What’s not to love about lemon and basil together? Add a bit of bacon, tender chicken, and plenty of juicy tomatoes and I am going to be all over that dish. When I first saw this sauce in my friend Shawn’s cookbook, I couldn’t get it out of my head. As she wrote the original recipe, the chicken in this recipe is replaced with scallops, which I imagine tastes fantastic too. However, I already had chicken on hand, so I went with the option I already had in the house.
This Chicken with Lemon Basil Sauce is amazingly flavorful, with a sprinkling of bacon, plenty of lemon and a surprising richness in the simple sauce. I served the chicken with the sauce over crisp spiralized zucchini and the lemony sauce was absolutely perfect with the vegetables. If rice or pasta is more your style, the chicken is great served that way as well.
- 4 strips of bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- zest from 1 lemon about 1 tablespoon minced
- juice from 1 lemon about 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 large basil leaves about 2 tablespoons finely sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- For serving choose one:
- 3 raw medium-size Italian zucchini spiralized or julienned
- 8 ounces angel hair pasta cooked
- 2 cups Jasmine rice cooked
- Heat a large stainless skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon. While the bacon is cooking, sprinkle the cornstarch, salt, and pepper over the cut up chicken. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan with a slotted spatula and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Drain the grease from the pan, leaving 2 tablespoons in the pan.
- Place the hot pan back over medium heat and spread the chicken across the pan. Let it cook without stirring for 2 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, just until cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate or bowl.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes. Stirring occasionally and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet as it cooks. When the sauce has thickened slightly, add the butter and basil. Taste and add more salt and pepper, only if needed. Add the chicken and tomatoes to the sauce.
- Serve the zucchini noodles, pasta, or rice topped with the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle each serving with the cooked and crumbled bacon. Enjoy!
A splatter screen is very helpful when cooking the bacon for this recipe. Also, I'm a big fan of this spiralizer or this julienee tool for slicing the zucchini into perfectly "twirlable" noodles.
ONE YEAR AGO: Ginger Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
TWO YEARS AGO: Crock-Pot Balsamic and Brown Sugar Pork Roast
THREE YEARS AGO: Fuji Apple Chicken Salad
FOUR YEARS AGO: Crock-Pot Split Pea Ham and Leek Soup
All you need to do to be entered to win a copy of Express Lane Cooking is leave a comment on this post telling me what you had for dinner last night!
Make sure there is an email address included so that I can contact the winner. Entry is limited to US residents only. I wish I could include everyone, but the legalities involved with international giveaways prevent me from doing that. Giveaway ends Sunday, August 16th, 2015 at 11:59pm EST. Good Luck!
Shawn @ I Wash You Dry says
Oh I love what you did with this recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing!! 🙂
Anonymous says
We just had hot dogs, since hubby had to work very late.
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Bows says
Your honey Siiracha chicken! Love it!
Adina says
This looks delicious, I would love some right now. Last night we had sauteed mushrooms and some leftover rice, which I fried with spring onions, corn and peppers.
Anonymous says
Had a garden vegetable salad with beets, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, basil and green onions all from my garden! The only thing I purchased was lettuce. It was yummy with balsamic vinaigrette.
Anonymous says
my e-mail address is [email protected]
Stephanie says
I'll be honest and tell you Cheerios and milk. But the night before was Chicken Kofta with a cucumber/mint/yogurt sauce on Naan. Congratulations to Shawn and thanks for hosting a generous giveaway!
Dorothy says
Whole grain sandwich thin with scrambled eggs 🙂
Diane Zweig says
Last night I had a peanut butter and jam sandwich. I just could not get motivated to make anything else! I like to cook when I am in the mood but last night was one of those moody nights! Hoping to receive a great cookbook to motivate me!