Easy Chicken Piccata Recipe

This is the best chicken piccata recipe around – perfect for enjoying as an easy weekday meal or with friends for an authentic flavor of Italy.

I love Italian food. Simple, high-quality ingredients cooked using traditional recipes and served (preferably) with a glass of wine and good company. It’s no wonder the virtues of the Mediterranean diet have been preached all over the world.

But if you can’t hop on a plane for Europe and seek out this dish in its homeland, my easy chicken piccata recipe will give you a taste of the continent from the comfort of your home. Smothering sauce over chicken with capers and lemon, this briny, slightly sweet dish makes an impressive weekday dinner or the star attraction at a dinner party.

Just be sure to serve it the Italian way – with good wine and good friends (and I wouldn’t say no to some carbs either!).

What Is Chicken Piccata

It is a simple combination of ingredients: chicken breast and flour, fried lightly in olive oil and topped with a creamy lemon sauce. It takes its name from the Italian, meaning “larded”.

Though, nowadays, it’s used to refer to any kind of meat (most commonly chicken or veal) that’s dredged in flour, browned, and served with a sauce – usually including lemon, capers, and oil. In some regions of Italy, its name is also given to fish prepared using a similar method.

Chicken Piccata Ingredients

For the chicken breast seasoning:

• Chicken breasts – Boneless work better as we’ll be flattening them later on.
• All-purpose flour – You can use gluten-free flour if you prefer.
• Lemon pepper seasoning – You can make your own at home or substitute it for black pepper and salt if you prefer.

For pan-frying the chicken, you’ll also need olive oil and butter. They also make up the base of the dressing. And finally, for the lemon sauce:

• Chicken stock or chicken broth – This will infuse the dish with flavor. You can also use dry white wine.
• Butter – Best to use unsalted butter.
• Capers – They will add extra flavor to the dish.
• Lemon juice – Fresh lemon juice or bottled works, to brighten the flavor.
• Salt and pepper, to taste, and a sprinkle of parsley to serve.

How to Make Chicken Piccata

To start the lemon chicken piccata, you need to prepare the chicken breast. These are notoriously difficult to cook just on their own, but the piccata method makes it easier to cook properly.

Begin by slicing the chicken breasts through the middle to be a similar thickness – about ½ inch. Once cut in half, pound a bit in places where it looks thicker.

I recommend using a meat mallet/hammer or the bottom of a pan. Hit them until the breast looks a similar thickness all the way through (it’s great for getting some frustration out!).

In a shallow bowl, mix the flour with your seasoning choice. Then dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour, breading both sides of the chicken breast.

Shake off any excess flour.

In a large skillet, melt the butter with the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes on either side until browned – flipping just once.

If you want to check your meat is fully cooked, use a meat thermometer. Cooked chicken will have an internal temperature of 165 ºF/74ºC.

Then set the pan fried chicken aside.

Chicken Piccata Sauce

Follow these easy steps for how to make piccata sauce – and you can use it with whatever protein you’re piccata-ing.

Use the same pan you cooked the chicken in. To deglaze it and prevent burning, add the lemon juice and stock, then use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom. Let it simmer & reduce until it becomes a thick sauce.

Finally, add the capers for a minute or two. You can also add the chicken at the last minute to quickly reheat it.

Season with salt & pepper. Plate up your chicken piccata, then pour over the sauce and serve. Garnish it with parsley or your favorite fresh herbs.

What to Serve with Chicken Piccata

Italian dinners tend to have multiple courses, cycling through meat, fish, pasta, etc. A chicken piccata would likely be served on its own for one course, followed by another dish. But, for those of us who don’t have time for a long meal or want to pair this recipe with something else, these are my favorite options:

• Serve with pasta – I love it with aglio e olio or gnocchi or simple butter noodles.
• Pair with oven-roasted asparagus, brussels sprouts, or artichokes.
• Boost vitamins by serving chicken piccata with sauteed greens: broccoli, broccolini, spinach, green beans, etc.
• Serve with a side of salad.
• Potatoes, any which way you like them – roasted, mashed, or smashed.
• A bowl of rice or some fresh risotto.
• Or, as the Europeans like to do it, with bread – an easy way to mop up extra sauce! Focaccia and ciabatta are Italian favorites, but chicken piccata is great with dinner rolls, crusty bread, or garlic bread too.

More Dinner Favorites

• Sea Bass with Lemon Butter Sauce
• Quick Beef and Broccoli
• Honey Glazed Salmon Recipe
• Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
• Crispy Breaded Chicken Cutlets

If you try this chicken piccata recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!