This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
This creamy lemon chicken piccata is a quick and easy one-pot meal that’s on the dinner table in 30 minutes! Tender breaded chicken in a creamy lemon sauce that the entire family will love.
Chicken is a favorite protein around here with its mild flavor. It works for so many different recipes! You will have to try some of my other favorites, Lemon Garlic Chicken, Marry Me Chicken, and Tuscan Garlic Chicken!
Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata Recipe
One of our favorite meals of the week was this creamy chicken piccata. My favorite part was that it was a one-pot meal and ready to eat in 30 minutes! This also means easy clean-up! It’s just like the classic chicken piccata dish, but with the added lemon tang. It gives it such a fresh and delicious taste to the creamy sauce. The chicken has a delicious breading on the outside and is so perfect served over some pasta. Everyone in my family loved this meal. It had such a delicious flavor and will be one that we make again and again!
This American-Italian favorite is so creamy and delicious. Piccata literally means, pounded flat and cooked in a sauce of lemon, parsley, and butter. Cooked in one pan and in 30 minutes means you can have an incredible meal on the table in no time. Don’t be scared of the capers! They really make the dish amazing. If you have never had them, this is the perfect dish to try them with. If you love seafood, you’ll have to try this salmon piccata as well! It’s so delicious and packed with light, bright flavor!
Ingredients Needed
Super simple ingredients come together to make an irresistible meal. Serve your creamy lemon chicken piccata with a nice green salad, homemade breadsticks or rolls, and you have a winning dinner on your hands!
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat if needed. This is so they cook more evenly!
- Salt and Pepper: Season to taste.
- Flour: Creates a nice breading on the chicken.
- Butter: To cook the chicken in. It also adds a deliciously rich flavor!
- Olive Oil: Also used to cook and add flavor.
- Chicken Broth: A savory base for the sauce.
- Lemons: Fresh whole lemons to use for juice and garnish.
- Heavy Cream: You can also substitute half and half, but it won’t be as creamy in texture.
- Capers: Look for these with the pickles and jarred pepperoncini.
- Parsley: (Optional) For garnish and extra flavor.
- Angel Hair Pasta: You can also use spaghetti noodles if you would like.
What are Capers?
If you have never had capers before, this is the perfect introduction. They’re typically served alongside chicken and salmon dishes, adding a ton of flavor. Capers are under ripened flower buds of a plant known as the caper bush. The capers are picked and dried. Then they are pickled to create this tangy, salty, and briny flavor that is out of this world yummy.
These little pea-sized condiments produce big flavor. A little goes a long way. Use them in salads, pasta, and chicken. Because of their lemony flavor, they are also great with fish. You’ll have to try them out in these other recipes: Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce, Pasta Puttanesca with Chicken, and Lemon Salmon Piccata.
Making the Perfect Lemon Chicken Piccata
If needed, take the time to pound your chicken to get it nice and thin. You won’t regret it. They will cook faster and more evenly!
- Prepare Skillet, Season Chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Then salt and pepper each side of the chicken breasts
- Adjust Thickness: If the chicken breasts are overly thick, pound them to be thinner. Then the cooking time will be shorter.
- Flour: Using a shallow bowl, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.
- Brown: Then put the chicken breasts in the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked throughout and no longer pink. Then remove from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
- Sauce: Turn the heat to medium-low. Then add juice from lemons, heavy cream, and capers. Bring the sauce to a boil and then return to medium-low heat. Test the sauce and then season with salt and pepper as needed. Allow the sauce to cook and bubble for about 3 minutes.
- Serve: Serve the chicken over cooked pasta and then spoon the piccata sauce over top. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
A Reader’s Review
Just made this and it is amazing. Tastes just like the one you order at a local restaurant! It was easy to make and has a great presentation. You won’t be disappointed!
Tips and Variations
Here are a few ways to switch up this simple dish! You’re going to love this lemon chicken piccata. And it can easily be tweaked to your personal tastes! It can also be made keto if you’re wanting a more diet-friendly option!
- Noodles: Truly any kind of pasta can be used to serve this scrumptious lemon piccata dish with. (Want to switch things up? Try tagliatelle!) You can also serve it over steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, or rice.
- Keto/Low-Carb: To make this meal keto-friendly, use almond flour for coating your chicken in instead of all-purpose flour. You’ll also want to swap out the angel hair pasta for zucchini noodles or protein-packed chickpea noodles.
- Chicken: Make sure your chicken is thin! You can pound each chicken cutlet thin or slice it in half, either way, it will create the size you are looking for.
- Fresh Lemons: I wouldn’t recommend using bottled lemon juice here. It will not taste the same. The fresh lemon really brings this piccata together.
- Capers: Some find the capers to be too salty. If you want to avoid that, just rinse the capers before adding.
