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Recipes » Ingredient » Chicken & Poultry » Chicken Piccata Recipe

Chicken Piccata Recipe

Posted on February 14, 2020 By Chef Billy Parisi

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This delicious chicken piccata recipe comes together in under 30 minutes and is the perfect date night meal to serve up.

platter of chicken piccata with capers

If you love simple chicken recipes, then this is hands down for you.  Like my Chicken Cacciatore Recipe, It has few ingredients and is incredibly delicious.  From the lemon flavor to the tender perfectly cooked chicken boneless breasts, to the rich buttery sauce, this one my friends is a guaranteed people pleaser.

What Is Chicken Piccata

This is a simple recipe consisting of lightly floured pan-seared chicken breasts that are served up with a simple beurre blanc pan sauce with capers and lemon juice.  it’s is a classic Italian recipe traditionally using veal.

Piccata is a cooking technique where you pan-fry thin slices of meat that is served with a sauce.

Ingredients

Most of the ingredients for chicken piccata are simple and can easily be found at your local grocery store.

  • Chicken Breasts
  • Flour
  • Shallots
  • Garlic
  • White Wine (Pinot Grigio)
  • Capers
  • Lemon Juice
  • Butter
  • Sea Salt and Pepper

The Sauce

The chicken piccata pan sauce is essentially a beurre blanc, which is a white wine butter sauce, with the addition of lemon juice, capers, and parsley.   It is very similar to the sauce I use in my Pan Seared Scallops Recipe.

How to Make the Best Chicken Piccata

Slice the chicken breasts in half width-wise and gently pound them in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap so that they are about a ½” thick.

slicing chicken in half and pounding it out

Coat the chicken breasts in salt and pepper seasoned flour until coated and pat off any excess flour.

dredging chicken in seasoned flour

Pan sear the chicken breasts in olive oil for 4-5 minutes per side or until golden brown and set them aside.

frying chicken to golden brown

Add the shallots and garlic to the pan and quickly sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.

cooking shallots in a saute pan

Deglaze with white wine and add in the capers.

adding wine and cooking it to au sec

Squeeze in lemon juice and cook until the liquid is almost gone or, “au sec.”

squeezing in lemon to the pan with capers

Remove the pan from the burner and stir in the butter by moving the pan in a circular motion to mix it in.

Adding butter to a pan with capers

Finish the sauce with parsley, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

squeezing in lemon and adding parsley to a pan with sauce

What Kind of White Wine Do You Use

The wine that would be classically used in this recipe would be a Pinot Grigio but any other dry Italian white wine would work.

Is There a Substitute for Capers

There is no perfect substitute for capers in a chicken piccata however you could simply use sliced or chopped green olives, like in a Puttanesca sauce.

Recipe Chef Notes + Tips

Make-Ahead: You can precook the chicken but you will not be able to make the sauce ahead of time as it will break.

Storing It: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

How to Freeze: Cover and keep frozen for up to 2 months.  Thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator before reheating.

If your sauce breaks add some cold heavy cream to help emulsify it back together.

You actually do not need to flour the chicken ahead of time if you’d like to keep this gluten-free.

How To Reheat: You can place the chicken in the sauce back into a pan and heat over low heat until hot.

You can absolutely use a spoon or whisk to mix in the butter to the sauce at the end.

Try pounding out the chicken in a plastic zip bag 2 at a time if that is easier.

platter of butter sauce and cooked chicken breasts

What To Serve It With

This would go excellent with these amazing side dishes:

  • Homemade Pasta
  • Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
  • Creamy Polenta
  • Creamy Risotto

More Amazing Chicken Recipes

  • Chicken Saltimbocca
  • Milanese
  • Chicken Parmigiana
  • Chicken Curry
  • The Best Fried Chicken

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

Video

platter of chicken piccata with capers
Print Recipe

Chicken Piccata Recipe

This delicious chicken piccata recipe comes together in under 30 minutes and is the perfect date night meal to serve up.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Course: dinner, Main
Cuisine: French, Italian
Servings: 4
Calories: 246kcal
Author: Chef Billy Parisi

Ingredients

  • 2 7-9 ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 peeled small diced shallot
  • 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • ¼ cup capers
  • juice of ½ lemon + 1 tablespoon
  • 1 stick unsalted butter cut into pads
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Slice the chicken breasts in half widthwise.
  • Place them in between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap or in a large plastic zip bag and gently pound them with a mallet until they are about a ½” thick. Set aside.
  • Add the flour to a bowl and season very well with salt and pepper and mix together.
  • Coat the chicken breasts on both sides in the flour and pat off any excess flour. Set on a plate.
  • Add the olive oil to a large frying pan over high heat. Once the oil begins to very lightly smoke add in the chicken breasts and immediately turn the heat down to medium.
  • Cook for 4-5 minutes or until browned and halfway cooked through and flip over.
  • Turn the heat down to low and cook for a further 4-5 minutes or until cooked throughout.
  • Remove the chicken breasts and set aside.
  • Add the shallots and garlic to the pan where the chicken was cooked and saute for 1 to 2 minutes or until very lightly browned over low to medium heat.
  • Add in the wine, capers, and juice of ½ lemon and cook until the liquid is almost gone or about 1-2 tablespoons are left.
  • Remove from the heat and add in the butter and swirl the pan in a circular motion until completely melted.
  • Finish with parsley, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pour over the cooked chicken breasts and serve.

Notes

Chef Notes:
  • Make-Ahead: You can precook the chicken but you will not be able to make the sauce ahead of time as it will break.
  • How to Store: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  • How to Freeze: Cover and keep frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator before reheating.
  • How to Reheat: You can place the chicken in the sauce back into a pan and heat over low heat until hot.
  • If your sauce breaks add some cold heavy cream to help emulsify it back together.
  • You actually do not need to flour the chicken ahead of time if you’d like to keep this gluten-free.
  • You can absolutely use a spoon or whisk to mix in the butter to the sauce at the end.
  • Try pounding out the chicken in a plastic zip bag 2 at a time if that is easier.

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 380mg | Potassium: 295mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 203IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

 

Chicken Piccata Recipe was last modified: March 16th, 2020 by Chef Billy Parisi

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Comments

  1. Kevin Walsh says

    November 23, 2020 at 12:59 pm

    Can you share the type/brand of pan you use in this recipe? It looks like carbon steel.

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      November 23, 2020 at 4:02 pm

      It is, it’s a DeBuyer

      Reply

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I’m Billy Parisi and thanks for checking out my site! I’m a culinary school grad that spent 15 years in the restaurant industry as a line cook, sous chef and executive chef. Now I write recipes, take pictures of’em, shoot some video, occasionally hosting on TV, checking out the latest fashion, hangin with my wife and daughter and watching a whole bunch of college sports. Hope you enjoy my twists on classics as well as new innovations! Read More…

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