Chicken Piccata with Lemon Sauce
Make this quick and easy classic Chicken Piccata with lemon sauce in minutes! You’ll love these thinly sliced, lightly pan-fried chicken breasts seasoned with fresh herbs, lemon and garlic!
Crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, served in a tangy lemon sauce and accented with tart capers and fresh parsley.
No need to go to order Maggiano’s Chicken Piccata when you can have this gourmet meal in your own kitchen!
Why you’ll love this recipe
At first glance, chicken piccata seems to be a classic Italian meal, however, chances are you won’t see this on many menus in Italy. Veal piccata is more popular in Italian cuisine than this version, which features thinly pounded, lightly battered pan-fried chicken breasts. You’ll find this piccata dish on just about every Italian restaurant menu in the US, particularly at Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurants.
- Quick and easy – cooking time is about 5-minutes per breast
- Great flavor and texture – the flour coating isn’t thick or overbearing…just right!
- Easy lemon piccata sauce recipe included
- Cost-efficient – one breast, cut in half makes two servings
I usually serve this with a green salad with low sodium White Balsamic Vinaigrette and a side of lemon infused pasta – spaghetti or angel hair pasta.
Here’s what you’ll need
The best chicken piccata recipe uses simple, fresh ingredients and is ready in minutes!
- Chicken breasts
- All-purpose flour
- Oil – a little vegetable oil or canola oil
- Butter
- Fresh lemon juice
- Garlic cloves (you can substitute with minced garlic, garlic powder or garlic salt)
- Capers
- White wine (optional)
- Salt and black pepper
- Fresh parsley
When I go to the grocery store, I can only find chicken breasts that are huge! So, I buy one breast and cut it in half lengthwise; this feeds two people so it’s a pretty inexpensive dinner!
How to make the chicken breasts
Buy a large chicken breast and slice it in half lengthwise or use thin sliced cutlets from your butcher.
Note: this recipe does not call for an egg and flour dredge…just a light coat of seasoned flour works!
Slice breast in half lengthwise and pound it to 1/4 ” inch thickness; lightly season with salt and black pepper.
Melt butter and oil in a large skillet
Get a flat plate or a pie plate and add all-purpose flour; lightly season with salt and pepper; set aside
Heat oil and butter in a large skillet to at least 316ºF degrees; dredge the thinly sliced chicken chicken breasts in the seasoned flour and shake off any excess flour
Place the flour-coated breast in the skillet and allow to cook 3-5 minutes on both sides until the internal temperature reaches 165° degrees Farenheit
For best results, cook the lightly breaded chicken breast about 3 minutes before flipping; Once chicken has reached its internal temperature remove chicken from the pan, transfer to a plate or platter and cover with foil.
How to make the lemon caper sauce
Reserve any browned bits or pan drippings in the skillet. Turn the stovetop setting to low and add butter. Once butter is melted, add chopped garlic and saute 1 minute. Add white wine (optional), lemon juice and capers to the skillet and stir well; drizzle the lemon sauce over the chicken piccata and enjoy!
Recipe tips
Lightly season the chicken breasts and the flour with a little salt and pepper
Use a high-heat tolerant oil like vegetable, canola, peanut, grapeseed or walnut. Don’t use olive oil; it can’t tolerate the high heat and will burn.
Chicken piccata batter is not heavy nor is it “deep fried” like chicken fried steak; you just use a light coating of seasoned flour on the chicken–just enough to give it a golden brown color when cooked
Don’t overcrowd the pan-work in batches if you’re making more than two chicken breasts
Capers are salty, like green olives. If you don’t like capers then leave them out.
The best wine to use for piccata sauce is a good, dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay.
If you don’t have/ like or want white wine in your lemon piccata sauce, substitute with a little chicken broth or water
FAQ
The term “piccata” actually refers to the sauce that accompanies a thinly pounded piece of meat. The piccata sauce is typically a lemon, butter, caper sauce.
You’ve seen variations on Italian restaurant menus such as veal piccata, where the veal is thinly sliced and sauteed in piccata sauce–same concept here, but with poultry.
The secret to keeping a little of the flour on the chicken is: once you place the coated chicken breast in the oil, don’t move it for at least 3 minutes. This will give the flour time to cook and turn nice and brown.
