Your entire dinner made in one pan – this easy One Pan Almond-Crusted Lemon Chicken is a great, simple option for a weeknight meal that gives you leftovers for days.
Greetings from a squished car heading down the highway toward Miami for 4th of July weekend! My dog, Sammy, is currently sleeping next to me with his head laying against my leg *aw* and his wonderfully rancid breath bouncing off of my thigh and into our noses *cringe*. Christian is to my right, his 6’6″ frame contorted to fit the back seat of my family’s Ford Explorer, and my parents are in the front chatting away.
We just stopped for some Chick-fil-A to fill our empty stomachs. I purposefully did not pack a snack/lunch (okay, I had 1/2 a leftover Perfect Bar – that doesn’t really count, does it?) because I knew we were going to Chick-fil-A. What can I say, I’m a fan of the #7. I’ve been in the car, sedentary, for a couple of hours, and my joints feel like I just awoke from a frozen coma like Austin Powers. Good thing I ran this morning #balance?
Speaking of running, it’s been a while since I shared my week of workouts. I have a feeling you really care about what workouts I did this week, so okay, I’ll share them. Don’t have to beg me.
Monday
Ran about 2.7 miles. I usually aim for 3 as a minimum, but I could only make it 2.7 BECAUSE OF FLORIDA. If you’re a Florida native and a runner, I don’t need to explain this to you. If you’re not, let’s just say your fingers stick together while you run because it’s so humid. Try running in place at your gym’s sauna. That’s Florida.
Tuesday
Ran 3 miles + Tone It Up ab workout.
Wednesday
Rest day because I felt like it.
Thursday
Total body Swiss ball strength class.
Friday
Ran 3 miles.
This week I took it pretty easy. I normally incorporate more strength training, but to be honest, my lazy ass didn’t feel like driving to the gym, and I just didn’t feel like doing much strength at home. Sometimes I have those weeks, as we all do. So, when I’m feeling lazy, running is usually my go-to exercise. This is why I really admire my mom, because I’ve only known her to have a gym membership at one point for a short period of time. Other than that, she stays in shape by running, sit ups, and a few dumbbell exercises.
I’ve brought her to my usual small group strength class with me before, and she completely shocked me with her fitness level. I thought someone who runs, and simply does sit ups and bicep curls on their own, would not be able to keep up. She proved me wrong… let’s just say my mom is a badass.
[Tweet “What my week in workouts looked like”]
Speaking of lazy, this one pan almond-crusted lemon chicken is perfect for the lazy home cook (aka me). Most of the effort for this meal is put into preparing the chicken with its’ crust (which is the best part). It’s so easy to meal prep and make giant batches of food, but how much are you enjoying it? I want to always make sure that I’m enjoying what I’m eating; food is meant for fuel, but to me, it’s more than that!
One Pan Almond-Crusted Lemon Chicken
- 3 lb chicken tenders
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup almonds, pulsed into crumbs
- ~15 stalks of asparagus
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Break egg into a shallow bowl and scramble with a fork.
- Place panko bread crumbs and almond crumbs into a separate bowl and mix together (no need for bowl to be shallow).
- Dip each chicken tender into the egg, then into the panko/almond mixture. Place each tender onto a baking sheet that’s been greased with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
- When all tenders are fully covered in mixture and placed onto baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for [b]10 minutes[/b].
- After ten minutes, remove the chicken. Next to the chicken, place the asparagus.
- Drizzle with final tbsp of olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix asparagus around with your hands.
- Place lemon slices atop chicken and asparagus, as seen in the photos.
- Place back in the oven and bake for 10 more minutes.
[Tweet “The easiest, most flavorful meal prep recipe:”]
Join the conversation:
What does your fitness regimen look like?
What is one method you use for meal prep?
Did you like this recipe? Pin it for later!
That looks really good, I can’t wait to try it.
http://www.fabulousindeed.com
This looks delish!! I’m always on the hunt for easy one-pan dinners. My current fitness regime is following Insanity Max 30 workouts. It’s really challenging but I’m loving it!!
My family always buys a big pack of frozen chicken breasts and make them for the week, now we can make this chicken! 
EEK I did the first month of Insanity (I think different than the Max 30 you’re doing, I’m not sure) and it was SO hard but I got in such great shape!! The warm up is a freaking workout in itself lol!!
This looks fantastic–so crunchy and flavorful! 😀 Right now I’m running three or four days a week and sometimes doing core/arms workouts afterwards. Otherwise, walking/hiking/kayaking/whatever–summer is the best time for informal workouts that don’t feel like workouts
GAH where I live there are no outdoor activities unless I feel like driving an hour away. So jealous!!
LOVE 1 pan meals! No dishes to wash and no fussing for hours in the kitchen
YES ma’am – worst part of cooking is the damn DISHES
Sign me up for any/all one pan recipes
I definitely get lazy about strength work when it’s warm enough to run outside. But I live in Ohio, so I’m at the gym basically 9 months out of the year.
It’s so damn hot here, in the Winter I normally run 4-5 miles per run when I’m not training for something, in the Summer I’m like miserable after one mile lol
This looks delicious! I’m always trying to find fun ways to cook with chicken since I feel my recipes can get a bit dull. I will have to give this one a try!
I feel like it’s so easy to just do the same thing with chicken all the time (guilty). Fun to change it up once in a while!! Thanks Amanda!
It’s almost kind of comforting to hear that you don’t go at full speed all the time Christina…
And I totally resonate with keeping the workouts simple. Lately, I had been feeling guilty about only doing 2-3 mile runs, but hey, I love running, and I don’t want to do things just cause I have to, but because I want to. 
HA oh gosh, I have been anything but full speed in the exercise department ;D And yes – all about doing it because you want to, and for the health of it!!
Yum! I am always looking for new recipes to make with chicken since plain old chicken breasts can get so boring. Pinning this now!