Easy Lemon Chicken Piccata
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You won’t believe how quick/easy this is with ingredients you already have on hand! Serve over pasta – SO GOOD!
Featured Comment
This recipe is pretty much dedicated to Chandler and Janice because that’s the only thing that comes to mind when I think of chicken piccata.
why i love this recipe
- Restaurant-quality yet so easy. With simple pantry ingredients, this dish comes together so quickly and easily, perfect for a romantic date night, Sunday Supper or even a super busy weeknight.
- Luscious, velvety lemon cream sauce. You could even double the sauce, skip the chicken and put it on a bed of pasta. The chicken would honestly just get in the way anyway.
what is chicken piccata
Chicken piccata is an Italian-American dish typically made with pan-fried chicken breast cutlets, capers and a lemon butter sauce served with pasta, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes or crusty bread.
tips and tricks for success
- Cut the chicken crosswise. Rather than pounding out the chicken, cut the chicken breasts crosswise, slicing horizontally across the thickest part of the breasts – this will help cut down on prep time even more.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Mix it up. Swap out the chicken for veal or shrimp.
what to serve with lemon chicken piccata
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Easy Lemon Chicken Piccata: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, a chicken cutlet is a chicken breast already cut in half horizontally!
Additional chicken broth can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
Long, thin pasta such as angel hair or spaghetti are both great options.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating over low heat until warmed through.
Easy Lemon Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise in half
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup diced shallots
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup dry white wine*
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup capers, drained
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Working one at a time, dredge chicken in flour.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
- Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Add garlic and shallots, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth, wine and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in heavy cream until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in capers.
- Serve immediately with pasta and chicken, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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This meal is great! I added sliced mushrooms, very delicious! My husband LOVED this meal. He asked me to put this on our regular menu. Thank you.
Best recipe for easy lemon chicken piccata! Even my husband likes this! I double the sauce for the angel hair pasta, and cut my chicken in strips! I love it!
This recipe is awesome ! Just made last night, and will be making again. So easy, and not spending forever in the kitchen. I did double the sauce recipe after reading other reviews. I made with angel hair pasta and , of course, a glass of wine ! Enjoy
Another GREAT chicken recipe! I’ve made this several times and it’s always DELISH!
This is incredibly delicious! My entire family devoured a double batch, including the kids. Will be adding to our rotation. Thank you for sharing this gem of a recipe!
Hi! Do you think I could substitute coconut milk for heavy cream to make it dairy free? Or any other suggestions? Thanks.
My two year old thought this was the best thing he ever ate in his life.
Added lemon zest, used a viognier wine, extra capers, about 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water too. Stirred the sauce with all the pasta and it was amazing. Tons of fresh parsley on top.
Saving for the regular rotation!
This recipe seems to be very easy and instant. All the above mentioned ingredients are available in my area except white wine. So, can i just do it with chicken broth without adding white wine?
I used apple cider vinegar as a substitute for the white wine and we all loved it!!
Love this dish! Has become a regular favourite in our house
Excellent and damn delicious! Best recipe for this type of dish I’ve ever tried.
This dish was so easy and so very good! I will definitely make it again
Delicious and easy! My sauce didn’t thicken like many other reviewers, but that was probably because I used half and half. I just thickened with a bit of flour and water, and it turned out perfect. Served with spaghettini and asparagus.
This is another fantastic recipe and easily one of my favourites off this site but like a lot of online recipes it has to be translated before making.
Vague weight values such as ‘cup’ are nigh on useless once you start changing the size of portions. And a cup of flour varies depending on the density.
Using real weights such as grams/ml or even the old imperial lb and oz would be better although the latter also starts to break down when you are creating fractions of the the original recipe.
Can you make with out cappers
Wonderful recipe! I doubled the sauce and added cornstarch to get it thicken. Perfect with rice pilaf.
I made this for dinner last night, it was awesome. I doubled the sauce but it didn’t thicken. I used a cast iron skillet and remembered the advice from someone below about the pan retaining heat more than regular pans, so I lowered the heat and nothing burned. Thanks for the recipe!
Excellent! I seasoned the chicken breasts and let them sit a bit as I prepared other ingredients and then dredged them and proceeded with the remaining instructions. The chicken was outstanding. In fact, everything was outstanding. It was a great meal overall! My husband loved it! Simple, easy recipe with a great outcome every time.
Simple, yet delicious dish. I was unable to get my sauce to thicken much, but I can easily solve that on my next attempt. Great recipe.
Would love to make this for a dinner party I’m hosting. Can I make chicken about one hour in advance and cover in warm oven until served?
Curious also if this can be made ahead for guests and kept warm in oven . Love all your recipes.
This was absolutely delicious!! The whole family loved it. Thank you for sharing!!!!
That was damn delicious! Will definitely make again