Chicken Piccata
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This easy chicken piccata recipe features tender chicken pieces cooked in a tangy lemon butter sauce. Ready in 15 minutes, it makes an elegant weeknight dinner!
I hadn’t actually heard of chicken piccata until culinary school. However, after learning about it and cooking it in one of my classes, it soon became a staple in my home and is now one of the dishes my partner and I enjoy regularly.
I like to call this dish my “stand-by”, because it’s elegant enough for a gathering, but simple enough for a weeknight dinner. Because the chicken is pounded thin, it cooks up very quickly. White wine, garlic, lemon, and butter are simple flavor boosters that create a rich, tangy sauce. I didn’t change the original recipe from school too much, but I tested a few variations to the sauce if you want to change things up (which I’ll include below!).
What is chicken piccata?
Chicken piccata features chicken breast dredged in flour and pan-fried until golden. Lemon, garlic, and white wine are added to the pan to create a rich sauce, which is taken up a notch with some capers. It’s then assembled and enjoyed with crusty bread,
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Easy and elegant. Pounded chicken cutlets served in a buttery sauce with lemons and capers look quite presentable. And yet, they’re so easy to make.
- Ready in 15 minutes. This is a quick dinner option. While the sauce cooks, you can even make a fancy side dish to serve with it.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Made this this evening for a family dinner. Served it with a Street Corn Salad and rice. This meal was so good! So amazingly flavourful! Everyone was impressed.” – Bunny
Key Ingredients
Here’s what goes into my chicken piccata recipe, along with kitchen notes. The complete list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
- Chicken breasts. I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced in half so they can be pounded thin. I sometimes find chicken cutlets at my grocery store, which are just the breasts pre-pounded.
- Flour. Use regular all-purpose flour to dredge the chicken before browning them.
- Butter. To brown the chicken and add it to the sauce to make it rich and glossy.
- Olive oil. To sauté the vegetables.
- Dry white wine. A key ingredient of the piccata sauce. The white wine cooks off, leaving behind a complex flavor. You don’t want to use a sweet wine; look for a dry wine with a citrusy finish (like a Sauvignon blanc or Pinot Grigio). If you’d rather not cook with wine, I tested this with chicken broth, and it was very similar.
- Garlic. Freshly minced garlic.
- Lemon. You will need both the fresh lemon juice and the zest. Please do not use bottled lemon juice, as it can make the sauce acidic or even a little bitter.
- Capers. They add a tangy, briny flavor to the sauce. Please rinse them before adding to the skillet.
How to make chicken piccata
Step 1- Prepare the chicken. Slice chicken breasts in half to make four cutlets. Pound them lightly until even in thickness.
Step 2- Season chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Place flour into a shallow bowl and coat the chicken in it. Shake off the excess.
Step 3- Pan-fry. Heat oil and two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, cook the chicken until brown on both sides.
Step 4- Make the sauce. Add garlic to the pan and sauté for 10 seconds, then add white wine and simmer until it reduces by half. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and let simmer for several minutes.
Step 5- Assemble. Return the chicken to the sauce and simmer for two minutes. Remove from the heat and serve with parsley.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Cook the chicken in batches. If your chicken doesn’t all fit in the same skillet, I recommend cooking them in batches. This ensures each fillet can achieve that golden exterior and cook evenly.
- Check for doneness. Because the chicken fillets are thin, it’s easy to tell when they’re cooked (the edges are golden, and when you press the center, it feels firm). If you want precise accuracy, check the internal temperature at 155°F. The chicken will rise to 160°F as it rests, then, when everything is assembled, it will increase to 165°F.
- Deglaze the pan. When you add the wine, you’ll hear a sizzle. That’s when you start scraping up the brown bits stuck to the pan. I do this with Tuscan chicken, too.
Ways I’ve changed the recipe
I’ve been cooking piccata chicken for years, and over time, I’ve loved experimenting with the sauce to change the flavor profile. Here are some ideas:
- Add shallots. Starting the sauce with shallots and garlic is a great way to create a rich flavor base. Due to their mild flavor, shallots do not overpower the light lemony sauce.
- Simmer with lemon slices. Adding lemon slices to the piccata sauce enhances its lemony flavor. Remove the lemon slices from the sauce halfway through the cooking time and reserve them for plating.
- Make a creamy sauce. Add a splash of heavy cream for a richer, more decadent piccata sauce.
