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Home / Recipes

Lemon Chicken Piccata

40 minutes
4.58 from 347 votes
277 Comments
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  • 6048
by: Joanna Cismaru
01.25.21

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pin for chicken piccata.

This Lemon Chicken Piccata is a simple, yet impressive dish! Delicious chicken in a tasty lemon, butter and capers sauce. Made entirely in one pan, it’s perfect with pasta for a quick and delicious dinner.

freshly made chicken piccata in a skillet garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.

This chicken piccata is the perfect romantic dish for a special occasion. You know they say “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” It’s true! And if you don’t believe me, I dare you to try it, cook him a meal like this!

My lemon chicken piccata is an impressive dish, yet it’s so simple to make. It’s amazing how you can turn a few basic ingredients into a fabulous and totally delicious dish!

overhead shot of lemon chicken piccata on a serving platter.

Easy Chicken Piccata

  • One Pot Meal
  • Easy To Make And Ready In Just 40 Minutes
  • Impressive and Delicious
  • Simple and Short Ingredient List

It’s such an easy dish to make and so full of flavor! The ingredient list is incredibly simple and the entire meal takes just over 40 minutes start to finish. Plus, you only need one skillet, which makes cleanup a breeze! If you love the bright taste lemons, this dish is for you!

Ingredient Notes

overhead shot for all the ingredients needed to cook lemon chicken piccata.
  • Chicken Breasts – You want them boneless and skinless. You can also do this with boneless skinless chicken thighs, for the dark meat lover. If using larger breasts, make sure you cut them in half lengthwise. My breasts were fairly small and thin so I didn’t need to cut them.
  • Flour – All purpose flour for dredging our chicken through.
  • Butter – I always use unsalted, this way I can control how much salt is in my food.
  • Olive oil – Pretty much my oil of choice all the time, especially for dishes such as this. Substitute sunflower, safflower or avocado oil.
  • Lemon juice – This is the star of this recipe, so you want to make sure is freshly squeezed for best flavor.
  • White wine – A dry white wine will work great such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. See “FAQs & Expert Tips” for more info.
  • Capers – This is another key ingredient in this recipe, they’ll give the dish more lemony, oily and salty flavor.

How to Make Chicken Piccata

process shots showing how to prep chicken and cook it for chicken piccata.
  1. Prep Chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off any excess.
  2. Cook Chicken: In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter with the olive oil, over medium to high heat. Add chicken pieces to the skillet and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until browned. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet.
  3. Add Ingredients: Remove skillet from heat. Add lemon juice, chicken stock or wine, capers and scrape up the brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Return skillet to heat and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Add chicken back to skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Add remaining butter to the sauce in the skillet and whisk for about a minute. Sauce will thicken a bit.
  4. Finish and Serve: Pour the sauce over the chicken garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.
process shots showing how to make sauce for chicken piccata and how to finish the dish.

FAQs & Expert Tips

FAQs

What Is Chicken Piccata?

Piccata is a method of preparing food where meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a sauce. The dish is Italian as the name would imply, but it is originally made with veal. Here I chose to make mine with chicken breasts, thinly sliced, or butterflied.

What Type Of Wine Works Best?

It’s important to deglaze the pan, and the wine adds a nice depth of flavor. I would recommend using your favorite dry white wine, such as a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc! If you want a non-alcoholic version, you can substitute chicken broth! It will work just as well.

How To Serve

This lemon chicken piccata is perfect over buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes. You can also serve this over rice, with a side of roasted broccoli or green beans.

freshly made chicken piccata in a skillet garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.

Tips

  1. Make sure to scrape all those delicious brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. That’s where all the flavor is, so you want to make sure you scrape really well.
  2. Substitute chicken broth for the wine if you’re looking for an alcohol free version.

I had Lemon caper chicken piccata at a restaurant recently and so enjoyed it. Found your recipe and it is every bit as good and exactly what I was looking for… AND I had everything needed on hand (even better)! Thank you!!!

freshly made chicken piccata in a skillet garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.

Leftovers

You can store this chicken piccata easily in the fridge. In an airtight container, it will keep for 3 – 5 days, just be sure it’s properly cooled before storing.

Freezing

If you’d like to make and freeze this chicken piccata ahead of time just place it in the fridge until it’s completely cooled. Store in an airtight container, then transfer to the freezer. It should last for 3 months.

When ready to serve, allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before popping it back in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you could heat it up in a skillet.

Lemon Chicken Piccata in a skillet with lemon slices and parsley.

More Great Recipes To Try

  • Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata Fettuccine
  • Cheese and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken Breasts
  • Buffalo Chicken Puff Pastry Pockets
  • Chicken Piccata Pasta
  • Lemon Chicken Rice Bake

Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram

freshly made chicken piccata in a skillet garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.

Chicken Piccata

4.58 from 347 votes
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 40 mins
Author: Joanna Cismaru
Serves: 4
Print Pin Rate
This Lemon Chicken Piccata is a simple, yet impressive dish! Delicious chicken in a tasty lemon, butter and capers sauce. Made entirely in one pan, it's perfect with pasta for a quick and delicious dinner.

