Elegant and easy.
Chicken piccata is one of those recipes that looks much more complicated than it really is. It looks so elegant, with the tender, juicy chicken breasts drenched in buttery lemon sauce and sprinkled with capers, that it makes you think only a master chef could handle it.
But in fact, it’s one of the simplest chicken dishes there is. No, really, it is! All you have to do is coat your chicken breasts in the seasoning mix, cook them in a skillet, add the sauce ingredients to the pan, and let it heat through. That’s it! Trust me, if you can handle a dish like my Thai Peanut Chicken or Bruschetta Chicken, you can do this – no problem.
If you still feel intimidated, think about this: Chicken Piccata is an Italian dish, and you probably know lots of Italian dishes that you make all the time without even thinking about it. You have no trouble with spaghetti and meatballs, right? Or Easy Eggplant Parmesan? Just think about this dish as part of the same category, and you’ll be fine.
And if your family is super impressed when they taste this tender, flavorful chicken dish because they think it must have been super hard – well, what they don’t know won’t hurt them.
Isn’t chicken piccata supposed to have white wine in the sauce?
- Some recipes call for it, but you don’t need it. The really essential flavors come from the lemon, the butter, and those zingy little capers. If you’ve got all of those, you can use stock instead of wine and your sauce will have plenty of punch.
OK, but don’t you have to pound the chicken breasts flat before cooking them?
- Nah. They’ll cook more evenly if you do it that way, but as long as you cut the breasts in half and check to make sure they get to the right internal temperature, you’re fine.
What should I serve with Chicken Piccata?
- It’s delicious over pasta or rice, which soaks up all that yummy, buttery sauce. If you don’t want all those carbs, try a lighter alternative like zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice. A Caesar salad or green salad with Italian dressing is great on the side.
How to Make Chicken Piccata
- Slice the lemon in half. Squeeze to juice ½ of the lemon, slice the other ½ and set aside.
- Mix salt, pepper and garlic into a small bowl, set aside.
- Slice chicken in half. Season both sides of the chicken breast with salt, pepper and garlic mix.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and oil into a large skillet. Add 4 pieces of the chicken and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the last 4 pieces.
- Reduce the heat and add chicken broth, flour, lemon juice, sliced lemons and capers. Cook for 2-3 minutes while scraping down the sides of the pan.
- Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter until melted.
- Spoon the sauce over the top of the cooked chicken breast.
More easy chicken recipes we love!
- Grilled Caprese Chicken
- Crockpot Creamy Crack Chicken
- Easy Chicken Tetrazzini
- King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Looking for more free recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 lemon ½ juiced, ½ slices
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅓ cup flour
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons of capers or a mix of capers and olives
Instructions
- Slice the lemon in half. Squeeze to juice ½ of the lemon, slice the other ½ and set aside.
- Mix salt, pepper and garlic into a small bowl, set aside.
- Slice chicken in half. Season both sides of the chicken breast with salt, pepper and garlic mix.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and oil into a large skillet. Add 4 pieces of the chicken and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the last 4 pieces.
- Reduce the heat and add chicken broth, flour, lemon juice, sliced lemons and capers. Cook for 2-3 minutes while scraping down the sides of the pan.
- Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter until melted.
- Spoon the sauce over the top of the cooked chicken breast.
Video
Save this recipe for later! Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your recipe box!
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Cheryl says
When do you add the flour?
Corey says
Hello Cheryl! You add the flour in step 5. ( with the broth, capers, lemon)
Grace says
What do you do with the 1/3 cup of flour?
Corey says
Howdy Grace, You add the flour in step 5. ( with the broth, capers, lemon)
Melissa Pena says
When do you add the flour?
Corey says
Hi Melissa!
🙂 You add the flour in step 5. ( with the broth, capers, lemon)
Suzanne says
Do you slice the chicken breast lengthwise in half?
Corey says
Yes, to make them thinner.
doris says
I don’t see instructions for the 1/3 cup of flour
Corey says
Hi Doris 🙂 You add the flour in step 5. ( with the broth, capers, lemon)
Teresa says
This tasted nice but 1/3 c. of flour was way too much. Instead of a creamy sauce to coat the chicken and pasta I had a thick, lumpy sauce. I would go with 1/4c. (or less) flour or add more liquid.
Ana says
Way too much flour! Might even be a mistake/spelling error. It became a gravy versus a sauce. Will not be redoing this
Corey says
The sauce is meant to be very thick. If you like a more watery sauce, I would suggest starting with 3 or 4 tablespoons and work up from there. We prefer a thicker sauce over here. Hope that helps 🙂