Chicken Piccata (with Lemon-Caper Sauce)

Make this Chicken Piccata recipe for dinner tonight. This Italian classic chicken dish is so easy to make and prepare. The chicken breast is moist and smothered in a flavorful lemon caper sauce. Make it a complete meal by serving it with angel hair pasta or spaghetti. Your family will love this delicious Italian meal. 

Craving for some Italian food? Try this Chicken Piccata recipe. It's a simple one-pan chicken dish for any weeknight.

Jump to:

• Easy Chicken Piccata Recipe
• Flattened Chicken Breast with Lemon-Caper Sauce
• Ingredients
• How to Make Chicken Piccata
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Easy Chicken Piccata Recipe

Chicken Piccata or Pichotta is one of the most popular chicken dishes you can find at any Italian restaurant.

Surprisingly, you can make this restaurant-quality chicken dish at home in easy steps. It's not complicated and very affordable to make. 

Flattened Chicken Breast with Lemon-Caper Sauce

This Piccata recipe is made of chicken breast with lemon-caper sauce.

The chicken breast is flattened to an even thickness then seasoned and dredged in flour before being browned in olive oil.

The lemon-caper sauce is made of pan drippings, unsalted butter, shallots, lemon, white wine, low-sodium chicken broth, dry white wine, and capers.

Ingredients

To make this chicken piccata recipe, you'll need the following ingredients:

• Capers add a tangy and salty flavor to dishes. They are pickled in vinegar or brined in salt. For that reason, you need to rinse and drain the capers before using them for cooking. You can find capers at any grocery market, such as Trader Joe's, Target, Walmart, Kroger, etc for around $1.49 and up. They are located near pickles, olives, or in the International aisle. The best substitute for capers is green olives.
• Dry white wine. It's a staple ingredient to add flavor to dishes and to deglaze the brown bits for a delicious pan sauce. You can use any white wine that isn't sweet and with high acidities, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, or Pinot Blanc. If you can't find dry white wine in your pantry, feel free to skip it and use chicken broth instead.
• Chicken broth. I highly recommend using low-sodium chicken broth so you can adjust the amount of sodium if needed.
• Chicken. You'll be using fresh chicken breast, skinless and boneless.
• Others: shallots, butter, fresh lemon juice, flour, salt, black pepper, and parsley.

How to Make Chicken Piccata

Step 1. Flatten the Chicken Breast

In this recipe, I used 4 chicken breasts (2 pounds). They were pretty small and thin so I just flattened them with a rolling pin. If you are using large chicken breasts, you need to butterfly and then cut them in half.

Step 2. Brown the Chicken Breast

• Dredge the chicken in flour then season with salt and black pepper.

• In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add 2 pieces of chicken breast and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

• Add more oil to the skillet. Cook the other chicken breasts until browned on both sides. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

Step 3. Make Lemon-Caper Sauce

• Melt the butter then cook minced shallots for 45 seconds.
• Add white wine and chicken broth, and deglaze for about 30 seconds.

• Add capers and lemon juice. Simmer for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, black pepper, and/or lemon juice if necessary.
• Add the browned chicken breasts back into the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

• Check for doneness. The FDA recommends your chicken temperature reach 165°F.

FAQ and Cooking Tips

Check Out More Chicken Recipes

• Crockpot chicken stew
• Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
• Oven-Baked Rosemary Chicken
• Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
• Air Fryer Whole Chicken
• Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo

📖 Recipe