I Tried Ina Garten's 6-Ingredient Lemon Chicken, and I’m Finally Looking Forward to Chicken Breast Recipes Again

Published on July 22, 2025

Ina Garten has shared more than 1,300 recipes since she debuted her first cookbook in 1999. Although I don’t think I’ll ever reach the milestone of cooking and baking my way through every single one—as superfan and Store-Bought is Fine blogger Trent Pheifer has—I have been enjoying whipping up at least one per week since I finished her touching memoir.

After unexpected wins with ultra-streamlined recipes like her Tomato and Avocado Salad and Slow-Roasted Beef Filet, I decided to keep playing the classics and try one of Ina’s 5 most popular recipes for summer next: Lemon Chicken Breasts. I grew up on a steady diet of boneless skinless chicken breasts, however, I’ve recently been on a chicken thigh kick. Could Ina convince me that chicken breasts are worthy of a place back in the regular rotation? More than 1,000 5-star reviews for her Lemon Chicken Breast recipe say yes, including one who called this “probably the BEST roast chicken breast recipe I have ever made or eaten.” Let’s give it a try and find out together.

How to Make Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken Breasts

This easy chicken breast recipe originally appeared in Ina’s 2010 cookbook Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That? According to fans who continue to make it on repeat and declare it “flavorful and moist” and “so simple and very tasty,” the chicken dinner idea stands the test of time. Here’s how to make it:

1. Make the sauce. In a saucepan over medium-low, warm olive oil and minced garlic for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat, and add a splash of dry white wine, grated lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, dried oregano, fresh thyme, and kosher salt. Pour this into a large baking dish.
2. Prepare the chicken. Use paper towels to pat skin-on boneless chicken breasts dry. Place the chicken skin side up in the pan, brush the tops with more olive oil, then season well with kosher salt and black pepper. Slice a lemon into wedges, then nestle these in around the chicken.
3. Roast, then rest. Transfer the pan to a 400°F oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden brown. For more color, broil for the final 2 minutes of cook time. Carefully remove the chicken from the oven, cover the pan tightly with foil, and let the protein rest for 10 minutes. Season once more with salt and enjoy hot, along with the pan juices.

Tips For Making Lemon Garlic Chicken

Asking for just 6 ingredients and less than 10 minutes of hands-on time, this easy Ina Garten recipe is an excellent option for beginners—or home cooks who are craving a homemade meal that allows them to hit the “easy” button. 

Although it’s not complicated, a few small details can make this chicken recipe the best it can be—and a few optional glow-ups can make this dish your own signature dish. Here are a few pointers if you give this a try yourself:  

• Go wild with garlic. Ina’s 4-serving recipe calls for 9 minced cloves. Although this might sound like a lot, cooking tames the cloves so they act as a backup singer here. If you, like me, believe in measuring garlic with your heart, feel free to add more—up to double that amount. Hey, Ina is famous for her 6-serving Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, so that’s really not a stretch!
• Wine about it. Dry white wine like Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris, Unoaked Chardonnay, or Sauvignon Blanc works well here. Since the flavor intensifies as the wine cooks down. and because you’ll only be using ⅓ cup of wine in this recipe (leaving you with more than 22 ounces in the bottle), opt for wine you’d enjoy drinking on its own. Chicken broth is an excellent alcohol-free alternative.
• Try thighs. If you’re on the thigh train, too, boneless chicken thighs or bone-in chicken thighs would also work here. Keep in mind that you’ll need to cook them slightly longer to ensure they’re safely cooked through. (Check out our guide for how long to cook chicken, whole or in pieces for the sweet spot for the cut you choose.)
• Take the temperature. Speaking of safe cooking temp, in the recipe, Ina only instructs to roast the bird until “the chicken is done.” But what does that mean, exactly? A meat thermometer comes in clutch here. According to the USDA, the thickest part of the breast should measure 165°F. I like to aim for around 155°F to take into account 5 to 10 degrees of carryover cooking that occurs during the rest time.
• Add fruit. To keep this as a one-pan chicken recipe while rounding out the meal a bit, take a cue from our Sheet-Pan Chicken with Lemons and Green Olives and sprinkle in a handful of your favorite type of olives. Or toss in some cherry tomatoes, like we do with this Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan recipe. Both are small and quick-cooking enough that they can cook in the same baking dish and should be done around the same time as the chicken.

The Verdict on Ina Garten’s Lemon Garlic Chicken Recipe

I’ve officially changed my tune about chicken breasts. With this recipe, Ina convinced me that they can be juicy and delicious—even without marination. Although the chicken breasts are boneless, the “skin-on” recommendation makes a major difference in the moisture level and flavor of this recipe. Bright lemon and white wine really shine through, and the garlic oil makes for such a luscious sauce for both the chicken and whatever sides you choose to pair this with. (I opted to start with a Ranch Wedge Salad and swiped up the savory, citrusy sauce with warm sourdough bread, but mashed potatoes, couscous, or quinoa would work great, too.)

An Ina fan raves, “this is my fail-proof go-to recipe whenever I have guests.” Although I probably wouldn’t have said that myself about a chicken breast recipe prior to trying Ina’s Lemon Chicken Breasts, I can now totally understand why. The hands-off chicken dinner tastes restaurant-quality and plays nicely with side dishes that flex with the seasons. 

One of Ina’s timeless taglines is, “how easy is that?” This recipe lives up to that promise and delivers on the flavor front.