This Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs with Capers dish is irresistibly delicious! It’s a 1-pan wonder that’s loaded with flavor and so easy to make. You’ll love this garlicky, bright, and succulent chicken for weeknight dinners and beyond. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles to soak up the epic pan sauce here!

creamy chicken thighs in skillet

Ahhh…and just like that, here we are in November. Like, we’re less than two months away from 2020, y’all! And we’re also only weeks away from the holidays. How has this year been for you? Have you tackled anything you set out to accomplish in 2019? What recipes of mine did you make this year? You know I just had to squeeze that in, ha!

For me, there’s been a steady rotation of my beef chili, this honey mustard chicken, and this smoked gouda mac and cheese in my household lately. ‘Tis the season for all things cozy and a bit indulgent. And I hope you’re not beating yourself up for enjoying a treat or two either. I’ve also been rewatching some old shows on Netflix like Breaking Bad and Dexter; btw I’m always down for recommendations on what to binge next so lemme know!

Lately, I’ve been having so much fun in the kitchen experimenting with this and that. Some recipes are major wins and some not so much but hey they can’t all be great, right? I am unabashedly a major fan of all things with LEMON. Forever and ever and ever and ever. This is no secret at all to anyone who knows me, I *love* the scent of lemons. May it be lemon sweets, lemon in savory dishes, lemon slices in my water, lemonade, lemon candles; whatever…just gimme dat lemon!

chicken thighs with mashed potatoes and green beans on plate

Consequently, that leads me to tell you about these creamy lemon garlic chicken thighs with capers!

This dish is hands down one of my absolute favorites. Chicken thighs, for starters, are one of my favorite parts of the chicken. They are usually super affordable in grocery stores, and if you’re lucky, they’re frequently on sale too.

Hello, we are trying to save our coins, right? Chicken thighs yield more flavor because of their tender dark meat. I prefer to always buy them bone-in and skin-on for extra flavor when braising and roasting. Additionally, did you know that chicken thighs are more flavorful than other chicken parts? Yup.

ingredients for creamy lemon garlic chicken thighs with capers on tiled surface

Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs w/ Capers Ingredients:

(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card directly below.)

  • Chicken Thighs: Bone-in and skin-on!
  • Lemon Juice: Fresh-squeezed lemon juice is the best of the best (so don’t even think about buying that pre-bottled nonsense, please!) for that bright kiss of lemony goodness.
  • Garlic: Look for either WHOLE cloves of garlic or grab an entire head of garlic and peel it; they sauté beautifully in the pan and make this dish pop right alongside all the other flavors!
  • Chicken Broth: To develop the pan sauce and add more chicken flavor.
  • Heavy Cream: To kick up the rich, creaminess in the sauce.
  • Capers: These itty bitty briny flower buds have a wonderfully tasty, salty, and sweet vibe to them.
  • Butter & Olive Oil: The combination of both to sauté the chicken thighs.
  • Seasonings: For this recipe, we’ll use lemon pepper, garlic powder, and dried parsley to season the chicken thighs. Try and get lemon pepper seasoning that has salt already in it- but if your lemon pepper seasoning is sodium-free, you’ll need to add a few pinches of salt.
raw, seasoned chicken thighs in plastic bag
creamy lemon garlic sauce in skillet

How To Make This Skillet Chicken Dinner:

(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)

  1. Place the chicken into a large resealable bag or bowl and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic powder, and dried parsley. Use your hand to massage the spices into the chicken until thoroughly coated. Then transfer to the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, working in batches if needed, place the chicken thighs skin-side down into the skillet. Let the chicken brown, undisturbed, until golden brown- about 3-4 minutes. Then flip the chicken onto the other side to continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Then transfer the browned chicken thighs to a clean plate/vessel.
  3. Add the garlic cloves into the skillet and sauté until the cloves soften and achieve a golden brown color, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth to deglaze and use a wooden utensil to scrape up any bits along the bottom of the skillet, let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Then add the cream and lemon juice, and stir well to combine. Let the mixture come up to a slight boil. Then add the capers into the sauce and stir well to combine.
  4. Place the browned chicken thighs into the skillet and spoon the sauce over the thighs. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the chicken cook with the pan sauce for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken registers 165°F when checked with an internal thermometer for doneness. 
  5. Spoon the creamy lemon garlic caper sauce over the chicken thighs and serve alongside your favorite sides. Yuhhh 👅!
creamy lemon garlic chicken thighs with capers in skillet

A Few Notes About This Recipe:

As previously mentioned above, everything is made in 1-pan which makes this dish such a dream!

Now, you may think to yourself, garlic powder seasoning AND whole garlic cloves? Quin, are we doing too much with the garlic? The answer, my friends, is NOT AT ALL. You see, I find the garlic flavor to be subtle and not overwhelming at all because once the cloves cook, their flavor isn’t as potent. If you are a garlic head like myself, then you can eat the whole garlic cloves right along with everything else if you wish. Otherwise, they’ll just act as a beautiful flavor bomb in this creamy lemon garlic chicken thighs with capers recipe.

What To Serve With Your Saucy Chicken?

We love this recipe alongside some fluffy mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles. The pan sauce soaks up nearly any side you could imagine! This saucy garlic chicken dish will also be so good with:

chicken thighs with mashed potatoes and green beans on plate

Mmm these Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs with Capers, y’all, it’s sooo dang good. It’s popular for a reason! Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾

More incredible eats you can’t miss:

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creamy chicken thighs in skillet

Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs with Capers

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 19 reviews
  • Author: Quin Liburd
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 2-4
  • Category: Main Dishes
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs with Capers dish is irresistibly delicious! It’s a 1-pan wonder that’s loaded with flavor and so easy to make. You’ll love this garlicky, bright, and succulent chicken for weeknight dinners and beyond. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles to soak up the epic pan sauce here!

Ingredients

  • 6 bone-in & skin-on chicken thighs, excess skin removed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 10–12 cloves of garlic
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup nonpareil capers

Instructions

  1. Season chicken & marinate. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Place the chicken into a large resealable bag or bowl and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic powder, and dried parsley. Use your hand to massage the spices into the chicken until thoroughly coated. Then seal the bag or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
  2. Brown the chicken. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, working in batches (about 3 at a time), place the chicken thighs skin-side down into the skillet. Let the chicken brown, undisturbed, until golden brown- about 3-4 minutes. Then flip the chicken onto the other side to continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Then transfer the browned chicken thighs to a clean plate/vessel and repeat the process with the remaining batch of chicken thighs. Note: the chicken will not be cooked through entirely at this stage but will finish later on.
  3. Caramelize the garlic cloves. Add the garlic cloves into the skillet and sauté, stirring often, until the cloves soften and achieve a golden brown color, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Build the creamy sauce. Add the chicken broth to deglaze and use a wooden utensil to scrape up any bits along the bottom of the skillet, let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Then add the cream and lemon juice, and stir well to combine. Let the mixture come up to a slight boil while stirring every so often. Then add the capers into the sauce and stir well to combine.
  5. Finish the creamy chicken thighs. Place the browned chicken thighs into the skillet and spoon the sauce over the thighs. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the chicken cook with the pan sauce for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce thickens some AND the chicken registers 165°F when checked with an internal thermometer for doneness. 
  6. Serve. Spoon the creamy lemon garlic caper sauce over the chicken thighs and serve alongside your favorite sides. Enjoy!

Notes

  1. Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.

Recipe by: Quin Liburd- Butter Be Ready

Photography by: Ashley McLaughlin

closeup of creamy lemon garlic chicken thighs in skillet