This is our closest version to Chicken Piccata done similarly to the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. We’re a bigger fan of two things, primarily, than the recipe in Barefoot Contessa – with more lemon and adding a small shallot.
This is a delicious and bright Chicken Piccata recipe that you can master on your first attempt, and it’ll make enough to keep the entire family full and happy! It’s authentically Italian, and perhaps a little less “Americanized” than Garten’s recipe.
Where Did Chicken Piccata Come From?
Chicken piccata is a bright, flavorful Italian-American dish consisting of chicken cutlets cooked with lemon, butter, and capers. While enjoyed as a restaurant menu staple today, the origins of chicken piccata reveal humble beginnings in Italian home cooking.
Piccata sauce traces its roots to the Italian word “piccare” meaning “to pick” or “to peck at.” It referred to small pieces of meat cooked in a sauce of lemon and capers. Lemons have been grown along the coasts of Italy since the first century AD when they were introduced by Arabs. They added tart, bright flavor to dishes. Capers are native to the Mediterranean and were used as far back as ancient Rome. Pairing lemon and capers provided a tangy, briny burst of flavor.
Early iterations of piccata appeared in ancient Roman cooking as kid goat was cooked in a vinegar, herb and pepper sauce enhanced with capers. In the Middle Ages, agrodolce (sweet and sour) dishes combining lemon and sugar or honey emerged influenced by medieval Arab cookery. Renaissance-era Italian cookbooks included lamb chops prepared with lemon and herbs.
The Italian word “piccata” first appeared in the late 1700s to designate thin slices or escalopes of meat. Veal piccata is thought to be the earliest iteration of the dish we recognize today. Thinly pounded veal cutlets were dredged in flour then sautéed in butter before being finished with a sauce of pan drippings, lemon juice, salt, pepper and capers.
Chicken piccata likely evolved as a variation using chicken instead of veal to lower costs. Early recipes appear in Italian cookbooks from the late 19th and early 20th century. The 1913 cookbook “La Cucina Italiana” by Pellegrino Artusi contains a basic recipe for chicken piccata, documenting its firm roots in Italian cuisine.
Italian immigrants brought recipes like piccata to America. As Italian-American cuisine developed in the U.S., chicken piccata became a menu staple of Italian restaurants and a dish cooked at home. It represented the assimilation of Italian cooking traditions into American culture.
The dish was likely popularized because chicken was more widely available and affordable in the U.S. than veal. Piccata sauce was also faster and simpler for restaurants to make than long-simmered Bolognese or tomato sauces. The bright, lemony flavor profile appealed to American palates.
Today, the classic recipe starts with boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded thin. The cutlets are seasoned with salt and pepper then dredged in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. They are sautéed until golden. A piccata sauce is prepared deglazing the pan with lemon juice then simmering chicken stock, lemon slices, butter, parsley, and capers. The sauce is poured over the crispy chicken cutlets for a flavorful skillet dish.
While the ingredients are few, proper technique is important. The thin cutlets ensure quick, even cooking. They get a light crust from the flour and breadcrumbs. The sauce balances richness from the butter with bright acidity from lemons. The capers offer a pleasant saltiness. This technique of browning meat then finishing with a quick pan sauce is quintessentially Italian.
From ancient Rome through today, chicken piccata endures as a bright, flavor-packed Italian classic. The simple sauce of lemon, capers and butter deliciously enhances the chicken. As Italian cuisine has spread globally, so too has this tasty chicken piccata.
We hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
1 large lemon, sliced in half – one half sliced thinly, other half juiced (4 tablespoons)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets, rinsed and dried thoroughly
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ a shallot or very small shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon small capers, drained
4½ teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
Preparation
Sprinkle both sides of cutlets generously with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets in the flour (I shake them up in a paper bag).
Heat a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes; add a tablespoon of oil; swirl pan to coat.
Lay the chicken cutlets in and sauté, without moving them, until lightly browned on first side, 2 to 2½ minutes. Turn cutlets and cook until second side is lightly browned, 2 to 2½ minutes.
Remove cutlets from the skillet to serving plates and let rest while you make the sauce.
Add shallot and garlic to empty skillet and sauté until fragrant. Add the stock/broth and lemon slices, increase heat to high and scrape loose any browned bits.
Simmer until liquid reduces to about 5 or 6 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and capers and simmer until sauce reduces again to 5 or 6 tablespoons, about 1 minute.
Remove pan from heat and swirl in butter until butter melts and thickens sauce; swirl in parsley.
Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately with a side of pasta and/or vegetables.
Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 large lemon sliced in half – one half sliced thinly, other half juiced (4 tablespoons)
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets, rinsed and dried thoroughly
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ a shallot or very small shallot minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ cup chicken stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon small capers drained
- 4½ teaspoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of cutlets generously with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets in the flour (I shake them up in a paper bag).
- Heat a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes; add a tablespoon of oil; swirl pan to coat.
- Lay the chicken cutlets in and sauté, without moving them, until lightly browned on first side, 2 to 2½ minutes. Turn cutlets and cook until second side is lightly browned, 2 to 2½ minutes.
- Remove cutlets from the skillet to serving plates and let rest while you make the sauce.
- Add shallot and garlic to empty skillet and sauté until fragrant. Add the stock/broth and lemon slices, increase heat to high and scrape loose any browned bits.
- Simmer until liquid reduces to about 5 or 6 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and capers and simmer until sauce reduces again to 5 or 6 tablespoons, about 1 minute.
- Remove pan from heat and swirl in butter until butter melts and thickens sauce; swirl in parsley.
- Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately with a side of pasta and/or vegetables.
