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Chicken Limone is elegant enough for a dinner party, but easy enough to make for dinner any day of the week.
What is Chicken Limone?
Chicken Limone is an easy lemon-infused chicken and pasta dish full of fresh and delicious, citrusy flavors. The word limone is lemon in Italian.
Chicken breasts are cut into thin, flat medallions, then breaded and fried in a mix of extra virgin olive oil and butter. Next, slices of fresh lemon are cooked in oil – just for a few seconds on each side – to mellow the lemon flavor a bit.
Finally, you’ll deglaze the pan with fresh lemon juice, then add butter and fresh chopped parsley to create a simple pan sauce.
We served our dish over cooked spaghetti, but linguine or other long-strand pasta is fine too.
Don’t confuse this dish with chicken piccata. While similar, that dish has a lemon, wine, and caper sauce.
Why You’ll Love Chicken Limone
- After just one taste of this easy Chicken Limone – you’ll think you are dining in Boston’s famed North End Italian neighborhood!
- Although this recipe looks very fancy, it’s quite simple to prepare.
Reader Review
“Excellent!” -Christine
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts will be cut into medallions.
- Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Eggs
- Whole Milk
- Unsalted Butter
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Whole Lemon
- Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley
- Spaghetti or Linguine
Special Tools You’ll Need
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Large Pot – To cook the pasta
- Slotted Spoon or Spider Strainer
- Colander
- 2 Pie Plates or Shallow Bowls
- Large Skillet
- Platter
- Tongs
- Citrus Juicer
- Wooden Spoon
- Ladle
How do I make Chicken Limone?
- Cook the pasta. Once al dente, transfer to a colander to drain, but keep the pasta cooking water.
- Cut the chicken breasts into medallions.
- Dredge the chicken medallions into seasoned flour, then an egg wash.
- Fry chicken in batches until cooked through, then quickly cook lemon slices on each side.
- Deglaze the pan with lemon juice. Add butter and parsley to finish the sauce.
- Serve chicken over cooked pasta and spoon the lemon butter sauce over the top.
Cooking Tips and Tricks
- Avoid over cooking the chicken medallions. They will get tough and rubbery if cooked for too long.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Chicken Limone ahead of time? You can do all of the prep ahead of time, but this dish is best freshly cooked just before serving.
- How do I store the leftovers? Place leftovers in a covered container and refrigerate for up to three days. Note that the pasta may absorb some or most of the sauce as it cools.
- How do I reheat Chicken Limone? Since you want to avoid over cooking the chicken medallions (they will get tough and rubbery if you do), we suggest reheating your Chicken Limone in the microwave. Reheat just long enough to heat the chicken through.
This Chicken Limone recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in October 2019. We’ve updated the post but the delicious recipe remains the same.
Recipe adapted from our favorite Italian cookbook, The North End Italian Cookbook. (Affiliate link)
You might enjoy these other Lemon Recipes
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Chicken Limone
Chicken Limone is elegant enough for a dinner party, but easy enough to make for dinner any day of the week.
Ingredients
3 boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 whole eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter, divided
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1–2 large lemons)
1 whole lemon thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
Spaghetti or Linguine
Instructions
- To make this dish easy to prepare, cook the spaghetti or linguine according to box directions. With a slotted spoon or spider strainer, remove cooked pasta to drain in a colander (keep the pasta cooking water) and cool under cold running water. Then put the pot back on the stove and have hot water ready to reheat the pasta at the end of the dish preparation.
- Place each breast on your cutting board and butterfly each piece. Then cut each butterflied piece in half to yield six pieces.
- In a pie plate, mix flour, salt and pepper
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and milk.
- Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour so that each piece is coated on both sides.
- Shake off excess flour and add chicken to the bowl with the eggs and milk and toss to coat each piece.
- In a vary large skillet, heat half the butter and all of the oil over medium heat. Do not go past medium or the fat will scorch. (It is OK if the butter browns a bit – that adds great flavor.)
- Once the fat is hot, (it may bubble and splatter as the milk fat cooks off), cooking in batches, add one piece at a time to cover the pan bottom and cook for 15-30 seconds on each side. The pieces are thin and will cook quickly. Remove to a waiting platter and continue cooking batches until all of the chicken has cooked. We had five batches.
- Once all of the chicken has cooked, discard any fat left in the pan, add a few more drops of new olive oil, and cook the lemon slices for a few seconds on each side. Remove to the same platter as the chicken.
- Increase the temperature to medium high and add the lemon juice and cook until it is reduced by half, scraping up any brown bits into the lemon juice.
- Remove from heat and add the remaining butter and stir to dissolve and thicken the sauce.
- Stir in the parsley.
- Add the chicken and lemons to the sauce and toss to coat.
- Reheat the pasta by dipping in the water, drain and place on a serving platter and top with the chicken and lemon and serve.
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Was wondering if this would work using limes
Hi Edith – It could (we’ve never tried it ourselves however)…since limes are a much more tart flavor, I’d suggest starting with fewer limes (you can always add more).
Let us know how it comes out!
Excellent!
Thank you!
Just want to make sure I’m reading the recipe correctly. You dredge in flour first then egg and into the pan? Not back into the flour after egg? Thank you!
Hi Matt – Thanks for checking. The recipe (as written) is correct – just the flour dredge, then the egg.
Very tasty! I added some lemon stuffed green olives!
Great suggestion Ashley!
Thanks for a great recipe – this is really delicious! I did add a bit more butter – only because I like a more “saucy” pasta – and I used Meyer lemons which I think put this over the top.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Becky!
Hi Martha,
I am cooking tonight in our new home, first dinner here, I’m preparing Chicken Limone . No more condo living for us!!!
I knew I had to prepare one of your recipes and this sounds perfect.
Thank you,
Linda
Congratulations on your new home Linda! We’re honored you chose one of our recipes to christen the new kitchen! 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!