Healthy Chicken Piccata Recipe
This post contains affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
A Healthy Chicken Piccata Recipe that is so easy to make! Done in under an hour, this chicken piccata is lemony and delicious!
Healthy chicken piccata is our quick and easy recipe for a lightened up version a classic Italian dinner.
With lean protein from chicken breasts (39g per serving!) and a creamy lemon piccata sauce with salty capers, this meal is a family favorite!
I love this because it tastes just like a restaurant dish, but it’s so much lower in calories, carbs, and fat! (And it’s done in 35 minutes!)
It’s one of our favorite things to make on a Friday night for a date night in!
If you are looking for more Italian dishes, try our Italian Wedding Soup, Chicken Scarpariello, Chicken Cacciatore, Ricotta Cavatelli, Pasta Fagioli, and of course Chicken Marsala.
Liz’s Tips for the Best Healthy Chicken Piccata
- For even cooking, be sure the breasts are the same thickness throughout. You can cover each breast with plastic wrap and use a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat mallet to gently pound them down so they have an even thickness. Pre-sliced chicken cutlets are a great option too.
- Avoid crowding the pan. Crowding pieces promotes steaming instead of searing. Leave at least 1 inch of space between each filet, and work in batches if needed.
- Taste as you cook. It’s important to taste the lemon sauce to prevent it from becoming too salty. Capers are salty, so you may not even need to use additional salt.
ingredients
Substitutions
Olive Oil: Our favorite substitutes for olive oil in Italian dishes are avocado oil, ghee or butter. Most other chicken piccata recipes use butter, but we used olive oil for a lighter recipe!
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs, but it may be a little greasy. We like to use chicken cutlets too! Choose chicken breasts that are small and pink in color. These will be the most tender. Avoid chicken breasts that are very large, and pale in color with a wood grain appearance, these will be tough and rubbery.
All Purpose Flour: All purpose flour can be substituted with white whole wheat flour, whole wheat flour or 1:1 gluten-free flour. All purpose flour will have the best flavor for this dish. You can omit the flour completely, but your sauce will not thicken. If you omit flour, use only ½ cup broth. (We really don’t recommend skipping flour!)
Shallot: ¼ cup finely minced yellow onion can be substituted for the shallot.
Broth: Broth and stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. We recommend always using low or no sodium broth. (You can always add more salt to taste, but you can’t take it away!)
Capers: are salty, be sure to taste the sauce before seasoning with salt. If you have leftover capers, try baked cod!
For an extra rich sauce: Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan before sautéing the shallot and garlic instead of olive oil.
Dry White Wine: Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay or Riesling work well in this recipe but any white wine will work! If you want to make lemon chicken piccata without alcohol, you can substitute the wine with an equal amount of chicken or vegetable broth
Lemon Juice: Make sure to use fresh lemon juice and zest. Pre-bottled juice will not taste the same!
How to make Healthier Chicken Piccata
- Slice the chicken breast in half horizontally to create two filets. (You can pound with a meat mallet to make more tender!)
- Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour, tapping off excess.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Sauté the chicken on the first side until golden brown, about 3 minute. Flip, adding more oil if needed, about 2 minutes. Remove chicken.
- Add another drizzle of oil, along with the shallots and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add reserved flour, and cook for about 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with wine, scraping up any brown bits.
- Add the broth, capers, lemon juice, and zest, whisk vigorously, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken, baste the filets with the sauce, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly about 2 minutes.
healthy side dishes to Serve with This:
Most of our healthy chicken recipes pair well with any type of steamed or roasted veggie, or a garden salad. Our favorite healthy sides for piccata are honey roasted carrots and Brussel sprouts with Parmesan. (We also love these Sauteed Green Beans and Parmesan Crusted Zucchini!)
When it comes to healthy starches, we think that the lemon piccata sauce tastes fantastic over any whole grain pasta or brown rice. You could even serve it with another Italian dish, like lemon basil risotto.
Liz’s Tip for Buying Chicken:
Choose chicken breasts hat are small and light pink in color. These will be the most tender. Avoid buying any that are very large and/or pale in color. Also, avoid chicken breasts with a wood grain appearance – they will be tough and rubbery.
storage and Reheating
Storing: After cooking, your chicken piccata with lemon sauce will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container.
Reheating: Place the leftover lemon piccata in a cold skillet, add a few tablespoons of broth or water, and cook over medium low heat.
Pro Tips: To prevent the chicken from drying out, keep a lid on the skillet. Also, use an instant-read cooking thermometer to check for doneness. Leftover poultry should always be reheated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Other healthy dinner recipes:
Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes or grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Healthy Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts 4 small chicken breasts
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup all purpose flour divided *see notes for substitutions
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup finely minced shallot 2-3 large shallots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine optional
- ¾ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons capers chopped if desired
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice 1 large lemon
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest 1 large lemon
For serving
- Cooked orzo, angel hair pasta or cauliflower rice
- Minced fresh parsley for garnish
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- Trim chicken breast of excess fat. Slice the chicken breast in half horizontally to create two filets, or pound chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap until ¼” thick. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place all but 1 tablespoon of flour in a shallow dish or disposable plastic bag. Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour, tapping off excess. Discard leftover flour.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Once heated, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, about 2 tablespoons.
- Working in batches so the pan is not crowded, sauté the chicken on the first side until golden brown, about 3 minute. Flip and sauté the other side, adding more oil if needed, about 2 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Lower heat to medium. If the pan is dry, add another drizzle of oil, along with the shallots and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes, until shallot is translucent. Add reserved 1 TBSP flour, cook about 2 minutes.
- Add the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken broth, capers, lemon juice, and zest, whisk vigorously, bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken, basting the filets with the sauce, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Add in another splash of broth if the sauce gets too thick. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt & pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.
Notes
- Avoid crowding the pan – make sure you leave a bit of space between each piece of chicken
- Pound your chicken breasts to get them extra tender!
My first attempt and it was delicious! I will definitely make this again. Thanks!
So good without all the greasy butter.
Absolutely delicious!
I did cheat and add salted butter to the olive oil. I also cooked the chicken a bit longer on each side to give it a more golden crust. I didnt have any white wine but it still came out so flavorful!
One of my favorite waystoeat chickens! So easy, fast & tasty. Definitely a keeper.