Chicken with Lemon, Green Olives, and Capers
Chicken with Lemon, Green Olives, and Capers is such a delicious and impressive dish for a special dinner! Serving the chicken with roasted lemons gives it amazing flavor, and this will especially be a hit with people who also like green olives and capers.
- 12 thin lemon slices, cut from 2 lemons
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 3 T olive oil
- 1/2 cup sliced pitted green olives (see notes)
- 2 T drained capers, rinsed if desired
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth (see notes)
- 4 T butter (see notes)
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
- Preheat oven to 325F/170C.
- Wash the outside of the lemons, dry, and cut 2 lemons into 12 thin slices; we used a Mandoline Slicer (affiliate link) with the 3mm blade to get the lemon slices really thin.
- Spread out parchment paper (affiliate link) on a baking sheet, brush lemon slices lightly with olive oil and roast about 25 minutes.
- While the lemons roast, trim the boneless chicken breasts to remove fat and any undesirable parts and rub the chicken with poultry seasoning (affiliate link) and a little freshly ground black pepper.
- Use a cast iron skillet (affiliate link) that's just big enough to hold the chicken in for best results. Heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, then add chicken top side down and cook until chicken is nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes.
- Turn chicken pieces and brown the other side.
- While the chicken cooks, slice green olives, measure capers (and rinse if desired), and chop the parsley. Slice off 4 tablespoons of butter from a stick of butter.
- Remove lemons from the oven when they are slightly dry and barely starting to brown, about 25 minutes.
- Sprinkle olives and capers over the chicken and add the low-sodium chicken stock or canned chicken broth. (Using low-sodium chicken stock is important because olives and capers are both salty.)
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the chicken breasts simmer until the stock is reduced to a small amount in the bottom of the skillet, about 10-15 minutes.
- When there is just a little stock left in the pan, add a pat of butter on top of each piece of chicken and let it start to melt.
- Arrange the roasted lemon slices on the chicken pieces and cook just few minutes more.
- Serve the Chicken with Lemon hot, and enjoy!
The original recipe had flour, but when we gave this recipe a much-needed a photo update, we skipped the flour to make it a low-carb dinner. And when I tested the no-flour version with Jake and Kara, we all loved this recipe!
What intrigued me most about this lemon chicken recipe was the process of roasting the thinly-sliced lemons. Those tasty lemon are eaten skin and all, possibly inspired by Moroccan preserved lemons. I think everyone who likes chicken with lemon and enjoys green olives and capers will absolutely love this recipe; hope you try it!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- lemons
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- pitted green olives
- butter
Don’t want to bother with roasted lemons?
I loved the combination of chicken with roasted lemons and green olives here, with a few capers added into the mix. And anyone who enjoys those Mediterranean ingredients will probably like this tasty chicken dish. And the roasted lemons were a wow for us! But if you don’t want to take time to roast the lemons, I think this chicken would still be good with just capers and green olives, with some sliced lemon to squeeze on at the table.
How low in carbs is this lemon chicken recipe?
This tasty recipe with chicken, roasted lemons, green olives, and capers has only 4.7 net carbs per serving with 40 grams of protein!
How to make Chicken with Lemon, Green Olives, and Capers:
- Cut lemons into 12 thin slices; we used a Mandoline Slicer.
- Spread out parchment paper on baking sheet, brush lemons with olive oil and roast about 25 minutes.
- Heat olive oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, then cook chicken pieces until they’re nicely browned on both sides.
- While chicken cooks, slice green olives, measure capers (and rinse if desired), and chop parsley.
- Slice off 4 tablespoons of butter from a stick of butter to make individual pats of butter.
- Remove lemons from the oven when slightly dry and barely starting to brown, about 25 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and let the chicken breasts simmer until the stock is reduced, about 10-15 minutes.
- Arrange the roasted lemon slices on the chicken pieces and cook just a few minutes more.
- Serve the chicken hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley if desired.
