This savory one-skillet lemon chicken piccata is made all in one skillet and couldn’t be easier! Perfect for weeknights and the leftovers save well for lunch the next day. It’s gluten free, paleo, low carb and keto.
*This recipe was updated in 2021 based on feedback and retesting!
One-skillet chicken is a thing of beauty, don’t you think?
I mean one-skillet anything is pretty much the only way I do things on weeknights anymore.
Along with some roasted veggies that require zero effort and no brain power thanks to the oven-timer feature.
But anyway, chicken. There are just about a trillion ways to cook chicken and you can find most of them with a 30 second search on Pinterest.
Slight exaggeration, but ever so slight, really. People love chicken and it really is SO versatile, tasty, and quick too.
I Love One-Skillet Chicken Recipes!
I have a one-skillet chicken marsala, tuscan chicken, lemon chicken, pesto chicken, Greek Chicken and veggies, and chicken cacciatore.
It’s definitely time for something new – and this lemon chicken piccata is the perfect twist on your one-skillet chicken dinner.
We start with thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts – I pounded mine thin to about 1/2″.
I used a combination of almond flour and tapioca for dredging, but you can use all tapioca if you prefer.
I’ve tried it both ways and there’s no big difference, although I feel like the one with almond flour is a bit more crisp even after being in the sauce.
After the chicken is pan fried, it’s time to make the sauce, which is incredibly simple. Garlic and onion, bone broth, lemon, and coconut cream form the base of the sauce.
You won’t taste the coconut cream though, it just adds creaminess to the sauce. So, slightly different than a traditional Piccata sauce, but trust me, it works for this chicken!
I like to add in a little stone ground mustard for extra flavor plus salt and pepper to season. The mustard is optional so if you’re not a fan, simply omit it.
Once you stir in the capers and add the chicken back in, everything simmers together for a minute and then it’s time to eat!
I served mine with sautéed cauliflower rice but any veggie noodles, or roasted potatoes would be delicious too.
The finished dish is so so tasty! Lots of lemon and garlic, a creamy dairy-free sauce, juicy flavorful chicken. It’s everything you could ask for in chicken piccata!
Okay, go grab your ingredients and a nice big skillet because it’s time to make this one-skillet Paleo lemon chicken piccata – let’s go!
Lemon Chicken Piccata {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
Lemon Chicken Piccata {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2” thickness (or purchased thin-sliced)
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 Tbsp blanched almond flour *
- 2 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 3 Tbsp ghee divided
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small onion chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup chicken bone broth
- Juice of 1 lemon about 3 Tablespoons
- 1/3 cup coconut cream unsweetened, blended before using**
- 1 1/2 tsp stone ground mustard or dijon, optional***
- 1/4 cup capers drained
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Pound your chicken breast to 1/2” thickness, if necessary, and cut into cutlets. Season with sea salt and pepper on both sides.
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Heat a large skillet over medium/medium-high heat. In a shallow bowl, mix together the almond flour and tapioca* for dredging. Add 2 Tbsp of the ghee to the skillet.
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Once the ghee is heated, lightly dredge the chicken, one cutlet at a time, in the flour mixture, shake off the excess, and place in the skillet. Cook about 4 minutes on each side to cook through. The outside should be golden brown - adjust the heat if you need to to avoid over-browning. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
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Lower the heat to medium low and add the remaining ghee. Add onions, cook for a minute until translucent, then add the garlic. Cook and stir another minute, until softened. Add the broth and lemon juice, then raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
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Cook for 3 more minutes, then stir in the coconut cream and the mustard (if using). Cook and stir another minute, then stir in the capers. Add the chicken back to the skillet, lower the heat to a simmer and simmer another minute. Serve over sautéed cauliflower rice or veggie noodles. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
*To make the recipe nut free, you can replace the almond flour with an equal amount of tapioca flour, making the tapioca flour measurement 5 Tbsp.** Coconut cream is the thick part of a chilled can of unsweetened coconut milk. It can also be purchased separately in a can.
***This is for a flavor boost, omit if you don’t like the taste of mustard
Nutrition
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Want More Whole30 Paleo Dinner Recipes? Try One of These!
One Skillet Creamy Tuscan Chicken
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Absolutely delicious and super easy
This was delicious! But When I make it the next time, I’ll be leaving out the coconut cream. I found it overpowered the lemon flavor.
Everyone loved it but not as a true Lemon Piccata
I think I will too. i loved everything about this recipe except for how sweet it tasted and I think that was the coconut cream. I might use an arrowroot slurry.
Maybe you used “cream of coconut” which is loaded with sugar
Loved this but chose to taste after 2 tablespoons of coconut cream and there was just enough lemon flavour discernable so left it at that. Will make this again and again!
Absolutely delicious. Husband loved it. We’ll make again. Don’t change a thing.
I never leave reviews… BUT I had to! This dish was amazing! I couldn’t wait for lunch the next day to have the leftovers! I followed the recipe exactly and didn’t change a thing. Thank you for sharing! Job well done!
Is there anything that can be subbed out for the coconut cream? I am allergic to coconut, and this recipe looks amazing!
See my comment below, I made it without coconut cream and subbed 1.5 Tbps dijon mustard and it still came out amazing.
This looks so delicious but I need it to be dairy free – what do you recommend I replace the ghee with? (Super beginner/terrible cook here so sorry if a stupid question)
I’d just use avocado oil or some other cooking oil to brown the chicken and cook the onions.
I just saw that they sell vegan ghee. Or you could probably use a plant based butter
A great start to Whole 30 2020! Loved everything about it. So did my husband
Really tasty! I whisked in a little tapioca starch and almond flour when I simmered the chicken stock/lemon juice, so that the sauce would thicken. Also I used chicken tenders so I didn’t need to pound or cut them, they were perfect-sized. I’ll make this again!
Used this recipe as inspo for a quick and easy dinner last night and my partner thought it was the best thing ever. We ate it over roasted broccoli and it was satisfying and pretty minimal effort, and ready in about 30 minutes start to finish. I had to make some modifications based on what I had on hand in the fridge/pantry, but it still came out delicious and I’m sure the recipe as written would have been just as great. The modifications I made were: only used almond flour; used chicken thighs sliced into strips; subbed beef bone broth instead of chicken; and put in 1.5 Tbps of dijon mustard instead of coconut cream and the stone ground mustard and let it simmer for an extra few minutes to thicken up. My only “critique” is that the ghee got brown and very smoky while browning/cooking the chicken, so I had to empty it out of the pan and replace it with fresh ghee a few times during the process. I may try using avocado oil or something with a higher smoke point next time.
Also, I didn’t have fresh lemons so I just used 2 Tbsp Santa Cruz bottled lemon juice.
Everyone loved it. Even the grand kids.
I suggest to make more sauce. I doubled it and my son still wanted more sauce. Lol.