Storing Leftover Lemon Chicken Piccata
Another reason why this recipe is the best: it makes fantastic leftovers! This chicken piccata can be heated up easily for a bright, flavorful lunch.
- In the Refrigerator: Keep your lemon chicken piccata in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Then warm leftovers in the microwave or over the stove.
Note: It’s best to store the chicken and sauce separately from any noodles so they don’t get soggy.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
Chicken is so versatile. It can be used in all sorts of cuisines. American, Italian, Chinese, Mexican and everything in between. Chicken is a relatively cheap protein making it an economical, family friendly dish! You can boil it, fry it, grill it, bake it, you name it! We also can’t forget the Instant Pot and air fryer! These are all incredible ways to prepare chicken, so if you need a new recipe to try, look no further. I’ve got you covered. (Find my full list of chicken recipes here!)
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Breasts Whole Boneless Skinless
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 Lemons whole
- 3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1/4 cup capers
- parsley for garnish, chopped
- 1 pound Angel Hair Pasta
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. (If the chicken breasts are overly thick, pound them to be thinner. Cooking time will be shorter.) Salt and pepper each side of the chicken breasts.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour.
- Put the chicken breasts in the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked throughout and no longer pink. Remove from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
- Turn the heat to medium low. Add broth, juice from both lemons, heavy cream, and capers. Bring the sauce to a boil and return to medium low heat. Test the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed. Allow the sauce to cook and bubble for about 3 minutes.
- Serve the chicken over cooked pasta and spoon the sauce over both. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
CAN THIS CREAMY CHICKEN PICCATTA BE SUBSTITUTED WITH BONELESS CHICKEN THIGHS?
This was a easy and great tasting dinner. A keeper for sure!
That is great to hear and makes me SO happy! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
I loved it. Used one juicy lemon and did rinse the capers. I cooked rigatoni still chewy and added It to the sauce with the chicken. OMG I wanted to lick the pan. Thanks.
That is SO good to hear! I am glad it turned out so great! Thanks for sharing! Xo
Your Recipe Critic,
Alyssa
Alyssa, I’ve seen some recipes with garlic added. What do you think? I’m planning on making this for dinner tomorrow night. I can’t wait!
I have not made it with garlic before. It sounds good! The garlic may over power the lemon and may alter the taste. If you do try it, let me know how you like it!!
Have you tried to do this with a white fish fillet like tilapia? Did you change the recipe at all for that?
Unfortunately I have not tried any other meats with this meal. If you try it with tilapia please let me know how it tastes! I would love to know! Thanks for the suggestions and idea! Xo
Your Recipe Critic,
Alyssa
Pretty good. There was way too much pasta for the sauce though, I probably only used half of it. The sauce was very thin, but I didn’t mind that too much. I didn’t use much lemon because my family that I was cooking for doesn’t like too much and the comments were saying it was too overpowering, but I should have put a little more. I also added broccoli instead of the capers. Also do not use low sodium chicken broth, because it will make the sauce have less flavor.
I LOVEEE LEMON so i will be doing it just as recipe indicates! Thank you so much
Just made it tonight and used just one lemon. Omg, the lemon was overwhelming. It is so sour. Help!
My husband and I love this recipe. I’m making it again for the third time tonight and think it’s so flavorful and delicious. I use whole milk, since that’s typically what I have and 1 lemon (since I’m always short on lemons) and it always turns out great!
Way too much lemon for me. Had to add something to cut it, but regardless thank you for the recipe. Very good!
This was awesome! Everyone ate it without complaining! Served it with pasta and garlic bread!
Alyssa,
I am making this right now and the sauce seems a bit thin? It has thickened up since I figured out how to post though. Hope it will be ok. I have a meeting tonight and wanted to have a meal that just needed rehearing.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times and keep coming back to it. Lovely creamy lemon flavor with a kick of saltiness from the capers.
This was really good! The chicken came out perfectly. The sauce was really lemon-y and kind of thin, so I ended up mixing some cornstarch into milk and adding it to both thicken the sauce and cut some of the tartness. Super yummy! We had seconds. Definitely adding this to the dinner rotation, thanks!
What am I missing? No one has questioned cooking a chicken breast for 3 minutes on a side and that’s all? ‘Or until no longer pink’ would be at least 20 minutes longer. This is very similar to Giada’s recipe, and I love that one. But after the sauce is made and the chicken browned, the chicken is simmered in the broth for 30 minutes. I always double the sauce and finish cooking the angel hair pasta in the yummy sauce. I could eat the whole recipe by myself over a 2 day period. LOL
It all just depends on the thickness of your chicken. That is why I include until no longer pink. I use pretty thin chicken pieces which do take about 3 minutes on each side.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I kept the chicken and sauce separate for picky eaters at my table, but when I put it all together….ah-mazing! I didn’t change anything.
I’ve made this a few times and it is hands down one of my current favorites. So easy and oh so yummy!!!!