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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.
I love chicken piccata and this recipe was very good! I had a little separation when I added the cream, I see from a comment below that maybe the pan was too hot and cream too cold. I added mushrooms to mine and also blended a little cornstarch and water and added to the sauce to thicken a bit. I will definitely make this again. Thank you
If you want to thicken your sauces, you can use some of your pasta water in the sauce. The starch in the water will thicken your sauce while adding flavor
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I love lemony chicken piccata with capers over angel hair pasta. I have the recipe in my head. But, I am always looking to try different recipes. When I read this recipe, I thought adding cream to hot chicken broth and lemon juice would certainly separate and never make a creamy sauce. I watched the video and went ahead and gave it a try. Unfortunately, the sauce separated instantly. So, I watched the video again. I was doing exactly what the recipe said. I tried using a little corn starch, but that didn’t help.
Hi Lala, thank you for your question and comment. Your sauce likely split because it was too hot when you added the cream, or the cream was very cold when you added it. you could try cooking the sauce over lower heat and also gently warm the cream before slowly whisking it into the sauce. After the cream is added, the heat should be kept low in order to not curdle the sauce as it cooks and thickens. I am not sure if this is what happened but I hope it helps!
Thanks for explaining about capers. I was wondering what it was even though i have tried it so many times. This recipe tastes very best with salty capers. Heavy cream can be a great choice to thicken this sauce and it gives a rich buttery flavor.
Husband (who hates chicken) said it was very good. I thought it was GREAT!
Made this tonight and both husband and I loved it! So simple but so delicious and flavorful!
My friend said this meal was amazing and he’d eat it every week. I only charged up a little by adding some sautéed shallots and al little starch to thicken up the sauce but we’ll definitely have this again soon!
I used half and half as suggested and as soon as I added it, everything curdled and I had to dump the whole dinner and get take out. ONLY USE HEAVY CREAM
We loved it! The chicken took longer to cook than I expected. But I think next time it will be easy-peasy. I followed the directions exactly, and it was just as easy as advertised. Our 1 year old devoured it and kept asking for more. I’m looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!
This was delicious but what’s the secret to preventing the cream from separating?? Is my pan too hot?
I have found that letting the cream come to room temperature before adding it to something hot helps keep it from separating.
I’ve made this dish several times with outstanding results every time. It’s simple, easy and nearly foolproof. Our roommate recently ordered Chicken Picatta at a very good restaurant, but he came home and said mine (Alyssa ‘s) is much better. Thanks, Alyssa!
This was a big hit in my family! I only used one lemon and left out the capers, but otherwise followed it exactly. It was super easy, quick and delicious over pasta, with a little grated cheese! I will definitely be making this again soon!! Thanks!
The ingredients call for 1 cup of chicken broth; yet I do not see it when making the sauce. I did use it and found the sauce flavorful but quite runny. Did I do something wrong?
Hello! You add the broth in during step 4!
I’ve made this several times. It’s delicious. While cooking the sauce, it didn’t thicken at all so after 5 minutes I whisked in flour and then it was perfect.
This was delicious!
The sauce needs a thickening agent. Flavor was great though. I used a little less of the capers.
I have never cooked with Cappers before. Is there a good brand of Cappers I should shop for?