Classic Chicken Piccata with Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

This Classic Chicken Piccata is an easy, 20-minute Italian recipe made in one pan, featuring chicken breast cutlets in a rich and smooth lemon butter caper sauce. Best of all- no pounding the chicken necessary for this easy recipe!

Chicken piccata has a special place in my heart because we had it at our wedding. Oh, and simply because it’s one of the MOST DELICIOUS THINGS ON THE PLANET. 

And it’s so easy to make from the comfort of your own home. This recipe saves some time and energy by using already cut chicken cutlets, whereas other recipes require you to pound chicken breasts thin. And you can make it in a mere 20 minutes!

How to make chicken piccata

1. First, dredge the chicken in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. Dredging simply means you’ll coat each piece of chicken as much as possible in the mixture, shaking off any excess.
2. Then, cook the chicken in melted butter and olive oil. Why both? Butter gives it a gorgeous golden-brown color, whereas olive oil crisps it up. It’s the best of both worlds!
3. After you’ve cooked the chicken for three minutes on each side, remove it to a plate and add white wine to the skillet. You can also use chicken broth/stock. Then, deglaze the skillet by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
4. Add lemon juice, zest, and capers to the skillet and heat up until the liquid is reduced by about half. (Read more about what the heck capers are here)
5. Turn off the heat and melt a little more butter into the sauce. YUM.
6. Then, add the chicken back into the skillet to get coated in the sauce and warm up a bit. All done!

Tips for success

1. This chicken piccata recipe moves very quickly once you start cooking, so I recommend prepping all of your ingredients before you begin. Make sure you have your lemon zested and juiced, the wine or stock measured out, and the capers drained and ready to go.
2. When dredging the chicken, make sure to press the flour mixture into each piece as much as possible. You want it to be completely coated.
3. A stainless steel skillet works really well for this, because you can cook on really high heat to brown the chicken and deglaze really well. I have a Calphalon Tri-Ply 12-inch skillet I used for this. But a cast iron or nonstick will work, too.

What to serve chicken piccata with

I recommend serving chicken piccata with cooked pasta, such as linguine. It’s also delicious over rice, mashed potatoes, or even with just some crusty bread! It’s also great on its own, but having something to absorb all that yummy sauce puts this dish over the top.

And if you’re looking for another take on chicken piccata, check out this chicken piccata pasta!

Other easy recipes with pan sauce

• 20-Minute Honey Mustard Chicken
• Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms
• Crispy Honey Buffalo Chicken Thighs
• Oven-Baked Pork Chops
• Pan-Fried Sea Bass
• Seared Steak with Brown Butter Sauce

Other easy chicken recipes

• Easy Oven BBQ Chicken
• Chicken Parmesan Sliders
• Easy Chicken and Dumplings
• Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders
• Chicken Tikka Masala

Did you make this Chicken Piccata Recipe? Please comment below and Rate this Recipe!

Chicken Piccata with Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

This easy Classic Italian Chicken Piccata recipe features thin slices of chicken breast smothered in a smooth lemon butter sauce with capers, all made in one pan in 20 minutes!

5 from 14 votes

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Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 475kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

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Equipment

• Stainless Steel Skillet
• Wooden Spoon

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. chicken breast cutlets 6-8 total, see notes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter divided
• 1/2 cup dry white wine such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, or chicken stock/broth
• juice and zest of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons capers drained

Instructions

• In a shallow bowl, mix together the flour (1/4 cup), kosher salt (1 teaspoon), and black pepper (1/2 teaspoon).
• Dredge each chicken breast cutlet in the flour mixture, pressing the flour into the surface of the chicken so it's completely coated, and gently shaking off any excess flour. Set on a plate or cutting board as you work to coat them all.
• Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the dredged chicken cutlets to the skillet. Cook for three minutes, then flip and cook for another three minutes (or until browned and fully cooked). Remove to a plate.
• Add the white wine (1/2 cup) or chicken stock, lemon zest and juice, and capers (2 tablespoons) to the skillet and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Allow to simmer until liquid has reduced by about half, stirring frequently, about 2-3 minutes.
• Turn the heat to low and add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet, stirring until it's completely melted in. Add the chicken back into the skillet and heat just for a minute or so until it absorbs a bit of the sauce and is heated up again.
• Serve with sauce spooned over the chicken.

Notes

• You can usually buy chicken cutlets already cut, but if you can't find them, a chicken cutlet is essentially a chicken breast cut in half. You can make your own by holding a chicken breast flat on a cutting board and, holding your knife parallel to the cutting board, carefully slicing the breast in half through the entire length.
• Serving suggestion: I like serving chicken piccata with pasta to absorb some of the piccata sauce, such as linguine. It's great with rice or mashed potatoes, too.
• The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 1057mg | Potassium: 860mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 418IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition Information Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:

Very Well Fit Nutrition Information Calculator

My Fitness Pal Recipe Nutrition Calculator

Add the recipe to Yummly

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