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Easy Healthy Chicken Piccata Recipe

This healthy and easy Chicken Piccata recipe is intensely flavorful, with sautéd lemons and garlic. It’s a fail-proof Italian chicken recipe that’s an absolute keeper.

chicken piccata in a pan
This chicken piccata is healthy and easy to make.

Video: Watch Us Make This Recipe

Easy, Healthy Chicken Piccata Recipe

Easy, Healthy Chicken Piccata

If your regular chicken dinner routine craves some jazzing up, you’ve. come to the right place. We’ve got non-boring chicken on the menu for your busy weeknight dinner. As is our motto, we’re making food that tastes extraordinary using ordinary ingredients. Simple yet scrumptious. We’re talking scrumptious meals in 30 minutes, with 10 ingredients or less in one single pan. No compromise on flavor.

chicken piccata cooking in a pan
Cook chicken in plenty of this savory lemon caper sauce,

Buying Capers

This Chicken Piccata recipe is made up of a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Unless you serendipitously have a jar of capers sitting in your pantry, it might be the only ingredient you’ll need to buy for your chicken piccata dish. Luckily, it’s usually easy to find a little jar of briny capers on your grocery store shelves.

Capers are reminiscent of pickles, in miniature morsel form. In fact, you’ll usually find little jars of capers next to jars of pickles and olives at the grocery store. Because jars of capers are typically brined in salt, water, and vinegar, they keep really well in your fridge after opening (unopened jars can keep for a long time in your pantry.) These tiny capers provide the  salty/tangy flavor that’s classic in chicken piccata.

Just a light sprinkling of capers adds huge flavor, so you’ll have plenty left over in your little jar to keep for all your future chicken piccata nights.

Key Steps

Step 1: Always pat dry chicken with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Pound chicken down to an even thickness throughout.

Step 2: Season chicken on both sides.

Step 3: After cooking the chicken, make the sauce in the same skillet, using up the browned bits, which add a ton of flavor.

Step 4: Generously pour sauce over chicken while hot and serve immediately.

What to Serve with Chicken Piccata

Besides the briny kick of capers, this chicken piccata is intensely flavored with plenty of garlic, onion, and fresh lemon slices that are sautéd until gloriously browned. It’s a winning combination that results in tender, luscious chicken in one single pan.

There’s plenty of intensely flavorful sauce for dipping this rustic rosemary bread into, or you can serve all the goodness over this super easy spaghetti aglio e olio. Some other favorites include:

Whether it’s a casual, quick weeknight dinner or you’re hosting a weekend meal for friends, this chicken piccata is destined to be an instant hit.

chicken piccata in pan
Serve chicken piccata with potatoes, rice, pasta, or vegetables

Commonly Asked Questions

What is chicken piccata?

Chicken piccata is an Italian dish made with chicken breasts that are pounded thin, then dredged in flour and cooked in a lemon and caper sauce.

What can I serve with chicken piccata?

Chicken piccata pairs well with various side dishes such as pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, or a fresh salad. Some people also enjoy serving it with crusty bread to soak up the flavorful sauce.

Can I use something other than chicken breasts for chicken piccata?

Yes, you can use other cuts of chicken such as chicken cutlets or chicken thighs if you prefer. The cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the chicken, so adjust accordingly. We recommend staying with skinless/boneless cuts, for best flavor and ease of preparation.

Can I make chicken piccata ahead of time?

While chicken piccata is best enjoyed fresh, you can make certain preparations ahead of time. For example, you can pound the chicken breasts and refrigerate them until ready to cook. You can also prepare the sauce in advance and store it separately, though you won’t get the flavor benefit of incorporating the browned bits from cooked chicken. If you do cook this dish in advance, we suggest assembling the dish just before serving to maintain the best texture and flavor.

More to Cook and Eat

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chicken piccata in pan

Easy Healthy Chicken Piccata Recipe

4.96 from 75 ratings
This Easy, Healthy Chicken Piccata Recipe isn’t just another chicken dinner recipe. Chicken Piccata is an deliciously intense with flavorful dish with sauteéd lemons and garlic. This is an Italian chicken recipe you’ll want to add to your dinner rotation now.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

  • 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
  • ½ cup flour
  • 3 TB extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1 large lemon
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup regular chicken broth
  • 1 TB capers, drained
  • 1 TB salted butter
  • kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Optional garnish: freshly chopped parsley

