Quick Chicken Piccata Pasta (Printer-friendly)

Sautéed chicken breasts with lemon, capers, and pasta for a bright, tangy, and satisfying meal ready quickly.

# Required Ingredients:

→ 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

# How-To Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti or linguine according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta water.
02 - Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to create 4 thin cutlets. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
03 - Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken cutlets and cook 3–4 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
04 - In the same skillet, sauté garlic for 30 seconds. Deglaze with white wine, scraping browned bits. Add lemon juice, capers, and chicken broth; simmer 2–3 minutes until slightly reduced.
05 - Lower 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 the skillet, tossing gently to coat. Add reserved pasta water if needed to achieve a silky sauce consistency.
07 - Plate pasta and top with chicken cutlets. Spoon extra sauce over and garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent hours at the stove, but you'll have dinner on the table in half an hour.
  • The sauce is silky and tangy without any cream, so it feels light but completely satisfying.
  • Lemon and capers do something magical together that makes people ask for your recipe.
02 -
  • Don't overcrowd your skillet when cooking the chicken, or it steams instead of sears and you lose that golden crust.
  • Reserve that pasta water before draining, because a little starch in the sauce transforms it from thin to silky in seconds.
03 -
  • Use the widest skillet you have so the chicken cooks evenly and doesn't overlap, which makes everything cook faster and more evenly.
  • Don't let the sauce simmer too long after you add the lemon juice, or it gets sharp and one-dimensional instead of bright and balanced.
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