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Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata is a classic Italian-American lemon caper chicken with thin golden cutlets and a silky lemon-butter-pan sauce. The sauce glistens and pools around crispy edges for an easy weeknight Italian dinner.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken piccata cutlets and seasoning
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts Halve horizontally to make 8 thin cutlets.
  • 0.25 tsp salt To taste.
  • 0.25 tsp pepper To taste.
  • 0.5 cup all-purpose flour For light dredging.
  • 3 tbsp olive oil For frying.
  • 2 tbsp butter Use 2 tablespoons during searing; keep the rest for finishing.
Lemon-butter-caper pan sauce
  • 2 tbsp butter Swirl in cold off-heat for a glossy sauce.
  • 4 cloves garlic Minced.
  • 0.5 cup dry white wine Use to deglaze and simmer.
  • 0.75 cup chicken broth For the reduced pan sauce base.
  • 0.25 cup fresh lemon juice About 2 lemons.
  • 3 tbsp capers Drained.
  • 1 lemon Thinly sliced.
  • 1 fresh parsley Chopped, for garnish.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and dredge the chicken
  1. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour and shake off any excess.
  2. Lay the dredged cutlets on a sheet pan so they’re ready to cook in batches.
Sear until golden, then simmer the sauce
  1. Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
  2. Cook the chicken in batches for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through, then remove and set aside.
  3. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring until fragrant.
  4. Pour in the white wine and scrape up the browned bits, then simmer for 2 minutes.
  5. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, capers, and lemon slices, then simmer for 4-5 minutes until the sauce reduces by about a third.
Finish, return chicken, and serve
  1. Remove the skillet from the heat and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter until the sauce is glossy.
  2. Return the chicken to the skillet, spoon sauce over each cutlet, and garnish with fresh parsley.

Notes

For the smoothest piccata sauce, swirl in the remaining cold butter off-heat so it emulsifies into a glossy finish. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of broth to loosen the sauce. Freezing is not recommended as the lemon-butter sauce can separate after thawing. Dietary swap: use gluten-free all-purpose flour for the dredge to make it gluten-free.