Lemon & Dill Chicken

Lemon & Dill Chicken is a great start to a complete meal and goes with any grain—like pasta, rice, quinoa or farro—or as an accompaniment for a simple salad. Protein-rich chicken breast is infused with a bright lemon and dill sauce, so good that you'll want to double it. Keep reading for our expert tips, including how to make sure you don't dry out the chicken breast.

Tips From the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! 

• To achieve tender and moist chicken breasts, avoid overcrowding your skillet. Use an instant-read thermometer to test for doneness instead of slicing into the chicken. Remove the chicken from the skillet when it reaches an internal temperature of 160°F. Then, loosely cover it with foil and let it rest for about 5 minutes until the temperature reaches 165°F.
• Chicken breasts should be about the same thickness to ensure they cook evenly and at the same rate. If they're not, place them in a zip-top bag and pound them with a meat mallet or a heavy skillet to achieve a uniform thickness.
• This recipe calls for fresh dill for the sauce and garnish. Fresh herb garnishes not only enhance a dish's appearance but also add a burst of fresh flavor—they're best not to skip.
• If you're out of fresh dill, you can substitute it with fresh oregano, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, chives, basil or mint. Keep in mind, though, that this will slightly alter the flavor of the sauce.
  

Nutrition Notes

• Chicken breast is a great source of lean protein. But that's not all it provides. It's also got micronutrients, like choline and B vitamins, for a healthy nervous system. There's evidence that replacing red meat with poultry may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Chicken broth doesn't add a lot of nutrition to this dish (though it does depend on the brand). We recommend using reduced-sodium broth since it allows you to have more control over the sodium content.
• Lemon and dill add a lot of flavor to the sauce, but since they're such small amounts, they don't add a lot of nutrition. With that said, by regularly including these two foods in your diet, you'll be adding antioxidants and vitamins and minerals, like vitamin C. Over time, they do add up.