This recipe for Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce is simple and light. The chicken is lightly sautéed and drizzled with a quick-and-easy lemon caper sauce.
Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce
This is a SUPER quick-to-make meal. I pound the chicken breasts down a little bit so they are thin enough to cook up quickly. It makes a great weeknight meal, and everyone seems to like it. You can serve it over hot cooked pasta or rice, or you can eat it on its own if you’re eating low carb.
How is Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce different than Chicken Piccata?
Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce doesn’t have any butter in the sauce. It’s dairy free. The sauce is a lighter one made with vermouth, lemon juice and capers. If you don’t have vermouth, you can substitute white wine. The chicken breasts are sauteed “naked” in a little bit of olive oil, without any coating.
In a classic recipe for Chicken Piccata, the chicken is dredged in flour. It’s then sauteed in a buttery sauce with lemons and capers. It’s delicious, but it’s a lot more caloric than this recipe.
What’s the best way to serve Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce?
If you’re eating really light or low carb, it’s best to serve the chicken on its own drizzled with the sauce. Add some vegetables to your plate and call it a meal. If you want to serve it over pasta or rice, you might consider doubling the sauce recipe so you have more sauce to coat the pasta or rice.
I’ve enjoyed making this Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce for a good many years now. It’s one of the dinner recipes I reach for when I’m looking for a lighter meal for my family.
If you’re interested in more healthy chicken recipes, you might like to try my Parmesan Crusted Chicken or this Crispy Chicken Schnitzel. Light Chicken Parmesan, Chicken with Lime Butter and Chicken Cutlets with Mushroom-Wine Sauce are good, lighter chicken recipes too.
Weight Watchers Friendly Chicken Recipe
Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce is Weight Watchers Friendly! If you’re following the Weight Watchers WW program, there is a link to the points on the WW site in the recipe card below.
If you’re not on Weight Watchers or any other kind of special diet, this chicken is still very worthy of trying. It’s just a nice light, easy chicken dinner recipe!
Recipes Using Capers:
- Salmon with Brown Butter, Almonds and Capers
- Lemon Rice with Capers and Parsley
- Sauteed Chicken with Olives, Capers and Roasted Lemons
- Pan Seared Halibut with Lemon Caper Sauce
- Veal Scallops with Capers, Vermouth and Dill
- Cauliflower with Capers
Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce
Ingredients
- Four 4-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (16 ounces total)
- ¼ teaspoon salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup extra dry vermouth
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons capers
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- hot cooked pasta or rice, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Sprinkle ⅛ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper over chicken. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from skillet. set aside; keep warm.
- Add ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, vermouth, lemon juice and capers to skillet, scraping skillet to loosen browned bits. Cook until reduced to ¼ cup (about 2 minutes). Stir in the parsley.
- Spoon sauce over chicken to serve.
Notes
- For WW points, count rice or pasta separately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this the other night and ended up with no sauce to put on the chicken..do you add any chicken broth to the recipe?
I don’t– but you should have a spoonful of sauce for each chicken breast. You can double the recipe to make more. Or maybe try adding some chicken broth!