This lemon chili chicken with peas recipe combines chicken thighs with red chilis, cumin, turmeric, garlic, ginger, and fresh lemon juice.
Adding the green peas near the end of cooking makes a fresh, vibrant, and healthy chicken with peas recipe.
Lemon Chili Chicken with peas is tangy, colorful, and flavorful. Serve this chicken thighs and peas recipe by itself if it's a "low carb night" or over rice, quinoa, or orzo pasta.
Chicken and peas is a classic recipe combination and will go with anything.
Spice Up Lemon Chili Chicken with Peas
Fresno red chili's are generally not spicy. Leave it out if you can't find it or substitute jalapeno if you like it spicy or just add some fine chopped red pepper for color.
Top lemon chili chicken with Aleppo crushed red pepper (the crushed red pepper from pizza hut also works just fine :).
Aleppo is oilier, more flavorful, and sweeter than regular crushed red pepper.
Another spice substitute for Aleppo chili flakes is Gochugaru from Korea. It's slightly oily and thin like Aleppo red peppers.
Don't have any of these spices and want to bring up the heat in this lemon chili chicken recipe? Add a little ground cayenne pepper.
Sear the Chicken Thighs First If You Have Time.
Chicken thighs always adds flavor to a recipe when they are seared first. Searing chicken adds fond (little bits on the pan) that are super flavorful and also brings out a caramelization and sweetness to the chicken and the dish.
Having said that, if you're running low on time, skip the process. You will still have an amazing and tender dinner.
Use a Crockpot or Instant Pot For Lemon Chili Chicken
This lemon chili chicken and peas recipe is written for the stovetop. Having said that...
Want to use your slow cooker / crockpot or Instant Pot instead of cooking on the stovetop? No problem.
Throw all the ingredients in a crockpot on low for 4-6 hours or follow your Instant Pot instructions for chicken thighs.
Sear the chicken first or just throw it all if you don't have time for the sear.
Use Chicken Breast or Thighs For Lemon Chili Chicken
Don't like or have chicken thighs?
Make lemon chili chicken with breasts but you will want to just sear the chicken breast and remove from pan and add the last 5-10 minutes of cooking to the sauce so that it cooks through but doesn't overcook.
Have bone in, skin on chicken thighs? Bone in, skin on thighs will take ~ 10 minutes longer.
Defrost the Peas before adding them to Lemon Chicken
Using already defrosted peas will reduce the amount of water when adding the peas to the chicken.
I like to defrost them in a strainer on the countertop ~ 30 minutes and stir them occasionally. You can also run them under water in the strainer and stir to make it faster.
Having said that, if you forget, don't worry. Add the frozen peas to this chicken thigh recipe and cook a little longer.
Lastly, add the peas into the Lemon Chili Chicken in the last 5 minutes of cooking. This keeps the peas vibrant green and not dulled from cooking too long.
Lemon Chili Chicken With Peas
EatSimpleFood.com
This lemon chili chicken with peas recipe combines chicken thighs with red chilis, cumin, turmeric, garlic, ginger, and fresh lemon juice.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 5
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Comfort Food, Dairy-Free, Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2lb (~10 total) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup red pepper, diced
- 1 fresno red chili, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, zested
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup white wine
- ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice (~ 3 juicy lemons)
- 16 oz frozen peas, defrosted
- 1 teaspoon aleppo red peppers- as garnish
- olive oil if / as needed
Instructions
- Lightly salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.
- Heat a large pan to medium high heat and add the butter. When melted and sizzlin', add the chicken (prettier side down).
- Pan fry until browned on the "pretty" side only (~3-4 minutes). Remove from pan and set on a plate.
- Lower heat and add the red peppers and cook ~ 4-5 minutes uncovered or until soft (not browned).
- Add garlic and ginger and cook ~ 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add a little olive oil if the pan is too dry.
- Stir in coriander, cumin, turmeric, and salt. Add olive oil if needed to integrate the spices. Stir ~ 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add wine, lemon juice, and chicken with any juices to the pan.
- Bring to a boil. Cook ~ 12 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.
- Flip the chicken, cover, and cook an additional ~ 12 minutes or until chicken temp reaches 165F and juices run clear.
- Add peas to pan, cover & cook ~ 3-5 minutes or until peas are hot and still vibrant in color.
- Add salt to taste and garnish with Aleppo Red Peppers flakes. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Want to use your crockpot or Instant Pot instead? No problem. Throw all the ingredients in a crockpot on low for 4-6 hours or follow your Instant Pot instructions for chicken thighs. Sear the chicken first or just throw it all if you don't have time for the sear.
- A 12" skillet or pan fits 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Don't have Aleppo red peppers? Cool, use crushed red chili flakes or Gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes)
Things In My Kitchen:
- Aleppo red pepper as a garnish for the recipe. Look for it at your local spice store first. You can also buy it on Amazon if you can't find it.
- Zester for grating the ginger real fine.
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Serving Suggestion
Serve this Lemon Chili Chicken recipe with a complementary dish like:
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