Creamy Lemon Sage Sauce for Chicken
Creamy lemon and sage sauce for chicken is an easy one-skillet meal ready in no time! Slightly sweet, deliciously creamy, with warm notes from the sage. This is the perfect Spring and Summer meal and easy to whip up in a single cast iron skillet.
Related: Chicken Manchurian Recipe
Related: Honey Jalapeno Chicken Recipe
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Table Of Contents
- how to make Lemon Sage Cream sauce for chicken
- how to store creamy lemon sage sauce
- In a pinch instructions
- creamy lemon sage chicken Tips
- Side dishes to serve with creamy lemon sage chicken
- Creamy lemon sage sauce Serving Suggestions
- shop this post
- more Dinner recipes
- Shop my Six Month Meal Plans
- Pin it for later – Lemon sage cream sauce
- print the lemon sage cream sauce for chicken recipe
- Creamy Lemon Sage Sauce for Chicken
- how to store creamy lemon sage sauce
- In a pinch instructions
- creamy lemon sage chicken Tips
- About Me
how to make Lemon Sage Cream sauce for chicken
This cream sauce is slightly sweet since I call for Meyer lemons which are sweeter than regular lemons – also, I use honey to naturally sweeten the sauce. The cream and sage offer warm flavors to this dish making it perfect for any season of the year!
Lemon sage sauce with chicken Ingredients
- Chicken breast – my method for cooking chicken breasts below will give you the most flavor and juiciest chicken! This recipe could really be used with any cut of the chicken though.
- Butter – use high-quality, grass-fed butter for best results.
- Yellow onion – sweet onions are the best for this dish!
- White wine vinegar – you could also use white drinking wine, but I actually prefer cooking with white wine vinegar.
- Dijon mustard – this is the secret sauce to adding BIG flavor with just a little amount.
- Honey – just a touch of honey for some sweetness.
- Meyer lemons – Meyer lemons are sweeter than regular lemons and are abosolutely delicious if you can get your hands on them.
- Sage – I love the warm, almost musky taste of sage! It pairs perfectly with lemons.
- Heavy cream – you could use any alternative cream you like, but I love good old-fasioned raw cream.
- Sea salt and pepper – be sure to use sea salt and not table salt. Table salt is devoid of nutrients but sea salt has many beneficial trace minerals.
sauce and chicken Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mallet the chicken breasts if they’re really thick so they are similar in thickness.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season each side with a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
- Heat a large, cast iron (or alternative oven-safe) skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and heat until sizzling.
- Place the chicken into the skillet and sear for 4-6 minutes (depending on thickness of your chicken), until brown on one side.
- Flip and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add more butter if needed to keep the pan greased.
- Place the skillet with the chicken breasts in a preheated oven until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a clean plate to rest while you make your sauce.
- Place the skillet (with juices from chicken) over medium-high heat and add another tbs of butter.
- Add your white wine vinegar and the lemon juice to deglaze the pan.
- Add in the onion and let cook for about 3 minutes until soft.
- Add the dijon mustard and honey and stir until combined into the sauce.
- Then add your lemon slices and sage leaves (leaving the chopped sage for garnish). Simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce reduces by about half and becomes a golden brown color.
- Add the heavy cream and heat just until bubbling (about 1 minute).
- Slice your chicken breasts and add them back into the pan, scooping the sauce overtop the chicken and topping with chopped sage.
how to store creamy lemon sage sauce
Refrigerator
Store your creamy chicken in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Keep the sauce and the chicken together then reheat in a cast-iron skillet over low-medium heat. Cover with a lid (or baking sheet) to keep the juices in and heat until warmed throughout.
Freezer
Store your cooked lemon sage creamy chicken in the freezer for up to a month.
Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in a cast-iron skillet over low-medium heat. Cover with a lid (or baking sheet) to keep the juices in and heat until warmed throughout.
In a pinch instructions
Here are some tips if you’re in a pinch and need to shave some time off this recipe.
- Use a bottle of lemon juice instead of lemons. Omit the sliced lemons in the sauce.
- Use chicken tenders instead of breasts. There will be no need to pop the chicken in the oven if using chicken tenders.
- Purchase prechopped onions.
creamy lemon sage chicken Tips
- Meyer lemons – Meyer lemons are SO much tastier than regular lemons! Use these if you can get your hands on them.
- Oven roast – In order to fully cook your chicken breasts, while also getting that nice sear on the outsides, you’ll want to roast in the oven for a few minutes right after browning the outsides.
- Cast iron – Cooking chicken in a cast iron skillet gives it the best browning and crust on the ourside and also gives that restaurant quality flavor!
