Easy Chicken Piccata Recipe (Gluten-Free)

There’s a reason chicken is so popular. You can sweeten it up with honey mustard sheet pan chicken, make it spicy with buffalo chicken meatballs, or go tangy with sesame chicken pita. It’s versatile, high in protein and delicious. And with that in mind, I bring you a classic.

Have you ever made something so delicious you’re shocked at how unbelievably simple it is? Well, now you have with this lemony chicken piccata!

Chicken piccata is a traditional Italian dish made with flour-coated chicken breasts. The chicken is baked over the stove in a simple lemon butter sauce and topped with capers. This gluten-free recipe is true to the original but made with lighter ingredients to recreate this classic Italian dish from the comfort of your kitchen. The first time I made this for my family, they couldn’t believe such a simple and easy recipe could taste so yummy.

For more chicken inspiration, check out these high protein macro friendly chicken recipes.

In a time crunch? Cheat code below…

I’m here to spill the tea on a little secret….. Frozen minced garlic. This one is a game-changer and I use it ALL the time. Plus, no smelly garlic hands after. Win/win!

One more time saver: buy pre-cut chicken tenderloins instead of large chicken breasts that you have to cut and tenderize yourself. Local grocery stores will have both the garlic and the tenderloins. Magically, your chicken piccata just got even easier.

Tips and tricks

I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour to make this a gluten-free chicken piccata recipe. If that’s not a concern for you, your regular all-purpose flour works too. To make this chicken piccata less fattening, omit the butter in the sauce at the end. You can also cook the chicken in a cooking spray as opposed to the olive oil, however, I recommend the oil for the best results. Feel free to substitute the olive oil for coconut oil, if you prefer. 

Ingredients and Substitutes

These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and instructions for this Easy Gluten-Free Chicken Piccata Recipe.

Chicken:  1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins.

Flour: I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 to make this recipe gluten-free. If gluten is not a concern, use all-purpose flour, if preferred.

Butter: classic chicken piccata has a creamy butter sauce. To lower the fat, omit the second serving of butter in the sauce.

Garlic: minced.

Lemon: one large lemon, halved. One half will be used for juice, and the other cut into slices.

Chicken Broth: low sodium.  

Capers: it’s not a piccata without the capers! Highly recommend adding them.

Spices: salt, pepper and fresh parsley.

How to make this Gluten-Free Chicken Piccata recipe:

Step 1: Prep chicken

Using a knife, butterfly the chicken breast on a cutting board and cut the chicken in half, leaving 4 chicken cutlets. Cover with saran wrap and pound chicken with a meat tenderizer to approximately ½ inch thick and even all over. Season both sides with salt and pepper. 

Step 2: Coat chicken

Lay the flour out on a plate or shallow bowl and dip the pieces of chicken into the flour, evenly coating all sides of the chicken. You will have a little excess flour leftover which has been accounted for in the nutrition facts. 

Step 3: Prep lemon

Cut the lemon in half and juice one half (approx. 3 Tbsp.) and slice the other half into thin lemon slices. 

Step 5: Cook chicken

Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat. Add the flour-coated chicken cutlets to the hot oil and cook on each side until cooked through and no longer pink, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside on a plate.

Step 6: Make the piccata sauce

Lower the heat to medium-low and add 1 Tbsp. of butter and minced garlic. Stir and cook until the garlic is fragrant. Add the lemon juice and lemon slices to the frying pan, stirring until the lemon slices are golden brown and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-5 minutes.

Step 7: Add chicken

Add the chicken broth, capers and 1 Tbsp. of butter to the pan and stir to melt the butter and create a piccata sauce. Add the cutlets back to the pan and spoon the sauce over to soak into the breaded chicken and reheat throughout. 

Step 8: Serve

Remove from pan and serve with fresh chopped parsley, for garnish.

What to serve with this

If you really want to make this easy chicken piccata recipe shine, serve it with the perfect sides! Some starchy side options are greek yogurt mashed potatoes, gluten-free noodles or white rice. To keep it lower in carbs, serve with cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles or green beans. 

Check out some of our other chicken recipes

• Crockpot French Onion Chicken
• Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
• Chicken Teriyaki Pineapple Bowls
• Thai Chicken Noodles