- Garnish with Parmesan cheese for added savoriness.
Storage instructions
To store. Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 4 days.
To freeze. Chicken piccata also freezes well. Divide the leftovers into portions and freeze them in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
Reheating. I like to reheat the chicken with sauce in a warm skillet over low heat, until the sauce is bubbling and the chicken is hot. You can also microwave it for about 45 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
The reason the chicken and/or the sauce is salty is either the capers or, if you opt for chicken broth instead of wine, the broth. This is why I recommend rinsing the capers to remove excess saltiness. I also recommend low-sodium chicken broth so you can control the salt level.
If you’ve already made it and the dish is still salty, add a spoonful of water and continue to simmer, or add a pinch of sugar to balance everything out.
Technically, you can. However, dredging it in flour serves two purposes. It traps in all the juices as the chicken cooks, and it also creates those golden bits in the pan that enhance the sauce. If you’re concerned about the carbs, I tested this with almond flour, which was a great substitute.
If your sauce didn’t thicken, it means you’ve either added too little flour to the chicken or the pan wasn’t hot enough as it simmered. To combat this, continue simmering for an extra 4-5 minutes or add about a tablespoon of butter.
Chicken Piccata
Video
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts or four chicken cutlets
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2/3 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- Slice chicken breasts in half to leave you with four cutlets. Pound them lightly to get them even thickness.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Place flour on a plate and dredge the chicken in it, shaking off any excess.
- Heat the oil and two tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Working in batches, cook the chicken until deeply browned on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once the chicken is cooked, set it aside. You can use a meat thermometer to check that it reaches 155°F.
- Add garlic to the pan and sauté for 10 seconds, then add white wine and simmer until it reduces by half. Add capers, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper, and cook for about two minutes.
- Add the remaining butter and swirl well until the butter melts. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve with some fresh parsley.
Notes
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above for ideal doneness and for properly deglazing the pan for the sauce.
- Leftovers: Keep in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
More Italian skillet chicken dinners
- Chicken Florentine– A creamy, spinach sauce is the star of this 20-minute dinner.
- Parmesan crusted chicken– Light and crispy chicken fillets with the lovely flavor of Parmesan.
- Chicken Marsala– Nothing beats the combination of tender chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce.
- Chicken Milanese– Juicy chicken breast fillets with the most crispy breading.
Originally published January 2023
I didn’t have any capers , so just followed the recipe without and I must say it was a taste sensation , I served the chicken with honey and mustard root vegetables, delicious
Thank you, Denise- the capers aren’t a must but just add a pop of tangy flavor 🙂 Thanks for the feedback 🙂
This was delicious and a big hit with the fam.
Piccata actually means spicy am I right.
You’re thinking of picante.
Made this this this evening for a family dinner. Served it with a Street Corn Salad and rice. This meal was so good! So amazingly flavourful! Everyone was impressed. I did add the small Shallot with the garlic.
Thanks, Bunny!
I always use Pinot Grigio as the dry white wine. It has citrus undernotes and makes the sauce SO flavorful! The chicken breasts in the grocery stores are huge nowadays so I use chicken tenders pounded with a meat tenderizing kitchen mallet. Anything piccata is my favorite!!
This was delicious! My family loved it! Just want to make sure I did the right thing by pouring off the oil, after browning the chicken, and before adding the garlic?
Lovely zingy lemony chicken. Had mine with mashrd potatoes and purple sprouting brocolli, lovely
I really love your recipes. .superb it really looks delicious even without tasting it .that’s why I can’t wait to try to make or cook your recipes ..
Love this recipe!
Delicious and so quick and easy. I used 4 x chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. I find chicken breast to dry for me generally, but I havent made this recipe with breasts, so it may be okay.
What do you serve this with?
What side dishes?
LOVE rice or noodles, or even baked potato.
What veg would go with this instead of rice plz
Root vegetables!
What can I use instead of capers
Just leave them out 🙂
This is very good. I’ve made it several times.
Hi! This looks delicious! I do have a question- what size chicken breast did you use? It just says “large”. So I want to make sure I don’t get something too small or two big.
Thanks
Hi Brooke! Around 8-10 ounces each.
Is there a substitute for all-purpose flour? Maybe coconut flour??
You could try almond flour.
What’s the red thing?
It looks red from the sauce.