Equipment

  • 12″ AllClad Stainless Skillet

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts skinless and boneless, cut in half lengthwise
  • ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour for dredging
  • 4 tablespoon butter unsalted
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • ⅓ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
  • ½ cup white wine dry
  • ¼ cup capers brined
  • ⅓ cup parsley fresh, chopped
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Prep Chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off any excess.
  • Cook Chicken: In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter with the olive oil, over medium to high heat. Add chicken pieces to the skillet and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until browned. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet.
  • Add Ingredients: Remove skillet from heat. Add lemon juice, chicken stock or wine, capers and scrape up the brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Return skillet to heat and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Add chicken back to skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Add remaining butter to the sauce in the skillet and whisk for about a minute. Sauce will thicken a bit.
  • Finish and Serve: Pour the sauce over the chicken garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

Video

Recipe Notes

  1. My chicken breasts were small and thin so there was no need to cut them in half, but if you’re using large chicken breasts, make sure they are cut lengthwise. Make sure to scrape all those delicious brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. That’s where all the flavor is, so you want to make sure you scrape really well.
  2. Substitute chicken broth for the wine if you’re looking for an alcohol free version.
  3. You can store this chicken piccata easily in the fridge. In an airtight container, it will keep for 3 – 5 days, just be sure it’s properly cooled before storing.
  4. If you’d like to make and freeze this chicken piccata ahead of time just place it in the fridge until it’s completely cooled. Store in an airtight container, then transfer to the freezer. It should last for 3 months.
  5. When ready to serve, allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before popping it back in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you could heat it up in a skillet.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1chicken pieceCalories: 289kcal (14%)Carbohydrates: 9g (3%)Protein: 13g (26%)Fat: 20g (31%)Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)Cholesterol: 66mg (22%)Sodium: 520mg (23%)Potassium: 279mg (8%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 803IU (16%)Vitamin C: 16mg (19%)Calcium: 20mg (2%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Course:Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine:Italian
Keyword:chicken piccata, chicken recipes, lemon chicken piccata
Tried this recipe? Rate it belowtag @jocooks on instagram and hashtag it #jocooks!

Recipe Originally Published December 2014.

  • 6048
  • 1

Meet Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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Comments

  1. G says

    May 13, 2022 at 7:01 am

    5 stars
    Great recipe!! We make this all the time but we also add 1 cup of chicken broth/stock bc we like a lot of sauce. We serve it with fettucini with a little garlic-oil, roasted asparagus tips and halved grape tomatoes-all mixed together. My husband always has to make the garlic bread, broiled-so yummy! The sauce is then added to the chicken AND the pasta dish. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Kelli Deann Franks says

    October 9, 2021 at 3:27 pm

    5 stars
    This is truthfully the best. My family loves when I make this. Question though, can I use almond flourinstead of regular flour?

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      October 9, 2021 at 4:05 pm

      Yeah, it should be fine. 🙂

      Reply
      • Kelli says

        October 10, 2021 at 11:54 am

        5 stars
        I used fish instead of chicken with the almond flour and it was amazing!

  3. David Hill says

    July 5, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Will make this time and time again

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team AMJ says

      July 6, 2021 at 8:57 am

      So glad to hear that David!

      Reply
  4. Candace says

    July 5, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    3 stars
    This was good but it was so tart, any suggestions on what to do instead of so much lemon juice?

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team AMJ says

      July 6, 2021 at 9:09 am

      Hi Candace,

      For the tartness, you can try to add half of the recommended amount of lemon juice and see if that helps out the taste. Let us know how it turns out!

      Reply
  5. Austin M says

    July 1, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    4 stars
    I liked the recipe however, I found the sauce to be a little to acidic for my taste. I will probably use 1 cup of wine next time to dillute the fresh lemon juice a little.

    Reply
  6. Diana says

    May 15, 2021 at 6:12 am

    5 stars
    Can I make a couple hours in advance and keep warm in an electric skillet?

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      May 16, 2021 at 10:24 am

      Absolutely!

      Reply
  7. Christina says

    March 11, 2021 at 7:12 pm

    5 stars
    Sooo Amaaaaaaazing!!!!!!! Seriously a staple meal in my kitchen forever. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  8. Tamara Bisker says

    January 26, 2021 at 1:45 pm

    My hubby and I enjoyed this immensely. I served this with roasted potatoes, carrots and peppers. I used only one large chicken breast, filleted it and reduced all ingredients for the two of us! Keep them coming Jo and we’ll keep following your wonderful recipes.

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      January 26, 2021 at 2:02 pm

      So glad you liked it!

      Reply
  9. Cathy says

    January 26, 2021 at 9:33 am

    Another terrific recipe! One of my family’s favorites!

    Reply
  10. fash says

    January 20, 2021 at 6:32 am

    5 stars
    I just made this and it’s AMAZING! I think the best dish i ever made! So simple, easy and quick. My 8 year old son asked me if aliens had abducted me and replaced me with a better daddy? I got turkey breast by mistake and it still worked great THANK YOU JO!!!!

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      January 20, 2021 at 9:25 am

      Too funny!!! So glad you liked it!!

      Reply
  11. Leonie Higham says

    January 10, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    Loving the Lemonchicken piccata it is on the menu tonight

    Reply
  12. SHOBA EMANUEL says

    December 7, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    5 stars
    My family loved this recipe! My guy thought it was delicious, Jo! Even my picky eater, ate all of it. I paired the chicken with egg noodles. The only thing I substituted was adding less lemon juice and about 3 tablespoons of garlic, parmesan and basil seasoned butter.

    Reply
  13. Marion Lattuga says

    November 28, 2020 at 4:42 pm

    5 stars
    Loved It!!!

    Reply
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I'm Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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