The Ultimate Chicken Piccata Recipe: A Taste of Italy at Home

There are certain dishes that transcend mere meals, becoming culinary journeys that transport you to distant lands and cherished memories. For us, Chicken Piccata with its vibrant Caper Lemon Butter Sauce is precisely that – a beloved classic that embodies the soul of Italian cuisine. Inspired by Mark’s Italian heritage, the treasured recipes of his grandparents, and our unforgettable travels through Italy, this dish is a testament to the simplicity and profound depth of Italian flavors. Prepare to be whisked away to the sun-drenched landscapes of Italy with every forkful of this exquisite chicken, perfectly paired with fresh, tender pasta.

What Makes Chicken Piccata So Special? The Allure of Classic Italian Flavors

Chicken Piccata is a quintessential Italian-American dish, celebrated for its bright, tangy, and savory profile. But what exactly gives it this irresistible charm? It’s the harmonious interplay of a few key ingredients, each playing a vital role in creating a sauce that is both delicate and intensely flavorful. The dish is a masterclass in balance: the tender, lightly floured chicken provides a subtle base, while the capers introduce a briny depth, the lemon offers a refreshing zest, and the butter rounds it all out with a luxurious creaminess. This elegant simplicity makes it a favorite for both weeknight dinners and special occasions.

While often associated with Italian-American restaurants, the concept of “piccata” itself originates from Italy, where it refers to meat that is sliced, pounded, dredged in flour, sautéed, and served with a sauce. Whether made with chicken, veal, or even swordfish, the technique remains consistent, highlighting the natural flavors of the protein with a vibrant, acidic sauce. Our version focuses on chicken, offering a familiar and incredibly satisfying experience that’s accessible to every home cook.

Essential Ingredients for an Unforgettable Chicken Piccata

Unlike complex stews or elaborate roasts, Chicken Piccata relies on a concise list of ingredients. This means that the quality of each component is paramount. There’s no hiding inferior flavors when they are so few and so prominent. Investing in fresh, high-quality ingredients will elevate your piccata from good to truly exceptional. Let’s delve into what you’ll need to create this culinary masterpiece.

The Star: Perfectly Prepared Chicken

While the sauce is undoubtedly the heart of piccata, the chicken provides its canvas. You can achieve outstanding results with chicken breasts, veal cutlets, or even pork. For chicken, we prefer to slice large breasts horizontally to create thinner cutlets, which ensures they cook quickly and evenly, remaining tender and juicy. This method also allows for more surface area to absorb that incredible sauce. Chicken tenders are another excellent option if you prefer smaller, naturally thinner pieces. The goal is a uniform thickness, which can be further achieved by gently pounding the chicken with a meat mallet. This tenderizes the meat and ensures an even cook, preventing some parts from drying out while others are still cooking.

The Foundation: Premium Chicken Stock

Good chicken stock is the backbone of your piccata sauce. If you have access to properly made homemade chicken stock, it will undoubtedly elevate your dish to another level, providing a depth of flavor that is hard to replicate. However, we understand that making stock from scratch isn’t always feasible. When opting for store-bought stock, the most crucial consideration is its salt content. Always choose a low-sodium or unsalted variety. This gives you complete control over the final seasoning of your dish. A common pitfall is using overly salty stock, which can make it impossible to adjust the flavors later without making the dish unpleasantly salty.

Another excellent tip for judging store-bought stock is to simply taste it on its own. If it tastes decent but is slightly under-seasoned, it’s a good candidate. If it’s bland, watery, or has an artificial taste, it will not contribute positively to your sauce. Remember, you’re concentrating these flavors, so any negative notes will only be amplified. We’ll be sharing a blog post soon on how to make your own superior chicken stock, but for now, focus on finding the best quality unsalted option available.

The Secret Weapon: Dry White Wine

Though you might only use a modest amount, the white wine is a critical player in your piccata sauce, serving as a base alongside the chicken stock. As the wine reduces, its flavors concentrate, so using a wine you wouldn’t enjoy drinking on its own is a recipe for disaster. If a wine tastes bad by itself, reducing it will only make it taste worse, imparting undesirable notes to your delicate sauce.

The key is to select a dry white wine, as opposed to a sweet one. Dry wines, like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or an unoaked Chardonnay, provide the necessary acidity and nuanced flavor profile without adding unwanted sweetness. When reduced, the alcohol will cook off, leaving behind a beautiful, complex flavor that enhances the dish. Sweet wines, on the other hand, will become even sweeter during reduction, leading to a cloying sauce that doesn’t align with the classic piccata profile. There are hundreds of excellent dry white wines to choose from; pick one that’s pleasant to drink and you can’t go wrong.

The Briny Burst: Capers

Capers are the distinctive ingredient that gives piccata its signature briny, tangy kick. These small, pickled flower buds bring a unique zest and a delightful textural pop to the sauce. However, capers are typically packed in a very salty brining liquid. To achieve the perfect balance of flavors and prevent them from overpowering the dish, it is absolutely essential to rinse your capers thoroughly before adding them to the sauce. Failing to do so will introduce an excessive amount of salt and a harsh pickling flavor that can disrupt the delicate harmony of your piccata. Capers should be a supporting player, offering subtle bursts of flavor, not dominating the entire experience.

The Zest and Tang: Fresh Lemons

Fresh lemon juice and zest are non-negotiable for an authentic piccata. The bright acidity of fresh lemon cuts through the richness of the butter and provides that quintessential zesty finish. The zest, in particular, contains aromatic oils that contribute a profound lemony essence without adding extra liquid. Always opt for fresh lemons over bottled lemon juice, which often contains preservatives and lacks the vibrant, pure flavor that fresh citrus provides. A single lemon typically yields about 1 teaspoon of zest and 2-3 tablespoons of juice, which is perfect for this recipe.

The Richness: High-Quality Butter and Olive Oil

Unsalted butter is preferred to give you full control over the seasoning of your sauce, allowing you to add salt gradually to taste. It’s integral to both browning the chicken and creating the luscious emulsified sauce. A good quality olive oil is also used for sautéing, adding another layer of classic Mediterranean flavor and helping prevent the butter from burning during the initial cooking phase.

Mastering the Technique: Cooking Chicken Piccata to Perfection

Beyond the ingredients, the method of cooking plays a pivotal role in achieving a truly exceptional Chicken Piccata. Paying close attention to how you cook the chicken and build the sauce will make all the difference, ensuring a tender protein and a rich, perfectly balanced sauce.

The Right Pan: Stainless Steel is Key

When cooking piccata, the choice of pan is crucial. You absolutely want to use a stainless steel frying pan, not a non-stick one. The reason for this lies in the magical substance known as “fond.” Fond refers to the flavorful browned bits of chicken and flour that stick to the bottom of the pan during sautéing. These bits are packed with concentrated flavor and are essential for building a deep, complex sauce. A non-stick pan would prevent these delicious fond bits from forming, robbing your sauce of vital depth.

Our go-to for this dish is a high-quality stainless steel fry pan, such as the Calphalon Premier™ Stainless Steel 10-inch Fry Pan. Its heavy-gauge aluminum core ensures quick and even heating, which is ideal for perfectly browning the chicken without scorching. This uniform heat distribution also contributes to an impeccably cooked pan sauce every time. As an added bonus, many Calphalon stainless steel pieces are dishwasher safe, making cleanup a breeze – a definite win for busy home cooks.

Browning the Chicken, Not Burning It

The chicken in piccata should be lightly browned, not hard-seared or fried with a thick crust. This isn’t fried chicken. Cooking the floured chicken over medium heat, rather than high heat, allows a delicate, golden crust to form without burning the flour. If the heat is too high, the flour coating will burn quickly, imparting a bitter, unpleasant taste to your sauce. Aim for a beautiful, light golden-brown on each side, ensuring the chicken is almost cooked through before you remove it from the pan. This gentle browning creates the perfect fond that will later deglaze into your incredible sauce.

The browned bits (fond) adhering to the pan bottom are exactly what you want. When you add the wine to deglaze, these bits will release with a little scraping from a wooden spoon, dissolving into the liquid and enriching the sauce with unparalleled flavor. This step is non-negotiable for a truly delicious piccata.

Beyond Piccata, these versatile Calphalon pieces are perfect for a variety of culinary creations. Explore some of our other favorite recipes made with our trusted Calphalon cookware and bakeware products:

• Roasted Red Pepper Pesto and Mozzarella Babka
• Olive and Artichoke Braised Chicken with Barley Pilaf

If you’re considering an upgrade to your kitchen arsenal, use our exclusive promo code ‘COOKWITHWINE25’ to receive 25% off sitewide at Calphalon.com (some exclusions, like sale items, may apply).

Crafting the Exquisite Caper Lemon Butter Sauce

The magic truly happens when you transform the pan drippings into a silky, emulsified sauce. After removing the chicken, you’ll deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up all those flavorful bits of fond. Allow the wine to reduce significantly – by about two-thirds – to concentrate its essence. Then, introduce the lemon juice, lemon zest, and chicken stock, reducing it further until it reaches a beautiful, slightly thickened sauce consistency. This reduction process intensifies all the flavors, creating a rich base.

The final, crucial step is adding the butter. To achieve a perfectly emulsified sauce – one that is smooth, glossy, and won’t separate – it is imperative to remove the pan from the heat before whisking in the cold butter, one tablespoon at a time. The heat is the enemy of emulsion; too much heat will cause the butterfat to separate from the liquids, resulting in a “broken” or greasy sauce. By whisking in cold butter off the heat, you create a stable emulsion, where tiny droplets of fat are suspended evenly throughout the liquid. This technique is what gives piccata sauce its signature luxurious texture. While there are ways to rescue a broken sauce, preventing it in the first place is always the best approach.

