Garlic Butter Chicken with Zucchini and Corn
Garlic Butter Chicken with Zucchini and Corn is a simple weeknight meal that uses pantry staples. It's a one-pan, 30-minute recipe. The sliced skinless, boneless chicken breasts are coated with butter, minced garlic, and smoked paprika and pan-seared until golden brown. This restaurant-quality dinner might become a new favorite chicken dinner for kids and adults alike!
Ingredients
- Veggies
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 zucchini medium sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups corn kernels cooked about 3 corn ears - corn on the cob
- Garlic Butter Chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts skinless boneless, sliced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or more
- ½ teaspoon chili powder or more
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- black pepper freshly ground to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice or more
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- Garnish
- ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the veggies
- Heat an empty large, high-sided cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add olive oil and sliced zucchini. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes on medium heat. Flip the veggies once. Remove cooked zucchini to a plate.
- How to make Garlic Butter Chicken
- Slice the chicken breasts into strips. Season the chicken with smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat in the same, now empty, cast-iron skillet. Add the chicken in one layer and cook, undisturbed, for about 4 minutes.
- Flip the chicken strips over, add minced garlic, and cook for 2 more minutes. Lower the heat to low, add freshly squeezed lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook for another 2 minutes or more, frequently stirring, until the chicken is cooked through but not overcooked and the garlic has softened.
- Assembly
- Add cooked sliced zucchini and cooked corn kernels to the same skillet with cooked chicken.
- Add 2 remaining tablespoons of butter and melt it on low heat, stirring it together with the veggies. Do it rather quickly, for a couple of minutes, just until the butter melts and the garlic butter sauce coats both the chicken and the zucchini and corn evenly. Remove from heat.
- Stir in half of the chopped fresh cilantro. Season with more salt, smoked paprika, and chili powder, if desired. Add more freshly squeezed lime juice, if desired.
- When serving, top with the remaining half of chopped fresh cilantro. Sprinkle a small amount of chili powder over corn and chicken, for presentation purposes, if desired.