Easy Lemon Chicken Piccata
This easy lemon chicken piccata is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or entertaining company! With juicy chicken and the best pan sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
- 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
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup capers, drained
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
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 wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir in chicken broth and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low; gradually stir in heavy cream until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in capers; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Return chicken to the skillet.
- Serve immediately with pasta, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Cut the chicken lengthwise. Rather than pounding out the chicken, cut the chicken breasts lengthwise, slicing horizontally across the thickest part of the breasts – this will create uniform cutlets and allow fast cooking so the meat stays tender without drying out.
- Avoid an overcrowded pan. Cook the chicken cutlets in batches to ensure proper browning for a golden brown crust. An overcrowded pan will steam the chicken instead!
- Deglaze the pan. This will help build the pan sauce by adding all the deep, concentrated flavors from the caramelized browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- 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 over a bed of pasta. The pasta will soak up all the extra sauce, transforming a simple chicken dish into a hearty dinner without requiring heavy sides.
- Mix it up. Swap out the chicken for veal or shrimp.