Chicken Piccata Pasta

Written by
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Elaine Lemm
Published 01/12/21
chicken piccata hero

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yields: 2 servings

Chicken Piccata is a hugely popular way to cook chicken, and it's easy, too. Chicken is lightly floured and quickly pan-fried, and served with its classic piccata sauce made from wine, lemon, capers, and cream, and sometimes garnished with parsley. Here, it is teamed with pasta, and what a combo they make. The dish comes together pretty quickly, so you can have dinner on the table in a little over 30 minutes. How amazing is that?

If you can't find chicken breast tenders, have a look at the end of the recipe for how to make this dish with chicken breast instead, Do not confuse a piccata with a scallopine: the methods for cooking are similar and both include lemon, but a piccata sauce has capers.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 10 ounces chicken breast tenders
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 lemon (juice only)
  • 1/2 cup crème fraîche
  • 2 tablespoons salted capers (rinsed)
  • 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley (roughly chopped)
  • 8 ounces spaghetti
  • Optional: Crushed red pepper flakes (garnish)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    chicken piccata ingredients

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  2. Put the vegetable oil and half the butter into a large skillet or frying pan and heat over medium heat until lightly sizzling. Stir the flour, salt, and pepper together well in a deep plate. Dip each tender into the flour and make sure they are well coated.

    dust chicken piccata with flour
    Elaine Lemm

  3. Drop the fillets into the hot butter and oil, cook for 4 minutes on one side, and flip and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the pan and onto a warmed plate and cover with a piece of foil while you make the sauce.

    gently fry chicken piccata
    Elaine Lemm

  4. Turn the heat up on the skillet, and once hot, add the white wine and stir while scraping up the juices from the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes to reduce the wine by half, add the lemon juice, and stir. Let the sauce bubble for a few minutes.

    chicken piccata sauce
    Elaine Lemm

  5. Add the creme fraiche and remaining butter and whisk to incorporate into the sauce. Finally, add the capers and leave on a very low simmer. Cook the pasta according to instructions and drain well.

    chicken piccata add capers
    Elaine Lemm

  6. Divide the pasta between two warmed bowls, followed by half the sauce on each. Stir the sauce into the pasta, then top with the cooked chicken, fresh chopped parsley and a little chili flakes if using. Serve immediately.

    chicken piccata finished

    Elaine Lemm

    Using Chicken Breasts

    Chicken tenders are tender little strips of very tender chicken pulled from the side of the breast bone that come already filleted. They are reasonably easy to find and work so well for this recipe. If you can't find them, use chicken breast instead. You will need to cut the breast horizontally lengthways first. Cut in half, then halve and cut crossways, and you will end up with a similar shape. If they are too thick, then tap them with a rolling pin to flatten them slightly. This helps them to cook evenly and quickly.