This dinner is absolutely drool worthy and will become a regular on our meal rotations! It started on a whim, through a text message with my dear friend Cait. She is also living in a moment of transition… bunking up with her future in-laws after their move from Florida to North Carolina. Knowing that I can easily relate to conversations with older people, she texted me a debate over frozen chicken verse fresh chicken. Sounds like she is having the same daily chats with her “roommates” that I am having with my 91 year old “roommate!” In the end I asked what chicken recipe she was using and she sent me this Lemon Chicken pin. And of course, since it looked amazing, I used it as inspiration and had to figure out a way to make it paleo, whole30 compliant and gluten free.
With a few easy tweaks, changes and add-ons, I adapted JoCooks’ Lemon Chicken Piccata dinner to be something that my family would love and could eat without intestinal discomfort!
Please note that the original recipe and idea was not my own… but for those of us who have really strict diets - it needed a few tiny tweaks.
- 3 Chicken Breasts (cut in half length wise to make them a bit thinner). I used approximately 2.5 pounds of chicken for this recipes.
- 3 TBSP of Olive Oil
- 4 TBSP of Real, Grass-fed Butter (or Ghee to make it Whole30 Compliant)
- ¼ Cup of ArrowRoot Powder (YES! This is Whole30 Compliant and a great option for thickening)
- Salt + Pepper to taste
- ¼ Cup of Fresh Chopped Parsley
- ⅓ Cup of Fresh Lemon Juice
- ¾ Cup of Chicken Broth
- ¼ Cup of Capers
- 1 TBSP of Minced Shallots
- 1 TBSP of Minced Garlic
- Slice the Chicken Breasts length wise, and butterfly if needed. The thinner they are the better for cooking.
- Season both sides of Chicken in Salt and Pepper (to your taste) and then cover both sides in Arrowroot Powder.
- Add Ghee (or Butter) and Olive Oil to a large skillet over Medium-High heat.
- Add Chicken to Skillet when hot. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the Chicken and place on a separate plate when it is cooked. Now we will work on the "gravy!"
- Remove the skillet from the hot burner. Add your lemon juice, chicken broth, capers, mince shallots and minced garlic. Stir together and with the sauce that was already in the skillet. Return skillet to heat and bring to a light boil. Taste the sauce and add salt or pepper if needed. You can also add a tablespoon of Arrowroot Powder if you want the sauce a bit thicker. (Again, this is still whole30 compliant!)
- Add your Chicken back into the skillet, lower heat to Medium-Low, cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve in the skillet or on a platter. Garnish with the fresh chopped parsley and lemon slices.
- ENJOY!
As you have probably noticed, my Whole30, Paleo and Gluten-Free recipes have really been lacking on the blog lately. That is because this whole pregnancy thing has been ROUGH. At 20 Weeks and some change right now, I am finally starting to feel more like myself. I am actually able to eat a few veggies again! Hooray! I have been living on baked potatoes and fries. (I won’t be surprised if #BabyMagotes comes out looking like a potato!!) I sincerely hope to continue playing in the kitchen and creating healthy dinners again while I have the free time!
That being said, when you check out my lemon chicken dinner plate below - don’t be shocked to see real rice rather than Cauli-Rice. My wild rice IS NOT Whole30 compliant. (There is a debate as to whether or not rice is or is not paleo… but we are not here to debate that today! Baby just needs his/her rice and potatoes these days or Mommy will puke!)
I paired this paleo, whole30 compliant Lemon Chicken Dinner with steamed broccoli and wild rice. I also pour the gravy/sauce all over everything! And it was freaking amazing.
What Nana Said: Suzie! This meal tastes like it could be found in a French bistro! It is the best dinner I have had in a very long time! You could make this dinner if you ever had your boss over for dinner!
What Michael Said: It’s good, but very lemony. I would definitely eat it again though!
Well yes Michael, it is called Lemon Chicken after all…
So there ya have it! An easy, drool-worthy and delicious Paleo, Whole30 Lemon Chicken dinner! Thank you Cait and Jo for this dinner inspiration! It really isn’t that difficult to turn most meals into healthy, clean dinners. You just have to put your thinking cap on and be creative! Substitutions like Arrowroot Powder and Ghee are easy swaps that you will barely notice! So go for it! Have fun in the kitchen! Compliant, gluten-free dinners are just a few easy substitutions away!
yum, suz!
Cyndi Osborough says
Luv reading Suz, Darling Girl 🙂
Good grief! This is actually making me drool! This looks and sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it! Cait needs to find other tasty pins for you to tweak! Yummo!
Dara says
This looks delicious. https://champagneinateacup.wordpress.com/
This looks so good - simple and delicious meal! I want some rice
Anna // Happy Medley
i am so, so, sooooo making this!
it looks DELICIOUS.
Yum! I definitely want to try this out. I have been trying to get healthier lately so these recipes are perfect.
JustTriItOnce says
Yum- made this last night and it is one of the BEST chicken (Whole 30 or not!) I have made! Absolutely delicious. Thanks so much!