Chicken Piccata is a perfectly tender, juicy, flavorful dinner. Delicious chicken coated in breadcrumbs and simmered in a lemon caper sauce.
This easy Chicken Piccata recipe is the perfect easy Weeknight Dinner that’s sure to impress. With its rich lemon caper sauce, the dish seems a lot more fancy and difficult than it actually is. For more surprisingly easy chicken recipes try Beer Braised Chicken Thighs and Chicken Parmesan next.
Lemon Chicken Piccata is a wonderfully juicy and flavorful dish. The chicken is coated in Italian breadcrumbs and seasoning. Then the piccata sauce is made with chicken stock, white wine, lemon juice, and parsley. It’s a tangy, refreshing sauce, and the chicken soaks up lots of delicious flavor from it.
Serve this classic dinner recipe up with equally classic side dishes like Mashed Potatoes, Dinner Rolls, or Roasted Broccoli. It’s a simple dish that’s easy to dress up with delicious sides for a special occasion. If you’re serving a bigger group for dinner, just use 4 chicken breasts and double up on the sauce ingredients.
When you’re cooking boneless, skinless chicken breast, it’s easy for the tender meat to dry out. That’s why it’s important to tent the chicken in foil after cooking to trap the moisture inside. The good thing is it’s also good at absorbing the flavors around it. This is exactly what it does in this delicious recipe, so the whole dish is packed with savory, tangy flavor from the sauce.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Sriracha Chicken
Braised Chicken Breast with Mushrooms
Oven Baked Rotisserie Chicken Breasts
Slow Cooker Chicken and Gravy
Tips for Making Chicken Piccata
- Chicken: Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper, then press Italian breadcrumbs into both sides of each piece. Put your skillet over medium heat and add butter to the base. Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side until it is cooked through and golden brown. Take the chicken out of the skillet and set it on a plate tented in foil.
- Piccata sauce: Add garlic and white wine to your pan. Stir them together, and let them reduce for 3 minutes. Add in the chicken broth, lemon slices, lemon juice, and capers. Cook for another 6-8 minutes until the sauce is reduced by half, then turn the heat off. Add 3 more tablespoons of butter and stir until the sauce is smooth.
- Serve: Return chicken to the pan, or pour the sauce over the chicken on your serving dish. Garnish with parsley and serve.
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Frequently Asked Questions
To make a more rich and creamy sauce, just whisk heavy cream into the Piccata sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.
To get a cheesy chicken recipe, try mixing ⅓ cup Parmesan in with the breadcrumbs before you coat the chicken in it.
Instead of Italian breadcrumbs you can use regular Panko breadcrumbs, whole wheat breadcrumbs, or a crushed pretzel coating. You can also make a gluten-free recipe by using gluten-free breadcrumbs.
For some veggie add-ins try adding sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, spinach, or mushrooms.
Sides to Serve with Chicken Piccata
Roasted Green Beans
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Cheesy Garlic Scalloped Potatoes
Easy Sauteed Mushrooms
How to Store Chicken Piccata
- Serve: Don’t leave the chicken out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: Let the Chicken Piccata cool down, then cover it in plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container. It will stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: You can also seal and freeze the chicken for up to 4 months. Let it thaw in the fridge before reheating it on the stovetop or in the oven.
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts , boneless and skinless
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter , divided
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 lemon , thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup capers , drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup parsley , for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the two chicken breasts into four thinner filets.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and press into Italian breadcrumbs on both sides.
- Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet on medium heat and cook chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through.
- Remove chicken from the pan and add to plate tented with foil.
- To the pan add garlic and white wine.
- Stir to combine then reduce by half, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add in chicken broth, lemon slices, lemon juice, and capers and cook for 6-8 minutes until reduced by half.
- Turn off heat, add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and stir well until sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Add the chicken back into the pan, spoon sauce over it to coat and garnish with minced parsley.
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SOOOO EASY AND DELICIOUS!!!
This is one of my favorite dishes of all time. So light and such fresh flavors.
This is way better than any chicken dish at our favorite restaurant. The lemon caper sauce is remarkable! Glad it’s just easy to make, I will definitely make this on repeat!
We had this last weekend and it was a hit! The chicken was so juicy and tender, the sauce is a winner! Love it!
Great recipe, Sabrina. Very flavorful and lemony. Added side of No Yolk noodles and a small green salad. Substituted chopped green olives for capers. Had enough leftover to make a chicken sandwich the next day. Toasted a bun. Added lettuce leaves, sliced chicken and leftover sauce or mayo. Was a real gourmet treat for lunch. Will make this chicken recipe again.
Sabrina, this recipe was a HIT! DELICIOUS! THANK YOU so much! There were no leftovers. My husband wants me to make this once a week now.