This is one of those rare occasions when I cook with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I am not usually a big fan (of the taste/texture) except for when it comes to a super easy dish like this that gets two thumbs up from the whole family! FYI – If you plan to serve this chicken piccata over pasta or rice, consider doubling the sauce!
Quick Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, + more if necessary to prevent a "dry" pan
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, from about 2 lemons
- capers, optional garnish
- parsley, optional garnish
Instructions
-
Trim the fat off the chicken breasts and slice in half longways so you have 4 pieces total. Cover with plastic wrap and pound the chicken on both sides with a meat tenderizer. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour until all sides are covered (I like to spread the flour out on a plate to do this).
-
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chicken until brown on the outside and no longer pink on the inside, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and keep warm on a plate covered with foil while you make the sauce.
-
Pour the wine and lemon juice into the pan (still on medium heat). Scrape the brown bits off the bottom and cook for several minutes until reduced by half. Pour the sauce and desired garnishes over top of the chicken. Serve warm with pasta or rice ...and veggies of course!
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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LeAnn @ Real Fit, Real Food Mom
April 11, 2014 at 2:01 pmThis sounds great! I cook up boneless chicken breasts about once or twice a month. I look forward to trying this recipe soon. :)
Kathryn
April 11, 2014 at 2:03 pmThis looks amazing! This might be a dumb question, but where are capers located in the grocery store??
Laylan
April 11, 2014 at 2:08 pmCapers are in small jars next to the olives :)
Lauren
April 11, 2014 at 2:09 pmFood Network chef Melissa D’Arabian highlights chicken picatta in her cookbook, listing various combinations you can use for this recipe. Perfect for nights when I need to make use of what I already have. Thanks for posting!
natalia
April 11, 2014 at 2:28 pmMmmmmmm…..this looks so good and its dairy free so I can have it. Definitely trying this out over the weekend.
stacey
April 11, 2014 at 2:42 pmTrying to stay gluten free. If I use almond or coconut flour, do I get the same result or should I just forego the flour?
Erin
April 12, 2014 at 8:18 amI used almond flour, then dredged the chicken in egg, then in corn meal. It was amazing and my leftovers reheated nicely in my fry pan. Double the sauce, it just makes everything taste better. Bon appetite!
Lorena
April 11, 2014 at 2:44 pmI don’t consume alcohol, is there anything I can substitute for the white wine?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
April 14, 2014 at 2:09 pmHe Lorena. I think Teresa below was addressing your question: “For wine substitute, use same amount of fruit juice with a splash of vinegar. For white, try apple or white grape juice with white wine vinegar or plain white vinegar; for red wine use grape juice with apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar. It’s getting the fruity flavor plus the acid into the dish.” ~Amy
Theresa
April 11, 2014 at 3:06 pmFor wine substitute, use same amount of fruit juice with a splash of vinegar. For white, try apple or white grape juice with white wine vinegar or plain white vinegar; for red wine use grape juice with apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar. It’s getting the fruity flavor plus the acid into the dish.
Laura
April 11, 2014 at 8:40 pmLooks great! I also am not a big fan of boneless skinless chicken breasts, but there is occasionally a time and place of them … and pan sauté is one of them! This looks like a nice easy meal.
Michelle
April 12, 2014 at 8:12 amDo you think this recipe would be okay using only vinegar, as mentioned above? Also, any kind of white wine will work? Never really cooked with wine before. Thanks!
Jessica J
April 12, 2014 at 7:09 pmThe number one rule of cooking with wine is cooking with wine you would drink. If you use the $2 stuff and dont like the taste, dont cook with it because you wont like the taste of it cooked either… I have made chicken piccata with Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay and they were both good =)
Critical Reader
April 15, 2014 at 2:26 amI like wine, so I normally just sacrifice some of the wine I would anyways have with the dish. But for me, cheap wine (which I would not drink by itself) or cooking wine works for cooking too. I don’t think vinegar alone would be a good substitute. The recipe itself sounds alredy extremely acidic. Maybe chicken broth and a generous chunk of butter would be a good substitute…
Maryea {happy healthy mama}
April 12, 2014 at 8:23 amI feel the same way about boneless, skinless chicken breasts, although I agree they are better in recipes like this. Unfortunately the rest of my family aren’t fans of thighs or legs. Those are my faves!
Jessica J
April 12, 2014 at 7:11 pmMake sure you rinse the capers =) They are in a salt solution in the jar and can be very salty if not rinsed =)
laramealor.com
April 14, 2014 at 12:11 pmfunny my family feels the same about chicken breast , thinking they would like them cook like this tho :) I will give it a try
http://www.laramealor.com/5-mucus-reducing-foods-really-work/
Ginger
April 14, 2014 at 6:22 pmWhat cut of chicken do u usually cook with?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
April 15, 2014 at 9:11 pmHi Ginger. Lisa very often cooks with the whole chicken: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/02/25/recipe-the-best-whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/. Other recipes are from local/organic chicken breasts. ~Amy
Julia
April 14, 2014 at 6:59 pmMade this tonight. The chicken turned out great but we found the “sauce” to be too strong (too much lemon, and my family likes lemon). I’ll make it again for sure but cut the lemon juice in half and add some chicken broth maybe
Diana
April 14, 2014 at 9:02 pmLoved this recipe! Made tonight for dinner…don’t care for capers and neither do my hubby and daughter, so we substituted mushrooms instead. Still thought it was very good and easy!
Diana
April 14, 2014 at 9:03 pmOh by the way we cut back the lemon juice and added chicken broth…helped a lot.
