Craving a dinner that feels fancy enough for a date night but is easy enough for a busy Tuesday? Let me introduce you to Chicken Piccata. This classic Italian-American dish features tender, pan seared chicken cutlets smothered in a vibrant, buttery sauce that’s bursting with bright lemon and briny capers. It’s elegant, incredibly flavorful, and comes together in one pan in under 30 minutes. Get ready to impress yourself and everyone at your table!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Restaurant Quality at Home: This recipe delivers that “wow” factor you get from dining out, right in your own kitchen.
- Unbelievably Fast: Ready in 30 minutes from start to finish, making it a perfect weeknight hero.
- The Perfect Sauce: The combination of lemon, butter, capers, and pan drippings creates a sauce that is tangy, rich, and downright addictive.
- Naturally Impressive: It looks and tastes like you spent hours, but our secret is safe!
Ingredients for Chicken Piccata
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour, for dredging
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions for Making Chicken Piccata
1Prepare the Chicken: Start by butterflying the chicken breasts. Place one hand on top of a chicken breast and carefully slice it horizontally, but not all the way through, so it opens like a book. Then, cut it all the way through to create two thin cutlets. Repeat with the second breast. You should have four cutlets total.
Place the cutlets between two pieces of plastic wrap and gently pound them to an even ½ inch thickness. This ensures they cook quickly and evenly. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
Spread some flour on a plate and dredge each chicken cutlet, shaking off any excess.
2Cook the Chicken to Golden Perfection: In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the butter is foamy and sizzling, add two chicken cutlets.
Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove them to a clean plate.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Once hot, cook the remaining two cutlets. Transfer all the chicken to the plate.
3Create the Legendary Sauce: This is the magic step! Take the skillet off the heat. Carefully add the fresh lemon juice, chicken stock, and rinsed capers.
Return the skillet to the stove over medium high heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, using a wooden spoon to scrape up all those delicious browned bits from the bottom of the pan. This is where so much of the flavor lives! Let it boil for about 1 minute.
4Bring It All Together: Reduce the heat to low and return all the chicken cutlets (and any accumulated juices) to the skillet. Let them simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes to heat through.
Remove the chicken to your serving platter. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter to the sauce. Whisk vigorously until the butter melts and the sauce becomes glossy and slightly thickened.
5Serve and Enjoy! Pour the incredible lemon caper sauce over the chicken and garnish generously with fresh chopped parsley. Serve immediately alongside pasta, mashed potatoes, or crusty bread to soak up every last drop of that sauce.
Easy Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour for dredging
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup brined capers rinsed
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Butterfly the chicken breasts: slice horizontally through the middle to create 4 thin cutlets. Pound to an even ½ inch thickness.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tbsp butter with 3 tbsp olive oil. Add 2 chicken cutlets and cook for 3 mins per side until golden. Remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp oil, and last 2 cutlets.
- Remove skillet from heat. Add lemon juice, chicken stock, and capers. Return to heat, bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits. Boil for 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to low. Return all chicken to the skillet and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken to a platter.
- Turn off heat. Add remaining 2 tbsp butter to the sauce and whisk until melted and smooth.
- Pour sauce over chicken, garnish with parsley, and serve.
Notes
- Pounding is Key: For tender, evenly cooked chicken, don't skip pounding the cutlets to an even thickness.
- Scrape the Pan: Those brown bits at the bottom of the pan are flavor gold! Scraping them up is essential for the best sauce.
- Serve With: This is fantastic over pasta, angel hair, mashed potatoes, or with a simple green salad.
