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.
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!
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
- 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
- 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.
FAQs & Expert Tips
FAQs
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.
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.
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.
Tips
- 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.
- 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!!!
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.
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Chicken Piccata
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts skinless and boneless, cut in half lengthwise
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp pepper or to taste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour for dredging
- 4 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- â…“ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ½ cup white wine dry
- ¼ cup capers brined
- â…“ cup parsley fresh, chopped
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
- 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.
- Substitute chicken broth for the wine if you’re looking for an alcohol free version.
- 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.
- 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.
Nutrition Information:
Recipe Originally Published December 2014.
Absolutely delicious! Will make this time and time again
So glad to hear that David!
This was good but it was so tart, any suggestions on what to do instead of so much lemon juice?
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!
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.
Can I make a couple hours in advance and keep warm in an electric skillet?
Absolutely!
Sooo Amaaaaaaazing!!!!!!! Seriously a staple meal in my kitchen forever. Thank you so much for sharing!
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.
So glad you liked it!
Another terrific recipe! One of my family’s favorites!
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!!!!
Too funny!!! So glad you liked it!!
Loving the Lemonchicken piccata it is on the menu tonight
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.
Loved It!!!