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A healthy twist on the classic Italian dish Chicken Piccata using walnuts as a grain-free option. This Walnut Crusted Lemon Chicken Piccata makes a fantastic, weeknight, one pan meal, or is fancy enough to serve to guests on a weekend! Paleo, Whole30, and Keto friendly!
Weeknight one pan meals for the win!
Oh hey guys, just another 20 minute meal for you all to enjoy on a busy weeknight. 20 minutes is about all the time I have during the week to make dinner………you too?? Well, you’ve come to the right recipe. I am so ecstatically happy on how delicious this recipe turned out. Simple ingredients, so much flavor, and full of healthy goodness!
I have enjoyed a few different variations of chicken piccata, but I love this Gluten-Free and Paleo option. The addition of California Walnuts was absolutely perfect; it gave this dish just the right amount of texture and flavor.
Nutrient Density of walnuts!
Can we just talk about how awesome walnuts are? I love to snack on a variety of nuts, but walnuts really are superior when it comes to nutrition. As a nutritionist, I encourage everyone to keep walnuts as a pantry staple. They are the ONLY nut that provides a significant amount Omega-3 fatty acids, an essential nutrient that is severely lacking in the Standard American diet. I love that walnuts are so versatile and can add that perfect crunch and taste to any sweet or savory dish.
How to make Walnut Crusted Lemon Chicken Piccata:
We start off by gathering simple ingredients to make this dish: Chicken, walnuts, capers, lemons, chicken broth, parsley, garlic, and some arrowroot to thicken.
- For this chicken piccata, the walnuts were easily broken down in a food processor to create a crumbly mixture that makes an easy replacement for bread crumbs! I coated each piece of chicken with a healthy amount of pulsed walnuts.
- Once the chicken breasts were covered, I heated up a pan and added olive oil. I cooked the chicken breasts for only 3 minutes per side until they were seared nicely, and removed them to a plate.
- I scraped up the bits of leftover walnuts, and created a drool-worthy sauce with fresh garlic, chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers. This will only take a few more minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve!
Recipe Tips and Adaptations:
- Egg: You can use an whisked egg to help assist the walnuts in sticking. I find that I am usually okay without an egg if I pulse the walnuts to the right texture.
- Walnuts: Can you use a different type of nut? Absolutely! Pecans, almonds, or even pistachios work well in this recipe
- Chicken Broth: If not following a strict Whole30 diet, a dry white wine (like a chardonnay), also elevates this meal a few notches. I love it!
Serving
I served this over zucchini noodles, but it’s just as delicious over pasta if you’re not keeping it grain-free. A sprinkle of extra capers and fresh parsley makes it pop, and the whole family gave it a big thumbs up! For sides, I love pairing it with the brightness of Skillet Creamy Lemon Brussels Sprouts, the crisp bite of Roasted Lemon Garlic Broccoli or the comfort of my Crispy Parmesan Sheet Pan Potatoes
for an extra-crispy, cheesy side everyone will love.
Walnut Crusted Lemon Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 4 medium sized chicken breasts
- 1 cup walnuts
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 lemons
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp drained capers
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tsp arrowroot starch, optional
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Begin by heating up a large skillet to medium high heat.
- While pan is heating, pound chicken breasts so they are about 1/2 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper
- Pulse walnuts in a food processor until it resembles a corse crumbly mixture, place inside a shallow bowl.
- Place seasoned chicken breasts in the walnut coating, getting both sides.
- Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the skillet, and all the chicken breasts into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Outside should be golden and crispy, and the inside should be cooked through. If your pan is too hot, remove from heat to prevent burning the walnuts. DO NOT OVERCOOK!! Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Juice one of the lemons, and slice the other for serving (or juice it for the sauce if you want it EXTRA lemon-y, adjust to your taste).
- Now make the lemon sauce: add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil (may need an extra tbsp), and scrape up any of the brown bits on the pan. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add lemon juice, chicken broth, and capers while you continue to scrape around the pan. Sauce should bubble and begin to thicken after 2-3 minutes. If you would like the sauce to be thicker, you can always add 2 tsp arrowroot starch with 1tbsp water and mix into the sauce.
- Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately with lemon slices and chopped parsley.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
We just finished having this meal, DELICIOUS! I used her suggestion and used wine instead of chicken broth. I also used the egg as she suggested.
Thank you so much for a great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it
Starting my Whole30 diet and out this on the menu for nights 3. I feel like I will be able to make it to the end even if I had to remake this every single night. Absolutely delicious. Served mine with zucchini noodles may do cauliflower rice next time. Mmm so good
Just tried this tonight: it was DELICIOUS. Thank you!
So glad you loved it!
There’s no WAY this is only 10m of prep, and cook time was much longer too. It was tasty, though. Sauce needed a little more salt, we also added a splash of white cooking wine.
Walnuts fell off…sauce too thin and way to much lemon. I would give thr chicken an egg bath and then add walnuts to help coat. For sauce make sure to use way less lemon and then add to taste as yoy go. Dish has potential but goingnoff receipe…its lacking
This was good – I would recommend not putting the chicken back in the lemon sauce for too long or you will
Lose the crunch… so if I make again I will cook the cutlets longer without the sauce to pretty much cook them through then as them into the broth mixture at the very end
Made this tonight and it was very yummy. The walnuts and the sauce were a great combo.
Totally agree!! The sauce is so delicious!
I made this for lunch today! It was delicious with a few modifications. I used an egg wash to coat my breasts before “breading” with the pulsed walnuts. I personally don’t care much for capers so switched them for sun dried tomatoes. I also didn’t have a pan big enough to pan fry all my chicken at once so I did them in batches quickly on each side and transferred to an oven to make sure the inside was done. Overall, really yummy recipe and will make it again. Thanks 🙂
Made this last night and it was delicious! At first, I had trouble getting the walnuts to stick to the chicken. My chicken breasts were also quite thick, so that’s probably why. So I turned the heat WAY down and let those babies simmer on med-low for a while on each side (maybe 6-7 min each side).
But the flavors came together so nicely! I served with asparagus and corn. Will definitely make this again.
So glad you love it!
I’ve made this twice now and both times we loved it! This is a new favorite in our home. The only change I made was using 1 tbspn of cornstarch rather than arrowstarch. I also let the sauce cool for 10 minutes before serving, which thickened it nicely.
Love hearing that!!