You're probably wondering why there's a picture of a yogurt container in a post about Chicken Piccata. Well, there's a very good reason. It's because yogurt makes an excellent marinade and tenderizer. Yogurt is not an unusual ingredient, most of us have it in our fridge.Spending just a few minutes creating a quick marinade for a healthy protein such as chicken or a firm fish can ensure you have a tasty entrée that's moist and flavorful.
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Ingredients
For this recipe you will need:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Plain yogurt
- Flour
- Paprika
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Fresh lemon juice
- Pepper Sauce
- Garlic
- Vermouth - not sweet
- Chicken Broth
- Capers
Why use yogurt in Chicken Piccata
Some marinades are too acidic or the enzymatic ingredients such as pineapple and papaya juices. These strong marinades break down the muscle fibers and collagen which makes the food mushy.
Acidic marinades can toughen the food. This is just the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish.
What we want to happen is for the poultry tissue to break down causing the meat to be juicier.
Your best choice is yogurt which is mildly acidic, giving the meat a great flavor while ensuring it's tender.
The only caveat is that you cannot use yogurt on delicate-fleshed fish, but tuna, swordfish or salmon are good choices.
How to use a Yogurt Marinade with meats
For this dish we used chicken but you could substitute turkey cutlets or veal as another option.
Before we put the chicken breast in the yogurt we gently pounded the chicken in order to get a more uniform piece of meat. The meat will then cook uniformly.
The yogurt marinade process
- After we finish tenderizing the breasts we coat the chicken with the yogurt and place them in a zip lock bag.
- We let them marinate for eight hours.
- When we were ready to make the dish, we pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
- Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Rules for marinating safely
- Container to use: Use food-safe plastic bags, food grade plastic containers, stainless steel, or glass containers to marinate food.
- Where to marinate: Always marinate food in a covered container in the refrigerator.
- Never reuse marinade: If you plan on using some marinade as a sauce, make extra and reserve a portion before putting raw meat or poultry in it.
- Storing marinated food: You can store marinated poultry in the fridge for two days. Beef, venison, veal, pork, and lamb roasts, chops, and steaks may be marinated up to 5 days.
Although we've made a Piccata before with the sea trout, the flavor is different due to the yogurt marinade and the addition of the white vermouth.
This dish is delicious served with pasta, rice, farro, couscous or quinoa. We served it with couscous tossed with baby spinach and mushrooms.
This is a great recipe that's easy to make. A great weeknight meal or a fantastic company dish.
Another chicken cutlet recipe is Chicken Scallopini With a delicious wine lemon butter sauce. It's a quick, restaurant-quality recipe your family will love.
More one-pan chicken recipes you may enjoy
- One-pan Italian Garlic Lemon Chicken
- Chicken Marsala Easy Delicious One-pan Meal
- The Ultimate Chicken Vesuvio with Mushrooms
- Chipotle Cashew Chicken With Brown Rice
These recipes are easy and very tasty!
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
YOU MAY NEED. . .
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Yogurt Marinated Chicken Piccata: Weeknight Gourmet Dish
This is an easy chicken dinner that reaches weeknight gourmet status. A little preparation gets you chicken breasts that are amazingly tender and juicy. There is hardly any cooking time once the breasts are removed from the yogurt marinade. See if your family doesn't think this is one of the best chicken recipes they've ever tasted. The sauce is so good you'll want to spoon it up like soup. We promise!!
If you're a fan of the taste of lemon with your chicken, next time try our roasted chicken thighs that are tangy and delicious with only a few ingredients.
If you like this recipe, please consider giving it a five-star rating.
📖 Recipe
Yogurt Marinated Chicken Piccata { Pollo alla Piccata}
Ingredients
- 8 oz. plain yogurt
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup flour
- 1 tsp. paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 ½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- Few drops of pepper sauce or cayenne optional
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup white vermouth
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 ½ Tbsp. capers
Instructions
- Eight hours before you plan on making the chicken, coat the chicken in yogurt and put it in a zip lock bag -- marinate in the refrigerator.
- When you're ready to cook, remove the chicken from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Mix the flour with the paprika, salt and pepper. Dip both sides of the chicken breasts in the flour mixture.
- Put the olive oil, butter and 1 ½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice into a large pan and heat to medium high.
- Place chicken in pan with olive oil-butter mixture and brown on both sides until done. (Add a little broth if needed to prevent burning).
- Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm in a 170F oven.
- Scrape up the brown bits from the pan that the chicken was cooked in and add the garlic, vermouth, additional lemon juice, broth and capers. Add few drops of pepper sauce or cayenne if you like it hot. Cook the liquid until it's reduced by half.
- Add the chicken back into the pan and simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Serve the chicken on your choice of pasta, rice, couscous, farro or quinoa.
Notes
- Crush some of the capers before cooking to release more flavor.
