Chicken Piccata Recipe

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Zesty, light, and bold, this easy chicken piccata recipe is a great weeknight dinner recipe that is lemon based with perfectly seasoned and seared chicken!

Chicken and pasta dinners are a favorite weeknight meal for two reasons.

  1. They’re quick to make.
  2. Chicken and pasta dinners are satisfying!

Some of our other favorite chicken and pasta dinner recipes are our easy chicken parmesan, chicken tetrazzini casserole, and when we want to be adventurous we make our famous buffalo chicken mac n’ cheese bowls!

A skillet of pasta and chicken

What is chicken piccata?

Chicken piccata is a lemon, butter, and capers based Italian dish that is typically made with chicken, although you can make it with veal or another lean protein of your choosing.

For the traditional chicken piccata, the boneless chicken is typically made with a heavy coating of flour that is lightly fried until golden.

For a healthy chicken piccata recipe, we’re skipping on the flour. Simply season the chicken and sear it to perfection. All of the flavor, less of the fat!

What does chicken piccata taste like?

The chicken piccata sauce is the star of the dish. Piccata is bold with it’s zesty citrus taste from fresh lemon juice, and rich silkiness from butter.

The capers, which taste like tiny olives, offer a crunch and the perfect balance with salt. We’re taking a play from Olive Garden’s Chicken Piccata by adding in sun dried tomatoes.

This easy dinner dish is heavenly, easy to make, and tastes like it was just ordered from a 5 star restaurant!

lemons on a cutting board

Ingredients Used In Chicken Piccata

  • olive oil
  •  lemon pepper seasoning
  •  thin sliced chicken breasts
  • garlic
  • sliced lemon
  • lemon juice
  • high quality butter
  • sun-dried tomatoes 
  • capers
  • parsley
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
sundried tomatoes on a cutting board

How To Make Chicken Piccata

To make chicken piccata we are first going to season our thin sliced chicken with lemon pepper seasoning.

**Seasoning Substitute: If you do not have lemon pepper seasoning, use salt, pepper, ground thyme, and add a little bit of lemon zest or lemon juice while seasoning the chicken.**

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

  • Ask your butcher to thin slice your chicken breasts; or pound your chicken breasts and butterfly them to create thinner chicken breasts at home.
  • Do not let your garlic burn! Burnt garlic will make the entire dish bitter. Cook for only up to 30 seconds before adding in the lemon juice and butter.
  • Choose a lean protein. If you do not want to use chicken breasts, you can choose boneless chicken thighs, shrimp, or veal!
chicken in s skillet

Once your chicken is seasoned, you will warm olive oil over a large pan on medium high heat. Sear both sides of the chicken until it’s a beautiful golden brown with nice char marks here and there.

This should take about 3-5 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. The thinner the chicken breasts the quicker it will cook.

Remember, do not overcook your chicken, when you put it to the side, the heat will continue cooking the chicken.

chicken in a skillet

Place the chicken to the side.

In the same pan over medium to medium high heat, keep in the drippings from the chicken and add in the lemon slices and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for a minute before adding in your garlic.

Saute an additional 30 seconds before moving on to the next step.

sun dried tomatoes and lemons in a skillet

After 30 seconds of the garlic sauteing, add in your good quality butter. European butter has an amazingly rich taste to it!

Also add in your capers and lemon juice.

**Pro Tip: If you enjoy cooking with wine, a few tablespoons of good quality drinking white wine can be added now.**

Reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook until the lemon juice begins to reduce and thicken.

Toss in your pasta to coat with the chicken piccata sauce or skip the pasta and use just cooked chicken for a low carb or keto chicken piccata recipe.

Allow chicken to reheat and serve immediately.

lemons, butter and tomatoes in a skillet

What should I serve with chicken?

This Italian chicken recipe is typically served with spaghetti pasta, but it’s okay to change things up.

Here are some side dish ideas of what to serve:

Best Vegetables To Serve With Chicken

Chicken piccata will naturally go great with a simple tossed salad that has croutons and Parmesan cheese over it.

Here are additional ideas for vegetables:

A close up of a plate of food with chicken and pasta

Can you freeze chicken piccata?

Wondering if you can freeze leftover chicken piccata? Yes, you can freeze chicken piccata. I highly suggest you do not freeze the pasta. Make it fresh when it’s time to reheat the chicken.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

  • Freeze this recipe by placing the chicken with it’s juices into a Ziploc freezer bag. Squeeze out all of the air and date the bag.
  • Freeze flat on a baking dish in order to be able to stand it in your freezer to save space.
  • To reheat the frozen chicken first thaw it by placing the whole bag into a large bowl with cool water for 10-20 minutes. Then dump the contents into an oven safe bowl to reheat in the oven at a temperature of about 365 Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or microwave the chicken for about 3 minutes, or until it heats through.

Here are some more Italian Recipes We Think You’ll Love!

Chicken Piccata Recipe with lemon and capers
Chicken Piccata Recipe with lemon and capers

Chicken Piccata Recipe

4.72 from 7 votes
Servings 4
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
  • 4 thin sliced chicken breasts
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • ½ lemon (sliced)
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3-4 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (julienned)
  • 2 tablespoons capers (rinsed and drained)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • Pasta (cooked for serving)

Instructions
 

  • Season chicken breasts with lemon pepper seasoning.
  • In a large pan, over medium high heat, add oil and warm through before adding chicken. Sear chicken for 4-5 minutes per side, once juices run clear.
  • Remove chicken to a warm plate and set aside.
  • Once chicken is removed, use a paper towel to wipe out excess oil from pan. Add in garlic and sundried tomatoes, cook for a minute before adding in lemon slices and lemon juice.
  • Allow lemon juice to reduce before adding in butter, capers, and parsley.
  • Allow butter to melt and then add in cooked chicken cooked pasta.

Notes

The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 4 people, with 1 serving being 1 chicken breast with sauce (no pasta). Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 367mg | Potassium: 722mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 339IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Calories 328
Keyword 30 minute dinner, easy chicken recipe, easy dinner idea
A dish is filled with food, with Chicken and Pasta

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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GrandTina
3 years ago

5 stars
Great recipe! I had planned to make homemade noodles and remembered when the chicken was done cooking. Rats! So, I made rice and put the tomato mixture on top. It was good. My husband of few words said it was ok. (Which means good)

Anita
3 years ago

5 stars
Tonight made chicken piccata. It was delicious. Taste amazing not a heavy meal great without creams and high fat content. Our new fast favourite.

Eber Tripp
3 years ago

I’m making this for my wife on Mothers Day as the kids can’t come. Thank you. Anything for an air fryer?