• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Vegetables
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Food Bloggers Central
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Quick and Easy

A better Chicken Piccata

By:Nagi
Published:17 May '21Updated:1 Jun '21
158 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Chicken Piccata is a quick dinner comprised of a crispy pan seared chicken breast with a Lemon Butter Caper Sauce. This chicken has a bright, lemony sauce that’s just on the right side of tangy. It’s incredibly easy and amazingly tasty!

Close up of plate of Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

I realise it sounds totally obnoxious to call this a “better” Chicken Piccata. I should clarify and say that this is a better one to me. This dish is a wildly popular Italian-American classic that I’ve tried making over the years following other recipes. I’ve just never been impressed with the results though, leaving me feeling that I’m somehow missing out on the enjoyment of this dish. I always found the lemon sauce mouth-puckeringly sour to the point of wincing. I also felt it just didn’t have enough interesting flavour in it to carry a somewhat bland chicken.

So many recipes also called for an insane amount of butter and oil. Sometimes up to half a cup! What the … ??

My butt cannot afford that much fat for what’s supposed to a quick, midweek meal!

So this is my version of Chicken Piccata. The sauce is not as sour – I dial it in to just the right amount of lemon tang. I use less fat than most recipes too, and reduce the white wine through cooking to add complexity in the sauce. And as for the chicken? Add a dusting of parmesan. It makes it so much tastier!

Freshly cooked Chicken Piccata in a skillet
Lemon Butter Caper Sauce for Chicken Piccata
Lemon Butter Caper Sauce for Chicken Piccata

What goes in (my) Chicken Piccata

So here’s what you need:

Ingredients in Chicken Piccata
  • Chicken breast – 2 breasts will serve 3 to 4 people once we cut each piece into 3 and pound into thin steaks. You could also use thigh fillets (skinless boneless) or tenderloins;

  • Lemon – You need a fresh lemon here. Kind of defeats the purpose if you try to make this with bottled lemon juice!

  • White wine – Use any dry white wine that’s not too woody, too sweet or fruity. Chardonnay is particularly great because it adds a good amount of flavour.

    The wine doesn’t make the sauce taste winey at all because we reduce it right down to cook the alcohol out and just leave behind the concentrated flavour that adds depth to the sauce.

    Don’t use an expensive wine. The flavour and aroma that you pay for is largely lost during cooking. It’s pretty well documented these days by notable food authorities (such as New York Times Cooking) that you do not need to use expensive wines for cooking.

    Substitution: If you can’t consume alcohol, use low sodium chicken stock/broth;

  • Capers – Use capers in brine, drained. The capers in salt (ie no liquid) are a little too salty to use here;

  • Butter – For cooking and also for the sauce;

  • Olive oil – For cooking the chicken; and

  • Flour & parmesan – For dusting the chicken. Don’t skip this. It gives the chicken a crust that the sauce clings to. Without it, the sauce just slips off the chicken. (PS The additional of parmesan here is a trick that makes this Chicken Piccata a standout!).

Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken for Chicken Piccata
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken for Chicken Piccata

How to make Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is a straight forward, pretty quick recipe:

  • Pound chicken so they cook evenly;

  • Dust with flour > pan sear until golden; and

  • Make sauce in same pan (takes 3 maybe 4 minutes).

How to make Chicken Piccata
  1. Cut and pound chicken – Cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces. Then pound each piece until it is 1/2cm / 0.2″ thick. I use a meat mallet and place the chicken between baking/parchment paper, cling wrap or what is called “Go-Between” which is a freezer film used to keep food from sticking together in the freezer. It’s basically like freezer bags in roll form.

    If using tenderloin, there is no need to cut, just pound each piece. If using thigh fillets, halve then pound;

  2. Dust chicken – Drizzle chicken with oil, then coat with the flour and parmesan. Press the chicken into the mixture to make it stick. Shake off excess well.

    See comment under the Ingredients above for why a flour-parmesan coating is essential here!

  3. Pan fry chicken in butter and oil until golden, amount 3 minutes. Turn, then cook the other side for 1 minute until golden (I know that sounds odd, 3 minutes then 1 minute, but the 2nd side really does cook much faster than the 1st side!). Once cooked, remove from the pan;

  4. Clean skillet – The skillet will be a bit dirty which will tarnish what is supposed to be a clean, clear sauce. So before we proceed, it’s best to clean the skillet. Pour out the excess fat from the pan, then give it a quick wipe with a paper towel. No need to be meticulous here;

  5. Reduce wine – To make the sauce, add the white wine and simmer rapidly to reduce by half. In this step, the alcohol will cook out so you won’t have any boozy flavour in the sauce. Then add lemon and bring to a simmer;

  6. Swirl in butter – Turn down heat to low, then add cubes of butter and swirl it to make it melt. This makes the butter emulsify with the wine and lemon juice to form a glossy, clear, slightly thickened sauce. The sauce would not thicken as well and it would split if you let the butter bubble and melt over high heat;

  7. Capers & parsley – To finish the sauce, add in capers and parsley; and

  8. Serve! Then serve the chicken pieces with the Lemon Butter Sauce. You’ll notice that there is not a ton of sauce. You don’t need loads, the sauce has enough flavour. From a practical perspective, the flour-parmesan crust of the chicken gets soaked with the sauce, and that’s all you need really, to enjoy this dish. (And regular readers know I’m a Sauce Girl!).

