Easy Healthy Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta, an easy weeknight dinner recipe that you can make in less than 30 minutes! Perfect for weeknight entertaining too!
Life can get crazy but you still want to eat good food. Today’s recipe for Easy Healthy Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta is favorite at our house. The recipe can be made in about 30 minutes and it fits the description of New Comfort food! Being made in less than 30 minutes with just a few ingredients. It’s easy and it’s healthier than most options. The recipe is a lighter take on a classic recipe so you can indulge without guilt! New Comfort Food fits within today’s lifestyle with balance in your life.
We love chicken in our family! We like it anyway: fried, baked, grilled or sautéed just to name a few. But we’re watching our calorie intake so Im trying to avoid making a lot of fried foods. This recipe for Easy Healthy Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta not only isn’t deep fried, but you use a boneless, skinless chicken breast so its a little bit healthier too.
This Easy, Healthy, Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta is comfort food at its best without all the time it usually takes to make our family’s favorite recipes. This recipe is made from start to finish in less than 30 minutes! I love that because no matter how stressful and busy my day has been I can still make a great tasting meal at home instead of going out!
History of Chicken Picatta
When I was researching what piccata origins are I thought it was interesting that it isn’t really in many Italian cookbooks. This article from Seattle PI talks about how they found that most people think piccata was invented by Italian Americans in the 1930’s. What everyone does agree on whether it be made with Veal or Chicken is that it is very thin pieces of meat, lightly breaded and sauteed in butter with a lemon added to the sauce. All I can tell you for sure is that it is delicious!
This recipe is an updated version of one I found in one of my Mom’s old cookbooks. The original recipe called for 1/3 cup of butter. I lightened this recipe up by using olive oil, and a LOT less than 1/3 cup. When I made this recipe I had purchased the full-size chicken breasts so I cut them in half (to make them thinner) to shorten the cooking time.
This recipe for Easy, Healthy, Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta uses a very small amount of flour, but it is enough to give you a thickened sauce to spoon over your meal. I mean look at it, it’s velvety smooth, but is light enough you won’t feel guilty eating this new comfort food!
Points of Interest on Easy, Healthy Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta:
Easy/Hard: Easy, the hardest part of this recipe is cutting the chicken breasts to make them thinner.
Make Ahead: No. This recipe takes about 30 minutes, so you can make it and serve it immediately.
Suggestions: This recipe for Easy Healthy Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta is great to make if you are having some company on a weeknight. Because you have most things in your pantry to make it, and it takes less than 30 minutes its easy to make after a long day of work. The meal looks impressive, and the velvety sauce is loved by all who have it. Serve it alone with a veggie, or atop pasta.
Cocktail Suggestion: Use the rest of the bottle of wine you used to make it. I use a Prosecco or a light white wine.
Looking for other comfort food recipes to serve your family?
- beef and sweet potato noodles
- pull-apart tender Beef Roast
- bouillabaisse recipe
- Shrimp Alfredo recipe
- Tarragon Shallot Sauce on Stove top Chicken breasts
We have so many popular Chicken Recipes — Check them out here!
Easy Healthy Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta
Easy Healthy Comfort Food: Chicken Picatta, an easy weeknight dinner recipe that you can make in less than 30 minutes! Perfect for weeknight entertaining too!
Ingredients
- 24 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thin cut, or cut breast in half and pound to very thin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 shallot, peeled and minced
- 1/2 cup White Wine
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
****OPTIONAL GARNISHES*****
- Slices Lemon
- Freshly chopped Parsley
- tablespoon Capers, 1
Instructions
- Mix Flour, salt and pepper in a bowl
- Heat a large skillet to high, then add 2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl to coat entire skillet.
- Dredge chicken breast to coat both sides evenly in flour.
- Leaving plenty of room between the breasts, place floured chicken in skillet cooking in batches until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes.
- Remove chicken to plate and finish all chicken.
- Reduce heat to medium and add last tablespoon of olive oil to pan then add shallots and cook for 5 minutes, add flour and cook one minute more.
- Add wine, wait 30 seconds then add lemon juice and chicken broth stirring constantly.
- Place Chicken breasts back to the pan into the sauce.
- Continue cooking until chicken has cooked through completely, about 10-15 minutes.
- Serve Chicken on a plate, spoon sauce over the top.
- If you are using capers as your garnish, add the capers at the same time you add the lemon juice.
- Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.
Notes
The nutritional information for this recipe was calculated using My Fitness Pal using the specific brands/ingredients that I used to make this recipe. The information could vary depending on what brands/ingredients you use in making the recipe. Please take this into consideration if you are following strict dietary guidelines
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
4 6 oz servingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 318Saturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 705mgCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 37g
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Jennifer A Stewart says
This was always one of my favorite recipes at my parent’s restaurant and I rarely make it myself because I don’t think it can live up to my mom’s. I took a chance and made this recipe and it was better than hers! SHH don’t tell!
Madi says
One of my absolute favorite foods is chicken picatta but I have never made it before! I have to give your recipe a try!
Healing Tomato says
When I worked at an Italian Restaurant, chicken picatta was the most popular recipe. Your recipe looks so much better than restaurant version. I bet it tastes even better. Great recipe, Michele.
Lisa says
Chicken piccata is one of my favorites and yours looks so delicious!
Stephanie says
This looks good! Chicken Picatta is one of my favorite dinners!
Michaela Kenkel says
Chicken picatta is one of my family’s favorites! I make it on Christmas Day!!
Julie says
We made this dish and it was amazing. That chicken is like nothing I’ve ever made. This will be a repeat in our house. Thank you for sharing.
debi says
Such a classic recipe. My family will love it when I make this for them.
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
We love chicken piccata, and I always forget about it when I’m doing my meal planning. I might have to throw it on the list for next week!
cheryl mackinnon says
Your recipes look so tasty but I wish you would add the nutritional info to them,we are cutting back on carbs and sugars and it would make it so much easier for us.
Michele says
Cheryl,
I do provide them on most of them. If you look at the bottom of the recipe card it has it broken down. This recipe was an older one so that didnt have it before but it’s there now for you! Thanks ~m
Johna says
The sauce on this is to die for! Love love love this!!
Michele says
Im glad you like it…. it packs so much flavor and its not super calorie laden so it makes me happy too! ~m
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
I can see why it’s a favorite!
Lane & Holly @ With Two Spoons says
Yum, yum, yum! There is something about chicken picatta that I find addictive!
Michele says
Its one of the few dishes we all agree on in my family! We all LOVE it! ~m
Jill @ createcraftlove.com says
Can’t wait to try this!
Michele says
I hope you enjoy it! ~m
markr356 says
Chicken picatta is indeed a real comfort feed and your version does indeed look very velvety-looking. Nice recipe.
Michele says
Velvety and not a ton of butter! I hope you get to try it! ~m
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I love how comfort food can still be healthy – this looks like my kind of meal!
Michele says
The perfect definition of a new comfort food for today! ~m
Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas says
I’ve never made Chicken Picatta, but it sounds delicious and easy. I am going to have to give this a try. I think my family will love it.
Michele says
Using good quality chicken and a few simple ingredients makes me feel good about what I serve…. and they really enjoy it so its a win for me! ~m
littlesunnykitchen says
Love how easy and simple this is! It’s so difficult to buy chicken nowadays that is not fed with antibiotics all the time, so I try to buy organic whenever possible. It would be nice to serve this chicken with mashed potatoes 🙂
Michele says
Agreed… so many products we have so much added to them? Its nice to buy something you know is naturally good. And oh boy, mashed potatoes would be perfect with this sauce….. 🙂