazy loop-de-loop until the weekend.
Adding dinner to the mix doesn’t have to be stressful. It helps to have a few quick and delicious, easy weeknight dinner tricks up our sleeve. We love making dishes like Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas, Garlic Butter Chicken Bites, and Easy Kung Pao Chicken — all family-friendly dishes you can make in under 30 minutes!
And, this easy Cast Iron Skillet Chicken recipe is also a family fave!
🍗 Ingredient notes
Chicken is popular for so many reasons, including the fact that it tends to be less expensive compared to its counterpart meat options, and it’s versatile and works well in so many different types of cuisines.
My favorite cut: the almighty chicken thigh. All hail meaty thighs! Right? I’m learning to love my own, but that’s a different post…
Chicken thighs are tender, and they soak up whatever flavors they are immersed into, making them SO amazing in almost any dish. I always buy chicken thighs in bulk, separate out dinner portions, and then freeze in separate bags.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
- Season four chicken thighs with salt, pepper, chopped rosemary. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sauté for one minute, just until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
- Add the chicken to the skillet. Sear each side.
- Pour in the white wine and continue cooking the chicken for about 4 minutes.
- Add a few pieces of lemon quarters or lemon slices to the skillet. Gently stir it in as the chicken finishes cooking.
- Garnish with more lemon and rosemary sprigs.
🍽 Serving ideas
I like to serve this skillet lemon chicken with a side of Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Air Fryer Broccoli, Grilled Asparagus in Foil, and/or Instant Pot Garlic Rice.
Or cake. You can most definitely enjoy this with a side of cake if you so desire. I’m not here to judge.
More chicken dinner recipes
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Easy Skillet Lemon Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 lemon, sliced or quartered
- additional rosemary sprigs for garnish
Instructions
- Season four chicken thighs with salt, pepper, chopped rosemary. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sauté for one minute, just until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
- Add the chicken to the skillet. Sear each side.
- Pour in the white wine and continue cooking the chicken for about 4 minutes.
- Add a few pieces of lemon quarters or lemon slices to the skillet. Gently stir it in as the chicken finishes cooking.
- Garnish with more lemon and rosemary sprigs.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love lemon chicken! Yours looks so good!
Drooooll…. The chicken thigh is my favorite too. And chicken without skin always makes me a little sad, what did they do with it? I love that you used bacon fat and white wine in the recipe!
these look amazing. And the crispy from the skin with the rosemary, and lemons! What a great way to use chicken thighs!
Lemon chicken is my favorite way to make chicken. I love that this cooks up in a skillet. And that skin looks crispy and perfect.
This looks sooo yummy! I never think to feature a recipe around the chicken thigh but I would definitely make this. I love it with the mashed potatoes too.
Thanks for sharing!
Chris
Wow, this lemon chicken recipe looks so good! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe… I can’t wait to try it!!
yum!! I love cooking with bacon fat. and i think chicken thighs are often forgotten! Thanks for such a great recipe!
This looks so good! I’m not sure mine would turn out looking this pretty, but I definitely need to give it a try!
– Brianne
This sounds delicious! Love all of that rosemary and lemon.
Oh my gosh! This looks amazing. I have a small kitchen and this looks so easy to do.
This looks soooo good!
I’ve been obsessed with lemon lately, not sure why! I’m definitely going to be trying out this recipe it’s making me drool.
This chicken looks so yummy! I love skillet chicken meals!
There is so much I love about this recipe especially that it is a skillet meal. Love an easy clean up plus chicken thighs have so much more flavor than breast.
I love the white wine addition! Lemon rosemary chicken is one classic family favorite!
Umm… you had my <3 at bacon fat and butter! ;) These look delicious and I love the combination with the rosemary…it's one of my favorite herbs. I personally like white meat better, so I may have to try this with chicken breasts for dinner soon! Thanks for the idea!