Instructions

  • Place chicken breasts on cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Pound to even thickness. Use paper towels to dab off excess moisture from chicken.
  • Sprinkle each piece of chicken with a thin layer of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. Place flour in a shallow dish. Coat each piece of chicken in flour, shaking off excess.
  • In an extra large skillet, heat 2 TB olive oil over medium high heat until oil is hot. Add chicken to skillet (cook in batches if needed, to avoid overcrowding.) Cook for 2-3 minutes of each side or until no longer pink in center; don’t overcook. Use tongs to transfer chicken to a separate plate; keep warm.
  • Without cleaning the skillet out, add 1 TB olive oil to same skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add onion and garlic, stirring 1-2 min until fragrant. Add lemon juice and lemon slices, scraping pan if needed to loosen any browned bits. Cook until lemon slices are nicely browned. Add broth, capers and butter, stirring just until butter melts. Pour lemon mixture over chicken and serve. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley, if desired.

Notes

  • Though piccata and capers go hand in hand, feel free to go light on the capers if your eaters (or you!) don’t like them. You can even omit them and still have a delicious dish.
  • This dish is fantastic served with this 15 Min Spaghetti Aglio e Olio or Garlic Rosemary Bread
  • If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ❤️ 

Nutrition (per serving)

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.2g | Protein: 9.1g | Fat: 14.6g | Saturated Fat: 3.5g | Cholesterol: 28.9mg | Sodium: 181.8mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 2.6g
Course: chicken, Dinner, Main
Cuisine: Italian
Diet: Low Lactose
Method: Stovetop

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Recipe Rating




64 comments

    • Joanna Davis
    • 5 stars

    This is actually one of the few chicken recipes that I eat, as I am not really a fan of chicken. I love the combination of lemons and garlic, it makes the chicken taste very flavoursome and combines sweet with sour tastes.

    • Lyosha Varezhkina

    very nice addition to the dish! I should definitely try to sparkle mine that way

    • Emily Leary

    This dish look so appetising with all those tasty ingredients!

    • alainamonster

    Sounds delicious! I love that it only takes 30 minutes to make. I’ll be adding this to my meal rotation for sure.

    • nausheen1shaikhgmailcom

    Wow….mouthwateing recipe & looks so tempting , Iam sure might have tasted awesome…Healthy & Tasty food is what I always advice to my clients as Nutritionist. …thanks

    • Corinne (@WhatCorinneDid)

    This looks so tasty! Chicken is one of the rare meats I eat and I always struggle to find different ways to coo it! I will for sure try this recipe!

    • Heather Barber McMechan
    • 5 stars

    This chicken piccata looks delicious! I’m even curious about the Thai Basil Chicken you shared. I’m always looking for chicken recipes for the week.

    • Neha

    Well I am a veg but when I saw this recipe I thought of reading through it. I am going to pass it to my husband who loves to cook Chicken and he will surely thank me for this . Thankyou for the tips shared.

    • Nina

    I’m always looking for different flavors to spice up chicken! The lemon and other spices sound like a great idea!

    • kumamonjeng

    I have never heard of Chicken Piccata! Great to learn it from your post that it is an Italian cuisine. By looking at the recipe it is quite easy to make and the ingredient used is quite healthy, chicken breast and lemon. I would love to try it out.

    • Alina

    I love the combination of lemon, pepper and parsley, it must taste heavenly! Also seems like a very easy recipe, thank you for sharing, I’m going to try it soon 😉

    • hillcitybride

    I’ve never made chicken piccata, but this looks doable! It’s also so lovely with the lemons on top. What a pretty touch! 🙂

    • Candice

    Oh my gosh yum! Pinned so I can pig out later! 😀

    • Carina Cyril

    Thanks for sharing these recipes, I like making simple but delicious meals- certainly provided more ideas.

    • Lisa Rios

    Wow, it looks so good! The picture made my mouth water. Lemon always makes food tasty zesty and look pretty.

    • Tara
    • 5 stars

    I had to pin this as well, it looks absolutely mouthwatering! anything to change up chicken i’m good with!

    • Elizabeth O

    This looks like a really healthy and quick recipe for chicken lovers. I am a veggie but I could use Quorn and enjoy this lovely recipe too.

    • Czjai Reyes-Ocampo
    • 5 stars

    So glad I stumbled upon this recipe! I’ve been looking for new chicken dishes to try, and this looks like something my family would love. 🙂

    • Megan

    Yuuuum this look way. too. good. Thank you for sharing! I think the lemons and garlic sound amazing here.

    • Karla Dela Rosa
    • 5 stars

    Love the recipes listed in here! I totally love creating new way of cooking chicken, ofcourse in a healthy way too! Such a great article thanks!

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