Chicken piccata is such an easy Italian recipe to make and it is so big on flavor. This simple chicken piccata recipe is perfectly balanced with lemon and butter and we do not skimp on the capers. There is no cream either since this is a classic recipe!
Chicken piccata is a traditional Italian recipe that you will find in Italy and in the U.S. Piccata is a style of cooking chicken or veal where the meat is pounded thin into cutlets and then dredged in flour before cooking.
It is not a Milanese style of cooking where breadcrumbs are used. Piccata only uses flour! Some piccata recipes use wine and some do not. For this recipe, the wine is omitted.
This chicken piccata recipe is my family's recipe for chicken piccata and it is very easy to make. The chicken is first pounded thin and then the lemon butter sauce only takes minutes to come together.
You will add the capers at the very end to add that extra salty bite and brine flavor that makes a piccata so good.
Ingredients Needed
- Boneless Chicken Breast- I really like using organic free-range chicken.
- Flour- regular all-purpose flour.
- Parmesan
- Lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Butter- this helps make the sauce creamy!
- Chicken stock
- Capers- When buying capers for this recipe, try to find smaller capers and not the really large ones that they sell in the store.
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Fresh Italian parsley and lemon slices for garnish (optional)
How to make Italian Chicken Piccata
- Gather Ingredients: Gather all of the ingredients including the chicken stock, lemon, butter, flour, parmesan, salt, pepper and capers. If you are using parsley, that too.
- Prepare the chicken: Butterfly and pound out the chicken so it is nice and thin.
- Make flour mixture: Mix the Parmesan, flour, salt and pepper.
- Dredge chicken: Coat the chicken in the flour mixture making sure to coat both sides.
- Add chicken: Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat with olive oil then dredge the chicken in flour.
- Brown the chicken: Brown the chicken in the olive oil until brown on both sides then remove from the pan.
- Make the sauce: add all of the ingredients for the piccata sauce (chicken stock, butter, lemon juice and capers) and bring to a light simmer for a few minutes.
- Add chicken to the sauce: Add the chicken back into the sauce to reheat it then it is ready.
I told you this chicken piccata recipe is very easy! The capers, butter, lemon and chicken stock all come together beautifully and taste so amazing and are perfect for chicken.
Tips:
- I really prefer working with chicken stock in all my recipes but you could also use chicken broth here too. If you are really in a pinch, a bouillon cube added to water can also work though it won't be as good as the real thing.
- Although parsley is an optional ingredient, I do recommend it. It makes the dish beautiful by adding that pop of color (we eat with our eyes first).
- Wine pairings! I really love to pair this classic Italian dish with a nice Italian Gavi white wine. It is clean and crisp and perfect for this dish. You can also pair any other light and crisp white wine like a Pinot Grigio with this.
How To Store Leftovers
If you have leftovers, this dish stores well. Just place the cooled down chicken in an air-tight container without the sauce. Store the sauce separately so it doesn't make the chicken coating mushy.
To reheat, just lightly pan-sear the chicken over low heat with a little olive oil to reheat it and crisp up the outside of the chicken. The sauce can be microwaved on medium heat for about 1 minute. If you need more sauce, add a little more chicken stock to the sauce that you already have and mix well, then reheat.
What to serve with chicken piccata
Italians love serving this dish as a secondi piatti (the meat course) after a light pasta like spaghetti or angel hair but you can serve this with potatoes, garlic and lemon mushrooms, vegetables or any other side dish that goes well with a lemon flavor.
Garlicky ciabatta bread also goes well with the flavors of the chicken piccata!
More Italian Recipes
- Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes and Herbs
- Ricotta Pie
- Penne alla Vodka
- Italian Zucchini Soup
- Italian Chickpea Salad
- Tomato Ricotta Galette
- Sauteed Italian Zucchini
Classic Italian Chicken Piccata Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup All purpose flour
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Sauce
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 4 ounces capers
- 3 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter divided
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon Italian parsley chopped fine. Optional
- lemon slices garnish. Optional
Instructions
Making the Chicken
- On a large plate, mix your flour, Parmesan, pepper and salt.¼ cup All purpose flour, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- Place your chicken breasts one at a time in a large ziploc bag.4 boneless chicken breasts
- Pound thin to about ¼ of its original thickness.
- Dip the chicken into your flour mixture making sure to coat both sides then set aside.
- Pre-heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add your olive oil.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Now add your chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes a side until the chicken is browned on both sides.
- Remove your chicken from the pan on to a plate and set aside.
Sauce
- Reduce heat to medium low.
- Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and deglaze your pan scraping up all of the brown bits.4 tablespoon unsalted butter divided
- Now add your chicken stock to the hot pan and mix well.¼ cup chicken stock
- Next add your lemon juice, capers and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and simmer for 1 minute.3 tablespoon Lemon juice, 4 ounces capers
- Taste for any additional salt needed and add more to taste.¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Once the sauce has simmered for a minute, place your chicken back into the pan and cook for an additional couple minutes to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through.
- Top with fresh parsley and lemon slices.2 tablespoon Italian parsley chopped fine. Optional, lemon slices garnish. Optional
- Enjoy!
Beth says
Thank you for sharing this recipe