These healthy chicken breasts are pan-seared and then roasted until tender and juicy. They pair fantastically well with a creamy lemon caper sauce.
These pan fried and baked chicken breasts are a tasty and flavorful dinner that’s both comforting and low carb/keto friendly. The chicken breasts are seasoned and coated with almond flour before being dipped in egg and then fried on a hot skillet. Each side of the chicken breasts develops a nicely browned crisp skin, and then they’re transferred to the oven to roast until tender.
The sauce is probably the best part: a thick and creamy sauce with capers, along with a strong lemon flavor and a bit of garlic. The sauce is poured over the roasted chicken breasts, and there’s plenty left over to coat the exposed chicken slices.
Baking times for chicken breasts can vary a lot depending on the thickness of the chicken. I recommend using an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the thickest part of the chicken breast, which should read at least 165 F. You don’t want undercooked chicken and you also don’t want overcooked chicken, which will be tougher to chew.
I typically pound chicken breasts to flatten or slice horizontally through particularly thick ones; this ensures that the chicken pieces are all of the same thickness and will cook at the same rates. It takes me approximately 20 to 30 minutes to cook a 3/4 to 1 inch thick chicken breast at 350 F.
I chose a low carb vegetable — zucchini “noodles” — to accompany the chicken (and to help sop up the delicious creamy sauce, of course). I don’t spiralize the zucchini myself; I usually buy pre-spiralized zucchini at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. To cook them, I give them a quick zap in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. If you don’t like zucchini, other great ideas include steamed broccoli florets. You can prepare and cook the broccoli while the chicken is baking.
If you don’t have almond flour, you can substitute with any other kind of flour such as all-purpose wheat flour, coconut flour, gluten-free flour, paleo flour, etc. Just remember that the net carbs count in the recipe’s nutrition facts below will change if you substitute ingredients.
For more low carb recipes, check out my cashew chicken and broccoli and crunchy fried chicken.
Pan Seared and Baked Chicken with Creamy Lemon Caper Sauce
These healthy chicken breasts are pan-seared and then roasted until tender and juicy. They pair fantastically well with a creamy lemon caper sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 eggs well beaten
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- salt and pepper
For creamy caper sauce:
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup diced onions
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter sliced
For serving:
- 4 ounces zucchini noodles cooked
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a large baking sheet. Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.
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Pound to flatten all chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Or slice horizontally to reduce thickness.
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Prepare 2 shallow plates, one with almond flour and the other with beaten egg. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, patting down with the flour to coat well, and then in the egg, coating both sides. Transfer the chicken to the hot pan. Cook until the chicken is golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the chicken to the baking sheet. Repeat for all chicken breasts. Turn off the heat.
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Transfer the baking sheet with the chicken to the oven. Bake until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of at least 165 F), about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. Transfer the chicken breasts to a serving plate.
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While the chicken is baking, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, and capers, cooking until the garlic browns, about a minute, stirring occasionally.
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Add lemon juice to the pan and stir. Add heavy whipping cream and butter, stirring until the butter has melted. Let the sauce simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low to keep the sauce warm while you wait for the chicken to bake.
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When the chicken is cooked, give the caper sauce a stir and pour it over the chicken and zucchini noodles. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Info
This recipe yields 9 g net carbs per serving.
| Nutrition Facts Per Serving |
| Calories 1110 | |
| Total Fat 84g | 128% |
| Saturated Fat 36g | 180% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 497mg | 166% |
| Sodium 940mg | 39% |
| Potassium 800mg | 23% |
| Total Carb 13g | 4% |
| Dietary Fiber 4g | 16% |
| Sugars 3.5g | |
| Protein 65g |
I grew up in a very poorRoman Catholic Italian family. But, I remember my momma making chicken pan seared with lemon caper sauce. She never skempt on flavor! And on rare occasions veal picata too! This receipe takes me back to being a little boy under momma’s foot in the kitchen. I’m so glad I learned from a seasoned cook like momma and Julia! I followed Julia’s receipe and couldn’t tell the difference in taste. If momma was here,she would approve!!! ❤
This was so very good. I’ll make it again and again!
Wow, this was amazing! Definitely making it again soon.
Calories really 1110 per serving. It’s really good, but not for that calorie count
The calorie information is correct. To make it less calorie dense, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream.