Quick Chicken Piccata Pasta (Print)

Tender chicken breasts sautéed in lemon-caper sauce served over perfectly cooked pasta in under 30 minutes.

# What You 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 drained and rinsed capers
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

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 instructions 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. 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 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 browned bits from the pan. 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 each cutlet.
06 - Add drained pasta to skillet with sauce and toss gently to coat. If needed, incorporate reserved pasta water for a smoother consistency.
07 - Plate the pasta topped with chicken and spoon additional sauce over. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon slices.

# Helpful Hints:

01 -
  • Ready in 30 minutes, but tastes like you spent hours coaxing flavors together.
  • The lemon and capers sing without any heavy cream or complicated techniques.
  • Impresses guests while feeling totally doable on a random Tuesday night.
02 -
  • If you skip rinsing the capers, their saltiness can overpower the delicate balance of the sauce.
  • Pasta water is liquid gold here, it has starch that silks out the sauce instead of making it watery.
  • Don't walk away once the chicken hits the pan, those few minutes of attention are when all the magic happens.
03 -
  • If the sauce tastes flat, it's almost always because it needs more lemon juice, add it a tablespoon at a time until it brightens.
  • Pound the chicken cutlets gently with the side of your chef's knife to even them out and they'll cook in exactly the same time.
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