Chicken piccata is an easy skillet dinner that’s ready in just 30 minutes. It combines juicy crusted chicken with a bright lemon and briny caper sauce for an exciting weeknight meal!
I’m always looking for new ways to cook skinless boneless chicken breasts. It can sometimes be a challenge to keep them moist and flavorful, but with this popular Italian American recipe, those worries are over!
Chicken piccata is dredged in flour and parmesan cheese to create a thin crust which helps to keep the meat beautifully tender while the lemon and capers add so much flavor to the buttery sauce. Some kids prefer to eat the chicken without the sauce, so make sure to set some cutlets aside just for them.
If you’re looking for similar quick chicken recipes, you have to try my Creamy Lemon Chicken which is also made in one pan, or check out the recipe for Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta which is always a huge hit with the entire family!
More easy chicken recipes to try include Marry Me Chicken, Bruschetta Chicken, Chicken Francese, and Cream of Mushroom Chicken.
If you’d like to try a different type of piccata, I have a Creamy Grilled Fish Piccata, and a stovetop Fish Piccata recipe that are delicious too!
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Piccata Recipe
- It’s fast. With a little bit of prep and some quick cooking time in the skillet, this dish can be ready in about 30 minutes. Perfect for busy weeknights!
- It feels like restaurant quality. Even though the recipe is pretty straightforward and fuss-free, the finished meal always feels impressive.
- It has a lot of flavors. Dressing up boneless skinless chicken breasts with a simple wine, lemon, and caper sauce gives so much flavor to the dish.
Key Ingredients
Here’s everything you need to make chicken piccata a success!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: Use 3 breasts in total and each breast will be cut into 3 smaller cutlets, so you’ll have 9 pieces altogether. I have a good tip for cutting the breast into cutlets below in the instructions. You can also substitute chicken thighs or tenderloins.
- For the crust: All-purpose flour, salt and pepper, and parmesan cheese (shredded or grated). The crust forms a thin crispy exterior over the cutlets to help seal all the delicious juices inside.
- Olive oil: I use olive oil to coat the thin chicken breast before dredging it, which helps the flour mixture to stick to it. I also pan fry the chicken in olive oil.
- Unsalted butter: Butter gives the sauce a rich velvety texture.
- Dry white wine: Choose a wine that you enjoy drinking, but there’s no need to go expensive here. The alcohol will evaporate, and the wine will reduce as the sauce is cooked, so paying top dollar for your wine just to use it in this sauce would be a waste. See the FAQ section below for more info on choosing your wine.
- Fresh lemon juice: I always prefer freshly squeezed lemon juice over the bottled kind.
- Garlic clove: I like to mince the garlic fresh just as I need it for the best flavor.
- Capers in brine, drained: Capers are non-ripened flower buds from the caper plant. You’ll usually find them brined in jars and they add a lovely salty flavor to the dish.
- Fresh parsley: Sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley into the sauce before serving.
How to Make Lemon Chicken Piccata
- Slice each chicken breast into 3 even pieces. I find this two-step method the easiest way to cut a chicken breast into 3 cutlets. 1) Cut each breast in half vertically. This will leave you with 2 pieces – one will be thinner, which is already a perfect cutlet size. 2) Take the thicker piece and now cut it in half horizontally into 2 thinner pieces. You should now have 3 pieces altogether.
- Pound chicken: You want thin cutlets for this chicken piccata recipe. Place the chicken pieces on a cutting board and cover them with a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Using a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken until it’s ½ cm or ¼ inch thickness. Drizzle the cutlets with oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Dredge chicken: Combine flour, parmesan, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl and place each piece of chicken into the flour, turn to coat and then shake off any excess.
- Cook chicken: Heat olive oil and butter in the skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken for 3 – 4 minutes and then flip over and continue cooking until golden brown. I cook the chicken in two batches, so the pan isn’t overcrowded. Remove the cutlets from the skillet onto a plate.
- Make the sauce: Add wine to the skillet and cook until it reduces in half. While the wine is simmering, scrape off any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. They add lots of flavor! Add lemon, garlic, and butter and cook gently until the sauce emulsifies. Add in the capers and parsley and stir before removing from the heat. Season your chicken piccata to taste.
- Serve. Drizzle the sauce over everything and serve. Don’t forget to have some bread on the table to sop up all of that delicious sauce!
Tip!
If you find there is too much burnt flour in the skillet before adding the wine, deglaze it first with a bit of water. Then wipe it out with a paper towel. Not too much, though, because you want to keep much of that flavor. Just not the burnt flour!
Recommended Tools
- Meat tenderizer: This tool makes it a breeze to pound protein to make it thinner and more tender. One side has pointy teeth and is used for breaking down tough fibers and the smooth side is perfect for flattening protein, so it cooks faster.
- Skillet: I like this budget-friendly stainless-steel skillet. My food always cooks evenly when I use it which is key!
- Citrus juicer: I find a citrus juicer makes juicing lemons and limes so much easier. This one is so sturdy; I’ve had mine for years. Plus, I can pop it into the dishwasher which makes for quick cleanup!