Use tongs to lift the edge up and see if it’s brown, then flip it and let it cook another 3-4 minutes without moving it!
Chicken piccata isn’t a heavily-breaded dish, so there won’t be a thick fried coating on it. The flour helps it brown a little more evenly than without.
Sides for chicken piccata
This easy lemon chicken piccata dish pairs well with pasta, rice, scalloped potatoes and something green…broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, sauteed spinach or a Caesar salad.
Storage and reheating
Store in an airtight container or wrap securely in aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.To reheat, set oven to 325-350ºF and place cooked chicken cutlets on lightly oiled baking pan. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165°F.
This quick and easy chicken piccata with lemon sauce recipe is perfect for just about any night, whether it be a busy weeknight or an evening entertaining guests!
Related recipes
- Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
- Mushroom Cream Sauce
- Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Spinach Feta Pie (Spanakopita Pie)
- Beef Wellington for Two
- Veal Scallopini
♥ If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a comment and rating below! Thank you!
Chicken Piccata with Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast cut in half lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons oil not olive oil; canola, vegetable, peanut or grapeseed (see notes)
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt divided (1 tsp. for breasts; 1 tsp. for flour)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided (½tsp. for breasts; ½ tsp. for flour)
Chicken Piccata Lemon Sauce Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons reserved oil from cooked chicken
- ¼-½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons or 4-6 small lemons)
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup cold or tap water
Instructions
Prep
- Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towel and trim away any fat;slice breasts in half lengthwise1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Place breasts on wax paper or a clean cutting board and pound breasts to 1/4 inch thick with a flat meat mallet; lightly season with salt and pepper; set aside2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Place flour and remaining salt and pepper in a shallow bowl; combine well1 cup all-purpose flour
- Using tongs, dredge each breast through the flour, coating thoroughly
Cook
- Preheat oven to 250ºF (do this if you are cooking the chicken in batches; keeps them warm while you're making the sauce) (see notes)
- In a heavy bottom skillet on medium to medium-high heat, add oil and butter2 tablespoons oil, 1 stick butter
- Bring oil/butter mixture to a temperature around 310-316ºF
- Place flour coated breast in hot skillet; allow to cook for 3 minutes (lift the edge of the breast after about 3 minutes to see if the center is browning; if not, continue to cook another 2 minutes) (see notes)
- Turn the breast half over and cook an additional 3 – 5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF; Remove from skillet and place in warm oven, uncovered
Make the Sauce
- In the same saucepan you cooked the chicken, reserve 1-2 tablespoons of the oil; turn the stove down to medium low heat and add butter; once the butter is melted, whisk in add lemon juice, garlic, white wine (optional) and capers; add salt to taste¼-½ cup fresh lemon juice, 2 sticks butter, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 3/4 cup dry white wine, 2 tablespoons capers, 1-2 tablespoons reserved oil from cooked chicken
- If you want a thicker sauce, make a cornstarch slurry: In a 1 cup measuring cup, add ½ cup of cold or tap water; whisk in cornstarch and mix until there are no lumps; pour this into the lemon sauce and combine well; turn the heat up a little for the cornstarch slurry to thicken2 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ cup cold or tap water
- Plate chicken breasts and drizzle piccata sauce over the top
Notes
- If you’re making more than two servings, you may need to add additional oil and butter in between each batch; if so, allow it to reach a high temperature before placing the next coated breast in the skillet.
- Everytime you add more butter/oil, the breast coating turns out darker than the first. If this makes you crazy, replace all the oil/butter between each batch.
- If you find your first breast is browning too fast, but it’s not reaching an internal temperature of 165ºF, turn the heat down a little.
- The oil temperature should be around 310-316ºF. If you’re chicken breast is really thin, it will cook to an internal temperature of 165ºF at about 3 minutes on each side. Thicker cutlets might take 5 minutes on each side.
- Use tongs and lift the edge to see if it’s browning, but don’t move it for at least 3 minutes, otherwise, you run the risk of losing the flour coating.
We love chicken piccata but I never make it at home. We will definitely be trying your recipe this summer!
Thank you, Ellen! It’s really quick and easy! Let me know how you like it:)