- Preheat – Be sure to preheat your skillet (especially cast iron) and then also preheat your butter prior to adding your chicken. This ensures the chicken wont stick and will also give you the perfect crust.
Related: For more cast iron cooking tips click here
Side dishes to serve with creamy lemon sage chicken
Rice cooked in bone broth
Roasted garlic sourdough bread
Creamy lemon sage sauce Serving Suggestions
If you aren’t a fan of chicken, here are some alternate ideas for this creamy lemon sage sauce. If you aren’t using chicken, you won’t get the flavor from the pan drippings, but it’ll still taste delicious!
- Ravioli with lemon sage cream sauce
- Angel hair pasta
- Fish (I’m thinking like a halibut or another white fish would be great!)
- Gnocchi – I’m always a huge gnocchi fan and I think this would be amazing with the cream sauce.
Related: Gnocchi Tray Bake Recipe
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more Dinner recipes
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Easy Lemon Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Steak Arugula Salad with Salsa Gremolata
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Pin it for later – Lemon sage cream sauce
Related: Hong-Kong Style Sweet and Sour Chicken
print the lemon sage cream sauce for chicken recipe
Creamy Lemon Sage Sauce for Chicken
Creamy lemon and sage sauce for chicken is an easy one-skillet meal ready in no time! Slightly sweet, deliciously creamy, with warm notes from the sage.
Equipment
- 1 Cast iron skillet or stainless steel
- 1 mallet optional (you could also use something else heavy to flatten thick chicken breasts)
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbs butter
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- juice from 1 meyer lemon
- 1 meyer lemon sliced and seeded
- 1 tbs dijon mustard
- 1 tbs honey
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 cup heavy cream or alternative milk choice (make sure it's creamy and thick)
- handful fresh sage leaves
- 2 tsp chopped sage leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mallet the chicken breasts if they're really thick so they are similar in thickness.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season each side with a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
- Heat a large, cast iron (or alternative oven-safe) skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and heat until sizzling.
- Place the chicken into the skillet and sear for 4-6 minutes (depending on thickness of your chicken), until brown on one side.
- Flip and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add more butter if needed to keep the pan greased.
- Place the skillet with the chicken breasts in a preheated oven until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a clean plate to rest while you make your sauce.
- Place the skillet (with juices from chicken) over medium-high heat and add another tbs of butter.
- Add your white wine vinegar and the lemon juice to deglaze the pan.
- Add in the onion and let cook for about 3 minutes until soft.
- Add the dijon mustard and honey and stir until combined into the sauce.
- Then add your lemon slices and sage leaves (leaving the chopped sage for garnish). Simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce reduces by about half and becomes a golden brown color.
- Add the heavy cream and heat just until bubbling (about 1 minute).
- Slice your chicken breasts and add them back into the pan, scooping the sauce overtop the chicken and top with chopped sage.
Video
Notes
how to store creamy lemon sage sauce
Refrigerator
Store your creamy chicken in the fridge for up to 4 days. Keep the sauce and the chicken together then reheat in a cast iron skillet over low-medium heat. Cover with a lid (or baking sheet) to keep the juices in and heat until warmed throughout.Freezer
Store your cooked lemon sage creamy chicken in the freezer for up to a month. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in a cast iron skillet over low-medium heat. Cover with a lid (or baking sheet) to keep the juices in and heat until warmed throughout.In a pinch instructions
Here are some tips if you’re in a pinch and need to shave some time off this recipe.- Use a bottle of lemon juice instead of lemons. Omit the sliced lemons in the sauce.
- Use chicken tenders instead of breasts. There will be no need to pop the chicken in the oven if using chicken tenders.
- Purchase prechopped onions.
creamy lemon sage chicken Tips
- Meyer lemons – Meyer lemons are SO much tastier than regular lemons! Use these if you can get your hands on them.
- Oven roast – In order to fully cook your chicken breasts, while also getting that nice sear on the outsides, you’ll want to roast in the oven for a few minutes right after browning the outsides.
- Cast iron – Cooking chicken in a cast-iron skillet gives it the best browning and crust on the outside and also gives that restaurant-quality flavor!
- Preheat – Be sure to preheat your skillet (especially cast iron) and then also preheat your butter prior to adding your chicken. This ensures the chicken won’t stick and will also give you the perfect crust.
For more cast iron cooking tips click here
About Me
Very good use for sage. I used a mix of kefir and milk instead of cream as it was all i had on hand and added to pasta.
I love the use of kefir and milk! Great idea – I’m sure it gave a nice little hint of sour.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Please let me know how you like this recipe.