Plate of Chicken Piccata ready to be served
Close up of cut pieces of Chicken Piccata

Serve this with your starchy side of choice and a side salad to get some greens on your plate. Choose from:

  • Rice side dishes

  • Potato sides

  • Vegetable / salad sides

Some suggestions for you:

Close up overhead photo of Magic Broccoli - the best roasted broccoli ever, fresh out of the oven
Magic Broccoli
Close up of freshly made Baked Mac and Cheese
Baked Mac and Cheese
Close up of stack of parmesan baked zucchini
Quick & Easy Baked Zucchini
Close up of spoon scooping up Mashed Potato
Creamy Buttery Mashed Potato
Close up of Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots on a tray, fresh out of the oven
Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Spring Salad - with asparagus, peas, snow peas, baby cos lettuce (romaine) and goats cheese on a plate, ready to be served
Spring Salad!
Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted Cauliflower
Close up of Roasted Eggplant Lentil Salad
Lentil and Roasted Eggplant Salad

Enjoy! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Close up of plate of Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata (Lemon Chicken with Capers)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 mins
Mains
American-Italian, Western
4.99 from 51 votes
Servings3
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. If, like me, you find the sauce of other Chicken Piccata recipes too sour, and the chicken kind of bland, I think you'll love this version! The lemon tang in the sauce is pleasant rather than lip-puckering, and the flavour of the chicken is boosted with a little parmesan in the flour coating.

Ingredients

  • 450g / 16oz chicken breast (2 large pieces), skinless boneless (Note 1)
  • 4 tbsp flour (sub cornflour/cornstarch for GF)
  • 2 1/2 tbsp parmesan , finely grated (Note 2)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp / 15g unsalted butter

Lemon Sauce:

  • 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter , cut into 1.5cm / 1/2″ cubes
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine (Note 3)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice , fresh
  • 3 tbsp capers in brine , drained (Note 4)
  • 1 1/2 tsp parsley , finely chopped, plus more for garnish

Instructions

Crispy Parmesan Chicken:

  • Cut each breast into 3 pieces. Then place between 2 pieces of cling wrap or paper and pound to 1/2 cm / 0.2″ thickness.
  • Drizzle chicken with 1/2 tbsp olive oil and spread with your fingers on both sides.
  • Mix flour, parmesan, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Coat chicken, pressing to adhere, then shaking off excess.
  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Then add butter and let it melt.
  • Place 3 pieces of chicken in the skillet. Cook 3 – 4 minutes until golden, then turn and cook the other side for 1 minute. Remove onto plate, repeat with remaining chicken.

Chicken Piccata Sauce:

  • Pour out and discard excess fat in skillet, then give it a quick wipe with paper towels (no need to clean thoroughly).
  • Still on medium high heat, add wine. Let it simmer rapidly until it reduces by half – around 3 minutes.
  • Add lemon and simmer 1 minute.
  • Reduce heat to low. Add cubed butter and swirl pan to make it melt but not go foamy. Sauce should be glossy, translucent and slightly thickened.
  • Stir in capers and parsley. Serve chicken with Sauce, sprinkled with extra parsley if desired!

Recipe Notes:

Servings – If you use 2 large breasts (450g/16oz), you will serve 3 comfortable. If you use 2 smaller ones, this will serve 2 people.
1. Chicken – can also use tenderloin (no need to cut) or thighs (skinless, boneless, cut in half then pound).
2. Parmesan – or use store bought sandy type grated parmesan.
3. Wine – Any white wine that’s not too woody or sweet will work great here. Chardonnay in particular adds really good flavour. Sub low sodium chicken stock/broth for a non alcoholic version.
Don’t use an expensive wine. The flavour and aroma that you pay for is largely lost during cooking. It’s pretty well documented these days by notable food authorities (such as New York Times Cooking) that you do not need to use expensive wines for cooking.
4. Capers – best to use capers in brine, rather than the dry capers in salt (bit too salty for this dish).
5. Nutrition – assumes 2 tbsp fat is discarded after cooking chicken and 1.5 tbsp flour / parmesan is discarded after coating.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 358cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 5g (2%)Protein: 33g (66%)Fat: 19g (29%)Saturated Fat: 8g (50%)Trans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 122mg (41%)Sodium: 800mg (35%)Potassium: 616mg (18%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 365IU (7%)Vitamin C: 6mg (7%)Calcium: 30mg (3%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: chicken piccata, creamy lemon chicken
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

When life gives you lemons …

Close up of easy chicken breast recipe - Creamy Lemon Chicken
Creamy Lemon Chicken Breast
Close up of a fork picking up a no mayo Lemon Potato Salad.
Lemon Potato Salad
Close up of slices of Blueberry Lemon Loaf , easy blueberry recipe
Blueberry Bread Loaf
Overhead photo of a crispy pan fried fish fillet drizzled with Lemon Butter Sauce and sprinkled with parsley. On a white plate.
Killer Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish
Lemon Cake with drippy lemon glaze decorated with lemon slices and flowers, on a white cake platter with a piece cut out
Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze
Close up of Lemon Chicken Salad with avocado, tomatoes and corn with lemon dill dressing.
Lemon Chicken Salad

Life of Dozer

He’s so stinky, I should put him in for dry cleaning too!

