Classic Chicken Picatta is Italian-American food at its very best. Getting the chicken breasts nice and thin helps to deliver the classic texture. Serve with homemade focaccia bread and a Caesar salad for a perfect feast. And the dish comes together in about 30 minutes. Dinner perfection!
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🍋 The Ingredients
With just a handful of simple ingredients, Classic Chicken Piccata comes together to create a luxurious, restaurant-quality dish that’s timeless, elegant, and bursting with bright lemon-butter flavor. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
📝 Notes & Variations
- Chicken Cutlets: Use thinly sliced chicken breasts for quick, even cooking. If your chicken breasts are thick, slice them in half horizontally and gently pound them to about ¼-inch thickness for tender, juicy results.
Variation: Try the same sauce with veal or turkey cutlets for a delicious twist on the classic. - Flour: Lightly dredging the chicken in flour helps create a golden crust and slightly thickens the sauce.
Substitute: Use gluten-free flour or almond flour for a gluten-free version. - Olive Oil & Butter: The combination of olive oil and butter imparts a rich, balanced flavor and prevents the butter from burning.
Variation: For extra richness, finish the sauce with an extra pat of butter right before serving. - White Wine: Adds depth and acidity to the sauce. Choose a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
Substitute: Use extra chicken stock with a teaspoon of white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice if you prefer not to cook with wine. - Chicken Stock: Enhances the sauce’s body and savory flavor.
Tip: Use low-sodium stock so you can better control the saltiness of the final dish. - Lemon Zest & Juice: The bright, tangy flavor defines Chicken Piccata. Fresh lemon juice is essential—avoid bottled versions for the best taste.
Variation: Add a few thin lemon slices to the pan for a beautiful presentation and extra citrus aroma. - Capers: Nonpareil capers are small, tender, and mild—perfect for this dish. Rinse them before adding to remove excess brine.
Variation: For a brinier punch, add a splash of caper juice to the sauce. - Italian Parsley: Adds freshness and color at the end.
Variation: Substitute with fresh basil or chives for a slightly different herbal note.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🔥 Tips & Tricks for the Best Classic Chicken Piccata
- Don’t over-reduce:
The sauce should be silky and spoonable, not too thick. It will continue to thicken slightly as it cools. - Pound the chicken evenly: Even thickness ensures the cutlets cook quickly and stay tender. About ¼ inch thick is ideal for that delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Cook the cutlets in batches if needed. Overcrowding lowers the pan temperature and prevents that beautiful golden crust from forming.
- Deglaze properly: After removing the chicken, pour in the white wine and gently scrape up the browned bits (fond) from the pan—this is where the deep, savory flavor comes from.
- Balance the sauce: Taste before serving—add a touch more lemon juice for brightness or a small knob of butter for a creamier finish.
- Serve immediately: Chicken Piccata is best enjoyed fresh from the pan when the chicken is crisp and the sauce is glossy and warm.
👩🏼🍳 How To Make Classic Chicken Piccata
- Step 1: Season the pounded cutlets with salt and pepper and then dredge them through the flour.
- Step 2: Working in batches, sear the cutlets over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Set aside.
- Step 3: Deglaze the pan with the stock and wine. Add the lemon juice, zest, and garlic, and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Step 4: Add the chicken back to the sauce and simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Step 5: Add the capers and simmer for another minute.
- Step 6: Turn off the heat and add a few lemon slices and butter. Stir until melted. Serve immediately with chopped Italian parsley as garnish.
Expert Tip
Be sure to get the cutlets fully coated with the flour, but you’ll need to shake off excess before adding them to the skillet. Once in the hot oil, move them around a little in the skillet to keep them from sticking too much. There will be some of the flour that will stick and brown in the skillet. This is good because it will add flavor once you deglaze the pan.
🍽️ How to Serve
- With pasta: Serve the chicken and sauce over a bed of angel hair, spaghetti, or linguine to soak up every drop of the lemon-butter goodness.
- With rice or grains: Pair with creamy risotto, lemon orzo, or herbed couscous for a light and elegant side.
- With vegetables: Complement the bright flavors with steamed asparagus, roasted green beans, or sautéed spinach.
- With potatoes: Try buttery mashed potatoes or crispy roasted baby potatoes for a heartier meal.
- As a lighter option: Serve the chicken over a fresh arugula salad with shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.
- Garnish beautifully: Top with extra fresh parsley, a few lemon slices, and a spoonful of the pan sauce for a classic, bistro-style presentation.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can cook the chicken and make the sauce up to a day in advance. Store them separately, then reheat gently in a skillet and combine just before serving to keep the chicken tender and the sauce silky.
A dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay works beautifully. Avoid sweet wines, as they can overpower the lemon and caper flavors.
Absolutely. Substitute the wine with extra chicken stock and add a teaspoon of white wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice for acidity.
Don’t let the chicken sit in the sauce for too long before serving. You can even spoon the sauce over the chicken right before plating to maintain its light crispness.
Traditionally, it’s not, since the chicken is dredged in all-purpose flour. However, you can easily make it gluten-free by using rice flour, almond flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend for dredging—the flavor and texture stay just as delicious.
