- Egg free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Peanut free
- Sesame free
- Soy free
- Wheat free
- Shellfish free
- Seafood free
- No added sugar
- High in protein
With its zesty butter sauce, our 5-ingredient chicken piccata is not only an easy weeknight meal, it’s also an impressive dish for special occasions.
- Serves6
- Cook time15 minutes
- Prep time10 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 Coles Australian RSPCA Approved Chicken Breast Fillets (about 250g each), halved horizontally
- 100g butter, chopped
- 1/4 cup (50g) drained baby capers
- 3 lemons, zested, juiced
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Nutritional information
Check ingredient labels to make sure they meet your specific dietary requirements and always consult a health professional before changing your diet. View dietary information here.
Percentage Daily Intake information on our recipes is calculated using the nutrition reference values for an average Australian adult.
Method
Step 1
Place a chicken fillet between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to gently pound until 1.5cm thick. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Season well.Step 2
Heat 10g butter in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the chicken, in 2 batches, for 2 mins each side or until golden brown and just cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil. Reduce heat to medium.Step 3
Add remaining butter to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 mins or until butter melts and is golden brown. Add capers and cook for 1 min or until crisp. Add lemon juice and half the lemon zest. Swirl to combine. Return chicken and any juices to the pan. Cook, turning occasionally, for 2 mins or until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens slightly. Sprinkle with parsley. Gently shake the pan. Remove from heat.Step 4
Serve the chicken sprinkled with remaining lemon zest.
Recipe tip
COOK. STORE. SAVE.
Use it up: Leftover capers can be stored in the fridge. Use them in mayonnaise to serve with baked barramundi or tuna and caper linguine. They also love the company of beef like steak tartare toasts or use them to make compound butter to serve with porterhouse steak.
Root to tip: Don’t throw away those parsley stalks. They can be finely chopped and added to a stew, along with onion, carrot and celery, or they can be used in a chicken or beef stock.
This chicken piccata recipe is your new go-to weeknight dinner
Sunshine on a plate, this ever-popular chicken dish ticks all the boxes. It’s simple, easy on the budget and altogether delicious. The origins of this classic recipe are unknown – it could be from Southern Italy, where capers abound, turning up in dishes like caponata and puttanesca. Or it may, along with spaghetti and meatballs, parmigiana and garlic bread, have its origins in Italian-American cuisine. Whether an authentic Italian chicken piccata recipe exists doesn’t matter, for whatever the origins, it’s delicious; tender chicken dressed with the perfect balance of tangy lemon, rich butter and salty capers.
Celebrate the pure simplicity of lemon chicken piccata
With only five ingredients in this recipe, each one plays an important role. As a famous food philosopher once said, ‘Poultry is for the cook what canvas is for a painter,’ and this is the role of the chicken breasts in this beloved dish, to carry the zesty, buttery flavours. While capers can be bought in different sizes, we use baby capers for their sharp bite. To double down on that citrusy fresh flavour, both the zest and juice of the lemons are included. Not only a garnish, the fresh parsley cuts through the rich butter as well as providing a welcome herbaceous flavour.
How to get your chicken tender and golden
The chicken needs to be pounded until thin. If using a meat mallet, make sure you use the flat side, as the spiky side is for tenderising. Because the chicken is going to cook quickly it’s important to get your pan extremely hot to get a quality sear and contain the juices. Add some of the butter and swirl to coat the base of the frying pan, then immediately add the seasoned chicken. The salt will allow the outside of the meat to turn golden. It’s important to cook the chicken in batches – overcrowding the pan will lower the temperature and the chicken will stew. The chicken only needs to brown as it will continue cooking in the sauce.
What to serve with chicken piccata
Serve this chicken piccata recipe with pasta, crusty bread or roast potatoes, as well as a green salad. Traditionally, chicken piccata has no cream, but if you’re after a creamy chicken piccata recipe, simply add one-third of a cup of thickened cream and cut the butter back to 40g.
FAQs
Chicken piccata
- Serves6
- Cook time15 minutes
- Prep time10 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 Coles Australian RSPCA Approved Chicken Breast Fillets (about 250g each), halved horizontally
- 100g butter, chopped
- 1/4 cup (50g) drained baby capers
- 3 lemons, zested, juiced
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Description
With its zesty butter sauce, our 5-ingredient chicken piccata is not only an easy weeknight meal, it’s also an impressive dish for special occasions.
Method
Step 1
Place a chicken fillet between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to gently pound until 1.5cm thick. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Season well.Step 2
Heat 10g butter in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the chicken, in 2 batches, for 2 mins each side or until golden brown and just cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil. Reduce heat to medium.Step 3
Add remaining butter to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 mins or until butter melts and is golden brown. Add capers and cook for 1 min or until crisp. Add lemon juice and half the lemon zest. Swirl to combine. Return chicken and any juices to the pan. Cook, turning occasionally, for 2 mins or until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens slightly. Sprinkle with parsley. Gently shake the pan. Remove from heat.Step 4
Serve the chicken sprinkled with remaining lemon zest.