Lemon Garlic Chicken and Green Beans
This lemon garlic chicken and green beans recipe is unbelievably tender and flavorful, and comes together in just half an hour. Using a Chinese technique called velveting results in the juiciest, most tender chicken for this skillet dinner. It’s a perfect easy weeknight meal even my kids love! Serve with rice or buttered egg noodles.
Lemon and garlic are go-to flavors in my family, and they’re always a hit. Whenever I cook with lemon (like when I make the lemon broccoli salad we have on a weekly basis) my daughter asks for a slice to eat on its own. She definitely has my genes.
I made this recipe specifically to be a winner with my kids, who love green beans and lemon, and typically pick at their chicken.
Velveting the chicken to make it super tender and adding their favorite flavors helped make this dish a winner at the table! Served with kid-friendly buttered egg noodles or rice, it’s a family favorite we’ll come back to again and again.
What is velveting?
Velveting is a a Chinese cooking technique that involves tossing raw meat with a little baking soda before cooking. Baking soda raises the pH on the chicken’s surface, keeping the proteins from bonding excessively when it cooks. This keeps the chicken super moist and tender when you cook it, even if you use white meat!
Be careful not to marinate too long with the baking soda, or the proteins will denature and make your chicken mushy. Just 15-30 minutes is perfect.
Ingredients
How to Make Lemon Garlic Chicken and Green Beans
Marinate the chicken. Combine a little olive oil with spices and baking soda, then mix in raw bite-sized chicken pieces (images 1-3). The baking soda will tenderize your chicken for an unbelievably juicy result!
Blanch the green beans. Boiling in salted water flavors the green beans as they cook (image 4). Chilling them in ice water afterwards keeps them bright green and stops them from overcooking! (image 5)
Brown the chicken. The chicken gets seared in butter and olive oil for great flavor and color (image 6). Then, deglaze the pan with a little water to make sure none of that flavor from the fond gets left behind on the pan (image 7)!
Add the green beans. Since they're mostly cooked already, these just get heated through, with a little extra salt and pepper to make the flavor pop (image 8).
Finish with fresh lemon juice and cold butter. Lemon juice is added at the end to keep it bright and fresh (image 9) and cold butter melts in to make the sauce thick and silky, not greasy (image 10)!
Enjoy! Serve with rice or buttered egg noodles and some crusty bread (like this no-knead rosemary thyme bread.
Tips & Tricks
- Don't over-marinate the chicken. Fifteen to 30 minutes with the baking soda is perfect for keeping your chicken tender and moist. Over an hour can start making your chicken mushy.
- Test your green beans. A 4-6 minute blanch is perfect for standard green beans, but thinner beans like haricots verts will need less time in the water. Test thinner beans after 2 minutes until they're just the way you like them, or slightly under-cooked.
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Lemon Garlic Chicken and Green Beans Skillet
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 large lemon zested
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal recommended (see note)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the stir fry
- 1 lb green beans
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ large lemons juiced, to taste
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. Cut chicken into thin slices or bite sized pieces. Mix together lemon zest, 2 tablespoons olive oil, minced garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add raw chicken and toss until the mixture is well-distributed on the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes while you prepare the green beans.1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken, 1 large lemon, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic minced, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Blanch the green beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and boil for 4-6 minutes, until tender-crisp. These will only cook a tiny bit more in the final stir fry, so cook them to barely under where you want them. Remove green beans to a bowl of salted ice water to stop the cooking and keep the color bright green.1 lb green beans
- Prep your pan. Preheat a sauté pan or cast iron skillet to medium high heat, and add olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When the butter is melted and sizzling a little, add the chicken.2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Cook the chicken. Cook for 2 minutes before moving the chicken to let the first side sear a bit. If it's sticking, give it another 30 seconds or so for the crust to release from the pan. Cook for another 3 minutes or so, or until chicken has no visible pink and is nearly cooked through.
- Deglaze and add green beans. Deglaze the pan with ⅓ cup of water, scraping any brown bits off the bottom. Add drained green beans into the mix with an additional ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until green beans are heated through again. You can let them get a little brown on them if you'd like.½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Finish the sauce. Turn off the heat and add 1 tablespoon cold butter and fresh lemon juice. Start with juice from 1 lemon, and add the extra half if needed, to taste. Some lemons are much more potent than others! Mix until butter melts and dish is well-combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.2 tablespoons butter, 1 ½ large lemons
- Enjoy! Serve with rice or buttered egg noodles.
Made this last night for myself, my husband, and my 5-year old. We all loved it! The chicken was so juicy, and garlic + lemon is the best combo. We paired it with buttered egg noodles like Caroline suggested, and this will definitely be in our weekly rotation.
Thanks so much Meg! I’m glad your family loved it! <3