30-Minute Creamy Chicken Chicken Piccata

Creamy chicken piccata is packed with bright lemon, salty Parm, and briny capers in every bite. Flavor-wise, it’s a personal favorite dinner recipe. I love the chicken itself, the sauce, and most of all, serving with a nice giant pile of pasta. I usually make this in my cast iron skillet, but any thick pan will do.

A few quick tips to make this recipe even better: use thin cutlets so they cook evenly and stay tender, and don’t skip the step where you scrape up the browned bits in the pan, that’s where a lot of the flavor lives.

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

Fresh lemon juice makes a difference here! Truly don’t attempt to make this without it.

For the Chicken

• 4 chicken cutlets
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

For Searing

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided

For the Sauce

• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (this is about 1–2 lemons, but you’ll want more for garnish)
• 2 tablespoons brined capers, drained
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

For Garnish

2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

If you’d like to double or triple this recipe you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Creamy Chicken Piccata

Dredge the Chicken

Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a shallow dish. Dredge each chicken cutlet in the seasoned flour, making sure both sides are evenly coated, then gently shake off any extra.

This thin coating gives the chicken a nice golden crust and helps the sauce stick later. If your chicken breasts are large, slice them horizontally to make thinner cutlets so they cook evenly.

Sear the Chicken

Heat the olive oil and one tablespoon of the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted and bubbly, add the chicken.

Don’t crowd the pan! If all four pieces don’t fit comfortably, cook them in two batches. Let the chicken sear undisturbed until golden on the first side, then flip and finish cooking through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside while you make the sauce.

Deglaze the Pan and Start the Sauce

Lower the heat to medium and add the chicken broth, lemon juice, remaining tablespoon of butter, and drained capers. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up all the browned bits stuck to the bottom….this adds so much flavor to the sauce!

Let the mixture simmer for a minute or two before moving on.

Stir in the Cream and Parmesan

Pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine. Let the sauce warm up and gently simmer. Don’t let it boil too hard or the cream can separate.

Once it looks smooth and slightly thickened, add the Parmesan and stir until it’s fully melted into the sauce. If the lemon flavor is too sharp for your taste, an extra splash of cream will balance it out.

Return the Chicken to the Pan

Place the seared chicken back into the skillet and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes so the chicken can heat through again and the flavors come together.

The sauce will thicken a little more as it cooks. Turn up the heat a bit if you need to.

Garnish and Serve

Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the chicken just before serving. Spoon extra sauce over each piece and serve it hot, ideally over your favorite pasta. Yum.

Serving and Storage Ideas

Like most cream sauces, this does not freeze well and is best the day it’s made. Leftovers are still okay, though, just heat them slowly and thin out with a splash of chicken broth.

We usually serve this with spaghetti and homemade Italian bread, plus something green on the side like roasted broccoli or a simple salad.

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