Juicy chicken, smothered in an insanely flavourful lemon garlic sauce, with fresh Lebanese bread. These three things are a trio of perfection!!! This recipe for the best Lebanese lemon garlic chicken is one of my favourites I’ve ever created. Not only does it taste out-of-this-world delicious, it is deceptively easy and simple. Trust me, this is one you are going to make again, and again…and again!
If you’ve ever been to Sydney, then you’ve surely heard of the well-known authentic Lebanese restaurants, Al Aseel. And if you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating there, you’ll know one of their most popular dishes is their mouth-watering lemon garlic chicken.
When my husband and I first had this dish, he tasked me with a mission – find a way to make this at home!
And so for a few years I made different variations. But after making this Lebanese classic many times, I’m proudly giving you what I think is the best version! Of course, I don’t know how Al Aseel work their magic, but I think this recipe is pretty darn close.
So I hope you enjoy what I (humbly) think is the best Lebanese lemon garlic chicken recipe to make at home!
Ingredients
As the name suggests, we’ll need chicken (I use chicken tenderloins), and lemon. But the garlic comes in the form of toum, which is a traditional Lebanese garlic sauce. It’s the delicious, white, fluffy garlic sauce you get with charcoal chicken or at kebab shops. You can use store-bought toum or make your own (watch this space for a step-by-step guide on how to do this!).
Toum on its own is a somewhat thick sauce. So, to thin it down, I use freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a splash of chicken stock or broth to enhance the savoury flavour.
I love topping this Lebanese lemon garlic chicken with a few garnishes. These include almonds fried in ghee, some sumac, fresh parsley, olive oil, and extra lemon. It’s quite common to top dishes with fried nuts in Middle Eastern cuisine. Besides desserts like baklava, many meat dishes and rice dishes are topped with fried nuts – think mansaf, or Middle Eastern biryani!
How to Make Lebanese Lemon Garlic Chicken
If you want to know how to make your own toum from scratch, keep an eye out for my upcoming recipe! Otherwise, this recipe assumes you have some toum ready to go!
First, cook the pieces of chicken tenderloin in ghee, and season with salt and pepper. You want the chicken to have a crispy, caramelised, brown crust here, for maximum flavour!
Meanwhile, you make the lemon garlic sauce by heating the chicken stock, then whisking in the toum and lemon juice. Make sure to do this off the heat so the toum does not split!
Then toast off some split almonds in ghee for a minute or two until they are golden.
Finally, it’s time to plate up! I told you this was an easy, simple dish!
Serving your Lebanese Lemon Garlic Chicken
To plate up Al Aseel-style, and make this dish look gorgeous, pour some of the lemon garlic sauce on a big plate or platter. Then place the cooked chicken on top, and pour the rest of the lemon garlic sauce on top. Next, scatter on your toasted almonds, and drizzle on some olive oil. Then sprinkle on some sumac, fresh parsley, and some extra lemon slices or wedges.
And of course, there is only one way to eat lemon garlic chicken, and that’s Lebanese-style. Serve with fresh Lebanese bread – no cutlery required!
Just tear off a piece of bread, scoop up some chicken smothered in lemon garlic sauce, and enjoy the incredible meal you’ve just created!
I truly hope you love this recipe! xxx
The Best Lebanese Lemon Garlic Chicken (Inspired by Al Aseel)
Description
Juicy pieces of chicken, smothered in an insanely flavourful lemon and garlic sauce, topped with buttery toasted almonds, and sumac. An easy, simple, and utterly delicious dish that will make you feel like you're at a fancy Lebanese restaurant! Serve this delicious lemon garlic chicken with Lebanese bread to mop up all that delicious sauce!
Ingredients
Method
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Melt two tablespoons of ghee in a pan on high heat. Once melted, place in your chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and golden brown. You may need to work in batches. While the chicken is resting, prepare the sauce and the almonds.
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For the sauce, heat the chicken stock in a pan, and whisk in the toum off the heat. Then whisk in your lemon juice (taste and add more or less if you like)!
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For the almonds, melt the remaining tablespoon of ghee in a pan on low heat. Throw in the almonds, and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes, until they are golden brown.
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Plate up by pouring some warm lemon garlic sauce on a platter, top with the chicken, then drizzle over more sauce. Scatter the almonds on top, and sprinkle on sumac, fresh parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with extra slices or wedges of lemon, and plenty of fresh Lebanese bread. Enjoy!
