Easy Herb-Butter Chicken Breast Recipe (Atkins Induction Recipe)

When you've had a busy day, this easy
Herb-Butter Chicken Breast recipe
will be a welcomed treat!

When time is short, or space is tight, this simple-to-make Atkins Induction chicken breast recipe provides an amazingly flavorful meal in less than 15 minutes!

Simply melt the butter in a pan, season the chicken, and saute until golden brown.

Nothing could be easier.

Or faster.

We made it to Texas safely. It took us three days because we didn't push ourselves or the vehicles. We are currently staying in a motel with a kitchenette, while hubby looks for work.

My oldest son is renting a large house, and we were originally planning on staying with them until we got settled, but their landlord said we could only stay with them for up to two weeks, so hubby decided to just go with a motel room right away.

We have no oven, and very little counter space, so I've been focusing on making meals that are quick and easy, like this sauteed herb-butter chicken breast recipe that's perfect for Atkins Induction.

I do have an electric stove top, and a few small electric appliances I have stored on a 4-rack metal shelf near the TV, but fancy cooking isn't on the menu right now.

Even so, this minor inconvenience is NOT an excuse to abandon healthy eating.

With a Walmart right across the street, a Winco to one side of us and a Kroger on the other, both less than 6 blocks away, we are sitting in a nice position to make some great low-carb meals.

Shopping for Low-Carb Gluten-Free Motel Cooking

Since we have several stores to pick from, we've been spending time scouting out the area to see what inexpensive low-carb and gluten-free options are available here.

Kroger had a family-sized package of boneless chicken breasts the other day marked down to $1.49 a pound.

I liked to shop at Smith's Grocery store when we were in Utah, and Kroger now, because you can get some great deals on marked-down meats. The produce is also superb.

The entire package of chicken was less than 10 dollars.

I brought it home, set aside a medium-sized breast for dinner, and stored the other 6 chicken breasts in the freezer, in meal-sized portions.

I also picked up a steamer bag of frozen broccoli. Although, the steamer vegetables cost a few cents more than a traditional one-pound bag of frozen vegetables, being able to cook them in the microwave without a pan to store and clean up afterward was a big plus for us.

We are also using lots of paper plates and bowls that we picked up in a huge economy-sized package from Costco, about 1-1/2 miles away from where we're currently staying.

Type of Skillet I Used

I used to have The Original Green Pan
(non-stick skillet) but didn't like it very much.

When I took the above photo, I had The Original Green Pan, a non-stick skillet, but it lost all of its non-stick properties within 2 months.

Literally.

Seasoning the pan over the stove top or even in the oven didn't help. Everything stuck from about 2 months on, no matter how much oil I added to the pan.

Get The Original Copper Pan

(Best I've tried so far)

I now use the Original Copper Pan with a non-stick ceramic coating.

It's made without synthetic chemicals, unlike the older non-stick pans did, and is able to withstand up to 500-degree oven temperatures. They are available in a variety of styles and sizes. I have a couple of large skillets and a small one, and noticed that here in Texas, a square shaped skillet is also available.

I really like them.

They are advertised to give you years of non-stick cooking, but truthfully, they do lose their initial super-slickness as time goes on. My oldest pan can't be used without adding butter or oil to the pan, but that isn't an issue for me.

I don't like fried eggs without butter anyway.

One of the nicest things about them is that you season them right inside the oven, about once every couple of months, and since they're made from enamel, they are fairly sturdy. Much more sturdy than other non-stick coatings.

I can remember trying one of those Calphalon skillets, and paid quite a bit for it, but it was scratched and peeling within 6 months.

The sales woman who talked me into trying the Original Copper Pan claimed that she had tried everything in the world to see if she could scratch one, and couldn't, but I had no problem breaking mine in.

The pan did scratch when I used a metal spatula to scramble eggs, despite the company's claim, but the scratch isn't noticeable and the pan continues to work well, even though it is a couple of years old now.

Unlike the green pan, I can still clean it easily, as well.

Since these are made of aluminum with a glazed ceramic coating, the pan is light and heats very evenly. You can just saute the chicken until it is golden brown on both sides, even using a small electric element, and the chicken pieces on the outer side of the pan will be thoroughly cooked.

How to Make This Easy Herb and Butter Chicken

There are only two of us, so the recipe and following low-carb menu sample is designed to feed 2 hungry people. If you're cooking for a family, just double or triple the recipe and use an electric skillet or as many non-stick pans as you need.

Time has been precious for us lately, along with funds, so I didn't have time to marinate the chicken in lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs like I usually do.

