Lemon Chicken Piccata Recipe (2024)

This delicious Lemon Chicken Piccata is bursting with flavor. Crispy, golden chicken dusted with flour, lemon, Italian herbs, and just a hint of garlic, this will become a new favorite around your table.

Click for a perfect Italian Pasta Salad recipe to match this Chicken Piccata!

Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata is an American take on a traditional Italian dish usually made with veal. Thinly-sliced chicken breast is dredged in seasoned flour and cooked to a golden brown. It’s served in a tangy reduction made of lemon juice, capers, butter, and white wine. This cooking method is very similar to my chicken scampi pasta recipe. Some people enjoy chicken piccata as is, but it can also be served with mashed potatoes, gnocchi, or pasta, depending on personal preference.

Chicken Piccata is a simple, yet elegant dish. It’s also a quick one! You can have this delicious meal on the table in 30 minutes, making it both convenient and tasty. So, if you’re looking for a flavorful meal that doesn’t take a lot of time (but looks like it did), give this Lemon Chicken Piccata recipe a try.

What to serve with chicken piccata

• Pasta
• Mashed potatoes
• Gnocchi (Potato Gnocchi Recipe with Parmesan Sauce)
• Rice (Wild Brown Rice)
• Steamed vegetables

Make this recipe ahead of time

To save time, you can make this Lemon Chicken Piccata in advance. Just follow the recipe instructions, and slightly undercook the chicken to avoid it getting rubbery when reheated. Once finished, allow it to cool. Then, store the chicken piccata in a tightly-sealed container and place it in the refrigerator until you are almost ready to serve it.

About 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve the meal, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place the chicken piccata in a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until heated throughout.

The ingredients

• Chicken Breasts
• For the Flour Dredge- Flour, Italian herbs, Salt, Pepper, Paprika
• For the Sauce- Shallots, Garlic, Butter, White wine, Chicken broth, Lemon juice, Artichoke hearts, Capers (green olives can be substituted if you don’t like capers)

How to make chicken piccata

1. Prep the garlic and shallots. Chop the shallots and mince the garlic, then set aside.

2. Cut the chicken. Slice each chicken breast in half, so you have 2 thin slices for each breast. Then, beat each one with a meat mallet until they have an even thickness, about 1/4-inch.

3. Make the flour dredge. Add the Italian herbs, salt, black pepper, paprika, and flour to a bowl and whisk together. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture.

4. Dredge the chicken. Dredge both sides of each chicken breast in the flour mixture.

5. Cook the chicken breasts. Over medium-high heat, fully cook each chicken breast in a skillet with olive oil.

6. Set aside. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet and set aside.

7. Cook the shallots and garlic. In the same skillet, add 2 tbsp of butter and sauté the shallots and garlic over medium heat. Cook until the shallots become translucent.

8. Add the wine. Add the wine to the skillet and let it cook out for about 2-3 minutes.

9. Add the chicken broth. Add the chicken broth and cook for another 2 minutes. Then, place the chicken breasts back in the skillet.

10. Thicken the sauce. Make a roux by combining 2 tbsp of. the reserved flour mixture and 2 tbsp of softened butter. Add it to the skillet.

21. Add the last ingredients. Add the lemon juice, quartered artichoke hearts, and rinsed capers to the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes. Serve.

What kind of white wine to use for this recipe

For this Lemon Chicken Piccata, I used a dry sherry. Basically, you want to use a white wine that is dry and crisp, not sweet. Some other options are:

• Sauvignon Blanc
• Pinot Grigio
• Pinot Blanc

You just want to make sure that the wine you choose has a high acidity, which makes it better suited to cooking, and compliments the flavors of your dish (in this case, the lemon juice and herbs go great with a dry white wine). Brand doesn’t matter as much, so long as it is of decent quality (i.e. drinkable).

Can I freeze chicken piccata?

Yes. This Lemon Chicken Piccata is so easy, and you can freeze it either before or after you make it. To freeze beforehand, prepare the sauce and let it cool before placing it in a ziplock freezer bag. Place the chicken breasts in another. Freeze. Then, when you’re ready, just dredge and cook the chicken, heat the sauce, and combine.

If you’ve already made your chicken piccata, just store it in an airtight container and freeze. To reheat, thaw it and bake it in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes. Reheating the chicken in the oven helps reduce the sogginess that can occur after freezing.

Lemon Chicken Piccata can last in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Other delicious Italian dishes!

• Italian pasta salad
• Amaretti cookies
• Tiramisu cake
• Caprese salad
• Balsamic glaze

Full Recipe Instructions

This recipe was originally published on January 15, 2016, but we have tweaked it a bit since then.