This easy chicken piccata recipe is a bright, savory dish with a touch of elegance!
This is a fast skillet meal that looks and tastes fancy! Tender chicken breasts are cooked in a buttery lemon-caper sauce.
This dish is easy enough for every day, yet elegant enough to serve to guests.
Chicken Piccata Is Easy to Make!
This chicken piccata recipe is delightfully zesty and full of flavor! Pan-fried chicken breasts are simmered in a buttery lemon, wine, and capers sauce. It’s an easy-to-make dish that adds a touch of luxury to everyday cooking.
In addition to favorites like Carbonara and Alfredo, Italy has some beautiful savory and lemony sauce dishes, like piccata. In North America, we more often see chicken piccata although in Italy this dish is more frequently made with veal.
Ingredients in Chicken Piccata
Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or ½-inch thick chicken cutlets. If you’re using full chicken breasts, flatten them to ½ inch thick with a meat mallet.
Chicken Piccata Sauce – A fresh lemon is needed for the best flavor. For the wine, choose a dry white variety that you’d enjoy drinking; cooking wines aren’t recommended.
Extra Flavor: Capers add a pop of salty flavor and a liittle texture. If capers aren’t to your liking, feel free to substitute or add chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or sautéed mushrooms.
How to Make Chicken Piccata
The chicken will come out tender and delicious when you follow these steps.
- Dredge the pounded chicken breasts in flour and lemon zest mixture, lightly brown both sides, and set aside.
- In the same pan, add chicken broth, butter wine, lemon juice, and capers and cook until slightly thickened.
- Add the chicken back to the pan to finish cooking (as per the recipe below).
While it’s not traditional, a little heavy cream can be added at the end of cooking.
What to Serve with Chicken Piccata?
- Serve with rice or pasta, and one of these fabulous side dishes, below.
- Feeling ambitious? Elevate your dinner with tender, fluffy homemade egg noodles.
- For a welcome contrast to the savory richness of chicken piccata, try low-carb and low-cal sauteed zucchini, parmesan roasted brussels sprouts, tender, and tasty roasted broccolini, or green beans almondine.
More Chicken Skillet Recipes
These chicken recipes all skillet favorites!
Did you love this Chicken Piccata Recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Chicken Piccata Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to about ½ inch thick or cut in half crosswise
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons olive oil more as needed
- salt & pepper to taste
Sauce
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ lemon juiced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
- ½ cup white wine or chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons capers drained
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Combine the all purpose flour, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge each chicken breast in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.
- In a 10-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Cook the chicken in two batches for 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until just cooked through. Cook in batches to avoid overcrowding the skillet. Remove from pan and place in a dish to keep warm.
- Using the same skillet, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until smooth and let cook for 1-2 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, letting it simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
- Use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.
- Chicken piccata pairs well with long pasta like linguini or angel hair pasta, but can also be served with mashed potatoes or rice pilaf.
- Fresh minced garlic can be added to the butter in the skillet if desired.
- Veal works wonderfully in this recipe.
- Serve with roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, or roasted cauliflower.
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.
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This was excellent and I’ve made various versions over the years. I served it with roasted and smashed mini potatoes and asparagus.
I made this dish this evening but added chopped prosciutto.Yummy!
Best recipe ever for chicken Piccata. My guests enjoyed it tremendously as did I.
I am excited to try this! I used to work in a restaurant and this was my favorite thing to order on the menu! I haven’t had it in almost 4 years now. They added halved cherry tomatoes and artichokes to it and it was so amazing!
I hope this one lives up to the memory. Enjoy, Cari!
This is a FAVORITE in our house! Planning to make this on Christmas Eve for my in laws. Can I just double the recipe for more sauce if I plan on having for chicken? Thanks!
That sounds like a delicious idea, Kristen! Enjoy!
Just made this, very easy and delicious!! I did have to change one thing, didn’t realize I didn’t have any chicken stock so I used a packet of chicken gravy mix… it turned out awesome!!! Made the sauce a bit thicker which we love!
Great recipe, quick and easy. Love it!
Absolutely delicious!!
just made this tonight with chicken tenderloins..turned out great with linguini
Was able to make sauce ahead of time early in the morning and let it sit until I was ready for dinner made the sauce again as in recipe. We had double sauce for our angel hair pasta and enough sauce for leftovers
This recipe has become my go-to meal.
My husband called this “restaurant quality” and learned to love capers while enjoying this meal.
Serve it with angel hair pasta and roasted asparagus
Made this for dinner tonight and followed the recipe exactly. It was amazing!! Thank you for a great recipe!
This was was amazing. My foodie boyfriend didn’t leave a morsel of food on his plate when he was finished and kept raving about great it was! I used chicken thighs instead of breast and used the flour with lemon peel to thicken the sauce for the flour to use at the end. 10/10 recommend! #recipeisakeeper
So happy to hear that Dawn! Glad you both enjoyed it.
Great recipe that leaves room for tweaking!
Very good recipe
This was so awesome! Easy and elegant. I used chicken tenders and flattened them out a little (1/4″). This is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Donna! Sounds like a great idea!
Love your recipes!
I’m giving this four stars, but it is likely my error for this rating. I think my cast iron pan was simply too hot and, although the chicken can out beautifully, the roux was brown. I must have burned the butter and flour to have caused this. Still, I went ahead and finished. It was a passable dinner, but not what I wanted to put down. Any thoughts? PS I absolutely love and have such success with all your other delicious recipes!!
I agree, if the roux was brown, chances are that your pan was too hot Kathy.
I use marinated articoke hearts and juice with my chicken piccata
Sounds delicous Patty!
Incredibly delicious and simple to prepare!! Saving this one for sure!