Lemon Chicken Piccata

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Chicken piccata is one of those comforting delicious Italian recipes that’s usually breaded, fried, then smothered in a rich lemon buttery sauce. There’s a way to make the recipe still as decadent and comforting but with Whole30-compliant ingredients. It’s also easy to modify it to make it dairy-free. It’s not your grandma’s chicken piccata, but it’s a darn good one that you’ll love!

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This recipe was excerpted from the new cookbook The Defined Dish (Amazon affiliate link) by Alex Snodgrass, the founder of The Defined Dish. The book is full of similar easy, quick Whole30 recipes and a New York Times Best Seller (for good reason!).

Chicken piccata is usually thin pieces of chicken breast that are dredged in a flour mixture, fried lightly and cooked in a lemon butter sauce. It’s signature to also include capers with the chicken piccata. This piccata concept can also be applied to veal, which is very popular in Italy, where the recipe originated from.

Ingredients

• Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken cutlets for this recipe. If you can, buy organic and air chilled chicken for the best quality and flavor.
• Black pepper: To season the chicken.
• Arrowroot starch: We use arrowroot starch to keep this recipe gluten-free. You can use an all purpose flour or corn starch if that’s what you have.
• Oil and butter: For cooking. I like to use olive oil, but vegetable or canola will work just fine.
• Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic for the best flavor.
• Capers: Capers add a great briny and salty flavor to this dish. I love them, but if you don’t like them, you can leave them out.
• Chicken broth: Use low sodium chicken broth for this recipe, you don’t need the salt as the capers do the job.
• Lemon juice: For the brightest and zingiest flavor, use fresh lemon juice for this chicken piccata recipe.

RECIPE VIDEO TUTORIAL

How to make lemon chicken piccata

Start by cutting the chicken breast into thinner slices. This is iconic of chicken piccata recipes, so it’s important to make sure you’re working with thin pieces. Then dry the chicken with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Next dredge the chicken in the arrowroot starch on both sides. And then, it’s time to cook the chicken piccata in 4 easy steps.

1. Pan sear the chicken on both sides just long enough to get some color. It should not be fully cooked at this point; just seared and lightly browned.
2. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the vegan butter and garlic and cook them together until they’re fragrant. Be careful not to brown the garlic here.
3. Deglaze the pan using capers, chicken broth and lemon juice. This is where all the flavor comes in, so scrape the bits from the pan to help thicken and flavor the sauce.
4. Nestle the chicken into the sauce and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. You can spoon some sauce over the chicken while it’s cooking to keep it juicy and tender.

And the result is a rich and flavorful lemon chicken piccata made without using all-purpose flour, without using any breadcrumbs or cream and with only a tablespoon of butter (which you can easily swap for more olive oil). The flavor is light and lemony without it tasting too heavy. And the whole recipe is made in a skillet for easy weeknight prep and clean up.

Tips for making this recipe

1. Avoid pounding the chicken to make it thinner. It works best to butterfly the chicken and use a large knife to slice thin cuts of the chicken breast. It’s then easier to work with and won’t tear the flesh.
2. Allow the chicken to rest with the salt and pepper for 10 minutes before pan-searing. This is not necessary, but it will help the chicken retain more moisture and absorb the seasoning better.
3. Make sure to dust off excess flour after dredging. It’s all about the light dusting because otherwise you’ll get a thick layer of flour. And that won’t brown quickly enough when you first pan sear the chicken with olive oil.
4. Leave out the lemon slices if you don’t like it as lemony. The lemon slices simmering in the sauce for 15 minutes will definitely add depth to the citrus flavor, which is a big part of the lemon chicken piccata. But you can tone it down with smaller slices or stick to just the lemon juice.
5. Check out my How to cut garlic post for tips on the easiest way to cut garlic for this recipe.

Frequently asked questions

I love how quick and easy it is to make this restaurant quality lemon piccata chicken. It’s so bright and vibrant in flavor and it’s quick enough to make to enjoy after a long day.

More healthy chicken recipes:

• Breaded Air Fried Chicken
• Spatchcock Chicken
• Cilantro Chicken
• Oven Fried Chicken Tenders
• Pickle-Brined Chicken Tenders
• Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Lemon Chicken Piccata recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

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Review

Lemon Chicken Piccata

This Lemon Chicken Piccata is a quick and easy healthy version of the original recipe, that's grain-free, Whole30 and Paleo, but with the same great taste!

5 from 114 votes

Author Yumna Jawad

Servings 4 servings

Course Entree, Main Course, Main Dish

Calories 255

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 23 minutes mins

Total Time 28 minutes mins

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Video

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 pound chicken cutlets skinless, boneless
• ▢ 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ ¼ cup arrowroot starch
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons capers drained and rinsed, plus more for serving
• ▢ 1 cup chicken broth low-sodium
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 lemon, plus lemon sliced for garnish (optional)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves chopped, for serving

Instructions

• Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with the salt and pepper and set aside.
• Pour the arrowroot onto a wide bowl. Lightly dredge each cutlet in the arrowroot until evenly coated, then shake off any excess. Set the dredged cutlets aside on a clean plate.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Working in batches so as to not overcrowd the skillet, carefully add the cutlets and cook until golden brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. The chicken does not need to be completely cooked through, just golden brown. Transfer to a parchment-lined plate.
• Reduce the heat to low, add the butter to the skillet. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the capers, chicken broth, and lemon juice. Increase the heat to a simmer. Nestle the chicken into the sauce and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is tender, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish with the parsley and fresh lemon slices, if desired, and serve.

Equipment

• Mixing Bowl Set
• 5 Piece Cookware Set
• Garlic Press

Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 3-4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or skillet.

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However you can use other grain-free flours for breading instead of arrowroot starch. And feel free to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

Skillet Chicken Piccata is excerpted from The Defined Dish: Healthy and Wholesome Weeknight Recipes© 2019 by Alex Snodgrass. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 80mg, Sodium: 483mg, Potassium: 476mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 121IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 16mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine American, Italian

Course: Entree, Main Course, Main Dish