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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This recipe is delicious but the cream always curdles when I add the lemon juice. So I’ve either done just a squirt or none at all. I’m not a good enough cook to fix that.
I doubled this recipe and the juice of 4 lemons was so overwhelming that unfortunately it was inedible. The chicken turned out perfectly though. I’d suggest cutting down the lemon juice significantly. For anyone who is trying this recipe, I’d suggest adding maybe a 1/2 cup of juice at a time. I will definitely re-try making this dish with a lot less lemon next time!
Love the recipe, one of our favorites. Curious on how you got your nutrition facts. If there is 1 pound of chicken and it makes 4 servings that would be 4 Oz of chicken which is 23g of protein not 5g.
Thanks Evan! Nutrition is automatically populated using the Api values. Something went wrong here obviously! I’ve fixed the values. Thanks for commenting and so glad you love the recipe!
Very good!! I pounded the chicken thin, used half with panko and half with regular bread crumbs, like them both! I also used regular whipping cream (as that is what I had), about 1/8 cup capers and juice of 1 lemon. I also added a little corn starch with water as mentioned earlier (1 tsp cornstarch with 1 tsp water). Delicious!
This turned out so good!! Thank you very much for this recipe – super easy to follow and tasted as good as at an Italian restaurant.
I just made this. The juice of two lemons was way too much. I ended up remaking the sauce and added 1/2 cup of original lemon sauce. Otherwise it was wonderful. I would make again.
This recipe was delicious. Followed the recipe, did not have to change a thing. I have made this more than once and my family loves this.
saw this posted yesterday morning…made it for dinner same day! YUMMY! definitely it will be in rotation in my house! THANKS!!!
Yes even we are not able to mark them as TBR too
My 11-yr old grandson has learned to cook this recipe. I showed him how cut the chicken. He has fried this up several times now. His little brother liked cracking the egg and mixing it with the water. Then dipping and patting the chicken in flour, egg, crumbs. Chicken tenders would probably make it even easier. They love it!