Chicken Piccata
Thin chicken in a lemon-butter-caper sauce — restaurant flash, four-ingredient heart.
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breast
- 1 Lemon
- 2 tbsp Capers
- 50 g Butter
- 4 tbsp Flour
- 2 tbsp Neutral oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 150 ml Stock (optional)
- 2 tbsp Parsley (optional)
Method
- Halve the chicken breasts horizontally and pound them thin between sheets of plastic to make four cutlets.
- Season the chicken cutlets with the salt and dredge them in the flour, shaking off the excess.
- Sear the chicken cutlets in the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high until golden and just cooked, 2 to 3 minutes a side, then set aside.
- Deglaze the pan with the stock, scraping up the browned bits, then add the lemon juice and capers and reduce by half.
- Swirl the cold butter into the sauce off the heat until glossy, then return the chicken cutlets to coat.
- Plate the chicken with the sauce, parsley, and every last caper.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata is an Italian-American classic that trades on drama at the table and restraint in the pantry — its whole personality comes from a handful of ingredients built into a bright lemon-butter-caper sauce. Thin chicken cutlets, pounded and dredged in flour, sear quickly to a golden crust, and the pan they leave behind becomes the sauce: deglazed with stock, sharpened with lemon juice and briny capers, then finished with cold butter swirled in off the heat until it turns glossy. That final butter emulsion is the technique that makes the sauce cling and shine.
The flavor is all about balance — tart lemon and salty-pungent capers cutting through rich butter, with the reduced stock tying it together. Pounding the breast thin means it cooks in minutes and stays tender, which is why this feels like a flash of restaurant polish achievable on a Tuesday night. Piccata is traditionally served over pasta or with a simple starch to soak up the sauce, though it's just as good with a green vegetable alongside. A scatter of parsley at the end adds color and a fresh, grassy note against all that lemon and salt.
Chicken Piccata: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Chicken Piccata?
A serving has about 581 calories — 39.3g protein, 17.2g carbs, 40.6g fat, 1.4g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 39.3g of protein, roughly 27% of its calories.
Is Chicken Piccata gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Flour. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is Chicken Piccata dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Butter. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Chicken Piccata take to make?
About 30 minutes start to finish, but only around 19 of those are hands-on — the rest is cooking time. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Chicken Piccata?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out stock, parsley — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Chicken Piccata make?
This recipe makes 2 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.