Previous Post
Black Forest Cake
Next Post
Eggplant Parmigiana

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Overhead photo of slices of Easy pizza bread

Lunchbox Pizza Bread (easy)

Close up of a bowl of Carbonara ready to be eaten

Carbonara

Chorizo chickpea stew in a bowl

Chorizo chickpea stew (quick!)

More Quick and Easy

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




158 Comments

  1. Jim says

    January 6, 2023 at 10:10 am

    5 stars
    What a satisfying meal. Couldn’t have been better. Restaurant quality. Keep these coming.

    Reply
  2. AMF says

    September 26, 2022 at 11:48 am

    5 stars
    This was delicious and very easy! I used very thin chicken cutlets which were thinner than 1/2 cm. The next time I make it, I will double or triple the sauce. The chicken came out very tender and flavorful. I will definitely be making this again.

    Reply
  3. RobinS. says

    August 27, 2022 at 6:02 am

    5 stars
    A very nice recipe. I’d already bought thinly sliced chicken breasts, which were in my freezer. So this was part of my “clean the freezer out” mission. I followed the recipe exactly, and it was quite tasty. However, because of a sautéd zucchini side dish I made (butter, oil, thyme, garlic salt, and smoked paprika cooked until it was almost burned), some of those flavors mingled with the piccata sauce and made it dance. This prompts me to want to try adding smoked paprika to the flour/parmesan mix. I also served it with white basmati rice, which loved the sauces as well. All in all, a great dish and a great meal.

    Reply
  4. Dawn says

    August 24, 2022 at 6:22 am

    5 stars
    Easy, peasy and doesn’t get much better in a resturant or at home. Delish! Thanks Nagi

    Reply
  5. Marbleless says

    May 18, 2022 at 8:43 am

    5 stars
    I forgot the parm! This was delicious and the sauce was spot on. Definitely a keeper.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 18, 2022 at 1:45 pm

      Oh well! I’m glad you still enjoyed it Marbleless!! N x

      Reply
  6. Laurie says

    May 7, 2022 at 8:43 am

    5 stars
    Delicious! Great, tender chicken and a perfect sauce. I am not a person of wheat or corn so I subbed some gluten-free all-purpose flour. It came out great! Thanks so much for another great recipe.

    Reply
  7. Marta says

    May 4, 2022 at 1:11 am

    5 stars
    This chicken piccata recipe was easy and the best my husband and I have ever had! Even the leftovers were absolutely delicious two days later! I didn’t have white wine, so I substituted with red wine vinegar and chicken broth and because it came out so good, I will keep the recipe this way. Save the wine for me. 😆 This is now on my list of regular dishes to make!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 4, 2022 at 3:47 pm

      I love it…saving the wine – my kind of person!! N x

      Reply
  8. Manuela says

    April 29, 2022 at 12:05 pm

    5 stars
    I have never made chicken piccata before it was easy and yummy 😋

    Reply
  9. Susan Lutenbacher says

    April 11, 2022 at 11:51 am

    This was best and easiest chicken piccata I have ever tried! The sauce is so delicious! I doubled the sauce, and glad I did. I have a question: when I first found your recipe, I could swear there was a link to a buttered noodles recipe as a side dish. It was to die for!! I can’t find it now on the site, would you help me find it? Thank you and keep sharing more delicious recipes!

    Reply
  10. Bev Dixon says

    April 1, 2022 at 6:06 pm

    This is a delicious way of serving up chicken. Capers and lemon go so well together with chicken. Yummy dish

    Reply
  11. Lisa says

    March 26, 2022 at 12:31 pm

    Nagi,
    I clearly missed something that others seem to have figured out. After you cook the chicken for 3 min and then 1 min. You take out the chicken and clean the pan. When do you add the chicken back into the pan? Before you add the wine or at the end? Chicken has to cook longer than 4 minutes. So confused!

    Reply
    • Susan Lutenbacher says

      April 11, 2022 at 11:54 am

      Hi, Lisa. I used chicken tenderloins and pounded them a little bit, so they were all the same size. I cooked the chicken as the recipe instructed, and had no trouble getting the chicken cooked. You could always just cook the chicken in the skillet until it is done.

      Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On

What's for Dinner?

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

Butter Chicken served over basmati rice in a bowl, ready to be served

Butter Chicken

Overhead photo of 2 black bowls with Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing, ready to be eaten

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salisbury Steak recipe in skillet.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken - 7 ingredient magic. The coconut fragrance is heavenly! recipetineats.com

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Fast prep. Big flavours!

Never miss a recipe

Back to Top
  • Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Center
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • Image Use
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled © RecipeTin Eats 2023 · All Rights Reserved Back to Top