This lemon chicken piccata is topped with a lemon butter sauce and capers. It's perfect served over pasta with fresh lemon slices.
Chicken piccata served over pasta is hands-down one of my favorite chicken recipes. Lightly breaded and lightly fried chicken covered in a lemon butter sauce with capers? Sign me up.
Chicken piccata is easy to make, too! The key is to either pounding the chicken so it gets really thin, or if you have fantastic knife skills, slicing it in half so it's thin. I typically go with the pounding method, because I have been known to cut myself on occasion. Plus, the pounding method really makes sure you get your chicken to the thickness you want.
I also LOVE how the brightness of the lemon and capers in the lemon butter sauce makes this chicken piccata recipe perfect for any time of year, but especially summer. Smells so good and provides a nice hit of acidity to keep this dish from feeling heavy. Pardon me, I'm drooling over here just thinking about it. I'm about to take some more chicken breasts out of the freezer to thaw so I can make this in a couple of days again.
Ingredients for chicken piccata:
- Chicken breasts, either pounded or sliced thinly
- Flour
- Ground cayenne pepper
- Paprika
- Olive oil
- Fresh lemon juice
- Butter
- Capers
- Pasta
- Salt and pepper
What are capers?
Capers are small flower buds from the Mediterranean that you can find brined. They add a nice briny flavor to dishes like this chicken piccata. I absolutely love them!
How to adjust the spice level:
With this chicken piccata, I find that a tiny bit of spice is nice. However, you don't want to go overboard. If you want to leave the spice out altogether, just omit the cayenne pepper. If you want it spicier, add more!
Other recipes to love:
- Lemon orzo soup with shrimp
- Roasted acorn squash
- Bolognese sauce with spaghetti noodles
- Instant Pot chicken risotto
Chicken Piccata with a Lemon Butter Caper Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 large or two small chicken breasts
- ¾ cup flour
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper spice
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon capers
- ⅓ lb angel hair pasta
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Pound out the chicken with a mallet or heavy pan. Cut into two pieces, if needed.
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat.
- Onto the chicken, sprinkle the cayenne and paprika and season each side with salt and pepper. Dip each chicken piece in flour and shake off the excess.
- Fry chicken 2-3 minutes per side. Make sure to check for doneness, as this will depend on how thin you pounded the chicken.
- Remove chicken from pan and drain on paper towels. Wipe out excess oil from pan if needed.
- Start boiling the angel hair pasta. Cook according to package directions.
- Add capers to the pan and fry for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, butter and stir. Add the juice of ½ the lemon. Heat to boiling and then reduce by half.
- Add chicken back to pan, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Plate the pasta, then top with the chicken breast and some of the sauce. Serve with lemon slices, if desired.
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