Easy To Make Chicken Piccata Recipe and the Side Dishes To Serve With

Chicken piccata ranks at the top of our list when it comes to an easy lemony chicken dish. This easy-breezy Italian-American dish is quick, simple, and elegant. It’s purely delicious, and you will never regret making chicken piccata for your date night or a family lunch or dinner. You can make it easy as you go.

What Is Chicken Piccata?

Chicken piccata is a classic Italian dish that features seared chicken breasts with a delectable tangy butter sauce. It is more of the Americanized version of the Italian veal piccata. Picatta is a method of cooking thinly sliced pounded meat dredged in flour and browned in butter, topped with lemon butter sauce and capers. The delicious buttery and lemony sauce coating the crunchy crust adds an irresistible punch to the dish.

What Makes a Tasty Chicken Piccata?

Piccata translates to piquant or piquancy in Italian, meaning having a pleasantly sharp taste. So in chicken piccata, it’s the tanginess or zestiness of lemon which brings its unique flavor. Hence, you can’t skip lemon in the chicken piccata recipe.

Your dish will be a grand success if your chicken breasts carry the right balance between the acidity of lemon and capers with fatty butter. Not to mention, if you are into rich creamy chicken piccata, adding cream takes your meal to another level. You can also complement the dish with many side dishes to make one happy meal. So be it a dinner date or small family gathering, chicken piccata can be the ultimate dish that’ll win everyone’s heart.

Easy Chicken Piccata Recipe

How to make easy restaurant-style chicken piccata at home? While there are many versions to make chicken piccata, here is an easy chicken piccata with lemon sauce recipe that’ll make you swoon. Do you feel hungry already? Do you have some chicken breasts left in your refrigerator? Well, get them out and follow this simple recipe to fill your tummy.

It’s a two-step recipe that you can make effortlessly in no time. Sear the chicken and prepare the lemon piccata sauce- your chicken piccata is ready. For a rich flavor, follow both the steps in the same pan.

Ingredients

1. 2 Chicken breasts
2. ¼ cup flour
3. Salt and pepper
4. Olive oil

For the Sauce

1. ¼ cup butter
2. 1½ tablespoons flour(optional)
3. 2 cloves of garlic minced
4. ¼ cup white wine
5. ¼ cup chicken broth
6. 3-4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
7. 3 tablespoons of brined capers
8. 2-3 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley

Directions To Sear Chicken

1. Before seasoning the chicken, make sure to pound the chicken breasts. Pounding tenderizes the chicken and helps to cook evenly. So use a meat tenderizer or anything that has a sturdy back to flatten the chicken. If your chicken breasts are thick and big enough, feel free to cut them horizontally into two pieces.
2. Season the pounded chicken breasts in salt and pepper on both sides. Now dredge them in flour and shake off the excess flour.
3. In a frying pan, add some olive oil and add the chicken once the oil is hot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides until they are golden. Once they turn bright golden on both sides, remove them from the pan and place them on a separate plate.

Directions To Make the Sauce

1. Into the same frying pan, add butter and garlic. Make sure not to burn the garlic as it can turn bitter and ruin the sauce. So cook it for not more than 30 seconds, keeping the pan over medium to low heat. In this stage, add some flour if you like your sauce to be thick and creamy.
2. Add the lemon juice, white wine, and chicken broth gradually and simmer for about 5 minutes. More sauce means more flavor to the chicken, so make sure you don’t over-reduce the sauce.
3. Once the sauce is done, add the capers and the chicken breasts to the pan and garnish with parsley. The delicious chicken piccata is ready to serve. Last but not least, don’t forget to check for seasoning.
4. Even better- try this way if you like your chicken to be crunchy. It’s a fancy way of dressing your tender chicken sitting on the plate. Remove the pan from the stove when the sauce is done, and add the capers and parsley. Adjust the seasoning and add more butter if you like it rich. Whisk them well, and finally, drizzle the sauce over the chicken. By doing so, your chicken gets a stunning make-over from the glazed look of the sauce. That’s it! You are done with mouth-watering chicken piccata in less than 20 minutes.

