Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata is an Italian-American favorite and one of the easiest weeknight dinner recipes to make at home. Juicy chicken breasts are dredged in flour, seared with a golden crust, then simmered in a lemon butter sauce with a touch of capers and parsley. It’s a beautiful and tasty dinner that comes together quickly!

What is Chicken Piccata?

Without a doubt — chicken piccata is the perfect fusion of Italian cooking in America. Traditionally, piccata is an Italian dish consisting of thinly breaded veal (or other proteins) with a lemon butter wine sauce. But today we’re using chicken, and I’d say we’ve perfected this dish that’s dotted with garlic, capers, and fresh parsley. The more herbs and garlic, the better, right?

And while we’re big fans of this Tuscan chicken, this chicken piccata recipe is another Italian-inspired favorite. It’s juicy, lemony, and just what you need to give chicken breasts a fresh new lift at dinner.

Chicken Piccata Recipe Ingredients

The ingredients are straightforward, but there are a few substitution notes below.

• Chicken: You’ll need a couple of large boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
• Dredging Mixture: To get that golden crust you’ll coat the chicken in a mixture of flour, freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. I’m using arrowroot flour as a gluten-free option. But you could use almost any flour in this recipe, so choose your favorite.
• Chicken Piccata Sauce: This is the heart and soul of the recipe! The sauce consists of fresh lemon juice, a dry white wine, chicken broth, butter, garlic, capers, and fresh parsley. If you don’t want to use white wine, you could also substitute it with more chicken broth.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below in the recipe card.

How To Make Chicken Piccata

Slice the chicken. We’re going for a “scaloppine” type of dish here, which essentially means thinly sliced meat. So, you’ll need to slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally, as if you were going to butterfly them. Thinner chicken also cooks faster – something we all love on busy weeknights!

Coat the chicken. Mix the flour, parmesan, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or dish (using a plate can get a bit messy!). Then dredge the chicken in the mixture, coating both sides.

Cook the chicken. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until perfectly golden. Then use tongs to remove the chicken pieces to a separate plate.

Make the sauce. Add the wine and garlic to the pan, letting it simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until reduced by about half. Then add the broth, lemon juice, capers, and butter. Keep stirring the sauce until it begins to simmer again.

Add the chicken. Add the chicken back to the pan. Spoon the sauce on top until each piece is coated well. Then let it simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until warmed through. And for the finishing touch, sprinkle some fresh parsley on top!

More Chicken Recipes

There are never enough chicken dinner ideas. So here are a few of my favorite chicken breast recipes to keep your weeknights a bit more interesting.

• Butter Chicken
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Air Fryer Chicken Breast (or this Best Baked Chicken Breast)
• Creamy Cajun Chicken

Chicken Piccata

4.91 from 11 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Lisa Bryan

Print Pin Review

Chicken piccata is the best Italian-American dinner made with golden-crusted chicken breasts simmered in a lemon butter sauce. Watch the video below!

Recipe Video

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

For the chicken

• ▢ 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ ¼ cup arrowroot flour (or other flour)
• ▢ ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the sauce

• ▢ ½ cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ 1 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

Instructions 

• Cut the chicken: Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally.
  
• Coat the chicken: Mix flour, parmesan, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or dish. Dredge the chicken in the mixture, coating both sides.
  
• Cook the chicken: Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until cooked through with a golden crust. Use tongs to remove the chicken to a plate.
  
• Make the sauce: Add the wine and garlic to the pan, letting it simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until reduced by about half. Then add the broth, lemon juice, capers, and butter, stirring until it begins to simmer again.
  
• Add the chicken: Add the chicken back to the pan. Spoon the sauce on top and let it simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, until warmed through.
  
• Serve: Garnish with parsley before serving.
  

Lisa’s Tips

• As an alternative to slicing the chicken breasts in half, you could purchase 4 smaller chicken breasts and pound them thinner with a kitchen mallet. 

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 64mg, Sodium: 889mg, Potassium: 336mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 510IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 1mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Chicken piccata, chicken piccata recipe

©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @downshiftology and hashtag it #downshiftology.