Chicken piccata is one of my all-time favorite dishes, and it’s SO easy to make!
Chicken breasts are lightly browned and simmered in a bright lemon caper white wine sauce. Serve over pasta or with crusty bread.
This recipe comes together quickly for a delicious weeknight favorite.
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You’ll Love This Chicken Piccata Because…
- This is a restaurant-quality dish that comes together quickly.
- It uses simple ingredients that I always have on hand.
- It seems fancy, but it’s actually quite easy to make!
- The sauce is bright and flavorful with lemon, capers, and wine (or broth).
What Is Chicken Piccata?
Piccata is a dish with meat in a buttery lemon caper sauce. Piccata is usually served over pasta.
This is a chicken piccata recipe; however, it can also be made with veal or shrimp—you’ll find a 20-minute shrimp piccata in my cookbook. The sauce is vibrant but delicate, so I prefer to serve it with thinner pasta such as angel hair or light linguine.
Unlock the Magic of Chicken Piccata
- Chicken: Choose small, skinless, boneless chicken breasts for this recipe. You can also use chicken cutlets or boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe.
- Broth: Chicken broth is the base of this piccata sauce, adding flavor while balancing the lemon so it’s not overpowering. A simple butter and flour roux thickens it up.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon adds the best flavor, I also add zest to the flour mix.
- Capers: Capers have a tangy, briny, salty flavor and are delicious. You can replace capers with chopped green olives, chopped artichoke hearts, or even a very small amount finely chopped anchovy.
- Wine: Choose a dry white wine like pinot grigio or replace the wine with additional broth.
How to Make Chicken Piccata
- The Chicken: Pound the chicken and dredge it in the flour mixture. Brown brown it on each side in a large skillet or braiser.
- The Sauce: Add the flour and butter to the pan. Slowly add the broth. Then add the lemon juice, capers, and wine. Simmer until thickened.
- The Final Touch: Add the chicken to the sauce until heated through.
Holly’s Helpful Tips
If the chicken breasts are around 6oz each, gently pound to ½-inch thick. If they’re larger, you can cut them in half crosswise before pounding. This will help them to cook quickly and evenly.
To pound chicken, place the chicken on a cutting board and cover it with plastic wrap (to avoid splatter). Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin to gently pound the chicken.
Pan-frying in batches helps the chicken to brown better.
What to Serve With Chicken Piccata
Pasta: Chicken piccata has a delicious buttery lemon sauce, and it’s great over a long, thin pasta like angel hair or spaghettini.
Other starches: It can also be served with mashed potatoes, rice, noodles or a big chunk of crusty bread for dipping (if you haven’t tried my easy artisan bread, it’s a favorite).
Veggies: I love to pair this easy chicken piccata recipe with a fresh green veggie like broccoli, asparagus, green beans, or Brussels sprouts.
Pucker Up With These Fresh Lemon Favorites
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Did you enjoy this Chicken Piccata Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 6 ounces each, about 1 ½ lbs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons olive oil more as needed
- salt and black pepper to taste
Sauce
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth or chicken stock
- ½ lemon juiced, about 1 ½ tablespoons
- ½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons capers drained
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley additional for garnish
- shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Using a meat mallet, gently pound each chicken breast to ½-inch thick. See notes for larger chicken breasts.
- Combine the all-purpose flour, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip each chicken breast in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.
- In a 10-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in two batches for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until lightly browned and cooked through (165°F). Remove from the skillet and set aside to keep warm.
- Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter in the same skillet. Whisk in the flour, scraping up any brown bits, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth after each addition.
- Add lemon juice, white wine, and capers. Simmer for 3 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Add the chicken back into the skillet, and simmer in the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the chopped parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- Chicken: If the chicken breasts are very large (over 7oz), cut them in half crosswise and pound to ½-inch thick if needed. It can be replaced with chicken thighs or veal—adjust cooking time as needed.
- Sauce: Use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor. Capers can be replaced with finely chopped green olive if desired.
- Serving: I love chicken piccata with a thin pasta like linguini or angel hair pasta. It can also be served with mashed potatoes or rice. Serve with roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, or roasted cauliflower pair well.