Nikkie
April 14, 2014 at 10:32 pmI made this tonight, easy to make and chicken was good. The lemon was way too overwhelming. We just put a tiny bit over the chicken and had to toss most of it. Next time I will use a fraction of the lemon and maybe add chicken stock. Honestly, I think you could just squeeze a fresh lemon over the cooked chicken for the same taste.
Allison
April 15, 2014 at 11:21 amI always substitute chicken broth for wine. I don’t cook (or drink) with wine at all.
Dani
April 15, 2014 at 11:30 amThis looks delicious and SO easy! Thanks for sharing:)
Robyn Vogel
April 15, 2014 at 12:41 pmfacebook
Donna
April 15, 2014 at 1:06 pmI made this last night for the family, and I agree with the other commenters that the lemon was pretty strong (I did not mind!). I am eating the leftovers for lunch, and the lemony taste is still very pronounced. I strained the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer, and that took out most of the brown bits and left a very silky sauce for the bucatini. Served it all with asparagus. This is a good recipe to have at the ready because we usually have all the ingredients on hand!
Clarissa
April 15, 2014 at 7:14 pmMy family gobbled this up!! (I omitted the capers though.)
Inkeri
April 17, 2014 at 12:42 pmThe sauce was way too sour. I had to repair the damage by adding extra water, sugar and stock cubes. What a disaster and this was my first recipe from this website.
Jordan
April 22, 2014 at 8:18 pmJust made this recipe for dinner tonight! My boyfriend and I both loved it and did not think the sauce was too sour. We used almost 1/4 a cup of lemon juice. I did add a bit of the wheat flour to the sauce to thicken it up which turned out well. Served it with brown rice and broccolini. Will definitely be making this recipe again soon! Very easy!!
Francoise
April 23, 2014 at 3:37 pmMy family loved the chicken – so moist and delicious. For the sauce, I only used half of one lemon, and added a cup of homemade chicken stock. It was plenty lemony+wine-flavored-my kids asked for less lemon next time. Still working out the sauce-will make my chicken breasts like this from now on.
Nicole
April 24, 2014 at 8:52 pmI made this tonight and it was so good! My husband and all 3 kids loved it, which is rare! I even burned the sauce a bit and it was still good. Can’t wait to make it again!
Megan
April 30, 2014 at 6:29 pmWe made this tonight and enjoyed it! I didn’t have white wine so I replaced that with chicken broth and a bit of butter. I doubled the amount of wine (chicken broth) to one cup and used the 1/4 cup lemon the recipe called for. The sauce over the chicken was very tasty, in my opinion , especially with the capers as a garnish. I served the chicken with broccoli and brown rice. I think the sauce was slightly too lemony as a sauce for the rice, but I typically eat my rice plain anyway. I don’t think this recipe was quite as delicious/phenomenal as some of Lisa’s other recipes, but a great, quick weeknight meal!
Heather
April 30, 2014 at 9:19 pmMy 5 year old son loved this super easy recipe. He asked for seconds, that never happens. Thank you!!!
Jenn
May 6, 2014 at 8:00 pmI made this for dinner tonight, and I loved it! It couldn’t have been easier.
cuongnguyencat
May 8, 2014 at 10:55 amthanks a lot. I’m gonna make it
Megan
June 4, 2014 at 10:23 pmVery good! I served over whole wheat penne with steamed carrots on the side. I added a little grated pecorino romano cheese. Next time I will double the sauce part as it seemed we didn’t quite have enough. Already had the chicken breasts sauteed from a package we opened and used the other night. That made it even quicker and easier!
click here
June 28, 2014 at 5:21 amOnce you’ve got learned principles how to bake chicken breasts you can actually add any spices and other flavors in their eyes, The breasts will probably be great tasting. I get information from click here
Martha Nethers
July 5, 2014 at 2:46 pmThis was Amazing!!!! I posted a photo of my creation on FB and my friends all want to come over for dinner now!
It was yummy, yummy, yummy!
Brooke Hoffman
July 26, 2014 at 8:19 pmWe loved this recipe, but used apple juice instead of the white wine
jane
April 26, 2015 at 7:48 ami loved this if you like baking chicken then this is the reipe for you!
Audrey
June 4, 2015 at 1:10 pmChicken Piccata just isn’t the same without cappers, butter and cream and parmesan cheese. I made those modifications. It helps to thicken the sauce and of course adds so much more flavor.
I cant fairly rate the recipe since I, for the most part, did my own thing.
Kim
August 2, 2015 at 7:37 pmThe amount of lemon juice in this recipe is way too much and it overpowers everything else in the dish. I had to add 2 tsp. of baking soda to reduce the acidity before it was palatable. Next time I make this, I will add the lemon juice a tablespoon at a time until I get the “just right” amount.
Barbara
October 11, 2015 at 6:10 pmI am not a fan of lemon and usually replace it with lime, which has a much milder flavor.
Melissa Jenks-Olivit
December 7, 2017 at 1:54 pmPerhaps you could recommend covering the plate with a pan lid as opposed to one time use foil.
LInda Solomon
March 13, 2018 at 3:30 pmOr perhaps parchment paper or another plate?
LInda Solomon
March 13, 2018 at 3:29 pmHI LIsa, Thank you so much for posting your recipe for Chicken Piccata! I have “The Joy of Cooking” and so many other wonderful cookbooks, but to just have the recipe right here so great that you shared! I first tried this in a restaurant decades ago and just love it. Thanks so much again, LInda