This Sheet-Pan Chicken Piccata Is So Good, You’ll Forget It’s a Weeknight

Chicken piccata, a beloved Italian American dish of fried breaded chicken in a zesty sauce of lemon juice and capers, is a favorite dinner for many. As delicious as classic chicken piccata is, searing or frying chicken in hot oil can leave behind a messy, greasy stovetop—hardly ideal for weeknight cooking. That’s where this sheet-pan version comes in.

Like classic chicken piccata, it’s juicy and saucy, with chicken cutlets nestled in a buttery sauce with sliced lemons and shallots. Everything, including the sauce, comes together right on the sheet pan in a few simple steps. I arrange sliced lemons and shallots all around the chicken, and once the chicken is cooked, I remove it, let the aromatics continue cooking, and deglaze the sheet pan with a mixture of capers, white wine, and water. Some butter and grated garlic go in next, and once the sauce thickens, dinner is ready to serve. And because all the cooking happens in the oven, there’s no need to worry about hot oil spattering across the stovetop.

Here are a few tips for making it.

For Tender, Quick-Cooking Chicken, Halve and Pound Your Cutlets

Boneless, skinless chicken breast notoriously turns dry and chalky if overcooked. To avoid this, it’s crucial to cook chicken breast well and with care. To ensure even cooking, I slice a large chicken breast in half horizontally to create two cutlets, then pound them to about a quarter-inch thickness. I find it helpful to place the chicken in the freezer for about 15 minutes first, which firms the flesh slightly and makes slicing easier.

Halving and pounding the chicken offers two key benefits: It helps the cutlets cook more quickly than a whole breast and reduces the risk of overcooking the thinner part before the thicker part is done. Pounding also tenderizes the meat, as former Serious Eats editor Kenji notes in his article about reasons to pound chicken breasts. Applying repeated pressure separates and relaxes muscle fibers, making the meat less tough. (No meat pounder? A small, heavy pan—such as cast iron or carbon steel skillet—or a rolling pin works well too.)

Make the Sheet Pan Work Like a Skillet by Preheating It in the Oven

Classic piccata starts with sautéed or shallow-fried cutlets. In this recipe, I mimic that process by preheating a sheet pan in the oven, briefly removing it to coat it with neutral oil, then returning it to the oven. When the cutlets hit the hot oil in the preheated pan, they sizzle and lightly sear, much like they would in a skillet.

To Bread or Not to Bread the Chicken?

Some versions of classic chicken piccata call for coating the chicken in both egg and a cheesy breadcrumb mixture, à la chicken Milanese, to give it a satisfyingly crispy crust. Other cooks skip the eggs and breadcrumbs and simply coat the cutlets in some flour, a simpler route that minimizes mess but still makes for a delicious chicken dinner. That’s the route I opt for here for weeknight ease and simplicity.

For a Sauce With Body, Finish With Butter

Once the chicken is cooked, you’ll build a pan sauce in the sheet pan. Add capers, a splash of white wine, and water, then slide it back into the oven for five minutes. The liquid deglazes the pan and loosens any caramelized bits, while further softening the sliced lemon and shallots. Once it’s out of the oven, you’ll finish the sauce by stirring in cubes of butter. This technique, called “monté au beurre” (mounting with butter) in French cuisine, involves adding butter at the end of cooking so it melts gradually, thickening and emulsifying the sauce for a rich, silky finish.

A scattering of fresh parsley over the finished dish is an optional but nice touch. Serve the chicken with your favorite vegetable sides, such as steamed broccoli, asparagus, or green beans, and plenty of crusty bread for soaking up the tangy, buttery sauce.

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