This 30-Minute Chicken Piccata delivers an elegant, restaurant-quality meal on a busy weeknight schedule. The irresistible lemon-garlic butter sauce is downright addictive and guaranteed to have everyone cleaning their plates!
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This was kid approved – my kids ate every bite. I served over pasta. Easy, perfect weeknight meal that will become a regular recipe at my house! Thank you!!
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True to its name, Chicken Piccata is an Italian classic celebrated for its vibrant, piquant (tart or zesty) sauce. This version features a luxurious, silky sauce that masterfully balances the bright acidity of lemon and white wine with the rich, savory depth of butter and a briny kick from capers. It’s a symphony of flavors that matches the quality of your favorite Italian restaurant, yet is deceptively simple to create in your own kitchen.
Pounding the chicken breasts thin ensures a quick cook and super tender texture, reducing this recipe to just 30 minutes till ready to serve! A light dredge in flour is the only step standing between you and gorgeously golden, delicate cutlets that provide the ideal textural contrast to the velvety sauce. There’s no need to be intimidated – it’s a simple process with incredibly rewarding results.
But the true star is the unforgettable lemon-caper sauce. You’ll build it right in the same pan, deglazing with wine to capture every bit of flavor from the chicken. After browning the chicken, let your pan cool slightly to medium heat to gently toast the garlic, unlocking its sweet, nutty aroma. Then, get ready for the satisfying sizzle as you add the liquids, reducing them into a sauce so good, you’ll be tempted to lick the pan clean!
If you love piccata, give this Cod Piccata, Pork Piccata and Shrimp Piccata a try too!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken breasts – Use boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally and pounded with a meat mallet to ¼ inch thick.
- Salt and freshly ground pepper – To season the chicken and to add to the sauce towards the end, if needed.
- Flour – Lightly coating the chicken in a thin layer of all-purpose flour creates a delicate, golden crust when browned and helps thicken the sauce slightly too.
- Olive oil – Used to brown the chicken.
- Unsalted butter – Browns the garlic and add richness to the lemon butter caper sauce.
- Garlic – Sautéing garlic in butter unlocks its sweet, nutty depth, which melds with the capers’ briny brightness to create a sauce that’s both richly aromatic and vibrantly balanced.
- Dry vermouth – You could also use white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay. If you need to skip the wine, replace it with more chicken broth and an extra splash of lemon juice.
- Lemon juice – Adds fresh citrus aroma to the sauce and pairs beautifully with the capers.
- Chicken broth – Low-sodium chicken broth is used as the liquid base of the sauce. Sub vegetable broth if you prefer.
- Capers – These bring the salty, briny bursts you’d expect from classic piccata. If the capers straight from the jar are too intense, quickly rinse them under running water to wash away the extra brine.
- Parsley – Add minced
How to make it
- Prep the chicken: Season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken lightly in the flour, shaking off any excess to avoid clumping.
- Brown the chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 pieces of chicken in the pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a platter and tent loosely with foil to keep them warm. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil and repeat the process to brown the remaining chicken, placing the browned chicken under the foil tent.
- Make the sauce: Reduce the heat to medium and melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pan. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant and lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn it. Deglaze the pan with the dry white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Add the wine, lemon juice and broth, then increase the heat to medium-high. Cook until the liquid reduces slightly (about 5 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, capers, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble and serve: Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately with your favorite side dishes.
More ways to use lemon caper sauce
I love this lemon caper sauce so much, I’m always finding new ways to enjoy it beyond the classic piccata. Discover some of my favorite pairings to inspire your own creations:
- Fish: Elevate your fish dishes – like Salmon Piccata, Cod Piccata, Poached Fish, or Sous Vide Salmon – with a drizzle of this sauce.
- Shrimp: The butter sauce is a fantastic finish for shrimp, whether you’re making Air Fryer Shrimp or Shrimp Piccata.
- Scallops: Try it on these foolproof Sous Vide Scallops, or use it to simply pan-sear scallops.
- Chicken: For a delicious meal, serve this velvety sauce with Air Fryer Chicken Breasts, Sous Vide Chicken Breasts, or classic Chicken Piccata.
Tips and tricks
- Let your skillet cool down a bit after frying up the chicken. You don’t want the skillet scorching hot when it c
- Don’t crowd the frying pan. Arrange the chicken in a single layer with space between each piece so that they brown without steaming. You’ll need to cook them in batches.
- To keep the cooked chicken warm, transfer them to a platter and tent them loosely with foil until ready to serve them with the sauce drizzled over.
- Serve this chicken piccata immediately. The juicy and browned chicken is best enjoyed as soon as that sauce is ready to be drizzled over.
- Chicken is perfectly cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Keep in mind that these chicken pieces have been pounded by a meat mallet and cook quite quickly. Be careful that you don’t overcook them and end up with dry pieces of chicken!
- A light dusting of flour is all you need for the chicken – just enough to create a brown crust on each side. Shake off any excess before cooking.