Chicken Piccata Recipe Tips
- Dredging: Try to use only one hand to dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour. The combination of flour and oil can get sticky and messy! Using only one hand means you always have a clean hand to move dishes, open cupboard doors, etc.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Cook the chicken cutlets in batches. If you overcrowd the pan, the chicken will steam rather than pan-fry and you won’t get that beautiful golden color on your crust.
- If doubling the batch or cooking for a crowd: Hold the cooked chicken in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve.
- Fresh lemon juice only! Nothing from a bottle here please. This recipe isn’t fussy at all, but it’s the little things that make a difference.
- Sauce too tangy? Don’t fret. The capers and lemon are meant to give it a delicious lip-smacking tang. It will be balanced out by the chicken and any rice, pasta, or potatoes you serve it with.
How to Store Leftover chicken Piccata
Enjoy leftovers for up to 3 days! Keep everything stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
If you’re thinking ahead and making more to meal plan, then you’re in luck. This freezes very well. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight freezer-friendly container or Ziploc bag and keep it frozen for up to 3 months.
What To Serve With Lemon Piccata Chicken
There are so many options for side dishes to serve alongside your chicken piccata. Here are some suggestions:
- Crockpot mashed potatoes
- Buttered noodles
- Olive Oil Pasta
- Roasted broccolini
- Crushed potatoes
- Simple tossed green salad
- Sauteed mushroom and onions
- Mushroom rice
- Homemade French fries
- Blanched green beans
More Easy Skillet Dinners To Try
All Chicken Recipes ➜
FAQs
Chicken piccata or lemon caper chicken is an Italian American dish where the chicken is thinly sliced and then dredged in flour, browned, and served in a lemon butter sauce with capers. Sometimes you’ll see veal or fish piccata.
You’ll know it is ready when the outer crust turns a golden-brown color. The internal temperature will read 165°F/74°C on an instant read thermometer.
I suggest cooking with a dry white wine. You want to avoid a sweet wine for this sauce and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Many people believe that you should only cook with expensive wines that you would drink by the glass, but this might not actually be the case.
Serious Eats talks about how to choose red and white wine for cooking, including if you really need to cook with expensive wine. They concluded that it’s not worth paying the premium price for wine as it’s usually reduced while cooking and there was little difference in the flavor when comparing expensive vs non-expensive brands in cooking.
I guess it’s kind of like using a cheaper sparkling wine to make a mimosa. Why dilute really expensive champagne with orange juice, right?!
Wine can be substituted with chicken stock if desired, but the alcohol is evaporated as the wine is reduced. A better substitution would be white wine vinegar but make sure to dilute it with water, so 50% is vinegar and 50% is water.
This chicken piccata will make a simple weeknight dinner feel like a special occasion! Save this recipe the next time you need a delicious and easy chicken breast recipe. Pin it for more people to enjoy too!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Chicken Piccata
Recipe Video
Equipment
- Meat tenderizer
- Instant-read thermometer
- Citrus juicer
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts skinless and boneless about a pound and half in total (650g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup shredded or grated parmesan
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- ¾ cup dry white wine use non expensive wine
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons capers in brine drained
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast in half vertically. This will leave you with 2 pieces – one will be thinner, which is already a perfect cutlet size. Take the thicker piece and cut it in half horizontally into 2 thinner pieces. You should have 3 pieces altogether.
- Place the chicken pieces on a cutting board and cover them with a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Using a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken until it’s ½ cm or ¼ inch thickness.
- Drizzle the cutlets with oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Combine flour, parmesan, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl and place each piece of chicken into the flour, turn to coat and then shake off any excess.
- Heat the remaining olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in the skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes and then flip over and continue cooking until golden brown. Cook in batches and do not overcrowd the pan. Remove the cutlets from the skillet onto a plate.
- Add wine (or chicken stock) to the skillet and cook until it reduces in half. While the wine is simmering, scrape off any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. They add lots of flavor! Add lemon, garlic, and remaining butter and cook gently until the sauce emulsifies.
- Add in the capers and parsley and stir before removing from the heat. Season your chicken piccata to taste.
Notes:
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Cook the chicken cutlets in batches. If you overcrowd the pan, the chicken will steam rather than pan-fry and you won’t get that beautiful golden color on your crust.
- If doubling the batch or cooking for a crowd: Hold the cooked chicken in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve.
- Storing: Enjoy leftovers for up to 3 days. Keep everything stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freezing: Once completely cooled, store in an airtight freezer-friendly container or Ziploc bag and keep it frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Neicy Benge says
I have not yet made the recipe but I’m loving all of your recipe’s and tips! By any chance do you sell a recipe book? I would definitely buy it if you do- thank you 🙂
Diana says
I’m happy you’re enjoying the recipes! I don’t have a recipe book yet, but I’d love to create one in the near future. Please sign up for my email list to stay updated on this. Thanks for your interest!
Julia says
How do you reheat this dish without making the chicken hard?
Diana says
Warm it in a covered pan over low heat on the stove, or in a low-temperature oven (around 275-300°F) covered with foil. This will help keep the chicken moist.
Gordon says
Made this the other night fantastic. Wife is a very plain eater she tasted it said make for me next time that was delicious