Baked lemon chicken is your easy dinner recipe in a rush. 

Juicy, tender chicken breasts marinated in lemon, garlic, and olive oil to give you tangy, peppery, warm flavours. 

Pouring some coconut milk into the lemon garlic marinade gives you a creamy, thick sauce that can be used to drizzle over this healthy, dairy-free baked chicken recipe.

Side dishes to serve with baked lemon chicken.

Rice is always a budget-friendly option.

• Serve with lemon rice, plain white rice, brown rice, ghee rice, and yellow rice for a quick filling meal.

• Grilled or baked vegetables can be served as a side dish with this baked lemon pepper chicken.
  Brussel sprouts, broccoli, green beans, carrots are vegetables you can choose from.

• Potatoes baked, mashed or roasted. Drop a few baby potatoes on the side and let them bake with the chicken.

• Any type of pasta or noodle dish.
  • Mixed vegetable noodles-Sri Lankan style.
  • lunch box stir-fried egg noodles.
  • Red curry pasta(Thai & dairy-free).
  • Spicy penne pasta(penne arrabbiata).

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Tips on making baked lemon chicken.

• Boneless chicken breasts or thighs work well.
• You can also try this baked lemon chicken recipe with bone-in chicken quarters.
  This might require 45-50 minutes of baking time while flipping halfway through.

• Lemon pepper garlic marinade – once you whisk up the marinade, make sure to taste and make the necessary adjustments to suit your need.
  lemon and garlic should be the dominant taste. The little amount of coconut milk keeps the baked chicken moist.

• I would highly recommend 3-4 hours of marinating time for best results or marinade overnight.

My personal thoughts on cooking baked lemon chicken for the family.

Love, love the lemon, garlic and pepper combo as it pairs well with any type of side dish you want to serve.

Makes a good healthy and light dinner.

The recipe comes in handy as I can use a large pyrex dish to bake and serve directly.

Once the lemon pepper chicken is baked, the marinade can be used as a thick sauce to drizzle over the chicken.

Kids and husband love the juicy texture of the chicken and the lemony taste of the sauce. the dish makes a refreshing change from our usual curry meals.

Frequently asked questions about baked lemon chicken breast.

• Can I bake this chicken in a sheet pan?
  • Yes, but I prefer to use a baking casserole or pyrex dish. It’s easier to collect the marinade and use it as a sauce.

• What can I substitute for coconut milk?
  • You can use any type of cooking cream. I use coconut milk to make the dish dairy-free.

• Can I bake the lemon chicken without any form of liquid?
  • The reason I added a few tablespoons of coconut milk is to maintain the moisture and avoid the boneless chicken from drying.
    If you still don’t want to use any type of liquid then add extra oil and a few tablespoons of broth.

• Can I bake the lemon chicken without marinating it for long?
  • You can but letting the boneless chicken marinate for 2-3 hours would allow them to soak in the flavours.
    If you are in a hurry, marinate them for 20-30 minutes while flipping them halfway through so all sides of the chicken breasts get a chance to soak in the marinade.

Utensils and appliances needed

• Chopping board and knife.
• Microplane zester.
• Garlic press.
• Adequate size pyrex dish or baking pan.
• Serving platter(if required).

More baked chicken recipe.

teriyaki marinade baked chicken.

Baked chicken legs(drumsticks).

Tandoori chicken(oven-baked).

baked lemon chicken mushroom in coconut milk.

Baked lemongrass-coconut milk chicken curry.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY- EASY

How to make baked lemon pepper chicken.

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients to make baked lemon chicken.

To season the chicken breasts

3-4 boneless chicken breasts(skin off)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper powder

To make the lemon marinade

4 tablespoons of olive oil(substitute with butter or any type of oil)

1/4 cup coconut milk(substitute with cooking cream or chicken broth, refer to tips above)

4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice(add more if needed)

1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of minced or grated garlic(about 4 cloves of garlic, substitute with garlic powder)

2 tablespoons of honey or sugar( increase by an extra tablespoon to balance off the tartness of the lemon)

2 red or green chillies chopped(to add extra heat)

Salt to season

Method

Wash and pat dry the boneless chicken breasts. season with salt and pepper. set aside.

I am using the same pyrex dish to marinate the chicken and bake it. this way there is less washing of dishes involved.

To the baking dish, add oil, coconut milk(substitute with cooking cream or chicken broth), lemon juice, minced garlic, and honey(substitute with sugar).

Add chopped red or green chillies followed by pepper and salt.

Place the chicken breasts in the marinade, cover with cling film and refrigerate.

Let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes or 2-3 hours(refer to frequently asked questions).

To bake the lemon chicken.

Remove the baking pan from the fridge and let it sit for 10 minutes to reach room temperature.

Preheat oven to 200C/390F.

Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the chicken breasts halfway through and completing the baking time.
15 minutes of baking time on each side.

Flip over one last time and broil for 5 to 10 minutes. if you don’t have a broiler setting in your oven use the griller setting.

Remove from oven, rest for 5 minutes and serve.

If serving on a separate platter, transfer the baked lemon chicken to the platter and cook down the remaining marinade to make a thick sauce to pour and serve.

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It’s free and on the blog, for you to try anytime.

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