This recipe for baked lemon pepper chicken makes a delicious dinner the whole family will enjoy. Use it for meal prep or as a weeknight dinner!
Boneless skinless chicken breasts are a staple in my house and there have been SO many recipes on the blog, including Freezable Chicken Marinades, Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipes and Slow Cooker Chicken Breast Recipes.
Today's baked lemon pepper chicken recipe is not actually a new recipe per se, but one of our marinades from the 7 MORE Freezer-Friendly Chicken Breast Recipes. It is one of my faves and totally deserves its own post, don't you think?
Don't forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!
Reasons you'll love baked lemon pepper chicken
- the spice rub is delicious and also works on potatoes and veggies
- you can have dinner on the table quickly
- even kids love it!
- it's low carb and gluten-free
How to make it
This chicken benefits from marinating in the marinade for 2-24 hours. You can even freeze your chicken right in the marinade, and it absorbs so much delicious flavor as it thaws!
However, I have been known to skip the marinade step altogether in a pinch and it still gets great flavor from the seasonings.
- Mix together your seasonings: lemon pepper, salt, basil, oregano and thyme leaves.
- Toss chicken in olive oil (to coat), then toss it in the seasoning. The chicken breasts should be very generously coated!
- Marinate for 2-24 hours (or you can skip this step).
- Bake at 450°F for indicated time (see the recipe card for times)
- Cover and rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Slice and enjoy!
*note that this recipe has very assertive flavors that are great mixed in with rice and vegetables. If you like more mellow flavors, reduce the spices in half.
Does the marinade work with chicken thighs as well?
Sure does! For chicken thighs, I bake at 425°F for 30 minutes (skin on bone in) or 20-30 minutes (boneless skinless).
How can I tell if my chicken is cooked through?
One way I test is to touch the middle of the breast with my finger. If it is still really wobbly, it’s not cooked through. If it is firm and springy, it may be cooked through.
You can also test by using an instant read thermometer, checking that it has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.
Estimated cook time for chicken breasts at 450°F
- 5 oz 12-15 min
- 7 oz 15-20 min
- 10 oz 20-25 min
What to serve with it
I have so many ideas for side dishes that would pair well with this recipe!
- Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
- Grilled Broccoli with Lemon & Parmesan
- Autumn Apple Farro Salad
- any of these 3 Broccolini Recipes (I'm leaning towards the brown butter broccolini!)
- our Staple Kale Salad which has dried cranberries & feta
- one of these 7 Easy Rice Recipes or this Cauliflower Rice!
Recipe tips
- I bake my chicken on a good quality sheet pan (I use these ones!)
- I cover my chicken while it's resting with my 9 x 13 inch baking pan
- Looking for more chicken marinade recipes? Try this Chipotle Lime Chicken Marinade, this Shortcut Jamaican Jerk Chicken Marinade or this Simple Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade.
- You may also like this Baked Chicken Parmesan
Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (roughly 2 large chicken breasts)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon thyme leaves
Instructions
- Toss chicken in olive oil, then in the spices.
- (optional) Marinate for 2-24 hours.
- Heat oven to 450°F.
- Arrange chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Cook according to the size of the chicken breast:
5 oz 12-15 min7 oz 15-20 min10 oz 20-25 min - Remove from oven and cover with a baking dish. Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve right away or save for your meal prep!
To freeze chicken in the marinade
- Combine all ingredients in a heavy duty freezer bag (or re-usable silicone bag). Squeeze as much air out as possible and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw completely in the fridge before baking as instructed above.
Mrs. Chance
Quick question: Which lemon pepper seasoning do you use? Some brands of lemon pepper seasoning contain salt, others do not. I see that you use salt in addition to the lemon pepper seaaoning in your recipe. Is it safe to assume that you use a LP seasoning that does not contain salt already?
Denise Bustard
Hi! I use McKormick brand, and the first ingredient is salt. Some people do find this to be too assertive, so you could try making it without added salt, then season with salt if you feel it's necessary when serving. Hope you enjoy!
Elaine
My husband and I love this recipe and use it often. I try to get it marinated for a couple of hours at least. I do also sprinkle a little extra lemon pepper on it before putting it in the oven.
Denise
So happy to hear you and your husband enjoy, Elaine! Thanks for leaving a review with such helpful feedback <3
Fran Bellas
This is my most “go to” and shared meal prep recipe link. I prep one or two marinades at a time and keep the freezer stocked. We grill a couple on Sunday and eat throughout the week. The varied marinades keep us from getting bored. Such a time and budget saver.
Denise
I'm so happy to hear this, Fran! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Kimberly Glenn
I wasn't able to marinade due to poor planning on my part (go figure)! I rubbed the marinade into the chicken and cooked it in the toaster oven for 15 minutes at 450. Came out juicy and flavorful! Next time I'd probably cut the salt in half!
Denise
Nice! Happy to hear you enjoyed!
Katie
SO GOOD! I put it on turkey breast instead of chicken breast and the turkey breast was actually not dry! Marinating over night I think definitely helped. I also didn’t have basil so I just doubled the oregano and it was so yummy. Will definitely make again!
Denise
I'm so happy you enjoyed, Katie! Great to know it works with turkey breast. Thanks for reporting back 😉
Sara
Our whole family loved this! Thanks for another delicious (and so easy!) recipe!
Denise
So happy you enjoyed! Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to leave a review 🙂
Cindy Arold
All I could taste was Oregeno, Basil & Thyme. I will never do this again. Didn't even taste anything like Lemon Pepper Chicken. Left in marinating sauce overnight. Yuck!
Denise
Hi Cindy! I 'm so sorry to hear that, but also surprised since this was one of our recipes in the Freezer Meal Prep Challenge back in September, and I had no negative feedback on the recipe. I will be retesting again this week as I hate hearing a review like this on one of my recipes 🙁
Denise
I just remade this recipe for dinner tonight to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with it. My whole family loves this recipe (kids included), and no one thought the herbs were overpowering. I'm guessing it could be due to differences in lemon pepper brands, or just differences in taste buds. 🤷♀️
Tammy
Can you add potatoes to the recipe . Thanks
Denise
Hi Tammy! Sure, you could add potatoes, but in general I find they take longer than chicken breast to cook through (40-45 min versus 25 min for the chicken). But the spice blend would be great on the potatoes!
Emma
Hi Denise!
When you say 1lb of chicken breasts (but roughly 7 large chicken breasts, do you mean thighs? I usually use about 3 chicken breasts for a pound, but maybe it depends on the size?
Let me know 🙂 Thanks!
Denise
That was a typo! It's 2-3 chicken breasts in 1 lb generally 🙂 Thanks for catching, recipe is updated now.