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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
- Creamy Herb Pasta, One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta or Creamy Lemon Pasta
- Buttered Noodles
- Mashed Potatoes or Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
- Garlic Bread with Cheese or Buttermilk Biscuits
- Roasted Carrots, Green Beans, or Broccoli
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.
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
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
- 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.
Too much lemon , would not make again
“Piccata” = A lemon butter sauce. Lemon is major part of any piccata sauce.
Add artichokes and zucchini….even better
Thanks for the yummy suggestion and for taking the time to leave a review Janet!😃
Excellent , light and tasty. I substituted cornstarch for flour. My husband who is rather “picky” loved it and said you should of made more! (Pounding the chicken is key and we used Natures Promise organic.) Better than restaurants! Thank you 💜
That sounds like the ultimate compliment from your husband, nice work!🙌 My husband says this is better than the restaurants too! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!
Easy to make and remix! I made this sauce, simmered some meal prepped baked chicken in it, then poured the remainder over some pasta sprinkled with parmesan and it was delicious.
Sounds like a great meal! Thanks so much for the excellent review!❤️
I can’t say enough good things about this recipe! It’s easy to make, but looks impressive and tastes exactly like we got it from a fancy restaurant! It comes together so quickly and is perfect for both family, as well as company. Can’t wait to make it again!!
I’m so happy to hear such great comments Rosemary! My husband loves this dish and always says how it belongs in a restaurant❤️. This is one of my favorite meals to make for family and friends. Thanks so much for the great review!
Delicious ! I actually bought boneless chicken cutlets so it saved on time .
Next time I will use only 1/4c of flour & see how it turns out . I used white balsamic vinegar instead of wine .
I also use a braiser & don’t know how I ever lived w/o it !
The sauce was amazing ! There was a lot so I just poured it onto egg noodles that I plated with the chicken then squeezed fresh lemon juice on everything 🙂
Thanks so much for the great comments and review Catharine!😍
My husband is the MOST difficult person to please, but he was overwhelmed by this recipe! He sold food to restaurants for 40+ years, and he’s tasted everything under the sun. When I told him I was preparing Chicken Piccata he was less than impressed, because I quit cooking years ago because of his criticism. He LOVED this dish! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Hiiii Susan!!! I am SOOO happy to hear that, you made my DAY! And I give you props for taking this on and nailing it! I love it when people don’t give up in the kitchen! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review, it really means a lot! ❤️ -Stephanie
Delicious! Made sauce and pours I. Top of chicken and cheese tortellini. Everyone enjoyed it.
I’m so happy everyone enjoyed this dish Diane! Thanks so much for the great review!😍
This was amazing! My husband asked for seconds, and I was sad that I didn’t end up with any leftovers! Thank you!
Sounds like you nailed it Heather, nice work! I always get so excited when my husband asks for seconds, best feeling ever! Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
Absolutely outstanding better than eating out a must keep
Yayyy! Thanks so much for the great comments and review Robie, I’m so happy you enjoyed this one. This might be the meal I make my husband for Valentines day next week!😃