This classic Italian American dish has captured hearts and stomachs around the world, and it might be one of our very favorite chicken dinners—ever. Don’t be intimidated by its fancy name; this chicken piccata recipe is surprisingly simple to make at home! Piccata is our go-to dinner because it’s so versatile: it comes together in about 20 minutes and you can vary the protein based on what you like or have on hand. It works with many types of meat and fish, like chicken, veal, salmon, swordfish, scallops or shrimp. You can buy a chicken breast already butterflied, which is marked on the package as butterflied or “cutlets”. If you buy regular chicken breasts, you can butterfly them yourself:
Place your hand over the top of the chicken breast. Use a sharp knife to carefully slice the breast horizontally, leaving the edge intact so it can open up like a book. Unfold the chicken breast, then cut along the fold to separate the two halves (each half is a cutlet). For chicken piccata, cover the chicken with plastic wrap and lightly pound the chicken with a mallet or heavy pan to make it an even 1/4-inch thickness.
White wine vs chicken broth: We like this sauce with white wine base, which adds tangy, crisp notes to the sauce. If you don’t want to open a bottle, chicken broth or vegetable broth work too. Heavy cream: The traditional chicken piccata sauce typically doesn’t use heavy cream. However, adding a hint gives the sauce a creamier body (otherwise the sauce is clear). We like adding the cream, but it’s not necessary for flavor. Capers: Do not, we repeat, do not omit the capers in this recipe! They add briny, salty pops that make this a standout recipe.
Rice: Try white rice or lemon rice Pasta: Go for garlic butter noodles, angel hair pasta, orzo, or any of these pasta side dishes Polenta: Add creamy polenta as a simple side Green beans: Try green beans almondine or haricot verts Salad: Make chopped salad, kale salad, apple salad, pear salad, radicchio salad, or these salad recipes Broccoli or broccolini: Try roasted broccoli, Parmesan broccoli, roasted broccolini, or pan fried broccolini Potatoes: Go for our best mashed potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, or garlic roasted potatoes
Salmon: Lightly season and coat salmon in flour, then make pan seared salmon. Remove it from the pan and make the piccata sauce in the recipe below. Scallops: Make pan seared scallops, then remove from the pan and make the piccata sauce. Swordfish: This is a classic Italian variation! Make pan fried swordfish then make the piccata sauce. Tilapia: Make pan fried tilapia, then remove and make the piccata sauce.
Try one-pan Greek chicken, baked chicken breast, lemon garlic chicken, or Tuscan chicken. Make chicken tacos, grilled chicken salad, or homemade chicken nuggets. Whip up blackened chicken, pesto chicken, or chicken and rice. Bake a pan of chicken enchiladas, baked chicken breast, or make garlic Parmesan wings. Make crispy baked chicken thighs or simple pan fried chicken thighs. Fire up the grill for grilled chicken or grilled chicken thighs.
5 from 1 review
