Sometimes it amazes me how a simple combination of basic, on-hand ingredients can yield such delightful results.
Chicken piccata is nothing more than chicken breast cutlets, dredged in flour, browned, and served with a sauce of butter, lemon juice, capers, and either stock or white wine.
It can be prepared in 20 minutes or less and is so easy and delicious it should be part of every home cook’s repertoire. It’s perfect for a quick midweek meal!
How to make Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata Recipe
PrintIngredients
- 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 pound total), or 4-8 chicken cutlets
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pinch ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or dry white wine (such as a Sauvignon Blanc)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup brined capers
- 2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Method
1 Prepare chicken cutlets, pound them thin: To make chicken cutlets, slice the chicken breast halves horizontally, butterflying them open. If the breast pieces you are working with are large, you may want to cut them each into two pieces.
If the pieces are still thick after butterflying, put them between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them with a meat hammer to 1/4-inch thickness.
2 Dredge cutlets in seasoned flour with Parmesan: Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Rinse the chicken pieces in water. Dredge them thoroughly in the flour mixture, until well coated.
3 Brown cutlets in butter and oil: Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add half of the chicken pieces, do not crowd the pan. Brown well on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve to a plate.
Cook the other breasts in the same manner, remove from pan. Place the breasts on a rack over a roasting pan and keep warm in a 225°F oven while you prepare the sauce.
4 Add stock or wine, lemon juice, capers, reduce by half, stir in butter: Add the chicken stock or white wine, lemon juice, and capers to the pan. Use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits. Reduce the sauce by half.
Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
Plate the chicken and serve with the sauce poured over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.
Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to Chicken Piccata on Simply Recipes. Thank you!
PrintProducts We Love
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #simplyrecipes — We love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter!
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Your comment may need to be approved before it will appear on the site. Thanks for waiting. First time commenting? Please review the Comment Policy.
This is my favorite chicken piccata recipe! It’s so simple and so delicious, even my picky 8 year old ate it! The only thing is my sauce always comes out really dark brown and I’m not sure it’s supposed to. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but either way it’s delicious. I always add extra oil and butter on the second batch of chicken, was confused if I was supposed to or not.
xxxxxyyyyy
Very disappointed the chicken did not come out nearly as crispy as shown. I used the same qty of oil, butter etc. Flour didn’t stick except a light coating. Healthier, maybe. However, not what I was craving.
xxxxxyyyyy
I have made this recipe several times and find it to be very good. Chicken comes out tender. . I like that it’s simple to make yet very tasty.
xxxxxyyyyy
This is so easy that even I can make it. Top that with it tastes excellent.
I give this 5 attaboys.
xxxxxyyyyy
Excellent! Served it just the way it was presented.. Broiled asparagus with lemon pepper and olive oil…very good combination. Thank you!
xxxxxyyyyy