Lemon Chicken Piccata – a simple yet super impressive chicken piccata in a tasty lemon, butter and capers sauce. Perfect with pasta for a quick and delicious dinner.
Ah, this chicken piccata.
This could be that romantic dish for that special occasion. For that special someone. I truly believe that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and if you don’t believe me, I dare you to try it, and cook him a meal like this. All I can tell you is that my man sure enjoyed it. But hey, this dish isn’t only for men, all men out there can make this dish for their special someone.
Although I believe this chicken piccata is an impressive dish, it’s so simple to make. It’s amazing sometimes how you can turn a few simple ingredients into a fabulous and totally delicious dish.
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 The dish is Italian as the name would imply, but it is originally made with veal. But here I chose to make mine with chicken breasts, thinly sliced, or butterflied.
Now there’s a reason behind my madness, there always is, and the reason I chose to make this dish is because I bought these beautiful Meyer Lemons from Costco. I have a lot of them, they came in a great big box and I’m just dying to use them. Of course I have many ideas, mostly desserts, but then I remembered this chicken piccata recipe. Perfect use of my gorgeous Meyer lemons.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PICCATA
The chicken breasts are skinless and boneless, and thinly sliced lengthwise or butterflied. They are generously seasoned with salt and pepper then dredged through flour. The chicken is then pan fried to a golden perfection on both sides in butter and olive oil.
The chicken is then removed from the skillet, and the lemon juice, white wine and capers are added, at the same time scraping 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 real well. I chose to use a dry white wine here, but chicken broth would work just as well.
You then add the chicken back to the skillet and simmer the chicken in the sauce for another 5 minutes, after which you remove the chicken to a platter.
The sauce is then thickened with a bit more butter and cooked for a couple more minutes until it just thickens a bit. At this point you can pour this delicious sauce over the chicken, or as I did mine, put the chicken back in the skillet, and garnished with lots of parsley.
It’s such an easy dish to make, so full of flavor, if you love Meyer lemons this dish is for you. Of course you don’t have to use Meyer lemons, but if you have them, please do.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH LEMON CHICKEN PICCATA
This chicken piccata is perfect over buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
You can also serve this over rice and a side of roasted broccoli or green beans.
LOOKING FOR MORE CHICKEN RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata Fettuccine
- Chicken Marsala
- Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma
- Bourbon Chicken
- Chicken Lo Mein
Check out the video for the Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata Fettuccine!
Lemon Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts skinless and boneless, cut in half lengthwise
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
- 4 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup white wine dry
- 1/4 cup capers brined
- 1/3 cup parsley fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
- 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 min per side until browned. When chicken is cooked, remove chicken from skillet.
- 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. Remove chicken to a platter and add remaining butter and whisk for about a minute. Sauce will thicken a bit.
- You can return chicken to skillet and garnish with parsley. Alternatively you can pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with parsley.
Notes
- Chicken stock would be a good substitute for the white wine.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
My family loves this recipe! Easy and flavorful! Thanks for sharing!
This was amazing! I love chicken picatta! Perfect flavor from the lemon, wine, and butter! My husband and mom loved it! We served it with angel hair, green beans, and french bread! Will make again for sure!
I’m happy to hear you guys enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Yummy .. have never had this before and was outstanding .. will make again! The lavor are wonderful .. nice sauce. I’ts a keeper .. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;0)
This Chicken Picatta was simple and delicious. I want to try this same recipe with Veal. My wife is my taster and she gave it a thumbs up.
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!!!
Love this recipe! Tried a few others! Awesome!!!
I have made this recipe twice. It is delicious, fairly quick and, did I say delicious. I made it for my grandsons last night with a side of mashed potatoes. I am sorry to say there are no leftovers. The second time, I skipped the flour and just browned the chicken. That worked better for me in terms of weight watcher points and I think is a bit easier for leftovers. Thanks, Jo.
My pleasure, Tammy! Glad you liked it!
This dish is incredibly simple and bursting with buttery lemon flavor. I finally feel like a chef!
These look so delicious – one of my favorite dinners! Easy and elegant!
loved it
Absolutely Delicious … and easy!
I’d like to make ahead in morning and serve for a dinner party that evening.
Can this be reheated, or do I make chicken, and combine with sauce before reheating?
The only issue with reheating this is that since the chicken is dredged with flour, it’ll become soggy if your reheating method is a microwave. If you reheat in a pan or the stove, then it will be fine. Keep the sauce separate and combine everything once hot.
Made this recipe three times so far for three different groups. Everyone raves over it, and someone always asks for the recipe. I make it exactly as outlined with zero alterations. This recipe has graduated to my favorite recipes file! Thank you for sharing.
My pleasure, glad you guys enjoy it!
Love this recipe! I have made it several times now. I used the chicken broth sub for the wine and it was so yummy!!!!
Great recipe! Doubled the sauce recipe and used 12 chicken tenders which helped reduce prep time. Browned the chicken and made sauce in the morning, kept them separated and then heated each up put it all together just before serving. Yummy!!
I am so grateful for your estimates at the end of the recipes. My husband is on kidney dialysis and a buildup of potassium is very dangerous, but, more often than not, potassium isn’t mentioned on grocery goods or recipes. As he enjoys a tasty meal, I am sure your recipes will help me out a great deal.
Many thanks,,
Jo
This was a pretty easy but fancy recipe. 1st time was awesome, tasted great & looked like out of a magazine….2nd time i made it, was bitter…thinking i put lemons in too early? not sure what i did wrong but plan on making it on vacation at the ocean with another couple over Labor Day. If anyone knows why it was bitter, let me know? Capers?
.
Sounds like the butter was browned a little too much, which can result in a bitter burnt flavor. You can always add the lemon at the very end if you’re worried about adding it too soon.
Love this recipe. Light and refreshing and simple and quick to make. Good meal when your in a hurry and don’t want something heavy.
Hello,
Thanks for the wonderful recipies!!
I was wondering if we can find find Meyer lemons all year long. I have a hard time finding them!! If not, which
months are they available?
Thanks!
Meyer lemons are in season from November through March. You can use regular lemons if you wish, or you can use both lemon and orange.