Chicken Piccata made easy! This amazing dinner is made in minutes and the entire family will love it. This one pan Lemon Chicken Piccata recipe only requires 7 ingredients and it’s packed with SO much flavor. This simple chicken with lemon, capers, and a delicious piccata sauce is one of our all-time favorites!
Lemon Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata is one of those classic easy chicken recipes that make us jump for joy! I love the flavor combination of the bright lemon juice, salty capers, and creamy butter.
It’s an extremely simple recipe, but one that can be dressed up for a romantic date night, or dressed down for a quick weeknight family meal.
This Lemon Chicken Piccata Recipe is a favorite at our house for its classic flavors and quick prep. Serve it up with rice, veggies, potatoes, or pasta!
Why You’ll Love this Easy Chicken Piccata Recipe:
- Quick and Easy: All you need is one pan, about 7 ingredients, and around 30 minutes to make this delicious recipe.
- Flavorful: White wine, butter, lemon, and capers combine to create the most amazing flavor.
- Weekly Favorite: This easy chicken piccata is something you can make week after week with ease!
I’ve yet to meet anyone that doesn’t just LOVE this recipe! Chicken breast with lemon, capers, and creamy piccata sauce is irresistible.
Ingredients
I love this easy chicken piccata recipe because it only has 7 ingredients (plus salt and pepper). Here’s everything you need!
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breast is lean and healthy.
- Flour: Coating the chicken in flour just helps to add a crispier texture when it cooks.
- Olive oil
- Butter: Use unsalted butter (there’s plenty of saltiness in the recipe already). This adds creaminess to the piccata sauce, and adds more flavor to the chicken.
- Lemon Juice: This adds so much brightness to the sauce. Fresh squeeze juice tastes best!
- Wine or Chicken Stock: White wine is great for the sauce, but you can substitute with chicken stock.
- Capers
Perfectly Cooked Chicken
Cut each chicken breast in half. Cutting each breast in half will help the chicken to cook faster and more evenly. In my experience it also makes for a great serving size when paired with delicious side dishes (see below.). If the chicken is still of varying sizes after cutting, you can also pound the chicken to even the thickness.
How to Make Chicken Piccata (Easy)
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Season chicken breast and coat in flour. Then brown in the skillet once the butter and oil has fully heated (to will start to crackle).
- Once the chicken is fully cooked through, place it on a foil-tented plate to keep it warm.
- Add lemon juice, wine or chicken stock, and capers to the same pan, and deglaze.
- Add the rest of the butter, and simmer everything together for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to thicken.
- Place the chicken back into the skillet and coat in the sauce, and simmer until everything is heated as desired.
Reheating Instructions
Reheating this easy chicken piccata recipe is super simple! Store the chicken and sauce together, in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to reheat, place chicken as well as a serving of sauce onto a microwave safe plate. Microwave on high for 1 1/2-2 minutes or until fully heated through.
Any type of “piccata” is meat that is dredged in flour, browned, and served with a lemon butter sauce and capers.
I recommend skinless, boneless chicken breast for this recipe! If you use bone-in or thighs instead, increase cooking time.
A dry white wine works best, like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
These salty little green balls typically come brined or pickled, and they taste similar to green olives. They add a burst of flavor to any dish!
What to serve with Chicken Piccata
There are so many side dishes you could serve with chicken piccata. It pairs well with rice or pasta if you want to add some grains–I like long noodles with this recipe.
And of course it’s perfect with veggies of all kinds. Add some green beans, crispy roasted broccoli, or even some buttery potatoes. Everything will taste great mixed with that creamy piccata sauce!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Cut chicken breasts in half for better portions, and to help them cook more quickly and evenly.
- Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165F before consuming.
- After cooking the chicken, place it on a plate with foil tented over in order to keep it warm while you finish the recipe.
- It should only take about 3-4 minutes per side to cook the chicken (6-8 minutes total).
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
What is the difference between chicken piccata and chicken Francese?