Once the butter is fully incorporated and the capers are stirred in for just a minute or two, give your sauce a taste. This is your moment to adjust the seasoning. What tastes perfectly salty to one person might be bland to another, so trust your palate. You might want to add a touch more salt, a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, or another tiny squeeze of fresh lemon juice if it needs an extra bright lift. The goal is a harmonious balance of salty, tangy, and rich flavors. You can keep the finished sauce warm over very low heat until serving, but remember our rule: never crank up the heat to reheat, or your beautifully emulsified sauce will likely break.

Serving Suggestions: What to Pair with Your Chicken Piccata

In traditional Italian dining, meat dishes like piccata are typically enjoyed as a “secondo” (second course), often served simply with a vegetable side or on their own, while pasta is enjoyed as a “primo” (first course). However, in many Western households, we tend to enjoy a single, more substantial main course.

For our version of Chicken Piccata, we often serve it with homemade pasta, typically fettuccine or spaghetti, allowing the pasta to soak up every last drop of the delectable sauce. This creates a wonderfully complete and satisfying meal. Other fantastic options include creamy risotto, small pasta shapes like orzo, or rich, cheesy polenta. The versatility of the caper lemon butter sauce means it complements almost any side dish you choose.

Beyond starches, consider serving your piccata with light, fresh vegetables. Steamed asparagus, sautéed green beans, or a simple mixed green salad with a light vinaigrette would provide a refreshing contrast to the richness of the chicken and sauce. For a wine pairing, consider a crisp, unoaked white wine that mirrors the flavors in the sauce, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or even a dry Vermentino. These wines will cleanse the palate and enhance the dining experience.

The Recipe: Homemade Chicken Piccata with Caper Lemon Butter Sauce

Chicken Piccata with Caper Lemon Butter Sauce

This chicken piccata, with its bright caper lemon butter sauce served with fresh pasta, will transport you right to Italy! Check out this easy and delicious recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally (or 4 thin chicken breasts)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup (as needed) all-purpose flour
• 10 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅔ cup dry white wine
• Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 teaspoon zest)
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 2-3 tbsp)
• 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
• ½ cup capers – rinsed

Instructions

COOK THE CHICKEN

1. Heat oven to 170°F (to keep chicken warm).
2. Season the chicken cutlets generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge each piece of chicken thoroughly in the all-purpose flour, ensuring an even coating. Shake off any excess flour.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large stainless steel skillet over medium heat until the butter has stopped foaming. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan.
4. Carefully add the floured chicken cutlets to the hot skillet, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes per side, or until beautifully browned and almost cooked through. If necessary, cook the chicken in two batches, adding a little more olive oil and butter if the pan becomes dry.
5. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and transfer it to a separate oven-proof dish. Place it in the preheated oven to keep warm while you prepare the sauce in the same skillet.

MAKE THE SAUCE

6. Deglaze the pan with the dry white wine. Using a wooden spoon, vigorously scrape up all the delicious browned bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan. Allow the wine to reduce by approximately two-thirds, which should take about 5 minutes. This step concentrates the wine’s flavor and incorporates the fond into the sauce base.
7. Add the fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and low-sodium chicken stock to the pan. Continue to simmer and reduce the liquid until it thickens to a rich sauce consistency, typically about 10 minutes.
8. Remove the skillet from the heat. Whisk in the remaining 8 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, one tablespoon at a time, until completely melted and incorporated. Whisk continuously to create a smooth, emulsified sauce. It is crucial to do this off the heat to prevent the sauce from breaking.
9. Stir in the rinsed capers. Return the chicken cutlets to the pan, along with any accumulated juices from the resting dish. Turn the chicken once to coat it in the sauce and cook briefly for 1-2 minutes to warm through.
10. Serve your exquisite Chicken Piccata immediately over fresh pasta, risotto, or your preferred side dish.

Nutrition Information (per serving)

Calories:

566 kcal

Carbohydrates:

17g

Protein:

28g

Fat:

40g

Saturated Fat:

20g

Polyunsaturated Fat:

3g

Monounsaturated Fat:

14g

Trans Fat:

1g

Cholesterol:

150mg

Sodium:

2573mg

Potassium:

563mg

Fiber:

2g

Sugar:

2g

Vitamin A:

960 IU

Vitamin C:

5mg

Calcium:

38mg

Iron:

2mg

Keywords

butter sauce, capers, chicken, classic Italian recipes, wine sauce, lemon butter sauce, homemade piccata

Enjoy Your Culinary Journey!

We sincerely hope you cherish making and tasting this Chicken Piccata with Caper Lemon Butter Sauce recipe as much as we do. It’s a dish that brings comfort, elegance, and a true sense of Italian culinary tradition to your table. If you decide to try this recipe, we’d love to hear from you! Please leave us a comment below to share your experience or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine so we can see your beautiful creations.

For more delicious inspiration, be sure to check out some of our other recent posts and culinary adventures!