- Be careful not to burn the garlic; it will taste bitter if you do.
Nutrition
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Barbra Holian
For relatively little effort, this was very good. The yogurt marinade was perfect because the chicken I used had been in the freezer a while. I followed the recipe as written, except I used chicken thighs instead of breasts and, at the end, I thickened the sauce with a cornstarch-water slurry. Flavors were bright and balanced. I served it with steamed broccoli. I will definitely make this again.
Marisa Franca
Thank you Barbra for taking the time to comment. I'm so glad you liked our Chicken recipe. Yes, the yogurt does help with making sure the chicken is tender. Have a wonderful week and happy cooking and eating!
Mary Stacey
This looks delicious and I can't wait to try . Was wondering if I can I substitute white wine in place of vermouth.
Veena Azmanov
That yogurt marinade sounds so good Marisa. I definitely want to try this recipe soon. So simple and easy too.
Frank
Intriguing idea! I've never tried this, but I do remember having. an Egyptian chicken dish (many years ago) that was marinated in yoghurt. It was delicious.
Chiara
yogurt marinade it's really a wonderful idea, thank you Marisa ! Un abbraccio grande
Denise
That was very interesting about the yogurt marinades. I have never done that before and I can't wait to try it. I love chicken piccata and yours sounds like the real deal!
Jolina
This looks delicious! And you're right, we've never thought to use yogurt this way and we always have it in our fridge!! Can't wait to try. Thanks for the marinating tips too.
Ciao Chow Linda
This yogurt marinade makes a lot of sense. I'm going to try it, but I better get some plain yogurt, not my vanilla or lemon flavored yogurt. lol.
DEBORAH
My sis loves new chicken recipes. Will be sending this to her ASAP. Thanks for sharing.
Tammy
Chicken piccata is one of my favorites to order when I go out and I haven't made it at home in ages. Now I'm craving it! Your photos are mouthwatering, Marisa and this meal is perfection!
Swathi
This chicken piccata looks delicious. We too use yogurt as meat tenderizer especially for tandoori chicken. Also helps to absorbs the spices. This perfect dish for holiday table and weeknights.
Pavani
That is such a yummy looking chicken piccata. Marinating chicken in yogurt makes it so moist and delicious.
Anne Murphy
Yogurt marinade? Fascinating! I'm starting to really prioritize tender meat, so I'll have to try this!
Dan Zehr
I love chicken very much. I can eat it every day. This is a really unique recipe worth trying. This is so delicious and it makes my mouth watering.
Mahy Elamin
Oh my goodness this chicken piccata look absolutely amazing! It truly looks delicious! Now, this recipe will be one of my favorites. Looks incredible!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks
yogurt is the perfect marinade for chicken. I think I'll try this recipe next time I make chicken piccata - I bet it's tender and so so flavorful (like all of your recipes)
Claudia Lamascolo
I sure am curious about using that yogurt. That's new to me I honestly have never had Chicken piccata and had no idea it had yogurt in it. Sure sounds really good and I guess I better add this to my must try list.
Marisa Franca
Actually, yogurt is NOT an ingredient in the piccata. It's used to tenderize the chicken breast. You pat the chicken dry once you take it out of the yogurt. So it doesn't go into the sauce.
Veena Azmanov
I love cooking meat with yogurt. This looks so good. Chicken piccata is one of our favorites but I never add capers. Love the addition of vermouth.
Natalie
Oh Marisa, this looks soooo good. Beyond delicious! I love the addition of vermouth and capers. I use capers a lot in my cooking. Since we love chicken in my family I'm going to make this very soon. I just love how this dish looks and sounds .
Gloria
Using yogurt for a marinade is great. It makes the meat so juicy. This sounds delicious, and you can never go wrong with a great chicken dish. Perfect for feeding a hungry crowd, and leftovers would be great for lunch too. Love the little-added touch of heat too.
Cheese Curd In Paradise
I never thought of yogurt as an ingredient in this dish, but it makes sense and sounds delicious! I love lemon and capers with chicken, and I know my family would love this dish!
Marisa Franca
Hi There! I have to correct a misconception. Yogurt is not an ingredient in the piccata. Once the chicken comes out of the yogurt marinade, you pat the breast dry. Yogurt is an excellent meat tenderizer.
Karyl Henry
I had no clue yogurt was an ingredient in picatta! I'm really not a fan of capers because I don't like the salty bite. But I do like chicken picatta, and usually just pick them off before I eat it
Marisa Franca
Hi, Karyl! Yogurt doesn't go into the sauce. The only thing the yogurt does is tenderize the chicken. Once the chicken is finished marinating it is patted dry.
Diane P.
Marisa, This is one of my favorite dishes, yet it is one I don't think to make very often. Will try your yogurt version tomorrow. Thanks! Diane P.