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Chicken Piccata thighs is a great weeknight recipe. Serve the juicy chicken and punchy lemon, caper and butter sauce with steamed rice for an easy dinner.
It’s back-to-school for us here in South Africa today and our moods are pretty grim. Winter break normally feels so long and glorious with lazy mornings spent cuddling in bed, lounging in the winter sun and reading taking up most of our days. But this school holiday was over as soon as it began. And it’s not only the kids who are sad that it’s over.
But back-to-school also means back to speedy weeknight dinners that take zero effort but deliver huge on flavour. These Chicken Piccata chicken thighs deliver on both fronts. I have always been a massive fan of Chicken Piccata because let’s get real, chicken is just made for lemon, butter and capers, right? And because we usually have a pack or two of chicken thighs waiting to be used, I make this version way more than I ever do with just chicken breasts.
And yes, you can definitely do this with chicken breasts and it will be A LOT quicker BUT what I love so much about the thighs is that I can leave them on the stove, cooking away in that drinkable sauce (seriously you guys, it is so good) while I pack the next day’s lunch boxes or pour myself another G&T. You know. Priorities.
Serve the juicy thighs (everyone loves a juicy thigh) with plenty of steamed rice to soak up all that buttery sauce and some steamed greens to make up for all that butter. Not that we have anything to feel guilty about.
Chicken Piccata thighs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 cup chicken stock
- juice and zest of 1 lemon approximately ½ cup juice
- ½ cup capers rinsed if overly salty
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large saute pan and add a tablespoon of butter. Allow to melt together.
- Add the chicken, skin side down and season to taste. Cover and allow to brown for 5-7 minutes.
- Flip the chicken, season again and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add the garlic, scraping the bottom of the pan, and allow the garlic to fry and become fragrant then pour in the chicken stock, lemon juice and zest.
- Allow to come to a simmer then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the capers and simmer for 2 minutes then add the remaining butter and stir into the sauce to emulsify. Add the chicken back to the pan.
- Scatter over the chopped parsley and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced a little. (If necessary, add more stock.)
- Check the seasoning and adjust.
- Serve.
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Hi Alida, I made this for supper the other night! Really very good! I think there is a step missing in the recipe – adding the butter to the sauce after the capers. Will definitely be cooking this again!
You’re completely right Clea! Silly me. I’ve fixed the recipe! Thanks for letting me know.
Piccata is one of my favourite sauce to make on busy night. Even otherwise actually. We love it with fish, chicken, veg 🙂
It is such a classic. I also love it whether I’m busy or have all the time in the world. 🙂
This looks amazing!
Thanks so much Pamela!
I happened to have all of these ingredients in my fridge so made this recipe tonight. It was absolutely delicious. I served it with steamed sugar snap peas and my kids actually licked their plates. Great recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it Belinda. It’s such a great, easy recipe. 🙂
We love chicken piccata and I’ve never even thought of making it with thighs. Genius!
Try it! I’m sure you’ll love it.
This looks delicious Alida! If I made this with chicken breasts, how long should I cook it for?
The chicken breasts will cook much quicker. I suggest butterflying them or slicing them in halve to thin them out then dusting them in flour before starting. This will allow the sauce to thicken as well. You can really just brown the chicken a few minutes per side (should be completely cooked by this time) then continue with the sauce. Add the chicken back for a minute or two and serve. 🙂
Oh my gosh that looks delicious!
Thanks Danielle!
Looks great!
Thanks so much!
I cannot pass up a chicken thigh dinner Alida! And these look delicious. We love chicken piccata, so these will soon be on the menu!
I’m the same, chicken thighs are my fav! I hope you enjoy it Mary Ann! x
HELLO. CAN YOU REPLACE THE CAPERS WITH SOMETHING ELSE IN THE PICCATA RECIPE?
Of course! You could try pitted olives or even anchovies. The capers add delicious briney flavour but the olives should give a similar effect.