Chicken Piccata
on Feb 18, 2021, Updated Jun 21, 2024
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Chicken Piccata is a staple found in most Italian restaurants. It is one that everyone loves plus, it’s incredibly simple to create at home.
Everyone needs a tried and tested chicken piccata recipe. It’s basically thin strips of chicken that are dredged in flour and seared to perfection. Then you add a yummy sauce that is full of lemon, butter, white wine or stock, and capers. What’s not to like?!
Chicken piccata tastes delicious served over pasta, rice, or potatoes. It only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. It’s a family favorite for good reason.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- I love creating restaurant favorite dishes in the comfort of my own home. Impress your family and friends with a dish that looks and tastes like it’s straight from a gourmet restaurant.
- The bright and zesty flavors are so refreshing
- The chicken breasts are pounded thin and cooked to perfection, ensuring a tender and juicy result.
- This recipe is so easy to follow, comes together in just 45 minutes and great for weeknight dinners or meal prepping.
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour – All-purpose
- Chicken – I like to use skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- Vegetable oil – Or any tasteless oil
- Lemons
- Shallot
- Garlic clove
- Chicken broth
- Capers
- Butter – Unsalted
- Fresh parsley
- Spices – Salt and pepper
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Chicken Piccata
Step 1. Flatten chicken breasts, season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.
Step 2. Brown chicken in a skillet with oil until golden on both sides, then transfer to a warm oven.
Step 3. In the same skillet, sauté shallot and garlic, then add broth and lemon slices. Simmer until slightly thickened. Stir in lemon juice, capers, and butter until butter is melted and sauce is smooth.
Step 4. Remove chicken from oven, spoon sauce over it, and garnish with parsley. Serve hot.
Recipe FAQs
Capers are small green buds that come from a caper bush that is found in the Mediterranean. They aren’t appetizing when eaten straight off the bush so they are pickled in vinegar. They are tangy, salty, and add a great flavor to dishes.
Dredge means to cover lightly. In chicken piccata, the chicken will be dredged in flour. This helps add a delicious coating that will turn golden brown.
If you don’t have capers or they just aren’t your jam, you can substitute green olives.
I recommend using a mixture of butter and oil to cook the chicken. Oil and butter work hand in hand and create a delicious flavor while preventing the butter from burning.
Expert Tips
- For even cooking, ensure the chicken breasts are of uniform thickness. If needed, place them between plastic wrap and gently pound with a meat mallet or the bottom of a pan.
- Add extra flavor to the chicken by mixing the flour with a pinch of salt, pepper, and any other desired herbs or spices before dredging.
- When adding broth to deglaze the skillet, scrape the bottom of the pan well to incorporate all the flavorful browned bits into the sauce.
- To achieve a silky, emulsified sauce, remove the skillet from the heat before whisking in the butter, and add it gradually, whisking continuously.
How to Serve and Store Chicken Picatta
This lemon chicken piccata pairs well with pasta, such as spaghetti or angel hair, to soak up the delicious sauce. For a lighter option, serve it with vegetables such as peas, asparagus, or zucchini or a fresh green salad.
Store any leftover chicken piccata in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, gently warm the chicken in a skillet over low heat, adding a splash of chicken broth or water to prevent drying out. To freeze, place the cooked and cooled chicken piccata in a freezer-safe container or resealable plastic bag. It can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. – Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating as described above.
More Chicken Recipes to Consider
Pasta Dishes
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Baked Pasta
Soups, Stews & Chowders
White Chicken Chili
Chicken Recipes
Kung Pow Chicken
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Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200℉. Halve 1 lemon, trim ends, and slice lemon into thin half-moons. With the remaining lemon, squeeze ¼ cup juice.
- Cut chicken horizontally into 2 thin cutlets, then cover with plastic wrap and pound to ½-inch thickness.
- Pat cutlets dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
- Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off any excess.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Heat oil until just smoking.
- Brown half of the chicken cutlets until lightly golden on both sides (about 4 minutes).
- Transfer to plate and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets.
- Add shallot and garlic to the oil left in the skillet and cook over medium heat until shallot is softened (about 2 minutes).
- Stir in broth and lemon slices. Scrape up any browned bits and simmer until reduced and slightly syrupy (about 8 minutes).
- Stir in lemon juice and capers. Turn the heat to low and whisk in putter, 1 piece at a time.
- Turn off heat, stir in parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.
Notes
- For even cooking, ensure the chicken breasts are of uniform thickness. If needed, place them between plastic wrap and gently pound with a meat mallet or the bottom of a pan.
- Add extra flavor to the chicken by mixing the flour with a pinch of salt, pepper, and any other desired herbs or spices before dredging.
- When adding broth to deglaze the skillet, scrape the bottom of the pan well to incorporate all the flavorful browned bits into the sauce.
- To achieve a silky, emulsified sauce, remove the skillet from the heat before whisking in the butter, and add it gradually, whisking continuously.
