Giada Chicken Piccata is one of our favorite dinners. The combination of a tangy lemon butter sauce (with extra capers for us!) and the thin cut chicken breasts lightly floured and pan fried, is something special.

overhead shot of chicken piccata with thin slices of lemon scattered on top with capers and parsley to garnish. In a cast iron skillet.

Everyone in my family makes this Giada Chicken piccata recipe, from the famous chef, Giada De Laurentiis (with a little bit of recipe adaption, I will share below!). My mom made it while my sister and I lived at home. My sister made it for her family when she got married. And I make it too! It’s an easy weeknight dinner that’s just a notch above what’s expected.

For another tasty recipe inspired by Giada, try this Orecchiette with Baby Chicken Meatballs.

What is "piccata?"

Cooking something “Piccata,” is in reference to a method of preparing a thin slice of meat. In America, it is most often seen as “Chicken Piccata,” but this method actually refers to any type of thin cut meat served with capers in a lemony butter sauce. Other popular meats often used are swordfish and veal. Many people serve it will pasta, but it can stand on its’ own. A nice spring salad would pair well too!

Ingredients

6 tbsp. olive oil
6 tbsp. butter
1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, thin cut
½ cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 4 oz. jar of capers drained
8 garlic cloves minced
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup chicken stock or white wine (like sauvignon blanc)
fresh parsley as desired

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
While that is heating up, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken in the flour, coating thoroughly.
Place half of the thin cut chicken in the skillet and brown on each side (5-7 minutes). Once the first batch is complete, remove to a plate, and add an additional tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Repeat steps to brown the second half of the chicken.
Remove second batch of chicken. Add remaining olive oil and butter to skillet, along with capers and garlic. Saute for 1 minute.
Add in lemon juice and chicken stock and whisk to combine. Add chicken back to pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until it is cooked through.
Garnish with fresh parsley.

Recipe adaption

This recipe is based closely on Giada's piccata recipe. It's my favorite I have made, and it's such a staple recipe in our house, I never follow a recipe anymore, but originally, it was hers.

I chose to add garlic to my piccata sauce-- which isn’t traditional. But honestly, I think it works extremely well and tastes delicious. If you want to omit this, you can! The dish will still be flavorful.

How to slice chicken for chicken piccata?

The key here is to have thinly cut chicken breasts so that when you go to pan fry it, the chicken cooks quickly and stays juicy-- not rubbery. For this I like to do one of 3 things.

Buy thin cut chicken breasts. This is the easiest of the options, and they can be found at most any grocery store.
Butterfly the chicken. With a sharp knife, cut along the depth of the chicken to essentially half the thickness. Here is a great video tutorial.
Pound the chicken thin. This creates large pieces and is a little more mess/work but it gets the job done.

What to serve with chicken piccata?

My absolute favorite thing to serve with chicken piccata is angel hair pasta or vermicelli. I love the delicate noodles and because the sauce is a thin butter sauce, it works well to stick to that pasta shape. Other things that you could serve with chicken piccata are mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, couscous, or rice! Because this is essentially lemon chicken with a little more kick to it, it is actually very versatile! A simple dinner salad would be lovely as well.

Looking for other delicious chicken breast recipes?

I have all of my chicken recipes gathered here.

Some of my favorites are: