This Lemon Chicken Piccata is a restaurant-quality meal that is easy to make at home! You will love this flavorful white wine reduction sauce that has just the right amount of lemon and butter! With this recipe, there is plenty of sauce to go around.

Serve this with Creamy Herb Pasta, Parmesan Garlic Pasta  or Buttered Noodles.

A pot with crispy Chicken Piccata in a white wine butter sauce with lemon wedges and capers.

Chicken Piccata

If you want to make a restaurant-worthy meal at home, get ready- you’re about to do it. 

I’ll start by saying this: Preparing the chicken (i.e. Slicing, pounding, dredging, searing), is the most laborious part of this recipe. From there, it’s really quick and easy.

Unlike most recipes, this one includes the addition of chicken broth, which adds great flavor and helps create even more of that flavorful, gourmet-worthy sauce. It’s not overly loaded with butter and the flavor from the lemon is perfect but not overwhelming. 

Check out my step-by-step shots on how to make this, PRO tips, storage info, and more:

How to Make it

See recipe card at bottom of post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Cut the chicken into 2-3 thinner slices (I prefer 3 if using very large chicken breasts.) This cuts down on the pounding time. Flash freezing the chicken for 5 minutes makes it easier to slice.

Place the chicken in between saran wrap and pound it to 1/4 inch thin.

Chicken being pounded thin to make Chicken Piccata.

Pat dry and dredge in a seasoned flour/Parmesan mixture. Tap off excess. Heat olive oil and butter and sear the chicken in batches for 3-4 minutes per side. Set aside and wipe pan, leaving a small amount of brown remnants in the pan.

Chicken coated in a Parmesan flour mixture next to a plate of seared crispy chicken for Chicken Piccata.

Add white wine and garlic and let it bubble gently and reduce until there is very little liquid left. Add capers, chicken broth, and lemon juice.

Making sauce for Chicken Piccata with white wine, capers, garlic, and chicken broth.

Add chicken back to the pan, spoon sauce on top, and cover partially for 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and swirl in 2 Tablespoons cold butter. Tilt pan to distribute sauce and spoon over the chicken. Serve with One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta or Creamy Lemon Pasta.

Chicken Piccata in a skillet before and after having cold butter swirled into the sauce.

Pro Tips

  • Chicken plumps up when cooked so be sure to really pound it thin (1/4 inch) beforehand. This also ensures even cooking and really tender chicken.
  • Preparing the chicken is the most labor-intensive part of this recipe but is well worth it. After that, it’s smooth sailing.
  • Use juice from a freshly squeezed lemon, it’s far more flavorful than from a bottle.
  • Use fresh garlic from a clove, it’s much better than a jar.
  • Use a high quality butter, I prefer Land O’ Lakes salted butter. Unsalted works as well.
  • In this recipe, we add 2 tablespoons of cold butter to the sauce at the end, which is a technique that chefs use called “monter au beurre”, which creates a smooth, velvety finish.
  • This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 104!

What to Serve with Chicken Piccata

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.

A white platter with Chicken Piccata and lemon slices with lemon sauce and capers.

 

Tools For This Recipe

(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.

  • This is the skillet I used in this recipe, (and in 90% of my recipes). It’s pricey, but it conducts heat really well and is oven safe. The size is perfect and the quality is great.
  • Meat Tenderizer. Essential for this recipe!
  • Kitchen Tongs– Makes it easy to handle the chicken when searing.
  • Silicone Spatula– Makes it easy to scrape up any brown bits left in the pan and incorporate them into the sauce for more flavor.

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Chicken Piccata on with a lemon sauce topped with capers.

Chicken Piccata

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
4.98 from 157 ratings
Servings: 4 people
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This Lemon Chicken Piccata is a restaurant-quality meal that is easy to make at home! You will love this flavorful white wine sauce reduction sauce that has just the right amount of lemon and butter.

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ cup flour
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon salted butter

Sauce

  • ½ cup dry white wine, like chardonnay or pinot grigio
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons capers, drained
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons cold salted butter
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Instructions

Cut, Pound, Dredge, and Sear the Chicken:

  • Note: This is the most time consuming part, after this section, this meal is a breeze.
  • Combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper on a large plate. Set aside.
  • Cut each chicken breast into 3 thinner slices. Place in between saran wrap and use a meat tenderizer to pound it very thin, about ¼ inch thick. It will plump more once it’s cooked so pounding thin is key.
  • Pat the chicken dry and dredge each side in the flour mixture. Tap off excess.
  • Heat 3 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in batches for 3-4 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Add a splash of olive oil and/or reduce heat as needed during cooking. Set the chicken aside on a plate and turn off heat when finished.

Prepare the Sauce:

  • Carefully wipe the pan, but leave a few brown bits for added flavor.
  • Add the wine and garlic. Set heat to medium. Bubble gently for 4-5 minutes, until just a small amount of liquid remains. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” any remaining brown flecks on the pan while the wine reduces. This will add flavor.
  • Add the capers, chicken broth, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and stir to combine.

Add the Chicken back and Finish the Meal:

  • Add the chicken along with any juices from the plate.
  • Spoon the sauce over the chicken and cover partially, cook for 3-5 minutes. The sauce will thicken slightly and become more flavorful.
  • Reduce heat to low. Add 2 Tablespoons cold butter and let it melt into the sauce. Tilt the pan to distribute the sauce throughout and spoon it over the chicken again. Remove from heat.
  • Garnish with parsley and serve. My Garlic Parmesan Pasta or Creamy Lemon Pasta is great with this meal.

Notes

Pro Tips:
  • Chicken plumps up when cooked so be sure to really pound it thin (1/4 inch) beforehand. This also ensures even cooking and really tender chicken.
  • Use juice from a freshly squeezed lemon, it's far more flavorful than from a bottle.
  • Use a high quality butter, I prefer Land O' Lakes salted butter. 
  • This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 104!
Nutrition information is an estimate and includes all of the flour dredge ingredients but it's likely that there will be some left on the plate. Nutrition information is per serving, there are 4 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 1103mg, Potassium: 355mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 478IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 101mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you try this recipe?Mention @TheCozyCook on Instagram or tag #thecozycook!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian, Mediterranean
Author: Stephanie
Perfectly seared chicken with a light Parmesan crust simmered in a flavorful lemon sauce and served with pasta. | The Cozy Cook | #Chicken #Piccata #LemonSauce #Dinner #Pasta #Italian #Spaghetti #ChickenPiccata #ComfortFood