Chicken piccata gets the full pasta treatment! Cook the penne, make a quick buttery sauce and put everything together. This easy lemony chicken dish will delight your kids!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Introducing children to new flavors (or even just slight variations from what they’re used to) is one of my all-time goals when it comes to educating healthy eaters.
Shredding up the chicken and adding it to penne makes it very accessible for kids, too. It’s a recipe that offers the best of chicken piccata but in a slightly easier to serve concoction.
What is Chicken Piccata?
Chicken piccata is a classic Italian dish made by lightly frying chicken cutlets in olive oil. Traditionally, after the chicken has been roasted, a light sauce made of lemon, butter and capers is prepared in the same pan and served over the chicken along with noodles.
It’s one of my favorite Italian recipes, but can be a little tricky for kids because it’s a huge piece of chicken that many of them can’t cut themselves yet, and the sauce has some flavors that some kids might not be used to. like the saltiness of capers.
Make chicken piccata kid-friendly
Instead of serving one big piece of chicken, I shred it after cooking and add it back to the pasta, making it a lot more accessible for the kids.
Instead of pouring the sauce over the chicken, I stir it all together with the penne pasta so kids can’t identify ingredients that they might not be used to. Instead of a big pile of capers, they only get the occasional caper.
Storing and reheating the penne
This recipe makes a lot of food! You will almost certainly have leftovers. Here are some pointers.
- If possible, I recommend storing the chicken and pasta separately. Ultimately, it’s okay to keep it together if that’s easier for you, but be aware that the chicken will lose some of its crispiness if kept with the pasta.
- Don’t chop and stir in all of the chicken in the recipe if you plan on saving some to reheat later.
- When it comes time to eat the leftovers you’ve been storing separately, reheat the chicken in a 350F oven until heated through, maybe eight minutes. Gently heat the pasta on the stovetop in a saucepan with a splash of water. Then combine them!
Dad adds: Buttered Italian Breadcrumbs!
These buttery toasted breadcrumbs pair well with almost any pasta dish and add great texture. My favorite part of chicken piccata is the super thin, crispy crust, so I figured why not just make this crust in breadcrumb form and sprinkle it on top?
I made this Dad Add for myself but my kids like it too!
The children’s certificate
To cheer! This was a huge hit with my family, which is funny because I made traditional chicken piccata that was left untouched. It’s all in the presentation!
Both of my kids ate large portions of pasta and chicken and even sampled capers. My four year old is very fond of capers so I know he’s mine. The verdict on the two-year-old is available. (Re: capers, not Re: dad).
As an extra credit, we had another family over for dinner the night I did this, and their two young children in addition loved this dish. So it got a four out of four from the kids who tried it.
I think that pretty much means it’s a home run.
I’m sure next time I do it my kids will pretend I’m trying to feed them a mutated alien dinner. Imagine that.
More easy kid-friendly chicken recipes!
- Skillet Chicken Parmesan
- Goldfish Chicken Tender
- Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
- Easy Chicken Lo Mein
- Baked Chicken Taquitos
Chicken Piccata Pasta
ingredients
-
1 lb penne
-
3/4 Cup all purpose flour
-
1 1/4 teaspoon Salt
-
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
-
2 big eggs
-
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breastcut into chops about 3/4-inch thick
-
1/2 Cup olive oil
-
2 tablespoon butter
-
1 small White Onionrolled
-
2 cloves garliccut
-
1/2 Cup chicken broth
-
juice from 1 lemon (Above 3 tablespoon Juice)
-
1/4 Cup capers
-
1/4 Cup freshly chopped Parsely
-
salt and pepper to taste
For the DAD, ADD: Buttered Italian Breadcrumbs
-
2 tablespoon butter
-
2/3 Cup Italian breadcrumbs
-
1/4 teaspoon Salt
-
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
method
-
Cook pasta:
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Scoop out and reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the noodles. Put aside.
-
Let the dad add – buttered breadcrumbs:
In a small pan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the breadcrumbs and stir well so they soak up the butter evenly.
Cook over low heat until the breadcrumbs begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Watch them closely as they can go from perfect to burned quickly.
-
Prepare the chicken:
Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Whisk the eggs in a second shallow bowl. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg first, then coat them in the flour mixture. They should have a very light coating. Let the chicken rest on a plate.
-
Roast the chicken:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If the oil sizzles as soon as you sprinkle in some flour, it’s done. Add the chicken pieces and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side (8 to 10 minutes total). Check cooked chicken with a meat thermometer to ensure it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest while the dish is ready.
-
Make the piccata sauce:
Pour all but about 2 tablespoons oil into the pan and add the 2 tablespoons butter. Reduce heat to medium-low and add onions and chopped garlic. Stir the vegetables and cook for a few minutes until soft.
Add the chicken broth and lemon juice and use a wooden spoon to scrape off any bits that are sticking to the pan.
-
Finish the dish:
Add the cooked penne to the pan. Toss the penne with the lemon butter sauce. If the pan seems dry, add enough of the reserved 1/2 cup pasta cooking water so the noodles no longer appear dry.
After the chicken has cooled slightly, cut the roast chicken into large chunks and add back to the penne mixture. Garnish with fresh parsley and capers.
-
Garnish and serve:
Serve the penne warm and top each bowl with the crunchy, buttered Italian breadcrumbs.
This dish will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. If you can plan ahead what portion to keep for leftovers, it’s best to keep the chicken and pasta separate. Otherwise the chicken will be mushy. Heat the chicken in a 350°F oven for about 8 minutes, then chop and add to the reheated penne pasta.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 683 | calories |
| 33g | Fat |
| 48g | carbohydrates |
| 46g | protein |
