Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
This healthy Lemon Chicken Piccata is an easy dinner recipe that’s ready for the table in just 30 minutes! Made with lemon, butter and capers, the comforting Italian classic is perfect served over pasta or paired with a crusty loaf of bread.
Table of Contents
If you’re looking for even more lemon chicken recipes, try this dump-and-bake lemon chicken orzo, a pot of lemon chicken orzo soup, and this lemon garlic chicken, too!
Lemon chicken piccata simply consists of chicken cutlets that are dredged in flour, pan fried until golden brown, and then finished with a lemon, butter and caper sauce. Chicken Piccata is really similar to Chicken Francese; however, there are a couple of subtle differences. While Francese dips the meat into flour and an egg wash before pan frying, Piccata only dips the meat into flour and also adds capers to the lemon butter sauce. Either way, it’s a delicious 30-minute meal that your family will love!
How to make Lemon Chicken Piccata:
First, season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Brown the chicken in a skillet with butter and oil. This only takes about 3-5 minutes per side!
Remove the chicken to a plate and cover loosely to keep warm while you prepare the sauce. For the sauce, add more butter and chicken broth (or white wine) to the skillet. Stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan (this is an important step for adding great flavor to the sauce)!
Cook the sauce for a few minutes, and then add the lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley and capers.
Finally, pour the lemon sauce over the chicken and serve!
What to serve with Lemon Chicken Piccata:
We love to serve this easy Chicken Piccata over pasta, but it’s also great with rice, mashed potatoes or a loaf of crusty bread to soak up all of that delicious sauce. If you’d like a green vegetable on the side, here are a few options that go well with the chicken:
- Broccoli
- Roasted Asparagus
- A simple green salad dressed with Italian Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 2-Ingredient Italian Sugar Snap Peas
- Creamed Spinach or Sautéed Spinach
Preparation and Storage Tips:
This meal is best when cooked and served immediately. While leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, the chicken becomes a bit soggy as it sits. If you’d like to get some preparation done in advance, you can pound the chicken flat ahead of time and then just keep the cutlets in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to dredge and fry.
The pounded chicken cutlets can be frozen before cooking, but this is not a great dish to make ahead, freeze and reheat. Again, the meat will just have a soggy exterior.
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- Depending on the size of your skillet and the size of your chicken, you may need to brown the meat in batches. Be careful that you don’t overcrowd the pan, or the chicken will steam instead of becoming crispy on the outside.
- If you like wine in your piccata sauce, you can substitute white wine for all (or some) of the chicken broth. Both Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are good wines to use for this dish.
- While the capers add a nice briny, salty flavor to the sauce, you can omit the capers if you don’t care for them.
- You can use large chicken breasts and cut them in half before pounding them flat. Alternatively, purchase thin-sliced chicken breast cutlets at the grocery store for a shortcut.
- While it’s not traditional, you can add some grated Parmesan cheese to the flour for dredging your chicken. It will give the meat a nice flavor boost!
- Make this chicken piccata pasta with artichokes by tossing some drained artichoke hearts into the skillet with the sauce. They will be warm and flavorful — a perfect addition to the pasta!
- On its own, one serving of the lemon sauce and chicken has 260 calories, 29 grams of protein, 13 grams of fat and 6.5 grams of carbohydrates. This is a light, healthy dish that can fit into a low-carb, Keto diet if you pair it with a low carb side (like riced cauliflower or sautéed spinach instead of pasta).
More easy chicken breast recipes that you might enjoy:
- Chicken Florentine
- Dump-and-Bake Chicken Marsala
- 5-Minute Honey French Baked Chicken Breasts
- Dump-and-Bake Chicken and Mushroom Casserole
Lemon Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved (or 4 thin-sliced chicken breast cutlets) (about 1 lb. total)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice plus ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Optional: 3 tablespoons capers, drained
Instructions
- Place one chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Working from the center, gently pound the chicken with a meat mallet or rolling pin until the meat is about ¼-inch thick; remove the wrap. Repeat with remaining chicken breast.
- Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Place flour in a shallow dish or in a large Ziploc bag, then dredge the chicken in the flour until lightly coated on all sides.
- In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown on the outside and no longer pink on the inside. Remove chicken to a serving platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the chicken broth to the skillet, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Cook 2-3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley and capers. Pour hot sauce over chicken and serve.
Notes
- Depending on the size of your skillet and the size of your chicken, you may need to brown the meat in batches. Be careful that you don’t overcrowd the pan, or the chicken will steam instead of becoming crispy on the outside.
- If you like wine in your piccata sauce, you can substitute white wine for all (or some) of the chicken broth. Both Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are good wines to use for this dish.
- While the capers add a nice briny, salty flavor to the sauce, you can omit the capers if you don’t care for them.
- You can use large chicken breasts and cut them in half before pounding them flat. Alternatively, purchase thin-sliced chicken breast cutlets at the grocery store for a shortcut.
- While it’s not traditional, you can add some grated Parmesan cheese to the flour for dredging your chicken. It will give the meat a nice flavor boost!
- Make this chicken piccata pasta with artichokes by tossing some drained artichoke hearts into the skillet with the sauce. They will be warm and flavorful — a perfect addition to the pasta!
- On its own, one serving of the lemon sauce and chicken has 260 calories, 29 grams of protein, 13 grams of fat and 6.5 grams of carbohydrates. This is a light, healthy dish that can fit into a low-carb, Keto diet if you pair it with a low carb side (like riced cauliflower or sautéed spinach instead of pasta).
Thanks Blair, Your recipes sound delicious ; I have printed out the chinese chicken salad and the lemon chicken piccata to try.
Best wishes to you and your family. take care of yourself….
Marina, Seattle
Hi, Marina! I’m excited for you to try those new recipes. Enjoy, and have a great week ahead! 🙂
Delicious!!! We ate this with mashed potatoes and salad.
Wonderful! Thanks, Gabrielle! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know that it was a success. 🙂