Chicken Piccata

Chicken Picatta is one of those dishes that sounds fancy but is actually very simple. Chicken breasts are dredged in seasoned flour, pan-fried, and topped with a lemon butter caper sauce made with white wine, chicken stock, or both.

Can't get enough of pan-fried chicken? Try my lemon pepper chicken for another easy weeknight meal.

About This Recipe

Chicken Piccata is an Italian-American dish. Originally, it was an Italian dish made from veal, but when Italian immigrants came to America, they made a version using chicken breasts. I tried traditional veal piccata at an Italian restaurant last year, and I remember it tasting similar to what I made for this recipe.

My absolute favorite part of chicken piccata is the lemon butter caper sauce. It is bright, briny, and buttery. The sauce is made in the same pan that you fry the chicken, so you don't lose any of the flavor from pan-frying the chicken. I like my sauce slightly on the thicker side, so I made a roux before adding the chicken stock, white wine, and lemon juice.

Key Ingredients

• Chicken breasts: You will need two boneless skinless chicken breasts. I have also made this with bone-in chicken thighs before, and it works great as well, but it takes way longer to cook the chicken.
• Dredge: Flour, salt, and black pepper.
• Chicken stock: For the chicken stock, I just mixed "Better Than Bouillon" with water. If you find the sauce is lacking flavor, try adding more bouillon instead of salt.
• Dry white wine: Any dry white wine should work fine for this. I usually just use the cheapest bottle from the liquor store.
• Lemon juice: You will need ¼ of a cup. This ended up being about one whole lemon for me.
• Capers: Capers are an essential component of the sauce. You will want to use brined capers, which are the ones that come in the liquid. Dried capers can probably be used as well, but I have not tested them.
• Butter and flour: To make the sauce, you first need to cook the butter and flour today. This is called a roux. The fat in the butter coats the flour particles so that they do not clump when you add the other liquid ingredients.

Instructions

STEP 1: Butterfly the chicken breasts, then cut them in half. This is just so the chicken breasts cook faster. You should have 4 pieces of chicken.

STEP 2: Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl, then dredge the chicken breasts.

STEP 3: Add 2 pieces of chicken to an oiled skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove to a plate and repeat with the other 2 pieces of chicken.

STEP 4: Melt the butter in the empty skillet. Add the flour and cook for 30-60 seconds until it becomes golden.

STEP 5: While whisking constantly, add the chicken stock, lemon juice, white wine, and capers to the pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 6: Add the chicken back to the pan (I used a different pan for the picture) and cook for 30 seconds, just long enough to reheat the chicken. Stir in the parsley. Enjoy!

📋 Recipe

Chicken Piccata

This Chicken piccata is a quick and easy weeknight meal served with a lemon butter caper sauce. It's bright, briny, buttery, and super delicious.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ 2 tablespoons flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 2 teaspoons flour
• ▢ ½ cup chicken stock
• ▢ ¼ cup dry white wine
• ▢ ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 3 tablespoons capers (drained)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)

Instructions

 

• Butterfly the chicken breasts, then cut them in half. You should end up with 4 pieces of chicken.
• In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour, salt, and black pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and shake off the excess.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add two pieces of chicken and cook each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and the inside is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate. Repeat with the other two pieces.
• To the empty skillet, add the butter. Let it melt, then whisk in the flour. Cook for 30-60 seconds until the flour is golden brown.
• While whisking constantly, add the chicken stock, white wine, lemon juice, and capers. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the chicken back to the skillet and cook for 30 seconds until the chicken is heated back up. Stir in the parsley. Enjoy!

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Did you make this?Let me know how it was!