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Coated in a delicious rich and creamy lemon butter wine sauce and seasoned with tiny capers bursting with savory briny flavor, this one pan Creamy Chicken Piccata is incredible! It’s an easy to make 30-minute meal that goes fantastic with pasta, potatoes, or rice!
Creamy Chicken Piccata Recipe
If you’ve not heard of chicken piccata then you are in for a real treat! It’s a simple Italian American classic that is truly impressive. This dish is rich, creamy, and full of addictively good savory flavor that comes from the use of wine, capers, butter, and lemon. And there is no garlic in this recipe at all!
But in my opinion what really makes this creamy chicken piccata recipe so palate pleasing is the capers! Briny, salty, olivey, amazing little capers. They are used in several Italian recipes like Panzanella Salad and Pasta Puttanesca and seriously transform dishes from just good to unforgettable. And this piccata is no different. The capers make the dish.
It’s a fantastic recipe! Not to mention, it’s a one pan 30-minute main dish that goes great with a simple pasta like Buttered Noodles and some Steamed Broccoli. You could even just toss plain noodles with the dish to make a quick creamy chicken piccata pasta for an easy weeknight meal.
Why We Love This Creamy Chicken Piccata
- One Pan Meal! This entire recipe is made using just one pan from start to finish! Making this a fantastic weeknight meal that is super easy with very little cleanup.
- Simple Italian Classic! With wine, butter, lemon, and capers this dish is full of amazing Italian flavors. Then add a dash of cream and it’s heaven with each bite.
- Wow Appeal! Your family will think you spent hours in the kitchen cooking. This creamy chicken piccata is so tasty it’s restaurant quality good.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken Breasts – You will need boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Salt – Salt enhances the flavor of all foods.
- Black Pepper – You can use regular or freshly ground black pepper to your taste.
- Flour – Simple all purpose flour is all you need for the chicken and the sauce.
- Olive Oil – I like to use extra virgin olive oil for piccata.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter to control the level of added salt.
- Chicken Broth – Used to make the sauce along with the heavy cream, I use a low sodium variety to control the amount of salt.
- Dry White Wine – Any white wine will do, but a drier variety will add more flavor.
- Lemon Juice – Always use fresh lemon juice. Concentrated lemon juice will not produce the same results in this case.
- Heavy Cream – Helps to both create the creamy consistency and add richness.
- Capers – Adds the most amazing briny flavor that contrasts with the lemon, wine, and butter.
- Parsley – Fresh chopped parsley works as a garnish and adds a layer of freshness.
This recipe may look fancy, but it’s not. In fact, it just takes 15 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking. No fancy equipment is needed and there are no complicated steps.
Prep The Chicken
To begin, you need to prep the chicken by patting the breasts dry with paper towels and then pounding them out with a meat mallet until they are ¼ inch in thickness. You can skip this step if your breasts are already ¼ inch thick. But if they aren’t, the best way to flatten the chicken is by placing it between two pieces of plastic wrap and then using a meat mallet.
Next, put ½ cup of the flour on a shallow plate. Then sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper on both sides to season. Now, dredge the chicken through the flour until it’s fully coated.
Cook The Chicken
At this point, it’s important that you have all your ingredients ready to go because the recipe goes pretty quickly once you start cooking. The chicken takes very little time.
So grab a large skillet, add the olive oil and butter, and then melt it together over medium heat. Then once the pan is hot add the chicken and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until it’s golden brown in color and cooked through. Chicken is considered fully cooked once it has reached an internal temperature of at least 165°F(75°C).
Now, transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set it aside for a later step.
Make The Creamy Sauce
To make the sauce, you will use the same skillet that you just used to cook the chicken. So do not toss out any of that yummy goodness. Just simply add 1½ tablespoons of the flour into the pan and then cook it for about 1 minute while continuously whisking which helps to remove the raw flour taste.
Next, slowly add the chicken broth, white wine, and lemon juice while still whisking the entire time until it comes to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer the mixture, making sure to stir occasionally until the sauce has thickened up a bit. Finally, whisk in the heavy cream and capers. Now, taste the creamy lemon chicken piccata sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Finish And Serve
To complete the dish, put the cooked chicken back in the skillet and coat it with the sauce. Then garnish the creamy chicken piccata with the fresh chopped parsley, lemon slices and serve! You can serve this over Buttered Noodles or Mashed Potatoes.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs Instead Of Breasts?
Yes! You can easily use boneless skinless chicken thighs and there are two different ways to use them to make this quick chicken piccata. You can either flatten them out with a meat mallet just like the breasts and then dredge with flour or you can simply skip that step and cook them in the pan as they are. However, if you choose to cook them as they are without flattening them out you will need to cook them for a longer period of time.
What Type Of Wine Works Best?
I have found that dry white wines like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc work the best to deglaze the pan and add great flavor. But any white wine you have on hand will work.
Expert Tips
- Deglaze the pan well. When adding the broth and wine make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the brown bits full of amazing flavor. This is the key to making good piccata sauce.
- Temp the chicken. It’s always a good idea to make sure that your chicken is fully cooked and has reached at least 165°F (75°C) before serving. I always use my easy to read digital cooking thermometer.
- Alcohol-free version. If you want to keep the recipe totally alcohol free you can just omit the white wine and use more chicken broth instead.
Leftovers
This creamy chicken piccata will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, just put it in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power or reheat it in a pan. However, if you choose to freeze your leftovers it’s best to let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat them the next day.
Other Great Chicken Dishes To Try
- Monterey Chicken
- Creamy Herb Chicken
- Crispy Fried Chicken
- Braised Balsamic Chicken
- Chicken Parmesan
- Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken
- Chicken Souvlaki
- Creamy Chicken Casserole
- Creamy Mustard Chicken
- Chicken Saltimbocca
Creamy Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts boneless and skinless, halved horizontally
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- ½ cup all-purpose flour plus 1½ tablespoon for sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup capers drained
- 1 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Each piece should be about ¼-inch in thickness. If it's not, place the chicken between two pieces of plastic and pound it using a meat mallet until even thickness all around.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Place ½ cup of the flour in a shallow plate and dredge the chicken through the flour so that it's evenly coated on both sides.
- To a large skillet add the olive oil and butter and melt over medium heat.
- Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. The chicken is cooked through when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet whisk in the 1½ tablespoons of flour for 1 minute to get rid of the raw flour taste. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, white wine and lemon juice. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce slightly thickens. Stir in the heavy cream and capers. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as necessary.
- Return the chicken back to the skillet, drizzle with some of the sauce over the breasts and garnish with parsley.
Tips & Notes:
- Deglaze the pan well. When adding the broth and wine make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the brown bits full of amazing flavor. This is the key to making good piccata sauce.
- Temp the chicken. It’s always a good idea to make sure that your chicken is fully cooked and has reached at least 165°F (75°C) before serving. I always use my easy to read digital cooking thermometer.
- Alcohol-free version. If you want to keep the recipe totally alcohol free you can just omit the white wine and use more chicken broth instead.
- This creamy chicken piccata will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, just put it in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power or reheat it in a pan. However, if you choose to freeze your leftovers it’s best to let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat them the next day.
