In Chicken Piccata and Rice, tender and tangy chicken piccata is laid over a bed of fluffy and flavorful rice with wine, lemon, capers and a garnish of fresh parsley. Enjoy this simple yet elegant meal with a glass of wine on date night or serve it to your kids with a side of steamed vegetables.
Looking for a more traditional chicken piccata recipe? Try this easy Chicken Piccata with Green Beans!
Easy Chicken Piccata Recipe
This rich and tangy Chicken Piccata is a fast and simple meal prepared in one pot with a hearty side dish of rice. Tender chicken breast is smothered with a sumptuous sauce that includes a blend of white wine, zesty lemon, and bright capers. Preparing the chicken and rice together cuts down on cook time without sacrificing taste.
Chicken piccata is a classic Italian dish, and there’s a reason it got so popular. It’s simple yet flavorful and uses a cut of meat that’s easy to work with. In this recipe, both the rice and the chicken absorb the sauce beautifully, making every bite pop with tangy flavor.
What Kind of Sauce is Used in Chicken Piccata?
The traditional Italian piccata sauce is made with lemon and butter, much like its French sibling Francaise sauce, but with the added tang of capers. The butter gives it a creamy richness, while the lemon and capers give it the punch of subtle yet complex flavor it’s famous for. In this recipe, we substitute oil and milk for the butter to make it lighter and healthier. These ingredients help the kick of citrus from the lemon and the slightly salty tang of the capers spread evenly over every bite.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This chicken and rice with lemon caper sauce is full of fresh and healthy ingredients that your whole family will love. You’ll find the exact amounts for everything in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Olive Oil
- Chicken Breast
- Salt and Pepper
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic: Chopped very finely or minced.
- Rice
- White Wine: Use your favorite brand.
- Chicken Broth: Go low-sodium or fat-free if you want to make this meal even healthier.
- Lemons: Used in a few different ways to really make the flavor pop.
- Capers
- Parsley: Chop for the garnish.
How to Make Chicken Piccata and Rice
This meal is so classic and elegant that its simplicity might surprise you. Follow these steps to get restaurant-quality results.
Prep Your Ingredients: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or wok. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste.
Brown the Chicken: Place the chicken in the skillet and cook it for 3 minutes, or until browned, then flip the chicken and do the same on the other side. Once it’s cooked through, remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
Cook the Garlic, Onions and Rice: Return the pan to medium heat and add the leftover olive oil. Toss in the onions and garlic and cook them for 2 minutes, or until the onions are tender. Stir in the rice and cook it for 1 minute before pouring in the wine and bringing the pan to a boil.
Add the Chicken, Lemons and Capers: Throw the chicken back into the pan, add the broth, lemon slices, and capers, and bring it all to a boil.
Simmer: Lower the heat on the stove until the sauce comes down to a simmer. Cover the pan with a lid and let it all come together for around 20 minutes, or until the liquid has mostly absorbed. Once that happens, take the pan off the heat.
Garnish and Serve: Plate each portion of chicken piccata, add the chopped parsley and serve.
Helpful Tips
This slight twist on a classic Italian meal is sophisticated enough to impress guests and simple enough for the pickiest eaters. Here are a few quick tips to make it just right for you.
- Lemon Variety Matters: Different varieties of lemon have different sugar and acid levels, so pick a lemon that suits your taste. If you don’t like the strong taste of lemon, use Meyer lemons, which tend to be sweeter and milder. If you want some extra acidity, try the Eureka or Lisbon varieties.
- Go for Arborio: Use arborio rice for a more authentic Italian vibe. This variety of rice is creamy, firm and chewy, which makes it the perfect grain to absorb the tangy flavor of the piccata sauce.
- Swap Out the Wine: The white wine adds flavor and helps bring the sauce together, but traditional piccata sauce doesn’t use it. If you only have reds on hand or would just rather go without, you can swap the wine out 1:1 with chicken broth.
Serving Suggestions
This chicken piccata and rice is the main course and a side dish all in one, but there are a few things you can do to round out this meal. Adding a few more servings of vegetables definitely can’t hurt. Try serving this Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup as an appetizer, or make some tender Grilled Asparagus to serve on the side.
Storage and Reheating
You can keep chicken piccata and rice in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container. The leftovers are sometimes even more flavorful, since the chicken really gets time to soak in the lemon caper sauce. Reheat it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it’s warmed through. Make sure not to heat it too much or the chicken will get rubbery.
Does This Freeze Well?
Unfortunately, this dish isn’t really one you want to freeze. The lemon and caper sauce may curdle, and you’ll end up with a soggy and unappetizing mess. If there’s chicken left over, you can freeze that by itself and make everything fresh another time.
Chicken Piccata and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 cup white wine (use your favorite wine)
- 1 cup chicken broth, fat free and low-sodium
- 4 lemon slices + a few more for garnish (if you do not like the strong taste of lemon, use meyer lemons)
- 3 tablespoons capers
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper; add to skillet and cook on each side for 3 minutes, or until browned.
- Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Return pan to medium heat and add remaining olive oil.
- Add onions and garlic; cook for 2 minutes or until onions are tender.
- Stir in rice and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the wine and bring to a boil.
- Add previously prepared chicken, chicken broth, lemon slices, and capers; bring to a boil.
- Lower to a simmer and cover with a lid; continue to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat.
- Garnish with chopped parsley.
- Serve.
Equipment
- Stove
Notes
- To Store: Keep chicken piccata and rice in the fridge up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- To Reheat: Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until warmed through.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Are you using a cup of uncooked rice or a cup of par-cooked rice? And, have you used long grain rice, or would you not recommend that?
Hi Crystal! It’s uncooked rice, and long grain will work just fine.
Looks great, however, do you put the chicken back in the pan before simmering the rice mixture?
Hi!! I am missing a comma in between chicken and broth up there – thank you so much for catching that!! Yes, add the chicken back to the pan. 😀
Thanks! Just made it tonight!! Absolutely delicious! We all look fed it! Good job
All loved it! Hate that auto correct!!!
This one pan meal looks incredible. I’m keeping this one hand for an easy weeknight meal!
These flavors look mouthwatering!
I adore chicken piccata! Especially the capers, they are my favorite part!
I am totally on board for these one pan dinners. Especially when they are packed full of flavor.
I love quick and easy dinners like this, and it looks amazing!
This is such a classic dish – so nice to see it cooked all in one pan!
Looks incredible! I’m a sucker for one-pan dinners!
Good for you for keeping one cup of wine for this recipe! After all of that, I might have downed the bottle. It looks amazing!!