Mom’s Best Chicken Piccata

ByAnna + Liz Published Updated
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Mom’s Best Chicken Piccata is made with tender pieces of chicken dipped in flour and seared until golden. Then they are simmered in a lemon-butter sauce until they are juicy, tender, and melt in your mouth!  Cooked in ONE skillet, and it’s ready in 30 minutes makes this the BEST Chicken Piccata ever!

A black skillet with cooked chicken topped with lemon slices and fresh parsley and capers.

Mom’s Best Chicken Piccata

Our Mom’s Best Chicken Piccata is sure to please a crowd! With its zesty lemon flavors and tender, juicy chicken, it becomes amazing!

A classic chicken dish, this easy recipe will transform everyday chicken cutlets into something spectacular!  It’s easy enough for a weeknight dinner.

How To Make This Dish?

Chicken cutlets are quickly seared and simmered in a sauce made with wine, lemon juice, butter, capers, and chicken broth. Delicious, combining fresh lemon juice with a few staple ingredients creates a rich and flavorful sauce with NO fuss!

Perfect to serve with a side of linguine, to soak up some of that delicious piccata sauce. But, we love it best with a side of our Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon Sauce.  The more lemon … the tastier this meal turns out!!

Best of all, this meal is not expensive either.

Reasons we love this Chicken Piccata:

  • It’s made with thin chicken cutlets.
  • The sauce is made with 4 ingredients.
  • It’s budget-friendly.
  • This is a one-skillet meal for easy cleanup.
  • It’s ready in under 30 minutes.
  • It serves a family of 4.
  • Extremely flavorful, and the chicken practically melts in your mouth!

A white plate with chicken, capers, lemon sauce and a side of linguine.

What kind of chicken is best for this recipe?

  • First, it’s easier to buy chicken cutlets from your local butcher.  Simply because they’re already cleaned, pounded, and thinly sliced for you. 
  • You may pay a little more, but it’s worth it, and shopping local supports your local butchers.
  • Keep in mind that most (but not all) packages of chicken cutlets you pick up from the supermarkets do not come thoroughly cleaned.  So you may have to do some of the work yourself, including removing excess fat, pounding them, and even slicing them thinner yourself.  (…more prep work)

 

Tips for Success!

  • Dusting: It’s best to dust the chicken cutlets with flour gives them some added texture.  The chicken retains its moisture while cooking, making them very tender and juicy.  If you make chicken piccata without flour, the chicken will turn out tough and even dry.
  • Simmer: Simmering the chicken with capers gives the sauce more flavor.  There’s no need to add any additional salt to this recipe, at least I didn’t think so.  The capers are salty enough to give this chicken piccata and its sauce a lot of depth in flavor.
  • Additional Lemon: Our mom prefers to use a lot of fresh lemon juice with this recipe.  The more lemon flavor, the more we love it!  So I used two large lemons, rather than small ones.

Let’s Make It!

Directions to Make the Best Chicken Piccata:

Our full recipe card is located at the bottom. But first, let’s run through these easy steps for you to understand what’s involved before you start.

  1. First, lightly dust the chicken with flour. Next, sear the chicken in a skillet with some olive oil and butter until golden brown and fully cooked. Then transfer the chicken to a nearby plate.
  2. Next, make the lemon and wine sauce in the same skillet. Add the butter, wine, and lemon juice, and scrape the stir the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Simmer the sauce for about 1 minute.
  3. Transfer the cooked chicken back into the skillet. Pour in the chicken broth. Toss in fresh parsley and capers and cover with a lid. Simmer for a few minutes more, add some slices of lemon to the top. And the chicken is ready.
Cooking chicken cutlets in a black skillet, then butter and lemon juice is added and then lemon slices are placed on top the cooked chicken.

VIDEO: How to Make Mom’s Best Chicken Piccata? (1-minute)

Options for Sides to Serve It With

There are many sides you can serve with chicken piccata. Try any of the options listed below, and you’ll have a delicious dinner.

To Store, Reheat, and Freeze…

  • STORE: Allow the piccata to cool before storing it in a sealed container. Then store it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
  • REHEAT: Place leftovers on a microwave-safe plate, and reheat them for about 1 minute or more until they start to sizzle. Then remove and enjoy! Or you can reheat it in a skillet, on low heat on the stovetop.
  • FREEZE: Allow the piccata to cool down before storing it. Then store in a sealed container and freeze. Best to freeze chicken piccata only for up to one month.

Q & A…

  • 1. Can We Use Chicken Breasts? Yes, but you will need to slice them horizontally into thinner cutlets and then pound them before cooking.
  • 2. Can We Make Chicken Piccata Ahead? Yes, you can. You can make the entire dish early in the day and leave it covered on the stove. Keep in mind that the sauce will get absorbed the longer it sits while cooling down.
  • 3. How to Reheat? When you’re ready to reheat it for dinner, turn on the low heat and bring it to a low simmer. If you prefer more sauce? Here is where you can add additional chicken broth, about 1/4 cup or more, to increase the amount of the sauce.

