These easy and delicious glazed lemon glazed chicken come together quickly for a perfect weeknight meal. Lovely served with rice or mashed potatoes.

glazed lemon chicken thighs in pan with lemon slices

I have been making this delicious lemon-glazed chicken for a long time. I love the delicious lemon sauce, made easily by starting with store-bought apricot jam and fresh lemon juice, zest and slices. The jam provides the perfect glaze, while being subtle enough to allow the lemon flavours to shine.

If you’re a lemon lover and looking for a tasty new way to enjoy chicken thighs, I hope you’ll give this one a try!

Ingredients and substitutions

Chicken – I love skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs for their flavour and moistness, but bone-in/skin-on chicken breasts are fine here as well. The cooking time may be slightly longer with for the chicken breasts. Boneless/skinless chicken will also work, though the oven time would definitely be less.

Apricot Jam – Yes, apricot jam! It may seem strange to make lemon chicken with apricot jam, but the subtle flavour of apricot jam works perfectly for providing the “glaze” part. Add to it the lemon juice, zest and slices and the result is lemon flavour, not apricot flavour. I love Bonne Maman Apricot Jam myself, but any Apricot Jam will work just fine here.

Mustard – You’ll just need regular, prepared yellow mustard here.

Lemon juice and zest – Fresh lemon is always best and of course, you won’t be able to get the zest without fresh lemons. You will need 2 lemons – 1 for the zest and juice and a second one, for the lemon slices to put on top of the chicken pieces.

Step-by-step photos

photo collage of steps to make lemon glazed chicken thighs 1

Step 1: Cook the chicken thighs, skin side down, until golden. This will set the skin and cook off some of the fat, that we can remove and discard before adding the sauce. Meanwhile, mix up the easy sauce.

photo collage of steps to make lemon glazed chicken thighs 2

Step 2: Flip the chicken over to cook the underside slightly, then remove and discard the fat, add the sauce and pop in the oven. Meanwhile, cut some lemon slices and after 15 minutes of baking, remove the chicken from the oven, top with a lemon slice and return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with some fresh thyme leaves or some chopped fresh parsley, if you like.

Recipe tips!

  • You can tweak the amount of added lemon juice a bit up or down to suit. Some jams are sweeter and need a little more lemon juice to balance it, or if you just like a more forward lemon flavour.
  • I like to sear the chicken in a non-stick skillet on the stovetop (because it’s non-stick!), then I transfer the chicken (leaving the fat behind) to a baking pan or dish to do the oven-cooking.
  • Placing the lemon slices on top of the chicken will soften the skin underneath them, but the upside is that the lemon juice will cook down into the chicken. If you really want to preserve the glaze and skin on top of the chicken, you can place the lemon slices a little askew, leaning on the side of the chicken (between the pieces), instead.
  • It’s always good to check the chicken with an instant-read thermometer before removing it from the oven. Make sure it has reached at least 165F internal temperature.
glazed lemon chicken thighs in pan with lemon slices

What to serve with lemon chicken

I love to serve this dish with rice or try mashed or roasted potatoes and a green vegetable.

glazed lemon chicken thighs in pan with lemon slices

Get the Recipe: Glazed Lemon Chicken

Easy and delicious lemon glazed chicken. Comes together quickly with an easy sauce for a great weeknight meal. Use any cut of chicken!
5 stars from 8 ratings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients

  • 5-6 bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs, or 3 bone-in breasts or *see Note 1 for boneless chicken
  • 1/3 cup apricot jam
  • 1 Tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
  • 4 teaspoons lemon juice, fresh
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • Pinch salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 3 lemon slices, thinly sliced
  • Fresh thyme leaves, or chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375F.
  • Heat a skillet (preferably non-stick) over medium-high heat on the stove-top. Pat dry the skin of the chicken thighs and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook until nicely golden, about 5-6 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing together the jam, mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper and stir in.
  • When chicken skin is golden, flip over and cook the underside for a minute, then remove chicken to an oven-safe baking pan or dish (not too large – just enough to hold the chicken with a little space between). Spoon the sauce over the chicken pieces.
  • For bone-in chicken thighs, bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and place the lemon slices either on top of the chicken or alongside then. Return to the oven and bake 15 minutes more, or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches at least 165F internal temperature. For bone-in chicken breasts, increase oven cooking time to about 40 minutes total. For boneless chicken thighs, reduce oven time to 15-20 minutes. For boneless chicken breasts, reduce oven time to 25-30 minutes or in all cases, until chicken registers 165F internal temperature.
  • Serve garnished with fresh thyme leaves.

Notes

  1. You could also use boneless chicken thighs or boneless chicken breasts. Reduce the oven time by 10-15 minutes or until they register 165F internal temperature.
Be sure to read the Ingredient and Cook’s Notes above the Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe. You’ll also find Step-by-Step photos of the preparation of this dish there, as well.
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Course: Main Course
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 483kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 185mg, Sodium: 213mg, Potassium: 425mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 205IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg
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