Tender, lightly breaded chicken, pan-fried then coated in an irresistibly creamy sauce with lemon and zesty capers. Creamy chicken piccata is an easy and delicious meal that’s quick enough for a busy weeknight, and impressive enough for serving guests.
🍝 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Creamy chicken piccata is an irresistible, restaurant-quality meal! Tender chicken, coated in a light breading, then pan-fried to golden perfection. The tang of lemon juice, lemon zest, and capers give the creamy sauce an absolutely delicious touch.
- It’s quick and easy to make! Everything is done in one skillet, so there’s very little clean-up required. There’s nothing complicated involved, just quick and easy steps for pan-frying and combining the sauce. In roughly 30 minutes, you’ll have an impressive chicken dinner that the whole family will love!
- Classic chicken piccata is served with angel hair pasta or fettuccine, but it is delicious paired with any carb! Mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, Palmini noodles, or fresh veggies would be delicious with this irresistible chicken and sauce.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Be sure to rinse the capers before adding them to the dish! The brine capers are stored in is super salty, so rinsing them allows you to control exactly how much salt goes into the dish.
- The trick to perfect pan-fried chicken? The breading! That light coating of flour turns into a deliciously crispy breading when pan-fried in the butter and olive oil. If you’re following a gluten-free diet, use gluten-free flour. It’s essential to the recipe, so be sure not to omit it!
- As always, I suggest using a meat thermometer to ensure the perfect temperature for cooked chicken! Fully cooked chicken reads at 165° Fahrenheit. Thin cut chicken will cook more quickly than thick chicken breasts, so using your meat thermometer can give a peace of mind that you’re not overcooking it.
🍽️ More Delicious Meals We Love
Creamy Chicken Piccata
Lightly breaded, pan-fried chicken, coated in a rich and creamy sauce. It’s an easy and delicious meal, perfect for busy weeknights and impressive enough for serving company.
Ingredients
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
Instructions
For the Chicken
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Place 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts on cutting board. Use sharp chef’s knife to trim chicken breasts, then slice each chicken breast in half horizontally, creating 4 thin chicken cutlets total. Set cutting board aside.
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Add ½ cup all-purpose flour to shallow bowl. Place one chicken cutlet in flour and press lightly, then turn chicken cutlet over and press other side lightly into flour. Hold chicken cutlet over bowl and shake off excess flour, then place cutlet on large plate and set aside.
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Repeat process with remaining chicken cutlets. Add more all-purpose flour as needed to thoroughly cover chicken.
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When all cutlets have been dredged in flour, place large skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to pan and continue heating, swirling or tilting pan as needed to cover entire surface.
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When olive oil and melted butter begin to sizzle, lay 2 chicken cutlets in skillet, making sure cutlets do not overlap. Cook chicken 3 minutes or until browned on bottom, then flip cutlets over.
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Cook cutlets 3 minutes more or until browned on other side. Once both sides are browned, transfer chicken cutlets to large plate and set aside.
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Add remaining 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to skillet. Repeat process with remaining chicken cutlets. Once cutlets have been cooked on both sides, transfer cutlets to plate and set aside.
For the Piccata Sauce
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Return skillet to heat and add ¼ cup dry white wine. Using large wooden spoon, scrape bottom of skillet to loosen any bits of browned chicken that may have stuck to pan, then reduce heat to medium. Cook wine over medium heat until reduced by 50%, approximately 1 minute.
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Add 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 cloves garlic, and ¼ cup brined capers to reduced wine and stir to incorporate. Cook 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant.
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Once garlic is fragrant, add 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and ½ cup low-sodium chicken stock. Stir to incorporate, then let mixture cook 5 minutes or until thickened slightly. Stir as needed.
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Remove skillet from heat and let cool slightly, then add ½ cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest, salt, and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Stir until cream is fully incorporated, then return skillet to heat.
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Return chicken cutlets to skillet. Sprinkle ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley over chicken, then turn chicken over 3 to 4 times to coat chicken in sauce. Simmer chicken in sauce 2 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly, then remove skillet from heat.
To Serve
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Spoon sauce over tops of chicken cutlets, then transfer chicken to serving plates with desired portions of angel hair pasta (optional). Spoon remaining sauce from skillet onto chicken cutlets and pasta, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Make it Dairy Free: Use a dairy-free butter. Instead of heavy cream, use unsweetened coconut milk or coconut cream from a can (not a carton).
- Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour. Serve over gluten-free pasta or mashed potatoes.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1serving, Calories: 619kcal, Protein: 28g, Fat: 49g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 151mg, Sodium: 513mg, Potassium: 557mg, Total Carbs: 16g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Net Carbs: 15g, Vitamin A: 1434IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 54mg, Iron: 2mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
