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.
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I’m not a big fan of capers, so I played mine first and then add them to the sauce for my wife. She loves them. I also find that using chicken stock gives it a richer flavor than wine. To keep my waistline and check, at the end I add a Quarter cup of heavy whipping cream. Fabulous. Best I’ve made so far.
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Simple/fast..yummy. Family loves it, I always add a little more capers/butter/wine.
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My husband made this for dinner tonight, and I must say it was great! I throughly enjoyed it! We will definitely be making this again!
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Been here before and love this recipe. Forgot to buy capers, but had some artichoke hearts. For the missing piquancy, squeezed in a touch more lemon. Served with the *real* pasta alfredo, not the beschemel (white goo) kind – look up cacio e pepe for the original that chef alfredo riffed off of.
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Quick easy dinner, fabulous. Capers not salty when cooked, I really do not like salt. Try this, you will be impressed with how tasty this is, served with new potatoes and asparagus.