The ultimate easy meal that will impress family or guests is this Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata! The chicken is lightly breaded and pan-fried resulting in tender, juicy chicken with a crisp coating and served with a creamy lemon caper sauce.
For busy families, 30-minute meals are lifesavers, but it’s an even bigger bonus when they seem fancy or impressive, like this Chinese Chow Mein, Mongolian Beef, and Hibachi Chicken.
We’re going for amazing homemade Italian here, and I can tell you right now that Chicken Piccata (pick-ah-tah) wil be a winner every time! If you’ve ever had it at a restaurant you may have had chicken or veal and it’s typically breaded, fried and served with a creamy sauce. It’s a popular recipe found at many Italian restaurants (sometimes called Chicken Limone) but it’s SO easy and yummy made at home. Serve it over mashed potatoes or angel hair pasta with roasted veggies on the side.
What I LOVE about this reciep:
- 30 minute meal
- Kid friendly. My kids LOVED this meal (capers and all!). They were literally licking their plates clean. And I’d dare to say it is just as delicious as the version at Brio, and very easy to make.
- Fancy but not fancy. This easy meal looks like you spent days in the kitchen but it comes together so fast!
How to Make Lemon Chicken Piccata:
1. Slice chicken Breasts. Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally (“butterfly” cutting them) so that you’re left with 4 thin chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Dredge Chicken. In three separate bowls, prepare a beaten egg, flour, and breadcrumbs for dredging. Coat the chicken on both sides in the flour, then egg wash, and then breadcrumbs.
3. Pan fry. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Set aside onto a plate.
4. Make sauce. To the same pan, add chicken broth, cream, juice from both lemons, and capers. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Allow the sauce to cook and bubble for about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to pan and coat with sauce.
5. Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes or hot cooked pasta.
Serve with:
- Roasted Vegetables
- French Green Beans
- Side salad
- Shredded Brussels Sprouts
- Homemade Rolls
- Homemade Olive Garden Breadsticks
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Recipe
Chicken Piccata
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 lemons
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup capers
- hot cooked pasta or mashed potatoes for serving
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally (“butterfly” cutting them) so that you’re left with 4 thin chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper.
- Beat the egg in a shallow bowl with 1 tablespoon of water. Add the flour to another shallow bowl, and the breadcrumbs to a third shallow bowl.
- Coat the chicken on both sides in the flour, then egg wash, and then breadcrumbs.
- Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Set aside onto a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium low. Add chicken broth, cream, juice from both lemons, and capers. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Allow the sauce to cook and bubble for about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to pan.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes or hot cooked pasta.
- Serve with a side of Roasted Vegetables, steamed broccoli or green beans.
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
I originally shared this recipe December 2015. Updated February 2020 with process photos and instructions and a new video.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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Made this for the first time, absolutely delicious! I did use just lemon juice instead of actual lemons so I didn’t measure but still so good!
Had potential, but unfortunately way too lemony. I may try again with less lemon juice.
I’m so excited to try this but my wife can’t have cream/cows milk. Any suggestions that would work well for the heavy whipping cream?
My son and I both can’t have dairy, so I’ve learned to make substitutions. For heavy cream I make my own. I made a heavy cream instead of a whipped cream for this, and it works really well. I tend to make big batches and freeze the leftovers (Use ice cube trays and then transfer to a freezer bag when frozen. Thaw before use).
You need a high-powered blender for this. I use a ninja, but you can also use a vitamix. A cheaper blender will give you a grainer texture, and a good blender will give you a creamy texture. So the type of blender matters.
1 1/2 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cup water
Boil 3 cups of water. Pour the cashews into a bowl and pour the water over them. Let it sit for 30 min to 3 hrs (I usually do it about 2-3 hrs).Drain the cashews and rinse them with water.Place 1 1/2 cup of fresh water to the blender and add the cashews. Blend until creamy (about 3-5 minutes).
I added 1 cup of this to the dish because I wanted a little extra sauce. It came out really good and creamy!
This was delicious! Even with the heavy cream, the sauce wasn’t too thick. Mine was just right, served with instant mashed potatoes and roasted corn.
It was SOOOO good. I got chills down my entire body when I tried it. Definitely doubling the recipe when I make it again next week or in the next couple of weeks. Def love the recipe.
My whole family loved this!
Love this Chicken Picatta!!!! Absolutely delicious! Next time I will only add 1 lemon as it was a bit too much lemon for us but excellent still. Thank you Lauren for sharing all your amazing recipes. It has completely changed our dinner nights. Whole family loves them and even if it doesn’t completely suit our taste buds, only small adjustments needed to make it perfect for us.