This Lemon Dill Fried Chicken recipe has chicken breasts marinated in buttermilk, coated with dill seasoned breadcrumbs, cooked in an air fryer (or oven if you don’t have one), and served with a lemon-honey sauce. It’s a quick and easy dish that is full of flavor.

Taste and Smell
I’ve had an annoying sinus thing going on for a few months which has caused me to lose my sense of smell. When I say lost, it’s not 100% gone, but it’s pretty darn bad. For example, everyone in a room will know my two year old needs a diaper, while I have no clue.
My friend Mark suggested that I change my blog tagline to something along lines of “the olfactory impaired cook.” But, I’m not ready for that yet. I’m having sinus surgery next week in hopes of being able to wake up feeling like I can breathe normally, and having my sense of smell return.

Recipe Testing
When this smell thing started, I thought everything tasted bland. Recently though, I haven’t thought that. So it’s made me nervous about my cooking: am I recovering, or getting heavy-handed with seasonings? Who’s to say. Therefore, I have been making things over and over again, to make sure my husband, kids, and I approve each time. Pros of this approach: I get to try out recipes over and over again, and get to practice taking photos multiple times. Cons: It’s making me slow with recipe posting.
A while back I decided to make a dill ‘fried’ chicken that could be made in an air fryer (which seems to me to be a small oven), or an oven. The first time I made it, I couldn’t taste any lemon or dill, although the rest of family could. Therefore, I have made it over and over again until I felt confident it was delicious.


Lemon Dill Fried Chicken
As I have made this recipe multiple times, in both an air fryer and an oven, I have plenty of tips for you:
- Do not use flavored breadcrumbs as they will overpower the taste of the dill.
- I have a Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven. If you have a different air fryer, the temperature you need to set it to may be a bit different. I have noticed that for air fryer recipes, temperature settings vary by brand and sometimes, model. So, watch your chicken closely to ensure that you don’t burn it, and adjust as needed.
- This recipe does well in an oven on a baking rack. However, if I had to recommend one method over the other, I would recommend the air fryer. It gets the outside of the chicken crunchier and more browned than an oven can.
- Do not forget to serve your chicken with the lemon honey sauce. It is a delicious compliment!


Lemon Dill Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Breading
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill loosely packed
Lemon Honey Sauce
- 2 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Chicken Marinade
- Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally so that each piece is about 1/2″ thick.
- In a large container with lid, stir together salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, buttermilk and lemon juice. Add in chicken and stir to ensure that each piece of chicken is well coated in mixture.
- Cover and place in refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours.
Breading
- After chicken has marinated, prepare breading. In a shallow bowl, stir together Panko, plain breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dill.
- Oven Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or a silicone baking pat. Place an oven safe baking rack on top of sheet. Remove chicken from refrigerator and dredge each piece of chicken through the breading on both sides. Place coated chicken on baking rack. Spray each piece of chicken on both sides with baking spray (I use olive oil spray for this). Bake for 15 minutes, then flip each piece of chicken. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until each breast is no longer pink in the center.
- Air Fryer Directions: Remove chicken from refrigerator and dredge each piece of chicken through the breading on both sides. Place coated chicken on air fryer rack. Spray each piece of chicken on both sides with baking spray (I use olive oil spray for this). Turn air fryer to 370 degrees. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip each piece of chicken. Cook for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until each piece of chicken is no longer pink in the center.
Lemon Honey Sauce
- Stir together lemon juice and honey until well combined. Drizzle over cooked chicken before serving.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: All nutritional information provided on this website is an estimate only and is not guaranteed.

If you enjoyed this Lemon Dill Fried Chicken, you will probably enjoy these other SugarSpicesLife recipes:
Oven Fried Chicken
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Chicken and Vegetable Salad with Yogurt Tahini Sauce
Grilled Lemon Chicken with Panko Crusted Vegetables
Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken with Vegetables
Links to items used to make this recipe: