Amythyst's Kitchen

This all started when Prego came out with a “Creamy Lemon Parmesan” jarred cooking sauce. It sounded good, so I decided to try it (and no, I’m not being sponsored by Prego).

The idea was that you browned a couple of whole chicken breasts, added the sauce, simmered it for a bit, then served it over pasta (according to the directions on the back of the jar). We determined that chopping the chicken into bite-sized pieces made it easier to eat, but the sauce was not nearly creamy or lemony enough. So I added some lemon pepper and a little heavy cream to it, which really boosted the flavor and creaminess. It became a staple in our dinner rotation, though we preferred serving it over rice instead of pasta.

Fast forward about a year and suddenly, for whatever reason, it became impossible to find this jarred sauce in any of our local grocery stores. For a while, we went without, but my family was craving that creamy lemony goodness! So I decided to do some experimentation and came up with a recipe of my own. This recipe still makes use of jarred sauce, to make it super quick and easy, but no one said you can’t make your own alfredo sauce if you want to!

Amythyst34

Creamy Lemon Chicken

This is a recipe that can be ridiculously easy to make, or you can take a few extra steps to make it even better. It's creamy, it's lemony, and it's a warm comforting meal that my family asks for again and again.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Calories: 493

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 tablespoon light butter
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast (2 lbs. of raw chicken)
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 2 jars alfredo sauce (14-16 oz. size jars)
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
• 4 cups jasmine rice (prepared, start with 2 cups dry rice)

Equipment

• 1 chef's knife
• 1 large skillet

Method

 

1. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon light butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the chicken to the skillet and season with 2 teaspoons garlic salt. Cook until golden brown on the outside and no longer pink. The inside of the largest pieces should register 165℉ on a thermometer.
Do not season the chicken with pepper at this step. We will be adding quite a bit of lemon pepper seasoning to the sauce in a later step, so adding pepper now could overpower the dish.
4. Add the 2 jars alfredo sauce to the skillet. Use a small amount of water and/or a spatula to get as much sauce from the jar as you can. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the sauce to heat through.
To get all of the sauce from the jar, you can use a silicone or rubber spatula to scrape the inside. Alternatively, add a small amount of water (a few tablespoons) to the jar, put the lid securely back on the jar, shake the jar vigorously, then empty the contents into your skillet.
5. Stir the ⅓ cup lemon juice and 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning into the sauce. Taste and adjust with additional lemon juice, lemon pepper, or garlic salt if needed.
6. Serve over prepared rice.

Notes

Don’t have garlic salt? Substitute with ½ tsp garlic powder and 1½ tsp regular table salt.

Homemade alfredo sauce really amps up the flavor, and can definitely be used in place of the jarred sauce if desired. Jarred sauce makes for a very quick and easy weeknight dinner, especially for those with disabilities and/or health issues.

Serve with a side salad or your favorite steamed vegetable to make this a complete meal.

Seasoning blends can vary from brand to brand. We like McCormick brand lemon pepper seasoning blend, so that is what I use for this recipe.