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.
More Great Recipes To Try
Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram
Chicken Piccata
Equipment
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
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.
I used your recipe for brined and toasted turkey breast yesterday for Thanksgiving. It was AWESOME. My husband said the best I ever made. I followed it exactly. Thank you.
So glad you liked it!
Good grief, we must be flavor kindred spirits! I, too, chose this recipe to make first from your site. I signed up for your daily emails and literally laugh out loud each day because what you have been sending out recently are things that I either want to make or have made and love. I appreciate your flavor profiles. I’ll be getting your book soon. I am so thankful to have found your website. Yep, Jo, you sure do know how to cook!
Thanks, Helene! I appreciate it! Also stay tuned, got a new book coming out August 2021. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this delish recipe! My family loves it. I can’t wait for the cookbook!!
This was the first ever recipe of yours that led me you your page. Have never looked back. Have your book and love all of your choices and the flavours you put together. Keep them coming. Thanks. Lynn.
Thanks, Lynn! I appreciate it!
This was so tasty! My husband loved it too. Will make again. Thanks Jo!
Can I double all ingredients to make it for more people?
Absolutely!
Great recipe but I used Italian bread crumbs instead of flour. I love this dish, simple and so delicious!
This is truly one of my favorites! Easy to put together AND so delicious!
Can I use pork scallops instead of chicken?
If that’s what you’d like, then sure!
Delicious! One of my all time favorites!
My family really enjoyed this recipe! My husband loved it!! I used 2 lemons from my lemon tree and that just made it very lemony which we love.! I didn’t measure it since I knew freshly picked lemons are more strong than store bought.
This recipe was easy and chicken was delicious! I used a package of chicken tenders. They were perfect. I served fresh asparagus with it.
I love the Greek chicken with orzo.
This is one of my all time favorites! The lemon and wine give the meal a great tart flavor with the butter to tame it down just the right amount. I recently tried adding a little heavy cream, to stretch the sauce, and tame the tart flavor a bit more, and I must say it was a gamble that paid off! I also add just a touch of corn starch to thicken the sauce, which in my opinion is a must, so that sauce will stick to pasta.
That’s a great idea! Now time to make some good crusty bread to help soak up all the sauce 😋
I really enjoyed this recipe. Am making it again today!
Glad to hear it!
This is a lovely recipe with a good balance of flavours, and I wouldn’t add or take away a thing. I doubled the sauce and served the chicken over capellini with a bit of roasted broccoli on the side. Quick and easy, and eminently guest-worthy.