🇮🇹 Other Classic Italian Chicken Recipes
Ready to make the best Italian-American dish in town? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Classic Chicken Piccata
Video
Equipment
- Large skillet 12 to 18-inch is ideal
Ingredients
- 4 chicken cutlets boneless, skinless cutlets. See NOTES
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup capers nonpareil, drained
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Place one chicken breast in a large plastic baggie, and using a meat pounder, pound until about ¼-inch thick. Repeat with other chicken breasts.4 chicken cutlets
- Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt and pepper.Kosher salt and black pepper
- Spread the flour on a plate.1 cup all-purpose flour
- Coat the chicken cutlets with the flour, and shake off any excess.
- In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.¼ cup olive oil
- When the oil is hot, carefully add the chicken. Don't overcrowd the pan.
- Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, or until it's golden brown all over. (The chicken will not be completely cooked through at this point.)
- Set the cutlets aside on a plate to collect any accumulated juices.
- Remove oil from the pan and return to medium heat.
- Add the stock, wine, lemon zest, and juice. Increase the heat to high and cook for about 2 minutes.¾ cup chicken stock, ½ cup dry white wine, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- Add the chicken back to the sauce, and simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Add the capers and heat for 1 minute.¼ cup capers
- Remove from the heat and gently stir in the butter around the chicken until melted and slightly thickened.3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Serve on warmed platter, or individual plates, and garnish with chopped parsley.2 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This post was originally published in September 2017, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe, with new tips and photography, and a fabulous new video in October 2024.
Sara says
Awesome chicken piccata. I doubled the sauce and added some canned artichokes. Soooo good. Thanks!
Kris Longwell says
Hi Sara! Woo hoo! Good thinking on doubling the sauce! It’s soooo good! And the addition of artichokes is divine! Thank you so so much for sharing and for the wonderful review. That means the world to us!!! Please stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Kelly says
My friends enjoyed the chicken piccata, I made extra sauce for the mashed potatoes. Back in July I made chicken piccata for lunch and extra for next day lunch. I was so excited for left overs. I heated up the chicken in the microwave then put it on table, I turned my back to grab a fork when I turned around my chicken piccata was gone. My dog ate it . Now the joke is when I asked my husband about making chicken piccata he will say to me ask Reggie (dog) first.
Kris Longwell says
Oh no!!! Reggie!!!! We have two dogs, Ebenezer and Florence (Eb and Flo) that are always in the kitchen with us ready for any food that might fall their way! Well, no doubt Reggie enjoyed it a lot! We are so happy that you are enjoying the recipes! Please stay in touch! And tell your hubby and Reggie we said ‘Hi!’!!
Kelly says
Very delicious chicken piccata! I have been making this recipe with your mashed potatoes for couple of years. This is my favorite dish.
I enjoyed watching your videos and making your other recipes all very delicious. I am having some friends over this week making your chicken piccata and mashed potatoes. When I double the chicken piccata do I cook all the chicken in batches first then do I do the sauce in batches too?
Kris Longwell says
Hi Kelly! Sorry for the delayed response! You can definitely cook the chicken in batches. Double the sauce in the same pan (you should be able to do this in one batch). Then, either place the chicken cutlets in a large baking dish and cover with the sauce, cover with foil, and keep warm in low temp oven (275°F), or just keep it all in a large skillet, covered. Hope this helps! And we are thrilled that you are enjoying the recipe (with the mashies!)…that is awesome! Let us know how it all turns out…and have FUN with your friends! They are in for a treat!!! xo
Jane says
Really tasty! I used thighs and was great; I have breast in my freezer, so I will try those next.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Jane! yay! So so glad you made the chicken piccata and enjoyed it! We love it with chicken thighs and chicken breasts! Thanks so so much for sharing and for the GREAT review! That ALWAYS means so much to us!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Brenna says
This. All day. It’s SO good- I’ve made piccata before but you’re absolutely right, the butter puts this over the top. Also my partner and I love love love capers, if you have any other recipes that involve them in abundance, please point me in their direction if you would! Thanks for another delightful find.
Patience says
Delicious as usual! I have been making chicken piccata for years but thought I would try your recipe. The butter in the end truly makes this a hit. Thanks again for sharing your talents!
Kris Longwell says
Hi Patience! That is hands down one of our favorite dishes and one we often prepare when serving guests. So so glad you enjoyed it, and we agree…a little swirl of melted butter makes everything just a little bit better! Thanks again for letting us know and for your wonderful message!! Kris & Wesley
Jill Lord says
Just made this dish!!! It was delicious!!!!
Kris Longwell says
YAY!!!! The only thing that would have made it better is if we were eating it all together!!! Love you and miss you and thanks for giving us a 5-star rating!!! Give our love to Patrish.
Sarah says
I made this for the first time, Your video helped guide me through it and I love that you have videos with so many recipes!! It turned out perfect in fact my house smells like a gourmet restaurant. hahaha!! Thank you so much for your help in the kitchen.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Sarah!! Woo hoo!! We are so glad you had such huge success with the chicken piccata!! Way to go!!! We can smell the yumminess from here! Thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and especially for the great review. We appreciate that so so so much!! Take care and please stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Stacy Alexander says
Delish! Doubled the sauce and served with homemade fettucine. I do butterfly the breast if they are thick as it is hard to pound them down enough unless I do that. Chicken turns out so tender!
Fredro says
Nice post!
Kris Longwell says
Thank you!