A black skillet filled with cooked chicken pieces with capers and lemon slices.

A Delicious Meal…

When you try our mom’s recipes you will see for yourself how tender and juicy the chicken turns out.  They practically melt in your mouth!   

You may even enjoy our:  Veal Piccata with Lemon. It’s made with thin slices of veal, loaded with lemon juice, wine, and capers, and it makes a wonderful meal! Also, try our seafood recipe for Best Salmon Piccata! Try our recipe.  It won’t disappoint.

ENJOY!

More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love!

Tried this recipe? Let us know and leave a comment with a star rating on the recipe card!  Your insights and experiences will not only help our readers but will help us too! 

A white dinner plate with a cooked chicken with lemon sauce and capers and a side of spaghetti.

Mom's Best Chicken Piccata

Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Mom's Best Chicken Piccata is made with boneless thinly sliced chicken cutlets sauteed and finished off with a lemon-butter sauce. Juicy and delicious, cooked all in one skillet and ready in 30 minutes!

Ingredients

  • 1 (16-ounces) package of thin boneless chicken cutlets
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
  • 1 garlic clove - thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus extra, if needed
  • 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter - divided
  • dash of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 + 1/2 Tbsp. capers
  • 2 lemons -divided (1 lemon juiced, and 1 lemon cut 1/4-inch slices)
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • fresh chopped parsley, as garnish
  • Himalayan salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. First, take chicken cutlets and cut each piece in half if they are too large. Then lightly sprinkle on top with some salt and black pepper.
  2. Take each piece of chicken (one at a time) and coat both sides with flour, and shake off excess flour. Set aside.
  3. In a large deep skillet, and on medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of butter. Add in the sliced garlic. When the oil is hot, add in the chicken pieces and saute the chicken for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until golden. This takes about 5 minutes. The chicken will absorb some of the olive oil while cooking. Therefore, as you are sauteing the chicken, if you need to add more olive oil to the pan, then add an additional tablespoon while sauteing the chicken.
  4. Sprinkle additional salt and black pepper to season the chicken while sauteing.
  5. Then remove each chicken cutlet as they are cooked, and transfer it to a nearby plate.
  6. In the same skillet, pour in the wine, juice of one lemon, and a dash of crushed red pepper flakes. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze the lemon sauce, for about 30 seconds to one minute. Add in 2 tablespoons of butter.
  7. Transfer the chicken back into the skillet, pour in chicken broth, and toss in the capers and parsley. COVER with a lid. Allow the sauce to come to a low boil, for about 2 minutes. Lower the heat to the lowest. Then top each chicken with thin slices of lemon and COVER again.
  8. Allow the chicken piccata to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes more. Turn off the heat.
  9. Uncover and sprinkle with some freshly chopped parsley. And serve.
  10. Yields: 3 to 4 servings

Notes

Serve with a side of linguine with butter or olive oil or mashed potatoes to soak up some of that delicious lemon sauce.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3 to 4 servings Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 398Total Fat: 24.3gCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: .03gSugar: .05gProtein: 34g

Did you make this recipe?

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© 2 sisters recipes
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Chicken Recipes

Happy Cooking! 🙂

xo anna and liz

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16 Comments

  1. Made this last night. Was very good. I added more chicken broth because it was a little too lemony for our liking and it turned out fine! Thank you for the recipe.

    Reply

    1. Oh thank you so much Caroline! And, that’s a great tip for everyone who prefers less lemon flavor. Thanks again, and for your support. We appreciate you stopping by and leaving a sweet comment. Have a great weekend! 🙂

      Reply

  2. Just made this tonight, very tasty! I love the kick of the red pepper flakes. Thanks for sharing I will definitely make this again when my kids are back home from college!

    Reply

    1. Aw, thank you so much Julie!! So glad to hear you enjoyed our moms recipe! And welcome to our recipe blog, it’s nice to meet you!! looking forward to hearing from you again. 🙂

      Reply

  4. Ya know? I’ve never made chicken piccata! Probably because my husband won’t eat capers. I’ll keep this recipe for the next time my girlfriend spends the night. She’ll love it!

    Reply

    2. HI Mimi! You may leave out the capers if you prefer. Capers have a flavor described as lemony, olivey, and salty, and much of the briny and vinegary taste comes from its packaging.
      Just add a little more lemon.

      Reply

  7. I’m so glad you put up a recipe for Chicken Piccata. I love chicken prepared like this and will be trying it out over the weekend. Thank you! It sounds delicious, especially with the lemon flavour!

    Reply

    1. Thank you Sandra! This is one of my favorite meals and just love the ease of it! No stress!!
      Let us know how it turns out for you!! Love to hear about…. have s great day!

      Reply