Few Tips To Make Chicken Piccata Extra Special

If you want your chicken piccata to taste and look unique, then try these simple steps:

1. While lemon is a must for the traditional chicken piccata recipe, you can also play with other citrus fruits like grapes, oranges, and kumquats, creating your own version of chicken piccata. So your recipe can be on a sweeter note or a pleasantly tart note.
2. For a twist, instead of coating the chicken breasts in flour, try bread crumbs for a crispy chicken piccata.
3. While smearing, when you use a combination of olive oil and butter, it gives more flavor. You can also use canola oil instead of olive oil.
4. Add tomatoes, shallots, or your favorite herbs to the sauce as long as they don’t interfere with the tanginess.
5. While garnishing the recipe, add some lemon slices or slices from any fruit that you choose. Toasted and crushed almonds, cashews, or sesame seeds are also great for garnishing. For a more nutty and cheesy flavor, garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

What Is the Perfect Way To Serve Chicken Piccata?

Chicken piccata can be served with tons of other dishes that complement each other and balance the flavors. For the most part, it is usually served with lovely starchy pasta. It also makes a great dish with vegetables, salads, and rice.

Pasta and noodles serve as the classic side dish for chicken piccata. With pasta, you get tons of varieties to play with. From spaghetti, farfalle to jumbo shells and wagon wheel, you get to select your pasta depending upon the occasion. Besides, soba noodles and rice noodles are great ways to experiment with chicken piccata.

Vegetables like cucumbers, zucchini, cauliflower, beans, peas, carrots, asparagus, artichokes, and starchy potatoes are a hit. However, team it up with anything you like and think is yum. If you want to keep it simple and delightful, just a good wine will do too.

Who doesn’t love bread? It’s easy and delicious when you pair chicken piccata with fancy dinner rolls, crusty bread, pita or naan bread, and roti.

Grains and pulses cooked with minimum ingredients and flavors also make a compelling side dish for chicken piccata. Quinoa, millets, and lentils are excellent choices as they have delicate flavors. Do you like lentils? If yes, baked lentil stew topped with cheese makes a decadent dish with chicken piccata. 

When it comes to the delicious chicken, get your hands on the creative side. Shred the lemony chicken and try using it on stuffed pitas, lasagna, risottos, burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Most importantly, your kids would love the shredded chicken piccata in their favorite pasta and fried rice recipes.

13 Side Dish Ideas for Chicken Piccata

When it comes to serving chicken piccata, there are no specific rules. Your love for food begins with experimenting. So never stop experimenting with different dishes to match the flavors with piccata sauce. However, certain side dishes make an excellent pair with chicken piccata. So without further talking, let’s dive into the mouth-watering side dishes to serve with chicken piccata.

1. Lemony Buttered Noodles

Buttered egg noodles are a drool-worthy side dish for chicken piccata, perfect for any occasion. The amount of butter in these dishes is just enough and delicious to fill your tummy. Did you know? Buttered noodles are also among the easiest side dishes to make. Hence it gets pretty faster and saves you a lot of time. The recipe is as simple as getting the noodles to boil with some chicken broth, water, bouillon cube, and butter. Once the noodle is done, season with some garlic powder, pepper, more butter, and freshly chopped parsley.  Do you want to add some cheese? Go ahead and add. You can also make it a one-pot recipe as a classic chicken piccata pasta by cooking the chicken and noodles together.

2. Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes with cream cheese? A perfect side dish for chicken piccata. If you love potatoes, the combination can’t get any better. It is a holiday dish as it is rich, creamy, filling, and makes the ultimate balance of flavors from chicken piccata. Firstly, get those potatoes cut into small cubes and bring them to a boil. Once they are done, add in cream cheese, butter, milk, and season with garlic powder, pepper, and salt. Beat them or mash them. They sure are a treat with chicken piccata. 

3. Angel Hair Pasta

Angel hair pasta is yet another pasta dish that will make a heavenly combo with chicken piccata. Nothing gets better than this satisfying and heartwarming delight. It makes a great date night dinner with its breathtaking flavors. The recipe goes like this- cook and drain your capellini pasta, add some garlic and fresh herbs in sizzling olive oil, toss them together, and add some parmesan cheese. Finally, serve the chicken piccata over the pasta. Sounds easy and appetizing? Yes! Try them once, and they’ll make your favorite date night recipe forever.   

4. Roasted Veggies

Roasted veggies with chicken piccata is a healthy and scrumptious meal. The nutty roasted veggies picking up the tangy flavor from the piccata sauce just melts in your mouth in no time. You can’t resist your taste buds. Not to mention, feel free to add in your favorite veggies for this recipe, but maybe skip tomatoes. So dice some red onions, bell peppers, broccoli, and carrots and place them on a baking pan. Drizzle olive oil and season with garlic, salt, and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and your roasted veggies are ready.  Drizzle balsamic vinegar or top with parmesan cheese for that extra punch. You can also try roasted asparagus, baby potatoes, and Brussel sprouts with chicken piccata.