Instead, I cut the chicken breast in half horizontally, and then sprinkled the herbs and seasonings right onto the chicken itself.

While the chicken was resting, I heated up the butter in the non-stick pan. As the chicken cooked, I popped the broccoli into the microwave, and in less than 15 minutes, dinner was on the table.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized boneless chicken breast, cut in half horizontally
• seasoning salt
• Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning Mix
• seasoned pepper
• dried rosemary
• 2 tablespoons butter

Rosemary and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning Mix are two of my favorite seasonings. I use them a lot in my everyday cooking, along with seasoning salt, garlic powder, and seasoned pepper.

If you don't have seasoned pepper, you can use regular black pepper instead. Hubby is particularly fond of the seasoned pepper, since it includes flakes of dried red peppers, as well.

I didn't measure my seasonings and herbs.

Instead, just sprinkle them onto one side of the chicken breast and let the chicken sit while you heat up the butter. If you don't like something I used, then just substitute what you do like.

Thyme, basil, onion powder, or some celery salt would also be good on this.

Be careful that you don't heat the pan up so hot that the butter burns. You want to add the chicken to the skillet when the pan is warm, but the butter is still yellow.

I used the medium setting on the electric stove top.

Let the chicken brown for about 5 minutes, then turn the chicken over and gently brown the other side. I ended up turning the chicken a couple more times before it was cooked through, but it was ready and on the table in less than 15 minutes tops.

How to Make a Full Low-Carb Meal

My Menu:

• Easy Herb-Butter Chicken
• 1 cup nuked broccoli with butter
• 8 whole strawberries

While the chicken was cooking, I nuked the broccoli, cooking it a couple of minutes longer than the package recommended. This was the very first time I'd ever tried a steamer bag for vegetables and wanted to make sure the broccoli was good and done.

While Costco (at least in Utah) sells their organic frozen broccoli in steamer bags, I've always opened up the bag and steamed it in a skillet instead of the microwave. That way, I could just cook as much as the two of us would eat at a single meal.

The only carbs in this low-carb chicken recipe comes from the amount of herbs and spices you use, so you can pair it with any low-carb side dish you like.

Canned green beans or a pre-made salad would both be easy and quick, especially if you're using bottled dressing or something homemade that you already have on hand.

I have two sets of Pyrex Glass Bowls with lids

that I use to make low-carb salads and dressings

(Pyrex Smart Essentials series)

I like to make up enough lettuce salad for the whole week and store it in a glass bowl with a tight-fitting lid for easy access. I do the same thing with my homemade Ranch Dressing (recipe available at the above lettuce-salad link).

The salad and dressing will last for an entire week in the refrigerator stored this way.

Berries are low in carbs
and make a nice side dish!

I didn't have any salad fixings or dressing in the motel when I did this, but we did have some 99-cent strawberries that I'd picked up from Walmart earlier in the day.

Berries are not allowed on Atkins Induction, but since I am doing my own low-carb plan, I served the ice-cold berries along with the chicken and broccoli.

If you're on Phase 1, you'll need to choose either a vegetable or salad to go with the chicken, since vegetables are limited on Atkins Induction, but your salad doesn't have to be just lettuce. Coleslaw, vegetables mixed with mayo, or green beans and onions marinated in a tangy oil-and-vinegar dressing would be easy too.

If you're on Phase 2, but can't do berries yet, or don't like them, you can have both a salad and a low-carb vegetable to round out your low-carb meal. Or, you can have a large portion of vegetables and skip the salad, or whip up a large salad and skip the veggies.

Topping your sauteed chicken with pico de gallo or a low-carb salsa would also add an extra kick to your meal on Phase 2.

If you're eating fewer than 20 carbs a day and need a good, higher fat side dish, you could make deviled eggs earlier in the day. A few homemade cheese sticks would also be filling and quick.

Choose Super-Easy Low-Carb Meals After Busy Day

Granted, eating like this every single day would definitely get boring quick.

Ordinarily, if I'm making a simple main dish, I'll do something more elaborate for the side, such as spinach and cream cheese pie or fried zucchini with onions and bacon.

If the main dish is more involved, I'll serve it with a traditional salad or some steamed vegetables. However, this super-easy complete low-carb meal is a great choice when you get home late after a busy day.

The last thing you want to do is arrive home with no idea as to what you're going to eat, or can eat, to stay on plan. That's why planning ahead and keeping a running list of simple menus is so vital to your diet's success.

When you know your day is going to be filled to the brim, simply thaw out a chicken breast ahead of time and make this easy butter-herb chicken the center of your tasty, healthy meal. You'll be able to have dinner on the table faster than ordering a pizza. Guaranteed!