Slow-Cooked Lemon Chicken Piccata (Printable Version)

Slow-cooked chicken in a tangy lemon-caper sauce for an easy, elegant weeknight meal.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
02 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
03 - 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)

→ Cooking Liquids & Flavorings

04 - 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
05 - 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
06 - 1 tablespoon lemon zest
07 - 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
08 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
09 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Garnish

11 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
12 - Lemon slices (optional)

# How To Make It:

01 - Pat the chicken breasts dry and season both sides generously with salt and black pepper. Dredge each breast in flour, shaking off any excess coating.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken breasts for 2 to 3 minutes per side until lightly golden. Remove from the skillet before they are fully cooked through.
03 - Place the seared chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot in a single even layer.
04 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced garlic, and capers. Pour the mixture evenly over the chicken in the crock pot.
05 - Dot the top of each chicken breast with pieces of the unsalted butter. Cover the crock pot and cook on LOW for 4 hours or on HIGH for approximately 2 hours, until the chicken is tender and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165°F.
06 - Carefully remove the chicken from the crock pot. Whisk the remaining sauce in the pot until smooth, then spoon it generously over the chicken. Finish with chopped fresh parsley and lemon slices.

# Helpful Hints:

01 -
  • The sauce practically builds itself in the slow cooker while you go about your day, and it tastes like something youd pay thirty dollars for at a restaurant.
  • Capers and lemon together create this addictive briny tang that makes everyone at the table go quiet for a few minutes.
02 -
  • Do not skip the sear because that quick golden step locks in moisture and gives the flour coating a head start on building sauce body.
  • If you want a thicker sauce, whisk one tablespoon cornstarch with two tablespoons cold water and stir it in during the last fifteen minutes of cooking.
03 -
  • Pound thicker chicken breasts to an even thickness before dredging so nothing dries out while thinner pieces finish cooking.
  • Let the finished dish rest for five minutes off the heat before serving because the sauce thickens slightly and the chicken holds its juices better.

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