Chicken Piccata has lightly breaded and fried chicken breasts smothered in a luscious lemon and caper sauce. Serve it over your favorite pasta.
What is Chicken Piccata?
Piccata is a method of preparing food whereby the meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and then served in a lemon caper sauce. Originally prepared in Italy with veal, Chicken Piccata is now a very popular variation of the dish, served at Italian-American restaurants in the United States.
The word piccata is related to the Italian word picarre, which means to lard meat. Meanwhile, in the French language, the word piquant refers to a food having a pleasantly sharp taste – so it does seem like the name of this dish was inspired by the two words.
No matter the origin, our lemony Chicken Piccata is the perfect option for a deliciously light, zesty, and flavorful dinner.
Why You'll Love Chicken Piccata
- This dish is fancy enough for a special dinner party, but easy enough to serve any day of the week.
- The fresh lemon and briny capers in a luscious sauce are so delicious with the perfectly-tender chicken and pasta.
- It’s so good – it rivals the best Chicken Piccata served at your favorite Italian-American restaurant.
Reader Review
“This is my go-to recipe for chicken piccata. It is so good & everyone I have made it for absolutely loves it. It takes a little time but well worth it. Thank you for a great recipe.” -Julia
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chicken – Buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then butterfly each breast so they are a more uniform thickness. Then we pound the breasts so they are flattened before cooking.
- All-Purpose Flour – Used as a dredge for the chicken before frying.
- Salt & Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Butter – We always suggest unsalted butter for cooking and baking.
- Fresh Garlic
- Lemons – You’ll use the juice from one lemon in the sauce and to deglaze the pan, plus slices from another half lemon.
- Vermouth – We choose a dry vermouth. When it is included as an ingredient in a savory dish, it adds a nice herbal undertone to the piccata. If you don’t have vermouth on hand, you can swap in any dry white.
- Chicken Stock – Make your own or use a canned or boxed stock in this recipe.
- Capers – A must-include ingredient in any Chicken Piccata recipe, capers add a distinctive, briny bite to this dish. Sorry – no substituting allowed! You can find small jars of capers in the Italian section of your supermarket, or order them online.
- Fresh Parsley
- Pasta – For serving. We chose spaghetti but any pasta will do.
Special Tools You'll Need
- Large Pot – To cook the pasta
- Cutting Board & Sharp Knife
- Meat Mallet – To pound the chicken flat (do not use a meat tenderizer as that will break apart the breasts)
- Plastic Wrap
- Large Skillet – To cook the chicken and sauce
- Lemon Juicer
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
How do I make Chicken Piccata?
- Cook the pasta.
- Butterfly the chicken breasts, then pound them to an even quarter-inch thickness. Cut each butterflied piece in half to make four uniform portions.
- Dredge the chicken in seasoned flour. Set aside on a plate or platter.
- Melt olive oil and butter in a skillet. Fry the chicken until golden brown – about two minutes on each side. Set aside on a platter.
- Sauté garlic in the skillet, then add lemon juice to deglaze the pan.
- Add lemon slices, vermouth, chicken stock, and capers to the pan. Simmer to reduce, then add butter and chopped parsley.
- Nestle the chicken back into the sauce and finish cooking.
- Serve immediately over the pasta.
Cooking Tips & Tricks
Sauté the chicken in a combination of both olive oil and butter.
While butter has great flavor, it can scorch and burn when used to fry foods. Olive oil has a higher smoke point so it helps stop the butter from scorching when the two are mixed together for sauteing.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Chicken Piccata ahead of time? Yes – while this dish is best freshly-cooked, the chicken and sauce reheat nicely. Just be sure to avoid overheating so the chicken doesn’t over cook. Also, cook the pasta just before serving for best results.
- How do I reheat leftovers? In a skillet on the stove over gentle heat, or microwave individual servings. (Again, avoid overheating the chicken.)
- Can I add heavy cream to this recipe? Since this recipe has lemon juice as part of the sauce, heavy cream might curdle depending on how much cream you put in. (You can technically mix cream and lemon – it just has to be in the right proportions to avoid curdling.) You may prefer to follow our Creamy Lemon Chicken recipe instead and then add capers.
This Chicken Piccata recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in April 2013. We’ve updated the photos and post, but the delicious recipe remains the same.
You may enjoy these other Chicken Rrecipes
Click here to see more delicious Italian Recipes!
Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata has lightly breaded and fried chicken breasts smothered in a luscious lemon and caper sauce. Serve it over your favorite pasta.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: entree, pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients
1 box of pasta, for serving
2 large boneless chicken breasts, about 1 pound
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 cloves chopped garlic
Juice from 1 lemon plus another 1/2 lemon sliced thin
1/3 cup dry vermouth (or dry white wine)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- If serving over pasta, cook that now.
- Butterfly each chicken breast then cut in half to yield two even pieces for each breast half, four pieces total. Lay them out on your cutting board and cover with plastic wrap then pound to a quarter inch thick. Place flour, salt and pepper in a flat dish or plate and dredge the chicken breasts until coated on both sides, or just sprinkle both sides as they sit on the cutting board.
- Over medium high heat in a large skillet, heat the olive oil and two tablespoons of butter until slightly brown and frothy. Place the chicken in the pan and cook about 2 minutes on each side, until golden. Then remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.
- Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the lemon juice to the pan to deglaze and scrape up any brown bits. Add the lemon slices, vermouth, chicken stock and capers. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Stir in the two tablespoons of butter and chopped parsley and check for taste. Add salt and pepper if needed.
- Add the chicken back into the sauce and cook just until the chicken is back up to temperature and cooked through.
- Serve immediately over your favorite pasta.
This recipe is awesome
Thank you Madlyn!
Simple and delicious!!!
Thanks Carol!
This is my go to recipe for chicken piccata. It is so good & everyone I have made it for absolutely loves it. It takes a little time but well worth it. Thank you for a great recipe.
You’re very welcome Julia! So glad you are enjoying the recipe!
Another winner! You are my “go to” site when I want a tried and true delicious recipe! Thanks for sharing your gifts!
Aww…you’re very welcome Sharon!! So glad you are enjoying the recipes. You made our day! 🙂
Can I add heavy cream and capers?
Hi Kim – This recipe has lemon juice as part of the sauce so the heavy cream might curdle – depending on how much cream you put in. (You can mix cream and lemon – it just has to be in the right proportions to avoid curdling.) Without testing out our own recipe with cream added, you could try this recipe instead: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/creamy-lemon-chicken/ Hope that helps!
Hi can you make this ahead for a crowd of 16?
Sure Cara! It reheats very well!
I tried this with Tilapia as a substitute to chicken, and it also tastes delicious, and cooks fast because it is fish
Great idea Christine! Sounds delicious!
Thanks for sharing,
Martha