Chicken piccata is easy to make, ready in 20 minutes and features seared chicken breasts with a delicious lemon, butter and caper sauce. Great served over spaghetti for a quick dinner!
Today’s recipe is long overdue for showing up here on Family Food on the Table.
Chicken piccata is a long-time favorite in my family, and a great recipe for anyone who loves quick and easy chicken dinners like I do.
(Check out Parmesan crusted chicken, spinach stuffed chicken and easy cream cheese chicken for other dinner favorites in our house. And for another 20-minute meal, check out this easy chicken picadillo - so flavorful!)
This one is light and lemony and buttery and briny. I mean, does it get any better than that?
This recipe comes from my mom, and it’s one I’ve been making for years as well.
This was a staple dinner for my husband and I when we were newly married.
Funny enough, when I started pounding the chicken to cook this up to photograph for you all, he knew immediately what I was making.
I relied on it so heavily in our early years because it was familiar to me, something I felt comfortable cooking, and we both love the flavors.
Plus, it’s ready in just 20 minutes.
Cook some spaghetti and steam a vegetable at the same time, and your entire meal is ready to go.
Gotta love that.
And even more, the gorgeous flavors of lemon, butter, garlic, white wine and capers will have you absolutely swooning.
I think this will become a staple dinner in your house too.
OK, let’s get to cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make chicken piccata. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
First things first, what are we talking about here?
What is chicken piccata?
- Chicken piccata is a recipe where the chicken is pounded out or sliced, dredged in flour, browned in a pan and served in a sauce made with lemon juice, butter and capers.
Sounds good already, doesn’t it?
Let’s talk particulars.
Notes on making chicken piccata:
- You will need to pound out your chicken breasts so they are an even thinness. This also helps them cook more quickly. I’ve got some specific tips below and in the recipe card.
- No white wine? If you don’t have any or would like to cook this recipe without the alcohol, simply sub a ½ cup of low-sodium chicken broth. (If you have some white wine vinegar, add a couple of teaspoons of that to the chicken broth for some acidity and flavor that’s a little closer to the wine.)
- Fresh lemon juice is a must. Don’t substitute with the stuff from a jar.
- Capers are usually sold in small jars packed in liquid. You’ll need to be sure to drain the liquid before you add the capers to your pan.
- If you’d like some extra richness, feel free to add another tablespoon or two of butter to the sauce at the very end, just before serving.
And it’s a really easy recipe to halve, so it’s perfect for a dinner for two.
OK, about those chicken breasts.
I typically pound mine out so that they are all the same size and we each get a chicken breast for dinner. (We are hungry people and like to eat. )
If you’ve never done it before, it’s super easy, but here are a few pointers.
How to pound out chicken:
- Place your boneless, skinless chicken breasts between two layers of wax paper on a flat surface. I recommend doubling up the top layer of wax paper because it can start to break and tear as you pound.
- Use a meat mallet or a heavy rolling pin and pound the chicken. Specifically, it helps to pound straight down and then out from the center of each breast, to help flatten the chicken breasts evenly.
- Continue pounding until the desired level of thickness is reached.
(For this recipe, the breasts need to be about ½-inch thick.)
Don’t feel like pounding? That’s OK, too.
Other ways to prep this chicken would be to butterfly the chicken breasts, so they are an even size. You can serve them whole or cut each one in half and give everyone a thin half-breast of chicken.
(Just be sure that the overall piece is even. My chicken breasts sometimes have a thicker side so even butterflying would require you to pound them out a bit to make sure they cook evenly.)
OK, now we are ready to make these and ready to eat!
Speaking of serving…
How to serve chicken piccata:
- Serve the chicken and sauce over some hot cooked spaghetti noodles.
- Choose thin or regular spaghetti or go with whole wheat spaghetti (our preference).
- Add a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley, about two tablespoons total. OK to skip this if you don’t have any though.
Total deliciousness.
Then, if you need to round out the meal, add your favorite steamed vegetable, such as broccoli or asparagus, or serve alongside some roasted veggies.
Even just a simple side salad would be great to go with this chicken piccata.
And some crusty bread and a glass of wine just takes the meal over the top.
Quick and easy and seriously scrumptious. Dinner has nothing on you!
I hope you give this a try soon. I think you’ll fall in love with this dish like we have.
(Oh, and please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram if you make this dish. I love hearing from you and seeing your creations!)
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness (see notes)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup dry white wine (see notes)
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For serving:
- Hot cooked spaghetti (thin or regular)
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Pound out chicken breasts until an even thickness, about ½ inch. See notes below for details.
- Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place flour in a low, shallow dish. Dredge each chicken breast in flour then add to the hot skillet. (Work in batches to cook the chicken, if needed.)
- Cook the chicken for 3 minutes per side, until well browned and cooked through. Remove from pan and keep warm.
- Add white wine, lemon juice, capers and garlic to the pan. Scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Serve chicken over pasta and top with the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired, and serve hot.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
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