Chicken Piccata: Lemony, caper-topped Italian dish with just the right amount of buttery flavor. This chicken piccata is one of our favorite recipes. It’s simple, delicious, and versatile.
It’s time to get your chicken piccata on!
Chicken Piccata is just another one of those easy-to-make dishes that you can whip up in about 30 minutes and feel like a pro. It has everything you need to make an impressive dish without having to spend hours in the kitchen.
This is a great dinner bursting with lots of flavors! The great thing about this recipe is that it’s really versatile. You can use regular chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs, depending on what you have on hand.
What is Chicken Piccata?
Chicken Piccata is a classic Italian dish made with cutlets of chicken breast dredged in flour, pan-fried, and served with lemon butter piccata sauce. This restaurant-quality dish is accompanied by a delicious lemon butter sauce made with capers, white wine, or chicken broth.
Generally, it is garnished with fresh parsley and served with a side of sauteed vegetables or over a bed of pasta. It is a flavorful and elegant dish perfect for weeknights or special occasions. More so, it is easy to prepare and can be on the table in minutes. The combination of the tender chicken and the tangy, buttery sauce will satisfy the palate and impress everyone at the table.
Chicken Piccata Sauce
There’s no chicken piccata without the flavourful lemony sauce. Piccata sauce combines butter, white wine, chicken broth, and lemon juice and is seasoned with capers and fresh parsley. You will be serving this delicious sauce alongside tasty chicken cutlets. In addition, the sauce has a tangy and slightly acidic flavor and is buttery.
Ingredients for Chicken Piccata Recipe
- Chicken breasts: I used boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe and sliced them lengthwise
- All-purpose flour: for dredging the chicken before bringing it to the skillet
- Butter: This adds richness and buttery flavor to the sauce.
- Olive oil: used to sauté the minced garlic cloves and help the sauce emulsify.
- Garlic: always a go-to for an aromatic and subtle inch of sweetness to the sauce
- Lemon juice: adds a bright and tangy flavor to the recipe. Also, lemon zest can come in handy as a worthy substitute.
- Chicken broth or dry white wine: You can use chicken broth or dry white wine for depth of flavor. The wine adds acidity and helps to thin out the sauce.
- Capers are small, brined buds that add a tangy and slightly briny flavor to the sauce.
- Parsley: Adds a fresh feel for garnishing.
- Seasonings: add salt and pepper to taste and garlic powder for more flavor
How To Make Chicken Piccata
- Step 1: Butterfly the chicken breasts and dredge in flour
- Step 2: Sear the chicken
- Step 3: Make the lemon-caper sauce
- Step 4: Simmer the chicken in the sauce
FAQs
Can I make it without cream?
Yes, it is possible to make Chicken Piccata without cream. The traditional recipe for the sauce includes butter, which adds richness and flavor to the sauce and does not require cream. Instead of cream, other ingredients with butter creates an exotic, rich, and flavorful consistency. You can thicken the sauce if it is thin by allowing it to simmer a bit longer.
What kind of wine to use?
The common wine used for chicken piccata is dry white wine. You can try Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio; they are all excellent choices. In fact, White wine has a crisp, refreshing taste that goes well with the chicken and the tangy lemon butter sauce.
The flavors of the wine will be prominent in the finished dish and contribute to the overall taste, so I recommend a wine you enjoy drinking on its own. You can use chicken broth as a replacement for wine if you don’t like wine. The sauce will still have the right taste, thanks to this. Don’t worry about alcohol, relax. As the meal simmers, the alcohol in the wine will cook out, leaving the final dish without a pronounced alcoholic taste.
Notes/Tips
- Use thin slices of chicken breast: It’s crucial to use thin chicken breast pieces so that the chicken cooks fast and evenly. A thicker chicken breast may take longer to cook through and risk being overdone and dry.
- Coat the chicken in flour: Dredging the chicken in flour helps to create a crispy and golden crust when it is sauteed. More so, it helps thicken the sauce slightly when added to the pan.
- Use a non-stick pan: A non-stick pan will make it easier to cook the chicken and prevent it from sticking to the pan. It will also make it easier to clean up after cooking.
- Don’t overcook the chicken: To avoid overcooking the chicken, watch it carefully while it cooks. Aim to cook chicken until it is barely cooked but still soft since overcooked chicken can become dry and tough.
What to Serve with Piccata
Some popular options for serving this dish include:
- Pasta: The pasta absorbs the flavorful sauce and complements the tender chicken. Try it with Cajun Jambalaya Pasta and Jollof Spaghetti.
- Potatoes: You will enjoy it with Breakfast potatoes, baby potatoes, hot pot potatoes, and mashed potatoes.
- Sauteed or roasted vegetables: Honey-glazed carrots, green beans, and Broccoli provide a healthy and colorful accompaniment to the dish.
- Rice: It is also delicious when served over a bed of rice like jollof rice, white rice, brown rice, and coconut fried rice.
- Salad: for a refreshing feel, serve it with tomato cucumber salad, black-eyed peas salad, and kachumbari.
Leftover/storage
You can store the cooked chicken and sauce in the refrigerator for 3-4 days until you are ready to serve. When you want to eat it, reheat the chicken and sauce in a pan over medium heat until it is hot and bubbly.
More Recipes You May Enjoy
- Easy Spatchcock Chicken
- Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Juicy Baked Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Fricassee
- Perfect Juicy Baked Chicken Breasts
Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken breasts skinless and boneless [sliced lengthwise]
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-1/4 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons brined capers drained
- parsley Chopped, for garnish [optional]
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off any excess.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the chicken—Cook in batches and don’t overcrowd. Cook for about 3-5 minutes per side until golden.
- Remove and transfer to plate. Set aside.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, add the minced garlic.
- Return the skillet back to the stove and cook the garlic for about 30 seconds. Stir continuously to prevent burning.
- Lower the heat and add the lemon juice, chicken broth, zest, and capers scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes, then add the chicken with it’s collected juice back into the pan.
- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced to your liking. If the sauce thickens too much, add more broth.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley if desired.
Notes
- Use thin slices of chicken breast: It’s crucial to use thin chicken breast pieces so that the chicken cooks fast and evenly. A thicker chicken breast may take longer to cook through and risk being overdone and dry.
- Coat the chicken in flour: Dredging the chicken in flour helps to create a crispy and golden crust when it is sauteed. It also helps thicken the sauce slightly when added to the pan.
- Don’t overcook the chicken: To avoid overcooking the chicken, watch it carefully while it cooks. Aim to cook chicken until it is barely cooked but still soft since overcooked chicken can become dry and tough.
- Add more butter and oil if required for the second batch of frying the chicken.
Nutrition
Let’s connect on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. I love keeping in touch with you; nothing brings me more joy than seeing pictures of your creations. Tag me @cheflolaskitchen on Instagram and Facebook.