This piccata milanese is a caper-filled twist on the classic piccata and a chicken milanese, topped with a lemony, buttery, briny, sauce. This perfect piccata recipe is a fairly quick meal that the whole family will love!
This chicken piccata milanese is a meal that's truly going to give you the most satisfaction with every bite! Between the crispy breaded chicken, the lemon butter sauce, and the saucy pasta, it's a comforting dinner that is also ready in just 45 minutes. The chicken is breaded and cooked until golden brown, then you'll make a simple lemon piccata sauce which is sure to fill your taste buds with so much flavor! You'll definitely want to add this to your rotation of simple dinner recipes.
Traditionally, a piccata dish usually involves a thinly sliced browned meat, accompanied by lemon, butter, and capers. This sauce combo is so delicious, with the classic lemon and butter combo, and the capers which add some brininess. We used chicken in this recipe, but if you wanted to you could substitute thin slices of veal cutlets, pork cutlets, or even a thinly sliced fish option such as a trout fillet! With the addition of some pasta which is tossed in the sauce, this is a perfect milanese pasta recipe which we think will become on of your favorite recipes.
If you're looking to try out other Mediterranean recipes, be sure to try our Amatriciana Pizza, or if you're in the mood for more pasta, be sure to check out this simple Four Cheese Pasta.
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Why You'll Love this Simple Dish
- With the pasta, it's a full delicious meal. My favorite chicken recipes are usually ones that are also a full meal. With the addition of the thin pasta, this is an all-in-one dinner.
- It's got the best combination of flavors. With the creaminess from the butter, the acidity from the lemon, and the brininess from the capers, this recipe has such a wide range of flavors. You could also top it off with some freshly grated parmesan cheese or fresh parsley which would be so good.
- It's ready in just 45 minutes. This piccata dish is pretty simple and is done in start to finish in less than an hour.
Ingredients for this Piccata Recipe
This meal has a slightly longer list of ingredients than that of some of our other recipes. That being said, other than the capers, there's a good chance you might already have many of these items on hand!
- Chicken breasts - You can also use veal if you prefer that.
- Flour - Used to help make the classic milanese breadcrumb crust perfectly golden.
- Eggs - To coat the chicken to ensure the breadcrumbs stick and evenly cover the chicken.
- Milk - I like to add just a little to the eggs to thin them out before coating the chicken.
- Breadcrumbs - I use regular breadcrumbs (as opposed to panko) because I think the finer breadcrumbs help to create an even, golden, breadcrumb crust.
- Olive oil - To pan fry the chicken, ensuring each piece will be golden and crispy! You could also use vegetable oil if you don't have olive oil.
- Linguine or another long pasta - With the chicken and sauce, a long pasta shape works best.
- Butter - To make the classic piccata sauce and to add a little richness.
- Lemon zest and juice - To ensure the lemon flavor really comes through, this recipe uses both fresh zest and juice.
- Chicken broth - A little helps cut the acidity from the lemon and increase the volume of the sauce.
- Capers - One of the piccata sauce's main ingredients! Their briny flavor adds so much to the dish and if you don't love them on their own, they pair so well with the butter and lemon flavor.
See recipe card below for quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
This recipe has a good amount of steps but is fairly simple and ready in 45 minutes.
STEP 1: Prepare the chicken breasts. Pound chicken until thin, then season with salt and pepper. Add flour to a plate, whisk eggs with milk in a large shallow dish, and add breadcrumbs to a large plate. Dredge both sides of each breast first in the flour, then dip in the egg mixture, then press both sides into the breadcrumbs until evenly coated. Set on a plate.
STEP 2: Pan fry the chicken. Heat ⅛ cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once a speck of flour sprinkled into the oil sizzles, add 2 chicken breasts, cooking until golden, 3-4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until chicken is cooked, an additional 3-4 minutes or more depending on thickness. Repeat with remaining olive oil and chicken. Set aside and keep warm.
STEP 3: Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguine according to package directions until just al dente.
STEP 4: Make the sauce. Meanwhile, in a new large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Season with pepper and add lemon zest, sautéing for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers, simmering for 3-4 minutes.
STEP 5: Toss pasta in sauce. Drain pasta and add directly to skillet with sauce. Toss until coated, then divide between plates.
STEP 6: Plate chicken and top with remaining sauce. Top each plate with a breaded chicken breast, then top with remaining sauce and additional lemon zest.
Tips for Making this Piccata Milanese with Pasta
- Thinly pounding the chicken is key to making the milanese. It will also seem thicker once breaded and cooked, so try to pound it as thinly as possible. My favorite way to do this is to place it on a cutting board, top with plastic wrap, then use the flat side of a meat tenderizer.
- I definitely recommend using a new skillet to make the sauce or thoroughly wiping out the one used to pan fry the chicken as there will likely be residual oil and breadcrumbs.
- Don't be shy with the lemon zest and juice! The butter and chicken broth tone it down and the acidity is key to making the delicious sauce.
FAQs
Yes! While I find that regular breadcrumbs create a more even and golden coating, if you only have panko they will still work.
If you want to skip the pasta, I would recommend mashed potatoes which would pair great with the piccata sauce, or maybe a vegetable such as broccolini or one of your favorite salads!
If you want to leave out the capers, this recipe would be more of a lemon chicken milanese, which would still be delicious, but won't have the classic flavors of a piccata. If you leave out the capers I would recommend serving this with some additional lemon wedges.
Storing and Freezing
If you want to make part of this recipe ahead of time, I would recommend making the chicken through step 2, then storing it in the fridge until you're ready to make the rest of the meal (up to 3-4 days). When ready to eat, I would reheat the chicken in the toaster oven or oven while continuing the recipe through steps 3-6, as that's my favorite way to ensure the chicken will still be crispy.
I don't recommend freezing this recipe, but the prepared chicken could be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days before eating.
If you make this recipe we would absolutely love if you left a star review and/or comment! Also, make sure to tag us on Instagram @doublethespoonfuls so we can see what you create.
📖 Recipe
Piccata Milanese with Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts about 1 pound total
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- ½ cup flour
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin, divided
- 10 ounces linguine or other long pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 lemon zest and juice, divided, plus additional for serving
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup capers drained
Instructions
- Pound chicken breasts until very thin, then season both sides liberally with kosher salt and black pepper. Add flour to a shallow plate, whisk eggs with milk in a large shallow dish, and add breadcrumbs to a separate large shallow plate. Dredge both sides of each chicken breast first in the flour, then dip in the egg mixture, then press both sides into the breadcrumbs until evenly coated. Set coated chicken breasts on a plate.4 chicken breasts, kosher salt, black pepper, ½ cup flour, 4 eggs, ¼ cup milk, 2 cups breadcrumbs
- Heat ⅛ cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once a speck of flour sprinkled into the oil sizzles, add 2 chicken breasts, cooking until breadcrumbs are golden, 3-4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, an additional 3-4 minutes or more depending on thickness. Repeat with remaining olive oil and chicken. Set cooked chicken aside and keep warm.¼ cup olive oil
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguine (or other long pasta) according to package directions until just al dente.10 ounces linguine
- Meanwhile, in a new large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Season with black pepper and add zest of the lemon, sautéing for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers, simmering for 3-4 minutes.black pepper, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 lemon, 1½ cups chicken broth, ½ cup capers
- Drain pasta and add directly to skillet with sauce. Toss until coated, then divide between plates.
- Top each plate with a breaded chicken breast, then top with remaining sauce and additional lemon zest.
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