- Fresh minced garlic can be added to the butter in the skillet if desired.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
The best recipe I have found thus far. The lemon zest is a perfect addition. I added some to the sauce as well and used thin sliced chicken breasts. I also added some butter to the olive oil when I cooked the chicken. The sauce consistency is perfect and the white wine is the way to go.
Hi, this dish looks great. I’m not a fan of chicken breast, can I use thighs instead?
We haven’t made this recipe with chicken thighs, but I think that would work well.
My family also prefers the dark meat of the chicken, so I substitute chicken thighs for chicken breasts in many recipes. Actually, they have a lot more flavor than breasts. Just make sure that they’re boneless & skinless. I don’t think you’ll need to pound them, unless they’re super huge.
I have made this twice now and my husband and I both LOVED it! He went as far as to say it’s the best chicken he’s ever had. Needless to say, it will he made in our house again. Thank you!!
Excellent dish. Quick and easy. Would definitely make again.
Omg this was soooo delicious!! This recipe is a keeper….thank you!!
Can I make this ahead of time? How would you go about doing that?
Hi Abby, you could reheat this dish when ready to enjoy in the oven or microwave like we do with leftovers.
Can you make this ahead of time?
Hi Carolyn, you could reheat this dish when ready to enjoy in the oven or microwave like we do with leftovers.
If I would to make this again I would use less flour for the sauce as it was thicker than I like and more lemon juice. I used a whole lemon for the juice, but depending on size of the lemon would depend, it was about 1 1/2TBS as the recipe calls for.
Loved it! I added a bit of fresh baby spinach leaves lust before serving to wilt it. Definitely a keeper.
MADE THIS LAST NIGHT, IT WAS SOOOOO DELICIOUS,BURSTING WITH FLAVOR. MY FAMILY’S NEW FAVORITE CHICKEN DISH. IT WAS EASY PEASY. I QUICKLY RINSED THE CAPERS BEFORE ADDING. SO PLEASED I CAME ACROSS YOUR SITE!
THANK YOU!
So happy you loved it Amy!
made the chicken piccata and zucchini, and my husband loved it! I even added mushrooms and garlic too
Hate to sound stupid but how many pounds of chicken breast. I’ve seen them small, medium, large, and extra large. Giving me “4 chicken breast” doesn’t help me. Your recipe sounds great and I do want to try it.
-Kerry
Hi Kerry, that’s a great question! We used medium-large size chicken breasts and depending on the thickness you are going to cut them in half crosswise or pound them out to be about ½ inch thick to allow them to cook properly in this dish! Good luck!
Can you sub vegetable stock for chicken broth?
It will change the flavor slightly Marilyn, but you definitely can and it should still be delicious!
I’m eating this as I’m writing this review.
This is absolutely delicious.
My husband loves it as well.
I doubled the sauce because I love a saucy sauce, if that makes any sense, lol, and used lemon pepper seasoning in the dredge mixture as well.
Made mashed potatoes with it and it’s absolutely delicious!!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
Makes total sense Gina. Sauce is often the best part! So happy to hear you both loved it!
Very easy and delicious! I doubled the sauce and served over angel hair pasta with freshly grated parmesan cheese
Mmmm! That sounds delicious Yvonne! Thanks for sharing.
Made this for dinner tonight for a belated Mother’s Day Dinner for myself. It was amazing. One thing I added was that I used Lemon Pepper and a little additional salt on the cutlets before I dredged them because I think I never add enough salt and pepper to the dredge. Even the daughter liked it! That’s a bonus!
I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe Kathryn! Happy belated mother’s day!
Made this for dinner tonight for a belated Mother’s Day Dinner for myself. It was amazing. One thing I added was that I used Lemon Pepper and a little additional salt on the cutlets before I dredged them because I think I never add enough salt and pepper to the dredge. Even the daughter liked it! That’s a bonus!
I am so glad your family liked the recipe Kathryn!
3rd time making this! My wife loves it!
I am so glad your wife has enjoyed this recipe Dave!
Can’t wait to try this recipe
I hope you love it Cheryl!
It is so delish Beth! Enjoy!
You’re welcome Amanda! We love the combination of lemon and parsley too, it so fresh!