Aggie's Kitchen

Barefoot Contessa Chicken Piccata

Barefoot Contessa Chicken Piccata is a classic chicken dish – perfect for entertaining or a family dinner night. Everyone loves this dish!

chicken piccata with lemon and capers

We have eaten very well this week. I made this Barefoot Contessa Chicken Piccata dish the night before I cooked up Ellie’s Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream…and I have been happily eating leftovers for lunch all week.

This chicken piccata with capers recipe from Ina Garten is a classic. Its one everyone should learn to make and once you do you’ll be happy you did. It’s a dish that feels fancy and from a restaurant.

How to make chicken piccata

To make classic chicken piccata, you start with coating thin chicken breast cutlets with a breadcrumb mixture. The coating has 3 steps – flour, eggs, breadcrumbs. Once your chicken is coated in the breadcrumbs, you will add them to a heated skillet for 2 minutes on each side so they are browned and then finish cooking by baking in the oven.

I decided to bake my breaded chicken cutlets in the oven from the beginning, I just sprayed each breaded cutlet with nonstick spray (or you can drizzle with olive oil) to give help with the browning of the chicken. Bake time will depend on thickness of the chicken cutlets, but about 10 -15 minutes.

The sauce is simple and is made in a skillet while the chicken is baking. Chicken piccata sauce is a combination of butter, lemon and wine. You can add capers at the end and serve with additional lemon slices and chopped fresh parsley.

chicken piccata on a plate with lemon and capers

What to serve with chicken piccata

I love serving chicken piccata with steamed or roasted broccoli or a saute of seasonal vegetables. If you want to serve with pasta, cook your pasta as directed and simply toss the pasta with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese.

 

This Barefoot Blogger recipe was chosen by Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings. What a great pick! Check out the rest of the Barefoot Bloggers and see what they cooked up!

 

Print

Barefoot Contessa Chicken Piccata

  • Author: Aggies Kitchen
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Skillet/Oven
  • Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 extra-large egg
  • 1/2 tablespoon water
  • 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
  • Good olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • Sliced lemon, for serving
  • chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
  3. Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.
  4. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
  5. For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and capers and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Notes

Original recipe did not include capers, I added them in.

To bake cutlets without any frying: After breading each cutlet, place directly on baking sheet. Drizzle each cutlet with olive oil, or spray with cooking spray. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of cutlet. Check at 10 minute to see if cooked through, then adjust time for more if needed.

Recipe from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home or Food Network

Chicken Piccata from the Barefoot Contessa - one of my favorite chicken dishes ever!

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42 comments on “Barefoot Contessa Chicken Piccata”

  1. Aggie, I just stopped by to say hello. Your blog and your version of Ina’s Piccata are beautiful. I’ll be back often.

  2. such lovely photos! The fish tacos below look amazing as well!

  3. Thank you so much for the baby shower ideas!

    Another great, fresh looking dish. Do you think it would taste as good if I subbed chicken broth for the white wine?

  4. Erica – Yes, I think it would still be great with the chicken broth! Let me know if you try it!

  5. Oh Aggie, how did you know that I absolutely, positively love and crave chicken piccata on a regular basis? Yours looks so terrific, and I totally agree about the capers. I’ll have to give yours a try … the recipe I have for it doesn’t look nearly as good! YUM!

  6. Chicken piccata is one of my favorites. Your version looks delicious!

  7. Chicken piccata is one of my favorite dishes. I have just recently started watching Ina on teh food network and love her dishes….

  8. We loved this one too! Yours looks extra delicious! Good call adding some capers. This one is definitely a keeper!

  9. Looks great! Thank you for participating. I like your modifications as well…had this not been my week, I probably would have baked the chicken as well. Glad to know it doesn’t compromise the dish 🙂

  10. Good idea to just cook it in the oven the whole time- a whole lot better for you. Capers sound like a good addition too!

