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Chicken Piccata is golden pan-fried chicken cutlets finished in a bright lemon butter sauce with briny capers. It comes together in one skillet in about 30 minutes, and it tastes like something you ordered out. This is my go-to when dinner needs to feel a little special without any extra work.
More skillet chicken dinners: Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce | Chicken Marsala | Crispy Chicken Cutlets
Before You Get Started
This recipe moves fast once the pan is hot, so a little prep up front makes all the difference. These three things matter most.
- Pound the cutlets thin. Uneven pieces give you dry edges and an underdone center. Thin is also what gets this on the table in 30 minutes.
- Shake off the excess flour. Loose flour clumps in the pan and turns the sauce gummy later on.
- Give the chicken room. A crowded skillet steams instead of sears, and you lose the browned bits that the sauce is built on.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
How to Make Chicken Piccata
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
The whole dish happens in one skillet, and the sauce is built right on top of what the chicken leaves behind. Here is how it comes together.
1. Prep the Chicken
If you can find chicken cutlets at the store, grab them. Otherwise, slice boneless skinless breasts in half horizontally and pound them between two sheets of plastic wrap until they are about a quarter inch thick and even all the way across.
Pat them dry before you season. Damp chicken will not brown properly, and browning is where most of this dish’s flavor comes from.
2. Dredge in Seasoned Flour
Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper first, then dredge each piece through the flour and shake off every bit of excess. You want a thin, even coat, not a crust.
Do this right before the chicken hits the pan. Dredged chicken that sits around gets pasty and the coating slides off in the skillet.
3. Sear Until Golden
Melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. The oil raises the smoke point so the butter can brown without scorching.
Lay the chicken in and then leave it alone. Resist the urge to move it around and peek.
When it is time to flip, slide your tongs or spatula all the way under so you do not snag the coating and pull it off. Four to five minutes per side gets you deep golden.
Work in batches if your pan is not big enough for all four pieces without them touching. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold the finished cutlets on a sheet pan in a 200°F oven while you work through the rest, then make the sauce last.
4. Build the Pan Sauce
Melt the butter in the same skillet and scrape up all the browned bits stuck to the bottom. Those bits are the entire flavor base, so do not wipe the pan.
Whisk in the flour and let it cook for a minute or two until it smells nutty and turns light golden. Gradually stir in the chicken broth and simmer until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Then stir in the lemon juice and capers.
Wait to salt until the very end. Both the capers and the broth are already salty, so taste first and then adjust. This is the most common way the sauce goes wrong.
Capers are the part people ask about most — They are pickled flower buds, and they taste sharp, salty, and a little floral, kind of like a tiny olive. They are what keeps a rich butter sauce from tasting flat.
Want a little more depth? Swap a quarter cup of the chicken broth for a dry white wine and let it reduce before you add the rest.
What to Serve With Chicken Piccata
Angel hair is my answer nine times out of ten. The thin strands catch the sauce instead of letting it pool at the bottom of the bowl.
If you’re looking for something other than pasta, this sauce is just as good over Fluffy Mashed Potatoes.
From there, you just need one thing alongside:
- Easy Rice Pilaf — if you want a lighter base than pasta
- Garlic Green Beans — for something quick and green
- Oven Roasted Broccoli — can share the oven if you are keeping chicken warm
- Copycat Olive Garden Salad — to cut the richness
- Homemade Garlic Breadsticks — for that sauce left on the plate
Storage Tips
Storage and Reheating
In the fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days. Get them refrigerated within two hours of cooking.
Reheating: Warm the chicken and sauce together in a skillet over low heat with a splash of chicken broth to loosen things up. Skip the microwave here. It toughens the chicken and causes the butter sauce to separate.
Make it ahead: You can pound and dredge the cutlets a few hours ahead and keep them covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook. The sauce is best made fresh.
Freezing: I do not recommend it. The flour-thickened sauce separates when it thaws.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I use instead of capers, and can I just leave them out?
Chopped green olives are the closest swap, since they bring the same salty, briny punch. Use about the same amount. If you have neither, a tablespoon of chopped dill pickle plus a splash of its brine will get you surprisingly close.
You can absolutely leave them out. The sauce is still delicious, it is just softer and rounder without that sharp bite. If you skip them, add an extra squeeze of lemon at the end so the sauce still has something to cut through the butter.
Do I have to dredge the chicken in flour?
You can cook the chicken without it, but you lose two things. The flour gives you that golden crust, and it also helps the sauce cling to the chicken instead of sliding off. If you skip the dredge, you will want to thicken the sauce a bit more since some of that flour ends up in the pan.
My sauce came out too lemony. How do I fix it?
Stir in another tablespoon of butter off the heat. Fat is what balances acid, and it will round the whole thing out fast. A splash more chicken broth helps too. Next time, start with about half the lemon juice, taste once the sauce has thickened, and add the rest from there. Lemons vary a lot in how sharp they are.
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breasts?
Yes, boneless skinless thighs work well and they are more forgiving if you tend to overcook chicken. They will not pound as thin, so give them a few extra minutes per side and check that they reach 165°F. The sauce and everything else stays exactly the same.
More Lemony Chicken Dinners
- Baked Lemon Chicken
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Skillet
- Juicy Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Lemon Garlic Chicken and Vegetable Pasta
Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 4 chicken cutlets about 1 ½ pounds
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil more as needed
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup capers drained
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
Instructions
- Place the flour in a flat-bottomed dish with high sides, like a pie plate. Pat the chicken cutlets dry, season both sides with salt and pepper, then dredge through the flour and shake off any excess.
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until deep golden, about 4 to 5 minutes per side, without moving it around. Work in batches if needed so the pieces are not touching. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
- Make the sauce. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in the same skillet, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook until light golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually stir in the chicken broth and simmer until thickened. Stir in the lemon juice and capers.
- Taste and add salt and pepper as needed, then return the chicken to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Cutlets: If you cannot find chicken cutlets, slice boneless skinless breasts in half horizontally and pound to about ¼ inch thick.
- Pat the chicken dry before dredging. Damp chicken will not brown properly.
- Shake off all excess flour. Loose flour clumps in the pan and makes the sauce gummy.
- Do not crowd the skillet. Cook in batches so the chicken sears instead of steams.
- Salt at the end. Capers and broth are both salty, so taste the sauce before adjusting.
- No capers? Substitute an equal amount of chopped green olives, or leave them out and add an extra squeeze of lemon.
- White wine option: Replace ¼ cup of the chicken broth with a dry white wine and reduce it before adding the rest.
- For crisper chicken, skip returning it to the pan and spoon the sauce over at the plate instead.
- Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet over low heat with a splash of broth. Avoid the microwave, which separates the sauce.
- Serving: Best over angel hair pasta or mashed potatoes.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
