Chicken Piccata
Growing up, chicken piccata was never one of the go-to Italian dishes. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that I thought there were better dishes that I preferred. My wife on the other hand was always a huge fan of chicken piccata. Due to this, I knew I’d need to come up with a recipe that she’d really enjoy. Well…OH BOY…we got ourselves a recipe! To the point where this recipe gets requested for birthday meals. My thoughts on chicken piccata have completely changed too – I could definitely eat this once a week. After reading this post and trying out this recipe, I think you will agree too.
Is it easy to make?
Yes, it is! It’s actually a super simple meal that I typically have on a weeknight. The hardest part is making sure that you give the sauce enough time to cook and thicken up. This really brings out the FLAVOR. I am not talking about cooking the sauce all day – the whole process of making chicken piccata should take no more than 1 hour max. Just don’t rush it if you don’t need to. Sure, I’ve rushed it before and it came out fine but for the BEST results, you really need to let it cook together. It’s definitely worth it.
Let’s prep the chicken!
The first thing you’ll want to do is prep the chicken breasts. I like to use thin-sliced chicken breasts from Whole Foods but if these are not available to you, you will need to butterfly them. All that means is to cut or split them horizontally, as if you were to open it like it’s a book. This should leave you with two thin chicken breasts instead of one thick one. After butterflying your chicken breasts, put them in a large ziplock bag (one at a time) and pound them flat with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or pan until they are ~1/4 inch thick. Then generously season all chicken breasts with salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. When I say generously season the chicken, I mean make sure all parts of the chicken are getting hit with your seasonings but be careful to not overdo it.
Time to dredge and cook!
Once your chicken is seasoned, you will want to dredge it in flour. This just means you will take one piece of chicken at a time and dip it in flour, covering all sides. You should shake off any excess flour too. For more information on dredging, check out my Fried Chicken post that has a more in depth explanation – although there is no need to double dredge your chicken with this recipe. Now that your chicken is dredged in flour, it’s time to heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add a few pieces of chicken to the pan (do not overcrowd – work in batches) and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. I will judge the doneness by the color of the chicken – I like browned & crispy spots. Now let’s set these aside and work on our sauce!
Let’s bring it all together with a sauce!
Using the same pan that you cooked the chicken in, add the white wine to deglaze. Cook the wine for about 1-2 minutes, making sure to scrape and loosen any spots that are stuck on the bottom of the pan. These spots are full with FLAVOR so please do not skip this step. The remaining steps are as follows:
- Add the butter, garlic, and capers to the pan. Stir frequently for another 2 minutes. Side note – I am linking an article from the Food Network on what a caper is. I get asked this a lot and honestly did not know myself for the longest time. If you’re curious, you now know.
- Next you’ll add the dijon mustard, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Lastly, you will add the heavy cream and mix together. Add the chicken and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Let this simmer for 5-10 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary. Stir from time to time and flip the chicken at the halfway point. The sauce will get thicker.
- NOTE: if you remember from the 2nd paragraph, I mentioned “the hardest part is making sure you give the sauce enough time to cook and thicken up”. The 3 steps above are where we need to make this happen. If you are short on time it will still come out great, but if you can afford to wait then it will 100% be worth it.
It’s really delicious!
This recipe has really been a game changer for me. I went from not caring about having chicken piccata to wanting it every week. My wife requests this for her birthday. It’s really delicious! Give this recipe a shot. Serve it over the pasta of your choice and some garlic bread to dip in the sauce. I am telling you, you are going to be licking your plate!
Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Chicken Breast
- Salt to taste
- Lemon Pepper to taste
- Garlic Powder to taste
- Onion Powder to taste
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- Avocado Oil to sauté the chicken
- 2/3 cup White Wine
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 5 Garlic Cloves minced
- 2-3 tbsp Capers or to taste
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 3 cups Chicken Stock
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 2/3 cup Heavy Cream
- Handful of fresh Parsley chopped
- 1 lb Pasta of your choice Ex: fettuccine, angel hair, spaghetti, etc
Instructions
- Butterfly each chicken breast and add (one at a time) to a ziplock bag. Pound the chicken breast out with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or pan until it is flattened out to ~1/4 inch thickness. Alternatively, you can purchase thinly sliced chicken breast if your grocery store carries it. Season both sides of the chicken breasts generously with salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Add the all-purpose flour to a deep and shallow dish or pan. Dredge each piece of seasoned chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat. Working in batches (do not overcrowd the pan), add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Pour the white wine in the same pan. Scrape and loosen any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan from when you were cooking the chicken. Cook the wine for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the butter, garlic, and capers to the pan and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the dijon mustard, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Add the heavy cream and stir to mix together. Add the chicken to the sauce and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Simmer for 5-10 minutes (reduce the heat if necessary), stirring from time to time. The longer the sauce simmers, the thicker it will get. Flip the chicken at the halfway point.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over the pasta of your choice.