  11. Beautiful photos. Thanks for the tips on baking in the oven. I was wondering how that would come out. Definitely want to add capers next time too!

  12. Yeah! I love that you baked it. I’m saving this one and I’m definitely gonna give it a try!

  13. Great photos Aggie! Love that you added capers too! Nice job!

  14. I love chicken piccata, and I like the addition of capers. Your photos are very appetizing!

  15. Looks just wonderful & a favorite of ours too!

  16. Beautiful, nicely done. I should have added capers — I thought all Piccata had capers but then thought maybe I was confusing it with another dish. I think I would have liked the salty tang. Either way, this was a nice dish and you’re right, it’s a classic that should be on every “go to” dinner list.

  17. Classic Italian dish that is always a crowd pleaser! I use chicken piccata as a weeknight standby as well when I am too lazy to cook anything too entailed. It is one of my hubby’s favorites and I always know I will get a smooch for a great meal. Have to love that! This looks fabulous as usual, Aggie!

  18. Oh that looks so good! I LOVE your pictures! I should have added capers, great idea!

    ~Delta Whiskey (Cat)

  19. I love Ina, and I’ve seen her make this dish….The capers are a great add…Also, I so recommend her Parmesan Chicken (on my site), which we have at least once a week!

  20. Your photos are so beautiful. I just can’t do it. I can’t make great photos of food. Give me people, give me mountains and I can do it, but not food. Loved the fish and the chicken. We had a good week cooking together didn’t we?

  21. I love chicken picatta, but hubby doesn’t like capers so I usually leave them out.

    Such good comfort food! I agree, this should be a staple go to meal!

  22. This looks delicious! And beautiful pictures!

  23. What a great idea to do this in the oven (I still need to clean my cooktop from sauteeing the chicken!) I love capers and wish I’d thought to include them, it’s such a classic! Have you ever baked sliced lemons and eaten them? They’re amazing. I know it sounds weird but it’s great.

  24. That looks even better than the original! I love the addition of the capers and will have to try that next time.

  25. I’ve never had this! And I know I need to!

  26. Your chicken looks beautiful. I can’t believe I didn’t add capers to it too–great idea.

  27. Hi Aggie! I enjoy coming to your site and reading all your recipes, your photos are more stunning each and every time I visit!

    Chicken Piccata is home style cooking but you bring utter chicness to it, I think you are fantastic.

  28. Hi Aggie, This was a great company meal. I served it with a rice medley and sauteed sugar snap peas. Your photos are great. I’m loving our Florida weather.

  29. Your chicken looks great.

  30. I love the addition of capers and doing the chicken entirely in the oven is a great idea.

  31. I just love your changes – next time I am crumbing something I am going to try it in the oven. And the addition of capers looks perfect.

  32. I love chicken piccata and I love that you used sliced lemons. Great taste as well as a beautiful garnish. 🙂

  33. hey lady 😉 I got the black bean hummus at WFs. I wanted to make my own but didn’t have time! I am looking for a good recipe too- I will let you know if I find one

  34. Looks perfectly yummy

  35. I want to try this with Mahi. Ale House has it on their menu and I LOVE it. Should I flatten it though? I am going to do wild rice and steamed spinach.

  36. Pingback: We Try and We Fall | welcome to my blog!

  37. Hello,
    I made Ina’s chicken picatta. Delicious. Although this recipe states 3 tbls. of butter it is actually 4 tbls. while following instructions. Just a heads up for those about to make this delicious dish.

  38. absolutely delicious, easy to make. 






  39. There are 2 different recipes for Ina Garten chicken piccata 
    Which one is the right one-a big difference in lemon amount

    • where do you see another one? This is the one I have used from her cookbook and it looks like the one on the Food Network website is same. Not sure what other one you are referring to. I’ve made this one with this amount of lemon and added capers and it’s delicious.

  40. Easy and delicious






  41. Delicious. Everyone raved about it. I didn’t have wine so I subbed apple cider for most of it and it added just a hint of sweet.