5. Cheesy Cauliflower Rice

Are you ready for some easy peasy cheesy delight? Cheesy cauliflower rice and chicken piccata are a match made in heaven. That’s pure magic on a plate. The recipe is straightforward and inviting. You just have to saute the riced cauliflower in butter, garlic, and salt until the cauliflower turns tender. Now is the fun time- add cream cheese, cheddar, milk, and some pepper- and sour cream if you like. The flavors from the cheesy cauliflower stunningly balance and highlight chicken piccata in every bite. Now you may also want to try chicken piccata with mac and cheese, yes? Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead.

6. Baked Zucchini

If you love zucchini with parmesan cheese, then this combo will make you drool for more. Moreover, it’s effortless and fun to get them at your table anytime. Slice zucchini into small rounds and toss them up in olive oil, seasonings, and parmesan. Pop them in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 6 minutes and then broil for another 3 to 5 minutes. Tender and crispy zucchinis are ready to be served with chicken piccata. 

7. Lemon Garlic Herb Rice

Lemon garlic herb rice and chicken piccata is a wow match. It’s a complete buttery and lemony package that’ll burst your taste buds with flavors. Did you know? Lemon garlic herb rice is a one-pot recipe. So it is easy to make. Cook some basmati rice with garlic, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, and butter. Most importantly, don’t forget to add lemon zest for the bright yellow and citrusy flavor the rice has to offer.  

8. Garlic Quinoa

Garlic quinoa is yet another downright delicious recipe that goes without saying complementing chicken piccata. The quinoa recipe is super easy and healthy. So start by melting some butter in a pan and add minced garlic. Saute it until the garlic turns brown, and add in the chicken broth and quinoa. Cook until the quinoa is done and serve it hot with chicken piccata for a tummy-filling meal.

9. Dinner Rolls

Dinner rolls are excellent companions of chicken piccata. What else do you need to feel that piccata sauce in your mouth? They mop up the sauce and feel extremely smooth in your mouth. Besides, you get that crunchy note from the chicken, and hence this combination is a win-win situation. Above all, they are quick and easy to serve. If you are a passionate baker who loves baking dinner rolls, you can’t get any prouder when you try this combo.

10. Sauteed Spinach

If you want to keep the main focus on chicken piccata, sauteed spinach is the perfect combination. It’s mild, healthy, and enunciates the flavors of chicken piccata in every bite. The preparation takes less than 10 minutes, so it gives you ample time to make some good platter. Clean the spinach and saute in olive oil and garlic. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes and season it. Finally, drizzle some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice to keep the spinach from turning bitter. 

11. Risotto

Chicken piccata and risotto make a perfect decadent meal. You can keep it simple or add your favorite ingredients as mushrooms to pop with flavors. Bring the chicken broth to a boil, and meanwhile, saute shallot, garlic, thyme, and pepper in butter in a skillet. Once the onion is soft, add the arborio rice and toast it lightly. Pour white wine into the toasted rice and cook until the wine evaporates. Finally, keep adding the chicken broth until the rice is al dente. Remove from the stove, add parmesan and garnish with fresh parsley.   

12. Salads

Salads never disappoint when you pair them up with chicken piccata. Together they make a wholesome dish. Keep the salad ingredients to minimum flavors to truly enjoy the richness of chicken piccata. Moreover, acidic salad dressings may overpower the taste of lemony breaded chicken. Frisee salad, Radicchio salad, Peach and rocket salad with feta cheese, Fennel and celery salad, Beetroot and pear salad with honey walnut, and Garden salad with roasted cashew nuts are some of the salads that taste sensational with chicken piccata.

13. Wine

A simple wine and dine is romantic and elegant. As chicken piccata makes a great main dish, wine can add a further boost to its flavors. When choosing wines to match chicken piccata, keep it to the lemony, citrus, and herbal tones. However, if you like it the rustic way, that’s perfect too. If you have never tried it before, we can suggest some of our favorite wines that go well with chicken piccata. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rose, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, and Vinho Verde will make a perfect match for piccata sauce. 

Now, as you know what to serve with chicken piccata, own it and finish it with a great dessert.