Lemon Garlic Chicken and Zoodles
An easy and flavorful one pot dinner of perfectly seasoned and seared chicken breasts over a bed of lemon garlic zoodles.
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One pot dinners are definitely some of my favorite! Who doesn’t love the idea of having dinner cooked in one pan, as a complete meal? There’s less prep work, less cooking time and multi-tasking, and less dishes to worry about after dinner! One pot cooking definitely couldn’t make things any easier.
How to Make Lemon Garlic Chicken Zoodles
For most of my one pot meals, I like using a Stainless Steel saute pan similar to this. I find that stainless steel cooks more evenly than other cookware types and if used properly they are easy to use and clean up.
How to make Zoodles
The best way to make zoodles is to use a quality Spiralizer. I like this Mueller brand spiralizer because it does a great job of getting perfect noodles! Plus it also functions as a grater, juicer and mandoline slicer. In my small kitchen having a tool serve multiple purposes is a must!
The trick to getting great spiralized zucchini noodles is by using a fat zucchini to begin with. With my spiralizer, I find that cutting the end of the zucchini so it sits flat on the blade gives me the best results. Mueller also has a YouTube video showing just how to do it!
Cooking the chicken
It’s important to start with chicken breasts that are even in thickness. Pound each chicken breast with a meat tenderizer until they are about 1/2″ – 3/4″ thick. Not only will thinner chicken breasts cook a bit faster, but if all of the chicken breasts are the same thickness, they will cook evenly.
When making lemon garlic chicken zoodles, searing the chicken on a higher heat will really help lock in the flavor and keep the chicken juicy and tender! Don’t worry about the browned bits that stick to the pan after searing the chicken. Use a bit of chicken broth and pour it in the pan while it’s still hot. This will help you “deglaze” the pot by releasing all of the browned bits.
Cooking the zoodles
After searing the chicken and deglazing the pan, gently toss the zucchini zoodles in the flavored broth to get them nice and coated. Add the chicken back to the pan and cook the lemon garlic zoodles and chicken covered over low heat just until the chicken is cooked through. You don’t want to overcook the zoodles as they can get mushy. They will take 3-5 minutes to cook through.
What to serve with Lemon Garlic Chicken and Zoodles
The best part of this easy one pot dinner is that it really is an all in one meal. Lemon garlic chicken zoodles are packed with protein from the chicken, but offers up a generous serving of vegetables with the zucchini noodles. If you are looking for something else to serve with lemon garlic chicken and zoodles, here are some of my ideas:
- Cottage Cheese
- Cooked Carrots
- Fruit Salad
More One Pot dinner ideas
- One Pot Cheesy Chicken and Zoodles
- One Pot Beef and Broccoli
- One Pan Chili Lime Skillet Chicken
- One Pot Sausage Spinach Pasta
- One Pot Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
Don’t forget to pin it!
One Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken and Zoodles
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided
- 4 tbsp lemon juice divided
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 3 medium to large zucchini spiralized
- 1 tsp lemon zest optional
- parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Pound chicken breasts until they are about 1/2″ – 3/4″ in thickness evenly. This will ensure even cooking times.
- In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and smoked paprika. Rub mixture on both sides of the 4 chicken breasts.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add 3 tbsp olive oil to the pan. Place chicken breasts in pan and sear over medium high heat 5-7 minutes each side. While chicken is searing on each side, add 2 tbsp of lemon juice to the chicken.
- Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and saute garlic until fragrant.
- Stir in chicken broth and deglaze the pan by scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Stir in zoodles and remaining lemon juice.
- Add chicken back to pan. Cover and cook on low until chicken is cooked through and zucchini has cooked down some. Zoodles should still have a bit of crunch, but not be mushy, about 5 minutes.
- Top chicken with lemon zest and parmesan cheese before serving.
This looks amazing! Your pictures are making my mouth water 🙂 Pinned.