- You make those thin cutlets by cutting a chicken breast in half, horizontally, and then pounding each half thin using a meat mallet. Don’t be intimidated here. Just place your chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatten the breasts out to about 1/4 inch-thickness.
- Be sure not to overcook your garlic or it can become bitter and affect the taste of the sauce.
Variations
Feel the need to switch things up? Here are some super easy variations you can try:
- Dairy-free chicken piccata – Use extra olive oil or dairy-free butter instead of butter. Your sauce will lose some richness, but the final dish will still be delicious.
- Gluten-free chicken piccata – Coat the chicken cutlets in rice flour, almond flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Skip anything too dense (like coconut flour).
- Adjust the amount of capers used – This sauce is on the heavy-side when it comes to the capers. If you’re not into them, feel free to cut back on them a bit, or, go ahead and just dump that whole jar in there!
- Alcohol-free cooking: Ditch the dry vermouth or white wine and replace it with more chicken broth and an extra splash of lemon juice.
Serving suggestions
Enjoy this easy chicken piccata as an elegant dinner with these perfect side dishes for chicken. Here are a couple more of my favorite side dish pairings:
- Mashed Potatoes or Mashed Cauliflower (for a low-carb option)
Storing
- Store leftover chicken piccata in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to store the chicken with any leftover sauce together to keep the meat moist and flavorful.
- Reheat in a pan over moderate heat or in the microwave. You can also add a splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce and keep the chicken from drying out.
Erin’s wine pairings
I’ve tried several different wines with this dish, but my absolute favorite is Chardonnay. Its hints of lemon, baking spices and the creamy finish just make it the perfect match for the lemon sauce on the piccata! I also highly recommend the following:
- Sauvignon Blanc has bright citrus and herbal notes that pair nicely with the lemon and parsley found in this dish.
- Pinot Grigio and Pinot Blanc are a nice match with their crisp minerality and citrus notes.
- For something unexpected, and budget friendly, try a Vinho Verde.
- MORE → the 8 BEST Chicken Wine Pairings.
More piccata recipes
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Full Recipe
Easy Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, cut half horizontally and pounded to 1/4 inch thick)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup dry vermouth ( or white wine)
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons capers (drained)
- 2 Tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Season the 2 chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the 1/2 cup all-purpose flour in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken in it. Shake off the excess.
- In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 TBSP of the olive oil. Place 2 pieces of chicken in the pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and keep warm under a tent of foil. Warm the remaining 1 TBSP oil in the pan and repeat to brown the remaining chicken. Place that chicken under your foil tent as well.
- Reduce the heat to medium and melt 1 TBSP of the butter in the pan. Add the 2 cloves garlic and cook until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Add the 1/4 cup dry vermouth, 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1/4 cup chicken broth, increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2 TBSP butter, the 2 Tablespoons capers and 2 Tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle the sauce over chicken and serve immediately.
Notes
- Store leftover chicken piccata in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to store the chicken with any leftover sauce together to keep the meat moist and flavorful.
- Reheat in a pan over moderate heat or in the microwave. You can also add a splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce and keep the chicken from drying out.
- Don’t crowd the frying pan. Arrange the chicken in a single layer with space between each piece so that they brown without steaming. You’ll need to cook them in batches.
- To keep the cooked chicken warm, transfer them to a platter and tent them loosely with foil until ready to serve them with the sauce drizzled over.
- Serve this chicken piccata immediately. The juicy and browned chicken is best enjoyed as soon as that sauce is ready to be drizzled over.
- Chicken is perfectly cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Keep in mind that these chicken pieces have been pounded by a meat mallet and cook quite quickly. Be careful that you don’t overcook them and end up with dry pieces of chicken!
- A light dusting of flour is all you need for the chicken – just enough to create a brown crust on each side. Shake off any excess before cooking.
- You make those thin cutlets by cutting a chicken breast in half, horizontally, and then pounding each half thin using a meat mallet. Don’t be intimidated here. Just place your chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatten the breasts out to about 1/4 inch-thickness.
- Be sure not to overcook your garlic or it can become bitter and affect the taste of the sauce.
- Let your skillet cool down a bit after frying up the chicken. You don’t want the skillet scorching hot when it comes to making the sauce. Instead, it should only be heated to medium.
- Dairy-free chicken piccata – Use extra olive oil or dairy-free butter instead of butter. Your sauce will lose some richness, but the final dish will still be delicious.
- Gluten-free chicken piccata – Coat the chicken cutlets in rice flour, almond flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Skip anything too dense (like coconut flour).
- Adjust the amount of capers used – This sauce is on the heavy-side when it comes to the capers. If you’re not into them, feel free to cut back on them a bit, or, go ahead and just dump that whole jar in there!
- Alcohol-free cooking: Ditch the dry vermouth or white wine and replace it with more chicken broth and an extra splash of lemon juice.
Nutrition
This post for Easy Chicken Piccata was originally published in 2014. The recipe remains unchanged. However, the photographs and content have been updated.
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