Chicken Piccata and Chicken Francese are pretty similar recipes overall. They’re both pan-fried and served in a lemon butter sauce.
However, piccata is dipped in just flour before pan-frying, while Francese is dipped in both an egg wash as well as flour.
Also, Chicken Piccata has the addition of those delicious little flavor bombs, CAPERS!
Can you freeze chicken piccata?
Yes, you can freeze this dish! Since the lemon chicken piccata sauce doesn’t include any milk or cream, it freezes beautifully. Here are some tips for properly freezing this recipe:
- Store the sauce and chicken separately, making sure both are properly stored for freezing.
- When ready to eat, allow the sauce and chicken to thaw overnight in the fridge and then microwave together as stated above.
I just love this easy chicken piccata recipe. It’s so delicious, quick, and most importantly EASY! Anyone can make it, and I’d almost guarantee anyone will love that lemon butter sauce. I hope it warms your home the same way it warms ours.
If you’ve made this recipe, please be sure to let us know by leaving a star rating or a comment below. Enjoy!
Chicken Piccata Recipe (Easy!)
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half length-wise
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 cup white wine OR chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons capers drained
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of each chicken breast liberally with salt and pepper.2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Place flour in a shallow bowl and dip each chicken breast to coat. Coat both sides, and shake off any excess. Set aside.1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Heat a large skillet with olive oil and 3 tablespoons butter over medium/high heat.1 tablespoon olive oil, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Once butter is melted and butter/oil begin to shimmer/crackle, add the chicken.
- Brown the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaching 165F. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside on a foil tented plate.
- Add the chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers to the pan and lightly scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze.1 cup white wine OR chicken stock, 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 4 tablespoons capers
- Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and allow to melt. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes to slightly thicken.6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Return chicken to the skillet and baste in the sauce. Allow to simmer until chicken is heated through.
- Serve drizzled with sauce. Enjoy!
Suzy says
I love chicken piccata!
Becky Hardin says
ME TOO
natasha says
this looks like a delicious one pan meal! can’t wait to try!
Becky Hardin says
Let me know how you like it!!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
Oh my, this sounds incredibly delicious!! I bet it tastes amazing!
Becky Hardin says
Thanks lady!
Alli says
This chicken piccata is top notch, we have had a lot in our day but this one was literally so so so good!
Becky Hardin says
I love how easy it is! I’m so glad you love it too 🙂 🙂
Ernest Contreras says
This is a classic dish I often prepared, in classy restaurants, one of my favorite dishes to order ,I like it with some of pan gravy over them, also done with Veal. great looking dish and recipe.
Chef Ernie
Becky Hardin says
Thank you Ernest!
Russlyn Nyborg says
I just made this recipe over the weekend and it turned out great! I had to increase some things because I had a crowd of 6 but it was delicious! Thank you for this yummy and easy to follow recipe!
Becky Hardin says
Oh YAY!!! This made my day 🙂 🙂
Angelica Raney says
This was delicious! Absolutely fantastic. I used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock or wine, because it’s what I had on hand. I followed the recipe perfectly and was treated with a fantastic meal! The boyfriend said, add it to rotation!
Becky Hardin says
That’s a great substitution! I’m so happy you guys loved it so much!
Joanne Robertson says
We love Chicken Piccata in this household. The only Change I made was to roll the final 3 Tbs. of butter in flour before adding it to the sauce to thicken it up. Love the lemon and the salty bite from the capers. The chicken is silky and so tender.
Becky Hardin says
Great idea! I’m so glad you loved it!
Heidi says
When you say a large chicken breast, how big do you mean(grams or ounce)?
Love your slow cooker and enchilada recipes, so we look forward to trying this
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for stopping by! I would say somewhere between 7-10oz.
Shawn Bogus says
Made this simple recipe last night. It was so delicious! Felt like we were eating in a top notch Italian restaurant!! Can’t wait to try some more recipes!
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Shawn!