The ultimate easy meal that will impress family or guests is this Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata! The chicken is lightly breaded and pan-fried resulting in tender, juicy chicken with a crisp coating and served with a creamy lemon caper sauce.

For busy families, 30-minute meals are lifesavers, but it’s an even bigger bonus when they seem fancy or impressive, like this Chinese Chow Mein, Mongolian Beef, and Hibachi Chicken.

Chicken piccata over cooked spaghetti, on a plate.

We’re going for amazing homemade Italian here, and I can tell you right now that Chicken Piccata (pick-ah-tah) wil be a winner every time! If you’ve ever had it at a restaurant you may have had chicken or veal and it’s typically breaded, fried and served with a creamy sauce. It’s a popular recipe found at many Italian restaurants (sometimes called Chicken Limone) but it’s SO easy and yummy made at home. Serve it over mashed potatoes or angel hair pasta with roasted veggies on the side.

What I LOVE about this reciep:

  • 30 minute meal
  • Kid friendly.  My kids LOVED this meal (capers and all!). They were literally licking their plates clean. And I’d dare to say it is just as delicious as the version at Brio, and very easy to make.
  • Fancy but not fancy.  This easy meal looks like you spent days in the kitchen but it comes together so fast!

How to Make Lemon Chicken Piccata:

1. Slice chicken Breasts. 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.

2. Dredge Chicken.  In three separate bowls, prepare a beaten egg, flour, and breadcrumbs for dredging.  Coat the chicken on both sides in the flour, then egg wash, and then breadcrumbs.

Process photos for breading chicken in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

3. Pan fry. Heat butter and 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.

Breaded chicken breasts pan frying in a skillet.

4. Make sauce. To the same pan, 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 and coat with sauce.

5. Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes or hot cooked pasta.

Chicken piccata in a skillet with sauce, capers and lemon slices.

Serve with:

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Recipe

Chicken piccata over cooked spaghetti, on a plate.
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 30 minutes
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Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions
 

  • 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.
  • 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. 
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes or hot cooked pasta.
  • Serve with a side of Roasted Vegetables, steamed broccoli or green beans.

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 31gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 594mgPotassium: 650mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 464IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 97mgIron: 2mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

I originally shared this recipe December 2015. Updated February 2020 with process photos and instructions and a new video.

Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

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About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Absolutely love the pasta used only one lemon though my family is not big on lemon, but they loved it! Will continue to make this recipe over and over again thank you

  2. This is the best Lemon Piccata you can make at home. A recipe that you can add to your usual lineup. I add artichokes. I recommend shaking a 1/4 cup flour and a 1/2 cup cold water in a container to prevent lumps and to thicken the sauce

  3. 3 stars
    I added the juice from both small lemons and the capers. But then i found thats all i tasted. Maybe one lemon might be better. Or im just to good a juicing lol.

  4. 5 stars
    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.

  5. 3 stars
    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!

  6. 5 stars
    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.

    1. 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!

  7. 5 stars
    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!

  8. 5 stars
    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.

  9. 4 stars
    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.

  10. 5 stars
    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.

  11. 5 stars
    saw this posted yesterday morning…made it for dinner same day! YUMMY! definitely it will be in rotation in my house! THANKS!!!

  12. 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!

  13. 5 stars
    This was delicious and a hit with the whole family, including the 10 year who “doesn’t like chicken.” Thanks for a great recipe! The video was very helpful!

  14. 5 stars
    I love this recipe and have made it maybe four times now. I pound out my chicken instead of butterflying because I find it easier (and a bit therapeutic after a day of work). After making it several times I got a little over confident and was just eye balling the amount of capers, pouring directly from the jar, and I don’t recommend that because I got ALL of the juice from the jar. Luckily we don’t mind the extra salty and capery taste – but unless you really want to lean into that, pour your capers into a separate container first.

  15. 5 stars
    This recipe definitely deserves 5*s! I am however, somewhat of a ‘tweakier’, not b/c my family is fussy, but b/c “I’m” a fussy cook-as far as the ingredients I like to use when feeding my family tasty & (reasonably) healthy meals. I made this dish a while ago using Unbleached AP Flour, WW Panko Breadcrumbs (which I seasoned), & Half & Half. I also rinsed & blotted the Capers before adding them in, ’cause I’m careful about our daily sodium intake. Even with these tweaks, the dish was a huge hit with my family, and I don’t feel that they jeopardized the integrity of this dish. It was delicious, well received, & is going into my monthly rotation file.

  16. 5 stars
    Loved! This recipe was so good!!! It would differently be a meal I would make for a family and friends.
    I will agree with the other reviews that it was 5 star restaurant quality. I used Panko bread crumbs & fettuccine noodles.

  17. 5 stars
    This tasted just like a dinner we had aat a 5 star restaurant! My husband said, This is his new favorite dish! I’m so glad I found your website! Thanks, Debbie

  18. 5 stars
    I crave lemon chicken Piccata as one of my comfort foods. Before making my usually recipe, I quickly googled “best chicken Piccata recipe, to check out finding a new twist. I choose this recipe because I have never made with cream.
    I made this almost exact to the recipe with exception of using half & half instead of heavy whipping cream; because I did not have on hand. Nor did I have chicken breast, but had organic chicken tenders (I buy in multi=packs from Costco) and pounded to very thin. I use coarse black pepper & kosher salt. EXCELLENT Recipe! 5 STARS! Will try heavy whipping cream next time.

  19. 5 stars
    I had heard of chicken piccata before, but never tried it. This was a perfect introduction as it wasn’t complicated. My entire family, including four picky eating children, at the entire thing up! They said, “add it to the dinner rotation!”

  20. 5 stars
    This was super yummy! This was a different flavor for my family (they are used to red sauce with Italian dishes) but they devoured it! I flattened my chicken breasts after butterflying them so they were even thickness. I doubled the recipe and also found I needed more than double flour and bread crumbs. Served with angel hair pasta – so good!

  21. My hubby is on dialysis and isn’t supposed to have milk/cream. He is supposed to substitute with Coffemate creamer. Could I use that instead of the cream?

  22. 5 stars
    I made this last night and it turned out great, the sauce with a little thin but the flavor was really good!!

  23. 5 stars
    Love this recipe! I’ve tried 4-5 creamy lemony chicken piccata dishes and were nothing to write about. I followed your recipe exactly… especially important the little bit of water in the egg so the end result doesn’t leave your coating falling off. I’ve now made this twice and learned that my family like the juice of one lemon versus too. An easy and delicious recipe which I have shared with many friends as I posted the result on my FB page. It’s definitely a staple for my family.

  24. 5 stars
    Omg!!!!! I’ve never cooked with Cappers, and this recipe was simply easy and amazing. My one year old loved the sauce over the mashed potatoes, and did my super picky 8 year old. Can’t thank enough.

  25. 5 stars
    This is MY FAVORITE recipe I have cooked from this site! Super easy and beyond yummy! I loved the brine from the capers and the lemon together. My whole family loved it!

  26. 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!

  27. I was told that this was the best dinner I’ve ever made! It was fantastic! Thanks for sharing this recipe with the world!

  28. 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!!

    1. 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.

  29. 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!

    1. Thank you Patricia!! It does have that fancy restaurant feel about it, huh!? Thanks so much for your nice comment!

  30. 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!

  31. 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?

    1. 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. 🙂

  32. 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!!!

    1. 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 🙂

    2. 5 stars
      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!