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.
I made this the other night. It’s got so much flavor!! And it made for great leftovers. A keeper for sure! I don’t think any recipe on your site has ever steered me wrong. Especially your chicken tetrazzini. That’s a must try.
I am soooo happy to hear that you loved the Chicken Piccata (that’s one of our favorites), and that you’re loving the other recipes too!! (I agree, the Chicken Tetrazzini is a keeper!) Thank you so much for your support and for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it!! -Stephanie
I’ve made this numerous times off your recipe. I lightly fry up some button mushrooms to add, add more capers and garlic, and more stock so I can cook down the sauce more and then eventually have a good amount to spoon ontop of pasta as well.
Anyways it’s a huge hit with my Italian husband and with myself as well. Thank you!
I’m so happy this is a hit for you and the hubby Lizzy! Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks and for taking the time to leave a review!😃
I made this last night and it was delicious! I also added some sliced shitake mushrooms I had. Definitely going into my rotation!!
Thanks for making it a simple recipe so easy to follow!!
Yummm, I wish my husband would let me add mushrooms to recipes! I’m so happy you enjoyed the Chicken Piccata Leigh, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗
Making for dinner party, can I do day ahead a just heat before serving? Thank you,
Yes, I would place the chicken and the sauce in a lightly greased casserole dish that’s just big enough to hold it, not too big, and cover it with foil. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or so. If possible, let it sit out for 30 minutes before baking so that it reheats more evenly!
So good! How would you go about reheating?
Hi Inna! You can place leftovers in a lightly greased casserole dish, (one just large enough to fit the amount you’re reheating), and cover/bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or so 🙂
Thank you!
I am from the Dominican Republic. My hubby is Italian. Rice and beans of course is my forte, but I’ve mastered a few Italian dishes so far, such as chicken parm, but piccata is one that has always made me nervous! He’s been asking for it for a while though! This recipe was exactly what I needed! It was super easy to follow, and it was definitely husband approved. Soooo tasty!! Thank you for your wonderful help!
Thanks so much for the great comments Jessica, this makes me so happy! I’m so happy you don’t have to be nervous about Piccata anymore!😃
You mention this would make a great freezer meal.. at what point in the recipe would you freeze it? Thanks!
Hi Emily, you can cook it completely and then freeze it, it reheats well!
I made this for an unplanned dinner party for 9. It was a hit. I didn’t see how many servings it was for (on my tiny screen), so I just added a little more of the wet ingredients and capers, and of course, tasting the sauce. It is a great make ahead, I fried the pounded chicken breasts, and didn’t incorporate it in the sauce until the guests came so it came out of the pan and served HOT!! Super easy to make! Two of the guests were from the restaurant industry and they really enjoyed it! Definitely will make it again!!
Sounds like a huge hit Marita! This makes me so happy, thanks so much for the great review!💗
So good! Made this tonight and it was excellent!
Wahooo, that makes me so happy Kayla, thanks so much!❤️
Oh. My. Gosh. This is absolutely delicious! I made it with boneless, skinless thighs (because that’s what I had on hand) and I can’t believe how good this was. I’d actually been looking for a good chicken piccata after watching an episode of The Bear and this blew all my expectations out of the water. Your directions are excellent and made it so easy to make. Thank you for sharing!
Wahooo! I’m so happy this was such a hit Kara! Extra happy to hear you found the directions helpful and easy to make, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️