Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is a quick and delicious meal of pan-fried chicken cutlets served with a rich pan sauce.  (Recipe Updated 6/26/2022)

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you invited guests over for dinner, but you forgot to plan for it?  No, just me?  Anyways… you begin panicking, desperately trying to think of something to cook.  But everything you come up with will take too long before the guest arrives, so you just end up ordering pizza.  

Well, if you pay attention during today’s lesson then you won’t have to order that pizza. Because I’m going to teach you a great dish that will take no more than 20 minutes from the first second of prep work to the moment that you take your first bite.  That dish is chicken piccata!

What is Chicken Piccata?

Chicken piccata is an incredibly simple and delicious dish of Italian origin.  And making it all starts by turning boneless skinless chicken breasts into cutlets/scallopini.  Which might sound fancy if you’ve never done it.  But it’s really just the process of cutting them in half and pounding them into thin pieces.  Trust me it’s easy!

Once the breasts are turned into cutlets/scallopini they are then seasoned with some salt & pepper, dredged in a bit of flour, and pan-fried until golden brown.

But the real flavor of the dish comes from the pan sauce that is made from the leftover drippings.  First, you pour a bit of dry white wine into the pan to deglaze it and strip up all of the delicious browned bits.  Which is followed up with the addition of butter, lemon juice, and capers.  And after a few minutes of simmering, you are left with a thick, and rich sauce that you can pour over the cooked chicken pieces. 

Tips, Tricks & Suggestions

• If you’d like to learn more on how to turn chicken breasts into cutlets/scallopini then I highly recommend you check out our in-depth lesson. 
• Once you’ve mastered this dish you can try it out with other types of meat.  For example, you can easily swap out the chicken with either pork chops, or beef/veal steaks without having to change anything.  Or if you want a lighter dish you can use thin fish fillets like dover sole or catfish.  Just keep in mind that you don’t typically need to cut or pound fish fillets, as they should already be thin enough.  
• Some side dishes I like to serve this with are Mashed Potatoes, Parsley Potatoes, Chicken Herb Rice, and Baked Asparagus.

Chicken Piccata Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 Chicken breasts, boneless & skinless

Salt & pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 Tablespoons of salted butter

3 Tablespoons of olive oil

½ cup dry white wine

Juice from one large lemon, plus the zest

¼ cup capers

2 Tablespoons of flat leaf parsley, minced

Instructions

1. Make chicken cutlet/scallopini:  Take one of the chicken breasts and lay it flat on a cutting board.  Hold the chicken breast down on the board with your non-cutting hand.  Then take a sharp knife and carefully slice the chicken horizontally into two thin pieces.  Chances are that your pieces will be a bit irregular with some spots being thicker/thinner than others. To solve this simply place a piece of chicken into a plastic bag. Then take a meat pounder and pound the thick areas of the chicken until it has a uniform thickness.  Repeat this process until all of the cutlets/scallopinis are made. 

2. Season and dredge the chicken:  Lightly season all of the chicken cutlets/scallopinis with some salt and pepper on each side.  Then get out a bowl or walled tray, and add the ½ cup of flour to it.  Follow this up by dredging each piece of the chicken in the flour, and shake off any excess flour.  Set the dredged pieces of chicken aside on a plate.

3. Pan-fry the chicken: Add 1 Tablespoon of butter and all 3 tablespoons of the oil to a large, walled pan. Place this over medium-high heat until the butter has melted.  Then add each piece of the chicken to the hot pan, and let them cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip each piece of chicken over and let them cook the other side for a similar amount of time.  Once all pieces are done transfer them to individual plates and move on to making the sauce.

4. Make the sauce: This process will be quick, so don’t walk away.  First, with the heat still on medium-high add the white wine, and deglaze the pan for about 1 minute.  Then add the lemon juice, lemon zest, capers, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir this all together and let the sauce simmer down for another couple of minutes or until it has become nice and thick.

5. Pour the sauce over each piece of chicken, sprinkle with some parsley, and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Chicken Piccata Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken breasts boneless & skinless
• Salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 Tablespoons of salted butter
• 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
• ½ cup dry white wine
• Juice from one large lemon plus the zest
• ¼ cup capers
• 2 Tablespoons of flat leaf parsley minced

Instructions

• Make chicken cutlet/scallopini:  Take one of the chicken breasts and lay it flat on a cutting board.  Hold the chicken breast down on the board with your non-cutting hand.  Then take a sharp knife and carefully slice the chicken horizontally into two thin pieces.  Chances are that your pieces will be a bit irregular with some spots being thicker/thinner than others. To solve this simply place a piece of chicken into a plastic bag. Then take a meat pounder and pound the thick areas of the chicken until it has a uniform thickness.  Repeat this process until all of the cutlets/scallopinis are made.
• Season and dredge the chicken:  Lightly season all of the chicken cutlets/scallopinis with some salt and pepper on each side.  Then get out a bowl or walled tray, and add the ½ cup of flour to it.  Follow this up by dredging each piece of the chicken in the flour, and shake off any excess flour.  Set the dredged pieces of chicken aside on a plate.
• Pan-fry the chicken: Add 1 Tablespoon of butter and all 3 tablespoons of the oil to a large, walled pan. Place this over medium-high heat until the butter has melted.  Then add each piece of the chicken to the hot pan, and let them cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip each piece of chicken over and let them cook the other side for a similar amount of time.  Once all pieces are done transfer them to individual plates and move on to making the sauce.
• Make the sauce: This process will be quick, so don’t walk away.  First, with the heat still on medium-high add the white wine, and deglaze the pan for about 1 minute.  Then add the lemon juice, lemon zest, capers, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir this all together and let the sauce simmer down for another couple of minutes or until it has become nice and thick.
• Pour the sauce over each piece of chicken, sprinkle with some parsley, and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Inspiration from other blogs

From Simply Recipes

From Cafe Delites