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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!)
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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.
First time ever making chicken piccata. This was so quick, so easy, and so delicious. I rarely ever cook because I just don’t like to but this is one of my boyfriends favorite dishes so I thought I would give it a try and boy was it a success. I had no issue with mixing the lemon juice and cream as mentioned in other comments. Thanks so much for sharing! 5 stars
This tastes amazing and came together quickly. I paired it with egg noodles and sautéed some kale as a side. My family loved it! My only issue was that the lemon juice inevitability curdles the cream. Not sure how others have gotten around that? I sprinkled about 1/8 a cup of flour over the top and let it soak up some of the fat, then mixed it in. It worked pretty well.
Making this as I write, my lemon isn’t curdling the cream so I feel good about that, and just concerned if I should have wiped my pan out before starting the sauce. I have browned bits from frying the chicken. Otherwise super excited for dinner everyone has positive comments on taste !
Im not counting calories, and using heavy cream ??
Of course the lemon curds the cream. I knew you can’t put lemon in cream. I’m not even sure why I even tried. I’m also not giving this 5 stars but the system won’t let me rate it as I want
What a fantastic recipe! I’ve made it at least a half dozen times, and plan to make it again soon. I no longer use my original chicken piccata recipe. I usually season my flour with seasoned salt first, and add freeze dried shallots and garlic to the liquids. I add some white wine in place of an equal amount of broth. Sure the cream adds some calories, but it makes the sauce so…well…creamy! Nice mouth feel to it. I’d post a photo, but usually finish eating it before I remember to take a pic! Easy, quick, tasty…what more do you want
I made this tonight, with no changes. My family loves it, big hit and got a big thumbs up. Thankyou for sharing.!!
Would like the recipe for chicken piccata to try.
Here is the recipe for you to have. Hope that helps! https://therecipecritic.com/creamy-lemon-chicken-piccatta/
Would like to try this tonight. Anyone make it with milk or half snd half? Am not a big fan of heavy cream.
I’m going to try it with whole milk and I’ll let you know how it turned out.
Tried your recipe tonight
Turned out amazing
Entire family loved it
Had everything prepped and ready to go
Easy to put together and so good
So tasty! Love how easy it is. I reduced the amount of broth by 1/4 cup and added dry white wine in it’s place. Also minced a small clove of garlic to add another dimension of flavor. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This recipe is the BEST! It has become a regular dish in my home. We love the creamy lemony sauce so much. Thanks for a great recipe!
I have made this at least a dozen times. It is so awesome! Everyone I have served it to loves it. It even taste good reheated in the microwave.
This was the first time I used cream in my Chicken Piccata. When I looked at the recipe I thought, OK that will make the sauce creamier but what about the lemon which will curdle the cream, which it did. I was worried that I had just wasted my time and materials but I continued bring it to a boil and slowly it blended together. the final result was I didn’t see much difference in flavor in using the cream and will not use it again. It was just more calories.
Hi Joe–what did you use instead of heavy cream? Thanks much.
This dish was absolutely amazing, presentation was as pictured, and easy enough to make on a busy weeknight after swim practice and homework! Definitely going into weekly rotation! I followed recipe but added lemon zest along with juice since I only had 1 lemon on hand.
What a delicious and simple recipe. My family loved it! Thank you ☺️
Any recommendations for making this for 8 people?
I would double the recipe for 8 people. There will be enough and a little more in case someone would like seconds.
I LOVE this recipe!!! This sauce is a nice light light-bodied sauce with tons of flavor. The first night I had a lot of sauce left over since I served it over sauteed spinach. So, I reserved the sauce and made it the next night with steamed broccoli and Angel Hair pasta. My son even said it was the best chicken ever and had it the next day for lunch even though there were plenty of other options LOL. SO EASY!!!