Healthy Chicken Piccata is a delicious dish featuring chicken breast, dredged in flour, pan browned and coated with a delicious sauce of white wine, chicken broth, lemon juice, capers and a touch of butter. This recipe is a lighter version of the normally butter-loaded restaurant style chicken piccata. But don’t worry, it’s just as delicious!
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Step 1: Prepare the Chicken
One of the hallmarks of chicken piccata is the beautifully thin slices of chicken. You can achieve this one of two ways, by butterflying the chicken or by flattening it with a meat mallet.
Option 1: Butterfly Chicken
To butterfly the chicken, take a sharp knife and slice the chicken in half horizontally, starting at the thicker end of the chicken and finishing at the thinner end.
If you are using large chicken breasts, you will want to cut ALL the way through the chicken from end to end. Otherwise you’ll end up with massive pieces of chicken. If you are using small chicken tenders, do NOT cut all the way through. You will want to keep one side of the chicken connected along the length. Once you’ve sliced through nearly all of the chicken, fold it open along the connected side, like opening a book. It looks like a butterfly, hence the name.
Lay saran wrap over the chicken or place the chicken in a large plastic bag. Flatten any thicker sections with a meat mallet, starting from the center and working your way out. You’ll want the chicken to be nearly equal in thickness throughout (about 1/4 inch) to allow for even cooking.
Repeat the process for all chicken breasts or tenders.
For a step-by-step guide with photos, check out this article by Martha Stewart on How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast.
Option 2: Use a Meat Mallet
The other option for creating thin slices of chicken breast is to cut in half vertically (rather than horizontally) and use a meat mallet. A rolling pin is also a great substitute if you don’t own a meat mallet.
If you are using large chicken breasts, cut the chicken breast in half vertically. Cover each piece with saran wrap or place in a plastic bag and flatten with a meat mallet until the chicken is about 1/4 inch in thickness throughout.
If you are using small chicken tenders, there is no need to cut the chicken in half. Simply cover with saran wrap or put in a plastic bag and flatten with a meat mallet until the chicken is about 1/4 inch in thickness throughout.
This process avoids the trickiness of butterflying chicken, which can be more dangerous for the unskilled cook. Our goal is to have thin slices of chicken. This method is just as effective as butterflying, but involves a little more muscle.
Step 2: Season & Dredge the Chicken
Sprinkle the chicken slices with salt and pepper on both sides. Put flour in a large shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour, ensuring that both sides are well coated with flour. Repeat until all chicken is coated in flour. Set aside.
Step 3: Brown the Chicken
Heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. You’ll want the pan good and hot before adding the chicken so that it browns without releasing all of the juices.
Once the pan is hot, add half of the chicken. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, because that will result in a large release of liquid from the chicken, lower the temperature of the pan, and cause your chicken to boil rather than brown. Gross! So do half batches to prevent boiling and achieve that delicious browning.
Cook about 3 to 4 minutes on one side. Once the chicken browns on that side, turn the chicken over and brown on the other side, for approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep in the moisture and to keep warm.
Heat the other 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in the pan and repeat the process with the remaining 3 pieces of chicken. Transfer to the plate with the other chicken and keep tented with foil.
Step 4: Make the Lemon Caper Sauce
Now it’s time to make the sauce! In the same frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add the garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the wine and broth to the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil, scraping up any brown bits left from browning the chicken. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 1 to 2 minutes, or until sauce is slightly reduced.
Mix in the lemon juice and capers. Add the chicken back to the pan, coating generously with lemon-caper sauce. As the chicken is added to the pan, some of the flour coating will absorb into the sauce, resulting in a thicker sauce. Cook the chicken another 2 to 3 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Top with parsley. Enjoy!
How do I Make it a Meal?
I love Healthy Chicken Piccata over whole wheat egg noodles, whole wheat pasta, brown rice (try these miso and cilantro lime versions), zucchini noodles, or a basic risotto. Round it out with grilled asparagus, roasted broccoli, or a light side salad.
Let us know what you think of this Healthy Chicken Piccata by dropping a comment below or rating our recipe. We hope you enjoy it!
Also, be sure to check out these other delicious dinner recipes:
- Roasted Red Pepper and Sausage Skillet
- Apple Chicken Sausage Skillet
- Bruschetta Breaded Chicken
- Honey Garlic Salmon and Balsamic Vegetables
- Healthier Swedish Turkey Meatballs
Healthy Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, butterflied
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ c unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- â…“ c dry white wine
- â…“ c low sodium chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp capers, rinsed
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested (about 3 Tbsp lemon juice)
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken. Butterfly the chicken breast by slicing breasts in half horizontally, creating thin slices of chicken. Or, cut the chicken breast in half vertically. Place between saran wrap or inside of a plastic bag and flatten with a meat mallet to desired thickness (about ¼ inch). Either method will produce thin slices of chicken that will cook evenly and quickly.
- Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Place flour in a large shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour and set aside on a plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Let the pan and oil heat up before adding the chicken. Once the pan is hot, add half of the chicken to the pan. Only add half to avoid overcrowding. Cook about 3 minutes, or until browned, on one side. Flip over and cook another 3 minutes, or until browned on other side. Transfer chicken from the pan to a plate and cover with foil. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of avocado oil to the pan and repeat with other half of chicken.
- In the same frying pan, melt the butter and heat the garlic until fragrant. Add the wine and chicken broth. Bring sauce to a boil, scraping up any brown bits left from browning the chicken. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 1 to 2 minutes, or until sauce is slightly reduced. Mix in lemon juice and capers. Add chicken back to the pan, coating generously with lemon-caper sauce. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Top with parsley.
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