What is Chicken Limone? An Easy, Tangy Italian Lemon Chicken Dish

Chicken limone is a bright fresh Italian lemon chicken dish that comes together easily for a weeknight dinner. With its tangy buttered lemon sauce, chicken limone delivers big, bold flavors using just a handful of ingredients you likely already have on hand.

While similar in style to chicken piccata, chicken limone sets itself apart with its simple preparation and lets the delicious lemon flavor take center stage. Read on to learn all about how to make this tasty chicken breast recipe at home.

An Overview of Chicken Limone

Chicken limone, sometimes spelled “pollo al limone,” is Italian for “lemon chicken.” It features thin chicken cutlets lightly breaded and pan-fried until golden brown. The cutlets then simmer in a lemon sauce made from fresh lemon juice, slices of lemon, butter, and chicken broth. Chopped parsley adds a pop of color and freshness.

This quick chicken dish comes together in about 30 minutes It’s fancy enough for company but easy enough to throw together any night of the week. Kids love the bright, tangy flavors, and the easy prep makes it a great recipe for novice cooks. Serve chicken limone with pasta or roasted vegetables for a complete meal

While chicken piccata also features lemon, chicken limone uses fewer ingredients. Traditional piccata includes wine and capers in the pan sauce, while limone keeps things simple with just lemon as the star. Both deliver big, bold flavors from common ingredients.

The Origins of Chicken Limone

Chicken limone comes from the Italian culinary tradition of using lemons to brighten up simple dishes. Lemons grow abundantly in Italy and play a major role in everything from salad dressings to seafood. Their bright acidity cuts through rich flavors and makes a lovely quick pan sauce.

The limone sauce likely evolved as a fresh, fast way to dress up plainly cooked meats. Today chicken limone appears on Italian-American menus across the country as a bright, easy crowd pleaser. It likely came to the states along with Italian immigrants looking to recreate flavors of home.

How to Make Chicken Limone

Part of chicken limone’s appeal lies in how easy it is to prepare. Here is an overview of the simple steps:

• Pound and bread the chicken: Slice chicken breasts into thin cutlets. Pound lightly to an even thickness. Bread crumbs are optional but add nice texture.

• Pan fry the chicken: Cook the cutlets in an oiled skillet over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes per side. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding.

• Cook the lemon: Add lemon slices to the pan and cook briefly to mellow their flavor.

• Make the sauce: Deglaze the pan with lemon juice then stir in chicken broth, butter, and parsley.

• Simmer the chicken: Return the chicken to the pan and let it simmer in the sauce for a few minutes until heated through.

That’s it! For more details, check out the full recipes below. Part of chicken limone’s simplicity lies in the short ingredient list of pantry staples.

Chicken Limone Ingredients

Chicken limone comes together with simple ingredients you likely have on hand:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – Buy thin cutlets to save time, or slice breasts yourself.

• Flour – For dredging the chicken. Cornstarch also works.

• Eggs and milk – Optional, for breading chicken.

• Olive oil or butter – For cooking. A mix of both adds nice flavor.

• Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed is best. Avoid bottled.

• Chicken broth – Adds flavor to the pan sauce.

• Parsley – Brightens up the dish.

• Lemon slices – Adds lemon flavor to the sauce.

• Salt and pepper – For seasoning.

With such a short list of ingredients, it’s easy to pick up what you need on a quick grocery run.

Tips for Making the Best Chicken Limone

Here are some tips from the pros for ensuring delicious chicken limone every time:

• Pound the chicken thin – This helps it cook quickly so it stays tender. Aim for 1⁄4-inch thickness.

• Use a nonstick pan – Chicken limone requires a good nonstick skillet. Stainless steel also works well.

• Don’t crowd the pan – Cook chicken in batches to allow it to properly brown.

• Make the sauce right in the pan – Take advantage of the flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom.

• Use fresh lemon juice – Bottled juice lacks the bright flavor you want. Squeeze it fresh.

• Simmer the sauce briefly – Just a couple minutes to thicken up the pan juices.

• Add lemon zest – Brightens up the citrus flavor.

Follow these tips and you’ll have restaurant-quality chicken limone in no time.

Serving Suggestions for Chicken Limone

Chicken limone shines when served with a few simple sides:

• Pasta – Toss with spaghetti, linguine, or angel hair pasta.

• Bread – Garlic bread or rolls work well to sop up the sauce.

• Salad – A green salad balances the richness.

• Vegetables – Roast broccoli, potatoes, carrots, or zucchini.

On a busy weeknight, a simple salad and garlic bread make the perfect accompaniments. For a more impressive presentation, serve chicken limone over pasta with roasted veggies on the side.

Full Chicken Limone Recipes

Now that you know the basics, try one of these full chicken limone recipes from popular food blogs:

Chicken Limone from A Family Feast

This straightforward chicken limone recipe uses just a handful of ingredients. It skips breading the chicken, but a nice brine ensures it stays juicy. Round out the meal with ciabatta garlic bread and a salad.

Pollo Al Limone from Gratsi

This authentic chicken limone adds depth with a splash of white wine in the sauce. Serving it over spaghetti makes it feel like a flavorful Italian feast.

Chicken Limone from Marcella in Cucina

A quick brine gives the chicken breast a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Roasted veggies round out this easy, tasty dinner.

Make Weeknight Chicken Exciting Again

From its Italian origins to its versatility, chicken limone has a lot going for it. The simple preparation means you can get a delicious dinner on the table fast on a busy weeknight. Kids love the bright citrus flavors, and it feels elegant enough for company.

Give one of the recipes above a try soon to enjoy the magic combination of chicken cutlets simmered in a bright, lemony pan sauce. Chicken limone lets the quality ingredients shine for a dinner that feels gourmet but eats like comfort food.

Lemon chicken generally tastes lemony, savory, and tangy. It often includes a sweet element, especially in Chinese-American versions, to balance the tartness of the lemon.