Chicken Piccata – Restaurant Style!
This easy Chicken Piccata recipe has plenty of creamy lemon garlic sauce to go around. It’s made from a white wine reduction and a uses finishing technique from top restaurant chefs!
Serve this with homemade garlic bread and my One Pot Parmesan Garlic Pasta!
Chicken Piccata
I am beyond happy to share this Chicken Piccata recipe with you. It has a perfect balance of flavors which include lemon, garlic, capers, white wine, and chicken broth.
Be sure to read through my pro tips to learn how and why this tastes like it’s from a gourmet restaurant, including the finishing technique that chefs use to add a smooth and silky, velvety component to this amazing sauce.
Ingredients
See recipe card at bottom of post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Salt/Pepper
- Flour
- Garlic Powder
- Parmesan Cheese- finely grated from a block
- Olive Oil
- Butter- I use salted, non-salted is totally fine
- Garlic– Minced or sliced from fresh cloves at home
- Capers
- White Wine– Dry wine is best. Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc are perfect.
- Chicken Broth
- Lemon Juice
- Parsley
How to Make it
Slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise and use a meat tenderizer to pound it to a uniform thickness of about an inch.
Dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour mixture and tap off excess.
Lightly fry in 2 batches for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Set aside on a plate.
Add garlic and capers, cook for 1 minute.
Carefully pour in white wine and let it bubble gently until almost completely reduced.
Add chicken broth, lemon juice, and parsley. Stir to combine.
Add chicken back to skillet and let it simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Transfer chicken to a serving plate. Remove the sauce from the heat. Gradually whisk 2 Tablespoons cold butter into the sauce on low heat until incorporated.
Spoon sauce over the chicken and serve.
PRO Tips for this Recipe
Don’t Fry Straight From the Fridge
- Frying your chicken directly from the fridge results in uneven cooking as it immediately cools down the temperature of the oil. For best results, remove the chicken from the fridge, cut/pound it, and allow the chicken to sit out for up to 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Tenderize the Meat
- Pounding the meat allows you to ensure that it is of even thickness which then allows for even cooking.
- It also allows you to create thin cutlets which are ideal for chicken piccata.
- Finally, it makes the meat more tender melts in your mouth.
Don’t over-flour
- For best results, use a light coating of flour on the chicken and tap away the excess.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour right before you fry it. In this recipe we’ll dredge in 2 separate batches.
A Smooth, Velvety Finish
- Adding 2-3 tablespoons of cold butter to a warm sauce is is a technique that chefs use called “monter au beurre”, which creates a smooth finish and velvety texture to sauces. I use the same technique in my Penne Alla Vodka recipe.
Best Wines to Serve with This Meal
Platings and Pairings suggests to serve this with Chardonnay. Other fine options include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Blanc.
What to Serve with Chicken Piccata
- One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta
- One Pot Creamy Lemon Pasta
- Homemade Garlic Bread
- Mashed Potatoes
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Chicken Piccata makes a great freezer meal as well. Store it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Try These Next!
- Chicken Alfredo Bake
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Sloppy Joe Casserole
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Get My Free Meal Plan!
I’ve got a Free Meal Plan with 7 of my super popular recipes (complete with grocery list)! Sign up for my email list and I’ll send it over now along with weekly dinner recipes!
And follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Try this Recipe?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I would love to hear your rating and feedback!
Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- Salt/Pepper, to taste
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil, separated
- 4 Tablespoons cold butter, separated
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons Capers, drained
- ½ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, plus more to garnish
Instructions
- PRO TIP: Frying your chicken directly from the fridge results in uneven cooking as it immediately cools down the temperature of the oil. For best results, remove the chicken from the fridge, cut/pound it, and allow it to sit out for up to 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise to create 2 thinner pieces of equal size.
- Place saran wrap over each slice and use a meat tenderizer to pound it until it’s about an inch thick and of equal thickness throughout.
- Pat each side very dry. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine flour, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.
- Lightly coat 3 slices of chicken with the flour mixture and tap off the excess.
- Melt 1+1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat in a 12-13 inch skillet.
- Add the floured chicken and cover the pan. Cook until golden brown, use kitchen tongs to check the bottom after 4-5 minutes. Flip and repeat. Decrease heat slightly if needed.
