This easy chicken piccata recipe comes together in just 20 minutes. It’s so delicious and packed with flavor. Crispy and juicy pan-fried chicken smothered in white wine garlic butter sauce with capers and lemon. It’s finger-licking good!
What is chicken piccata?
Chicken piccata is an Italian-American dish made with dredged in flour and pan-fried chicken breast served with a white wine butter sauce with capers. It comes together very quickly and tastes amazing. I wasn’t sure if my kids would like a sauce with capers but they really loved the dish so I would say it’s also kid-friendly!
The inspiration for this particular recipe comes from the show ‘the Bear’. I’ve you’ve binged the show (and if not I would really recommend it) I’m sure you were salivating when Chef Carmy prepared this recipe for his crew. Most online recipes don’t call for shallots when making piccata sauce but following what Carmy is preparing in the show, I included them in my recipe. This dish is shown in season 1, episode 5, at the 4:10 mark.
You may also like this recipe for pasta pomodoro, also shown in this show!
Piccata in Italian means that something is thinly pounded – in case of this recipe – chicken breast and served with a sauce made with capers, butter, and lemon juice. In Italy, this dish is most commonly made with veal (veal piccata).
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for this easy recipe:
- for the chicken: chicken breast + flour to dredge the chicken – don’t omit using flour, it makes the outside of chicken crispy and the meat inside incredibly tender
- this dish comes out saucy – we love the extra sauce for the mashed potatoes or egg noodles, but if you’d like it less saucy, you can use 3 chicken breasts instead of 2
- for the sauce: dry white wine (substitute with more chicken broth and more lemon juice to taste if you don’t want to use it, wine adds flavor and acidity to the sauce), chicken broth, lemon zest and lemon juice (freshly squeezed!), capers (a must for a chicken piccata, they are the star of this sauce! although the sauce will also be good without them), shallots (can be omitted, if using regular onions instead, you need to cook them longer), fresh garlic, fresh parsley, butter
- why so many types of fat – high smoking point vegetable oil is used to cook chicken over high heat without the risk of burning (but has no flavor), olive oil is using to cook shallots over low heat – it adds flavor and won’t burn over very low heat, butter is used to flavor and thicken the sauce (it’s very important to use cold butter and whisk it into the sauce, do not melt the butter first – the sauce will come out greasy!)
How to make chicken piccata step-by-step
STEP 1: Prepare the ingredients: finely chop shallots, finely chop garlic (with a knife and not a garlic press), roughly chop capers (just a little bit, you can also leave them whole if that’s what you prefer), zest and juice the lemon, finely chop parsley.
(2 shallots, 4 cloves garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons capers (drained), zest from 1/2 lemon, 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley)
STEP 2: Prepare chicken breasts: Cut chicken breasts horizontally in half so you have 4 thinner cutlets. Pound them slightly in their thicker part so that they cook more evenly (and quicker), don’t pound them too thinly, just until they are more or less of even thickness. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge in flour on all sides and shake off excess flour.
(2 large chicken breasts, 1/4 cup flour)
STEP 3: Cook the chicken: Heat the 2 Tbsp of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot add the chicken (if all the cutlets won’t fit in your pan, cook them in two batches). Cook until browned at the bottom then turn over and cook until browned on the other side and cooked through (you can cut the chicken in its thickest part to check if it’s white and not pink or measure the temperature with an instant-read thermometer, it should be 165°F or 74°C). Transfer the chicken to a plate. If any oil is left in the pan, discard it.
STEP 4: Cook the sauce: Reduce the heat to low, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and shallots. Cook for about 2 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and capers, cook for 30 seconds.
STEP 5: Add the wine and cook for 1-2 minutes or until almost evaporated. Add hot broth. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the sauce has thickened and reduced its volume (by about 1/3-1/2). While you’re cooking the sauce make sure to scrape all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan with a spatula (extra flavor).
(1/4 cup dry white wine, 3/4 cup hot chicken broth)
STEP 6: Now whisk in cold butter, adding 1 tablespoon at a time. Add another tablespoon when the previous one is incorporated into the sauce. Add lemon zest and juice, season the sauce with salt and pepper, if necessary. Take off the heat and whisk in chopped parsley.
(3 tablespoons cold butter)
Serve: Serve your chicken with the pan sauce.
Enjoy!
What to serve with chicken piccata
- buttered noodles
- mashed potatoes
- green peas or green beans
- cauliflower rice, boiled/steamed cauliflower, or cauliflower steaks
Storage
Store the chicken separately from the sauce so it stays crispy. Reheat in a dry pan then reheat the sauce. Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. The sauce reheats well.
More quick and easy chicken recipes
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken with Gnocchi
- Jerk Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Lemon Butter Chicken
- Chicken Margherita
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Easy Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons frying oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 shallots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons capers drained, or to your taste
- 1/4 cup dry white wine such as Chardonnay
- 3/4 cup hot chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons cold butter
- zest from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients: finely chop shallots, finely chop garlic (with a knife and not a garlic press), roughly chop capers (just a little bit, you can also leave them whole if that's what you prefer), zest and juice the lemon, finely chop parsley.2 shallots, 4 cloves garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, zest from 1/2 lemon, 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Prepare chicken breasts: Cut chicken breasts horizontally in half so you have 4 thinner cutlets. Pound them slightly in their thicker part so that they cook more evenly (and quicker), don't pound them too thinly, just until they are more or less of even thickness. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge in flour on all sides, shake off excess flour.2 large chicken breasts, 1/4 cup flour
- Cook the chicken: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot add the chicken (if all the cutlets won't fit in your pan, cook them in two batches). Cook until browned at the bottom then turn over and cook until browned on the other side and cooked through (you can cut the chicken in its thickest part to check if it's white and not pink or measure the temperature with an instant-read thermometer, it should be 165°F or 74°C). Transfer the chicken to a plate. If any oil is left in the pan, discard it.2 tablespoons frying oil
- Cook the sauce: Reduce the heat to low, add olive oil and shallots. Cook for about 2 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and capers and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook for 1-2 minutes or until almost evaporated. Add hot broth. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the sauce has thickened and reduced its volume (by about 1/3-1/2). While you're cooking the sauce make sure to scrape all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan with a spatula (extra flavor). Now whisk in cold butter, adding 1 tablespoon at a time. Add another tablespoon when the previous one is incorporated into the sauce. Add lemon zest and juice, season the sauce with salt and pepper, if necessary. Take off the heat and whisk in chopped parsley.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 3/4 cup hot chicken broth, 3 tablespoons cold butter
- Serve: Serve your chicken with the pan sauce. Good sides for the chicken are cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes and peas.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- This dish comes out saucy – we love the extra sauce for the mashed potatoes or egg noodles, but if you’d like it less saucy, you can use 3 chicken breasts instead of 2 (increase the flour accordingly).
- Calories = 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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