Chicken piccata stands as a beloved restaurant dish, celebrated for its simple elegance and vibrant flavors. This article presents a keto-friendly version of the classic recipe, allowing you to enjoy this Italian-inspired meal while adhering to a low-carb lifestyle. This adaptation skips the traditional flour-dredging, making it a quick and easy option for a weeknight dinner.
What is Chicken Piccata?
Piccata is an Italian word, sometimes spelled picatta or pichotta, and the culinary use of the Italian term means “to be pounded flat”. While some believe it originated in Italy as a veal dish, chicken piccata has become a popular variation. More generally, "piccata" refers to a method of preparing food, usually chicken or veal, that involves butterflying, pounding flat, and cooking the meat.
Why Keto Chicken Piccata?
Traditional chicken piccata is often served over pasta, making it a high-carb meal. This keto version eliminates the flour and focuses on fresh, flavorful ingredients, resulting in a dish that is both satisfying and low in carbohydrates. Chicken is an inexpensive protein, butter is no longer shunned as unhealthy, and the lack of breading means it will be low in carbs.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
- Almond flour (for coating)
- Grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for coating)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Shallots, minced
- Garlic, minced
- Dry white wine or chicken stock
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Capers, drained
- Additional butter for the sauce
- Optional: Glucomannan or xanthan gum for thickening sauce
- Optional: Fresh parsley or mint for garnish
Preparing the Chicken
- Prepare the chicken: Butterfly the chicken breasts, by slicing horizontally. Place between plastic wrap and gently pound flat. Alternatively, use chicken tenders or thinly sliced chicken cutlets to save time. Trim off any excess fat from chicken thighs, if using.
- Season the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Create the coating: In a large plate, mix almond flour, Parmesan Cheese, salt and black pepper. In a shallow dish, combine the almond flour and parmesan cheese.
- Coat the chicken: Rinse the chicken in cold water and dredge in the almond flour mixture. Coat chicken well in the flour mixture. Dip chicken into egg and then into almond flour cheese mixture.
- Cook the chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons each of olive oil and unsalted butter, butter should sizzle. Place chicken in pan (not crowding) and reduce heat to medium low.
Making the Piccata Sauce
- Sauté aromatics: To the skillet, add the remaining olive oil and butter. Add in the chopped shallots and garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan: Add in white wine or chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers. Let simmer to reduce by about half, approximately 5 minutes. Mix up the brown bits at the bottom, adds amazing flavor.
- Simmer the sauce: Reduce the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Add the capers to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
- Finish the sauce: Turn the heat off and add the butter to the pan. Whisk until it melts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want a thicker sauce, whisk in ¼ teaspoon glucomannan or xanthan gum.
- Combine: Add chicken back into pan.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the Chicken: Butterfly the chicken breasts, place them between plastic wrap, and pound them to about ¼ inch thickness using a meat mallet. Season with salt and pepper. Cut into serving size pieces.
- Dredge the Chicken: Mix almond flour and grated cheese. Dip chicken into egg and then into almond flour cheese mixture.
- Cook the Chicken: Heat oil in pan to medium heat. Place chicken in pan (not crowding) and reduce heat to medium low. Each side only takes a few minutes. I use an instant read meat thermometer.
- Sauté Aromatics: In the same pan, sauté onions, garlic, and capers over medium heat (about 5 min) When onions are tender, add sherry and bring to a low boil, then add the broth and reduce by half.
- Make the Sauce: While the chicken is grilling, make the piccata butter sauce. Add the remaining marinade with all the garlic and capers to a frying pan together with a tablespoon or two of butter (or ghee). Cook over medium-high heat for a minute or two until thickened and fragrant; turn the heat off when the garlic starts to turn golden.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve the chicken over lightly steamed zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice.
- I love serving this chicken with Roasted Asparagus with Lemon and Garlic or Roasted Broccoli with Garlic to keep it gluten-free, low carb and keto-friendly!
- Classic Chicken Piccata is often served over pasta.
- This grilled chicken piccata can be served with any vegetable side but is especially good with potatoes (sweet or white) and a salad.
Tips and Variations
- Wine Substitute: As a substitute for dry sherry, try apple cider vinegar. For small amounts, like a tablespoon or two, you can use it full strength, but if the recipe calls for more, it’s a good idea to dilute the vinegar with water. For example, 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of water would substitute for 1 cup of dry sherry. You could also use chicken stock or a fruit vinegar as a replacement.
- Thickening the Sauce: The sauce for chicken piccata is tradionally a thin butter sauce, allowing the capers and lemon to be the main flavors. If you want a thicker sauce, you could always add a cornstarch slurry to the sauce and whisk in thoroughly before adding the chicken back in.
- Make it Nut-Free: 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.
- Add Creaminess: You won’t taste the coconut cream though, it just adds creaminess to the sauce. I like to add in a little stone ground mustard for extra flavor plus salt and pepper to season.
- Eliminate Ingredients: To lower the net carbs in this recipe even more, you can eliminate the shallot and/or almond flour.
Wine Pairing
Sauvignon Blanc is a high-acid wine that matches the high acid levels found in chicken piccata and will draw out the lemon flavor.
Storage Instructions
Store leftovers separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Store the sauce separately to keep the chicken from getting soggy. Rewarm the chicken in a warm oven, and gently rewarm the sauce in a pan on the stove.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Freezing Instructions
Low carb Chicken Piccata can be made ahead of time, then refrigerated or frozen until ready to bake. However, it is so quick and easy to make however, that I would just make sure the chicken breasts are thawed out and then take the 15 minutes to put it together fresh. Place the chicken in one freezer bag, and the sauce in another. Store it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nutritional Information
Classic chicken piccata contains flour and cornstarch and has about 20g of carbs per serving. However, this Keto chicken piccata recipe has 6g of carbs and 2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4g net carbs per serving. Keto Chicken Piccata has 2 net carbs per serving.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
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