Quick Chicken Piccata Pasta (Printable Version)

Tender chicken breasts with lemon, capers, and pasta create a bright and satisfying dish in under 30 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
02 - ½ teaspoon salt
03 - ¼ teaspoon black pepper
04 - ½ cup all-purpose flour
05 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
06 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

→ Sauce

07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - ½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
09 - ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
10 - ¼ cup capers, drained and rinsed
11 - ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
12 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
13 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

→ Pasta

14 - 12 ounces spaghetti or linguine
15 - Salt, for pasta water

→ Garnish (optional)

16 - Lemon slices
17 - Extra chopped parsley

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti or linguine according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta water.
02 - Slice each chicken breast horizontally to create four thin cutlets. Season both sides with salt and pepper and dredge lightly in flour, shaking off excess.
03 - Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook cutlets 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
04 - Using the same skillet, sauté garlic for 30 seconds. Deglaze with white wine (or chicken broth), scraping up browned bits. Add lemon juice, capers, and chicken broth; simmer 2 to 3 minutes until slightly reduced.
05 - Reduce heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons butter until melted and sauce is glossy. Return chicken to skillet and spoon sauce over cutlets.
06 - Add drained pasta to skillet and toss gently to coat, adding reserved pasta water if needed for a silky texture. Plate pasta with chicken on top, spooning extra sauce over. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen when you really just needed the time to set the table.
  • The sauce is so silky and lemony it makes plain pasta feel elegant without pretending to be something it's not.
  • You can have this on the table before anyone finishes their first glass of wine.
02 -
  • Thinning the chicken is non-negotiable; thick breasts will never cook through in the time this sauce takes to come together, leaving you with raw centers.
  • Don't skip rinsing the capers unless you actually want your food tasting like brine; there's a difference between briny flavor and brine-soaked flavor.
  • The pasta water is your secret weapon for a silky sauce; those starch-filled drops transform a thin sauce into something that clings to every noodle.
03 -
  • Use a meat mallet to pound the chicken even thinner if you want it to cook faster or feel more like restaurant-style piccata.
  • Room-temperature chicken cooks more evenly than cold chicken straight from the fridge, so let it sit out for ten minutes while you prep everything else.
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