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Garlic Chicken Piccata is a simple yet elegant twist on the classic Italian favorite—perfect for busy weeknights or a cozy family dinner. This easy chicken piccata recipe features golden, pan-fried chicken breasts, lightly coated in flour and parmesan, then simmered in a bright, buttery lemon garlic sauce with capers and a splash of white wine broth.
Each bite of this chicken piccata recipe is crisp on the outside, juicy inside, and bursting with garlicky citrus flavor. If you love bold, comforting meals that come together in under 30 minutes, this garlic chicken piccata is sure to earn a permanent spot on your table.
What Makes This Chicken Piccata Work
What makes this Garlic Chicken Piccata truly shine is the perfect balance of bright, buttery, and savory flavors; all brought together in one skillet. The light parmesan crust on the chicken adds a crispy, golden bite, while the lemon garlic sauce delivers just the right amount of zing to cut through the richness.
Capers give this chicken piccata recipe its signature briny kick, and a splash of white wine or stock deepens the flavor without complicating the process. It’s everything you love about a traditional piccata, but with a garlicky twist that makes it even more irresistible. This easy chicken piccata is quick enough for a weeknight, yet special enough for guests.
What Goes Into This Chicken Piccata
What makes this Garlic Chicken Piccata is made with simple ingredients you likely already have on hand. Each component plays a role in building a bold, buttery, and citrusy flavors that make this dish such a standout.
- Chicken Breasts: Halved horizontally for quicker cooking and tender results, they’re the base of this crispy, golden classic.
- Parmesan Cheese: Mixed into the flour coating for a subtle nutty flavor and perfectly browned crust.
- Garlic: Fresh cloves bring a bold, aromatic twist that sets this version apart from traditional chicken piccata.
- Capers: These briny gems cut through the richness of the sauce and give the dish its signature sharp pop.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Chicken Piccata
- Prepare the Coating In a shallow bowl, mix the flour and parmesan cheese. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dredge each piece in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess and set aside.
- Sear the First Batch Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear two pieces of chicken until golden and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a warm plate.
- Cook the Second Batch Add another tablespoon of butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil. Fry the remaining chicken until golden and fully cooked. Transfer to the plate with the first batch.
- Sauté the Garlic Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pan. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the pan.
- Deglaze and Reduce Let the wine simmer and reduce until almost evaporated, stirring occasionally to deepen the flavor. This step builds the base of your lemon garlic sauce.
- Add Broth and Capers Pour in the chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers. Bring to a boil and let the mixture reduce slightly, about 6 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper if needed.
- Finish with Butter and Chicken Stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Return the chicken and its resting juices to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes to heat through and soak up the sauce.
- Garnish and Serve Sprinkle with fresh parsley and an optional pinch of parmesan cheese. Serve immediately with your favorite sides or over pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Garlic Chicken Piccata pairs beautifully with a mix of comforting and refreshing sides. For something rich and creamy, try it with a side Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes, the buttery sauce soaks right into those tender layers or keep it light and fresh with Grilled Asparagus..For a cozy yet vibrant pairing, serve it alongside a bowl of Creamy Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. And if you’re going for an all-out Italian-style meal, finish with Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread to round things out.
Recipe FAQ’s
Capers give classic chicken piccata its signature flavor, but if you’re not a fan, try chopped green olives or simply leave them out.
If you prefer not to use wine, simply substitute with an equal amount of low-sodium chicken broth or stock. The flavor will still be delicious.
No, it’s not spicy—just tangy, buttery, and garlicky. If you’d like a bit of heat, you can add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
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Garlic Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts large, halved horizontally to make 4
- 2 tablespoons flour all purpose or plain
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese fresh, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 4 cloves garlic large, minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine can be omitted
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup brined capers rinsed
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 pinch parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and parmesan cheese. Season the chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in the flour mixture; shake off excess and set aside.
- In a large pan or skillet heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. When hot, fry 2 pieces of chicken first until golden on each side and cooked through (about 3-4 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your chicken). Transfer to a warm plate.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and another tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, fry the remaining chicken until browned on both sides. Transfer to plate.
- In the same pan, melt one more tablespoon of butter. Fry the garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan for extra flavour. Cook until wine almost evaporates, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the stock, lemon juice and capers and allow to boil until reduced slightly (about 6 minutes). Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Add remaining butter to the pan, allow to melt, then add chicken back into the pan along with all of the juices from the plate and simmer for 5 minutes to heat through.
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I rarely comment on recipes that I have tried but this one was exceptional. I did use vermouth instead of wine since I had that already. And only 1/8 cup. That was the only change I made. I did make a double batch so I that could have leftovers and I am glad I did. It is delicious! Thanks
At 63, and having created classic recipes for half a century, I am embarrassed to admit that I’ve yet to prepare Chicken Piccata. And I’m the guy who makes Puff pastry from scratch! I was spurred on from a recipe that emanated from Bon Appetit magazine, to have my way with Chicken Piccata. Yet, I felt that I could do better. So began my ridiculous searching all over the internet. I obsess way too much. When I saw Karina’s recipe, I truly took a deep breath, and knew in my gut (and 3rd. eye) that this would be the ultimate version. It was all that, and more. Thank you Karina. You do such a wonderful service for everyone, as you cultivate such amazing dishes….and SHARING!
Great recipe, the entire family loved it! We served it with low carb angel hair pasta and zucchini noodles. ❤️?
Everyone says how absolutely delicious this chicken picatta is. Guess what? It truly is!!! I made it in an electric skillet for my husband and son and doubled the recipe. It was 5 star restaurant quality! Had to share pictures with my family to make them jealous! Served with spaghetti noodles and sautéed spinach. Thank you for sharing! It was the perfect quarantine meal of comfort!
So I am new to cooking and I have been trying out different ways to make my chicken breast to keep them juicy and tasty. I follow you on IG so that’s how I was able to find this recipe and it was Delicious. Mixing the oil and butter together was Genius. All the flavors complimented each other very well. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Great Fiorme though Karina, I would add two large garlic cloves. I love garlic. Only problem I had was I was tasting more garlic than that beautiful sauce. I felt the garlic was over taking the dish. But, I would recommend this recipe. I will make this recipe again, for sure. In fact, your recipes are wonderful. I have made many. Thank you.
This was delicious. I used glute free all purpose flour blend instead of the regular flour. It came out great and even my picky 2 year old liked it.
I made it tonight for valentines day for my boyfriend for the first time! He loved it! He completely inhaled it and we had enough for delicious leftovers! Great recipe!
This dish was absolutely amazing and pretty easy to cook! Ive ordered chicken piccata in some very nice restaurants and this recipe was right up there with them. Thank you for sharing. Also, I love the song you attached to the video. Can I get some info on it? 🙂
Great recipe, I live the parm added to the dredge. I like to replace the white wine with vermouth, yum!
I made this tonight and my husband and I LOVED it! We omitted the wine, used jarred minced garlic (the horror, I know), and did everything else as it said. At the end, I threw in the “noodles” from half of a roasted spaghetti squash into the sauce and it. Was. So. Good. I WILL say that it fed my husband and I entirely with no leftovers (just the chicken and spaghetti squash), so I’m sure it COULD feed 4 ppl if you had salads and/or bread or more sides. We are 2 average sized adults, and we were perfectly stuffed on this amount.
All in all, this recipe alone will have me looking further into the recipes on this site! Thanks!
Amazing recipe! Made it last weekend and my 5 year old loved it so much, he asked for it again this week. Love the addition of the parmagiana to the flour. This is a keeper!