- Lightly flour the remaining slices of chicken while the first batch cooks.
- Transfer the first batch of cooked chicken to a plate.
- Add another 1.5 Tablespoons oil and 1 Tablespoon butter to the pan, then add the chicken and repeat the cooking process. Remove and set aside once cooked.
- Decrease heat to medium and add the garlic and capers. Cook for 1 minute.
- Carefully pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan by running a silicone spatula on the bottom to scrape up the brown bits from the pan. This gives the sauce plenty of flavor. Allow it to gently bubble until the liquid is nearly gone.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and parsley, stir to combine. Reduce heat to low.
- Add chicken and their juices back to skillet and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to serving plates. Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Gradually whisk in 2 Tablespoons cold butter to the sauce until incorporated. This is a technique that chefs use called “monter au beurre”, which creates a smooth finish when added to warm sauces.
- Remove from heat, spoon sauce over the chicken and serve.
Notes
Side Suggestions:
- Garlic Parmesan Pasta (One Pot)
- Creamy Lemon Pasta (One Pot)
- Homemade Garlic Bread
- Salad with homemade Caesar or Italian dressing
Can I make this dish without the wine?
Hi Mary, yes- you can use chicken broth as a substitute 🙂
This is another FANTASTIC hit! I made this for my hubby and I for Valentine’s Day dinner and oh boy did we both love it! The flavors were amazing and the sauce….😳 it was sooooo good.
I’ve made several of your recipes, each one as been simple to make and great hits with my family.
Thank you for rekindling my love for cooking…
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your loved ones❤️❤️❤️
Thanks so much Kecia for the awesome review and great comments!😃 I love hearing you’re enjoying these recipes and it’s rekindled your love for cooking!❤️❤️❤️ This is one of my husband’s favorite meals so it’s extra special to me!❤️ Happy Valentines Day to you and your loved ones as well!❤️
Absolutely delicious. I will make this dish on a regular basis. Thank you
You’re very welcome! I think this is going to be our Valentines Day meal over here! I’m so happy to hear you liked this one!😃
This was so delicious. Made it a couple weeks ago. Is there anyway I can make it in the oven tasting just as good? Having company over tomorrow and would like to make ahead so I’m not standing over the stove the whole time.
Hey Liz! I personally haven’t made it in the oven before so I wouldn’t want to give you incorrect instructions but there are online recipes that you could check out and merge their process with this specific recipe! I wish I could tell you specifically but I don’t want to steer you wrong! So glad that you enjoy it though!!
When do I put the capers in?
See step 12.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was wonderful! Thank you for a great recipe!
You’re very welcome! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it!😃 Thanks so much for the review!
I love love love this recipe. So full of flavor! I have picky children and everyone in the family loves this recipe. I’ve been making it for a few years and it never disappoints.
I’m so happy to hear this is a hit with the family, especially the picky children! Thanks so much for the review!!!😃
Truly is restaurant style! This was a magical hit! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You’re very welcome Debbie, I’m happy to here it was a hit!😃 I love serving this one when I have dinner guests. Like you said, it’s restaurant quality and makes an impressive dish! Thanks so much for the great review!
This is my new favourite chicken recipe. Packs lots of flavour with the lemon, garlic and broth. The wine is also a nice addition. So easy to make and on the table in no time. Served this with fingerling roasted potatoes and green beans, arrows and a salad.
Hi Heather! Thanks so much for the great review!😀 I’m happy to hear this was such a success. It’s one of my husbands favorite. It’s one of those simple meals that tastes restaurant quality!
I’m always nervous about making chicken dishes when the pieces are thin and there is pan frying involved. So often it comes out dry or tough. These came out perfect. The timing was spot on and the extra hints throughout the recipe were very helpful. I myself am a vegetarian but I do prepare meat dishes occasionally for my family. They were so happy with the results. I kept some of the sauce ingredients aside, and prepared some sauce to put on my broccoli and chick peas. It was delish. Thanks!
Thanks so much for the awesome review and comments!❤️ I’m so happy to hear the family enjoyed it, and it’s great to hear you found the extra hints helpful! Smart thinking to leave the sauce aside for your broccoli and chick peas!!!