The best Chicken Piccata recipe is crispy on the outside, juicy inside, and served with a creamy lemon sauce. It's restaurant worthy and impressive while still being a 30-minute meal!
Creamy Chicken Piccata that's impressive but so EASY!
Creamy Chicken Piccata that's impressive but so EASY!My kids are obsessed with this Chicken Piccata (pick-ah-tah); (capers and all! What's not to love about From crispy, juicy chicken smothered in a creamy lemon sauce?
This is a common Italian dish served in restaurants and is sometimes called Chicken Limone. Save the money, skip the restaurant, and make it at home in less time. We serve it over mashed potatoes or angel hair pasta, and love it both ways. I love to serve roasted veggies on the side too!
Try my other pasta recipes like Penne alla Vodka, Manicotti, Shrimp Alfredo, or Tuscan Chicken Pasta!
How to make Lemon Chicken Piccata:
Prep Chicken: Butterfly each chicken breast, slicing horizontally for 4 thin chicken breast fillets. Season with salt and pepper. In three separate bowls, prepare beaten egg, flour, and breadcrumbs then dredge chicken on both sides with flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs.
Cook Chicken and Make Sauce: In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium high heat. Place the chicken in the hot pan and cook for about 3 minutes each side, or until cooked through. Remove to a plate. In the same pan, add chicken broth, cream, capers, and juice from both lemons. Season with salt and pepper, if needed, then let the sauce cook and bubble for 3-5 minutes. Place chicken back in the pan and coat with the sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes or hot cooked pasta.
Serve With:
- Roasted Vegetables
- French Green Beans
- Wedge Salad
- Garlic Knots
- Side Salad
- Shredded Brussels Sprouts
- Homemade Rolls
- Homemade Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Whole Roasted Cauliflower
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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 (31g)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (28g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (237g)
- 2 lemons
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream (170g)
- ¼ cup capers (30g)
- hot cooked pasta or mashed potatoes for serving
Instructions
- Prep chicken: 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.1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Bread chicken: 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.¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup breadcrumbs, 1 large egg, 1 Tablespoon water
- Cook chicken: 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.2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 Tablespoons butter
- Sauce: 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.1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, 2 lemons, ¾ cup heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup capers
- Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes or hot cooked pasta. Serve with a side of Roasted Vegetables, steamed broccoli, or green beans.hot cooked pasta or mashed potatoes
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
I originally shared this recipe December 2015. Updated February 2020 and May 2025.
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I just made this for dinner and husband says it’s his top five favorite dinners! Wifey for the win! I added 2 tsp of cornstarch and it didn’t thicken sauce too much. Just perfect, and going in my tried and trues! Thank you Lauren!
So happy to hear that! Wife win for sure 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
I was told that this was the best dinner I’ve ever made! It was fantastic! Thanks for sharing this recipe with the world!
Don’t make this!!! Way too much lemon. Maybe the lemons at my grocery store were larger than yours…? Either way, it was way too much lemon, and that married with the cream was just a sour, bitter mess. Also, I swapped out the potatoes for the pasta, as the recipe mentioned, and the sauce was way too thick for pasta. In sum, AVOID THIS RECIPE!!
HI Karen, I’m so sorry you had trouble with this recipe. I wonder what went wrong–the sauce should not be very thick at all and should definitely work over noodles (that’s how it is traditionally served). It should be almost runny. I’ve made this recipe countless and never had an issue– my family loves it.
Please shut up and thank you.
This is a dish I would order At an Italian restaurant. I will never order it at a restaurant again because this recipe is amazing!
BEST. RECIPE. EVER! My husband LOVED it and said it was like eating out at a fancy restaurant!
Thank you Patricia!! It does have that fancy restaurant feel about it, huh!? Thanks so much for your nice comment!
This was very good! I added cornstarch mix to thicken a little and I think next time I will cut back on the lemon but overall a wonderful recipe. It’s going in the rotation! Thanks!
Made this the other night and LOVED it!
Cue my husband, who claimed it the sauce wasn’t ‘thick enough’ and proceeded to dump about half a cup of flour into it. I wanted to kill him.
I personally don’t think it needs to be thickened, but am willing to do so once I’ve made my plate. Any suggestions?
Hi Jane, I’m so happy you liked it! If you want to thicken the sauce I would just add a little cornstarch slurry to it–1 or 2 tsp of cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp of water. Mix it until smooth and gradually stir it into the sauce. 🙂
In my family and to my friends I am known as the picky eater and this dish was insanely good! I used a different recipe for the mashed potatoes because I am still trying to experiment with those. I cannot stop thinking about this dish. I think we put a little too much lemon juice in and the sauce got a little bitter but we added a little more cream and it was perfect. Would definitely make and eat again in a heartbeat. Great (and flavorful) recipe!!!
I know this is going to sound like a silly question, but is broth the same as stock?? It looks so delicious!
Hi Jess, Not a silly question at all! Stock is made with the bones, simmering for a long time. It’s usually left unseasoned (so we add seasoning to it after fact). Broth is cooked with the meat and seasonings in it, so it already has the added flavor. They can be used interchangeably, but if using stock you may want to taste it and add additional seasonings if needed 🙂
Making this AGAIN for dinner today, thought I should tell you thanks for such an easy, DELICIOUS recipe.
It is just what I would crave at an expensive Italian restaurant. Thanks for the great recipe!
This looks YUMMY!!! Pinning this right away!