Spiced Lemon Skillet Chicken with Kale and Beans – Easy One Dish Dinner
This chili spiced lemon skillet chicken with kale and beans is a favorite go-to recipe for an easy, one-dish dinner. With a flavor-packed combination of chicken seared with spices, zesty lemon, tender kale, and hearty beans, you will love this delicious meal that’s both quick and nutritious. Ready in just 45 minutes (only 15 hands-on) with just a bowl and a skillet to clean, it’s perfect for any weeknight.
Looking for more easy one dish dinners? Try my One Pot Italian Pasta with Sausage & Spinach recipe, Thai Style Turkey or Chicken Vegetable Curry (20 Minute Meal), or this 30 Minute Shrimp Orzo with Feta and Vegetables!
How about a protein packed, one dish dinner with chili powder-based spice rubbed chicken, lemon, onion and garlic?
Mmmm, these are all some of my favorite flavors – but together?
Yes, please! When the spices are seared into the chicken and then roasted with kale and any bean you have in your pantry, it makes everything work so well together.
Really, stop and pick up anything you need for this meal if you don’t have it in your pantry, because you will LOVE this. It also takes just 15 minutes of hands on prep time, which is definitely winning in the game of healthy weeknight dinners, right?
I created this skillet meal as a way to use some of our Pantry Basics – our Basic Spice Rub and cooked and frozen dry beans. I was expecting a good dish, really, but the final result was better than good.
Brian and I may have fought over the leftovers the next day (and I may have won – I mean, the cook should get it, right?).
The reason there wasn’t enough for two the next day? That would be because it was hard to stop eating it the night before, especially the onion-kale-and-bean combo – seriously yum. Who knew?
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this amazing spiced lemon chicken meal:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Bone-In Chicken Legs or Thighs: Both will work for this recipe, with thighs maybe needing a bit more roasting time to cook through (use an instant read thermometer and cook until thighs read 165 degrees). If you’d like to use boneless chicken, I would only use thighs (they won’t dry out like breasts), searing and cooking until thermometer reads 165 as well (which may be only 20 minutes).
- Cooked Beans: You can use any type of bean you have for this recipe – I have used white beans in addition to garbanzo and even once used leftover lentils, which was delicious. You can also omit them.
- Kale/Greens: Any type of kale will work, as will other hearty greens like chard (shown in the photo above since I had some from the garden to use up!). If you’d like to use spinach, it will be best to add it at the end of the roasting stage, mix it in a bit, and let cook the last few minutes all together.
- Spice Mix: I developed this recipe to use my favorite pantry basic spice rub, but you can use any spice mixture you like, though I do recommend a bit of chili powder in it. This Mediterranean spice mix would be a fun change and this Tex-Mex spice mix would bring in a bit more heat.
- Whole Lemon: This gives the dish it’s vibrancy – and yes, you can eat the whole cooked lemon if you want! Because of this I suggest using lemons that haven’t been treated with spray or chemicals and give them a good scrub. Meyer lemons, with their sweet flesh and thin skin, are a great option if they’re available.
How to Make Spiced Lemon Skillet Chicken: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Coat chicken with spice mixture in a medium sized bowl.
Step 2: Sear the coated legs in a heavy cast iron pan (or other pan that can go in the oven). Remove to a plate.
Step 3: Add onions and garlic to the pan and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Step 4: Add beans, chicken broth, and more of the spice mix and cook another minute.
Step 5: Toss in the chopped kale and lemon slices, nestle the chicken legs on top and place in oven to roast for 20 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees at the thickest point and juices run clear.
I just love that this recipe combines skillet cooking and roasting – it’s like the best of both worlds and a reason why this tastes so good!
Storage and Reheating
- Store this in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s great for meal prep to eat as lunch, too!
- Reheat either in a microwave for a minute or two or in a lidded pan until the chicken is heated through.
I hope you don’t just take my word for it and you make this spiced lemon skillet chicken as soon as possible. I’m pretty sure you’re going to be scraping the pan – or fighting over leftovers like we do!
More One Dish Dinners To Try
- Greek Style Shrimp and Orzo
- Chicken-Spinach Frittata with Feta & Tomatoes
- One Pot Italian Pasta with Sausage & Spinach
I hope you love this skillet chicken meal – if you make it, be sure to leave a recipe rating so I know how you liked it!
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One Dish Spiced Lemon Skillet Chicken with Kale and Beans
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet or other oven-ready skillet or large pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Basic Spice Rub made with chili powder*
- 4-6 bone-in chicken legs (drumsticks) or thighs**
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2½ cups cooked garbanzo, cranberry, white, or other beans from your freezer – or about 2 cans
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 small lemon cut in half lengthwise, seeded and sliced thinly
- 1 large bunch kale or chard, stemmed and chopped***
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Add the chicken to a medium sized bowl, along with 1 tablespoon of the spice rub and mix until the chicken is coated with rub.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a cast iron or oven proof skillet and add the chicken pieces skin side down. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes before turning and then cook another 3-5 minutes or until nicely browned (chicken will not be cooked through). Transfer to a plate.
- Add the onions and garlic to the skillet and cook for about a minute before adding the beans, chicken broth and 1 teaspoon more of the spice rub. Cook about a minute more.
- Toss in the kale and lemon slices, mixing well, and then nestle the chicken pieces on top.
- Place the skillet in the oven and roast about 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees and the chicken juices run clear when pierced with a knife.
- Serve immediately – preferably with a crusty bread to soak up any yummy juices.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2015.
Very good, easy and healthy recipe! This would be a quick weeknight dinner for working families. I used spinach instead of kale, since that’s what I had on hand. I also used bonelesss chicken thighs; stove top cooking time was the same as recipe, then in the oven for 15 minutes. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m glad you liked this – thanks for the tips to adapt this!
Hi Jami, I made this with chicken thighs and mixed 2 Penzey’s spice rubs because I couldn’t decide which one to use and it was delicious! Will definitely be making it again. Easy to do and tasty is my favorite way to cook. Thank you!
I’m so glad you tried this! Thanks so much for the review.
I made the spiced lemon chicken skillet and loved it! But, I did have a bit leftover and thought you might be interested in how I used them. I separated the beans from the kale and other veggies. Then pulsed the veggie mix in a food processor. I mixed together the kale mixture with the beans and the chicken picked off the bone. I used this to fill egg roll wrappers. I air fried the egg rolls and served them with a lemon aioli. (mayo, minced garlic, lemon zest & juice). Maybe even better as leftovers!
Wow, Dorothy – that’s clever and sounds wonderful!
This has my name all over it. I have a bunch of kale in the fridge with no plan, and since I have everything else, this is immediately being added to our weekend menu. Yum!
Yeah! I was not exaggerating, so I hope you guys like it as much as we do. 🙂