This chicken piccata crockpot recipe takes the traditional lemon, caper, and artichoke flavors of piccata and puts them in a slow cooker to develop. With a quick preparation, you’ll end up with some delicious chicken piccata for dinner.
Jump to:
What is Chicken Piccata?
Piccata refers to a recipe where a cut of meat is dredged in flour and seared. The resulting piccata is traditionally served in a sauce of lemon juice, capers, and butter. Chicken Piccata is the most popular piccata recipe out there. This crockpot chicken piccata is made with artichokes which also offers a perfect Italian flavor to the dish.
Why I love making it in a crockpot
Chicken piccata is typically made in a saucepan. The chicken is browned and then returned to the pan once the lemon-butter-caper sauce has thickened. This chicken piccata crockpot recipe, takes less than five minutes to sear the floured chicken. It takes less than two minutes on each side to form a crust.
Finally, just add the ingredients to the slow cooker and turn it on high for 4 hours. You can get the same combination of classic piccata flavors. Additionally, the slow and steady heat will further enhance the depth of flavor inherent in piccata.
In addition to the slow cooker, you will need a deep saute pan that you can use for searing the chicken and for preparing the final sauce. You might also want to have a meat tenderizer for the fun process of pounding the chicken breasts thin.
🥘 Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken breast
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- black pepper
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- garlic
- capers
- artichokes
- olive oil
- chicken stock
- butter
- parsley
🔪How to make Chicken Piccata in a crockpot (Step-by-Step Instructions)
- Slice and pound the chicken breasts thin.
- Next, season the cutlets, dredge in flour, and sear on both sides.
- Then add the other ingredients to the crockpot, except for the additional flour and butter.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- Finally combine the flour and butter and add the juice from the slow cooker.
- Pour sauce on top of the chicken piccata and sprinkle with parsley.
💭Tips for making crockpot Chicken Piccata with Artichokes
- When pounding the chicken breasts thin, you can place the chicken in between two pieces of parchment or wax paper so the tenderizer doesn’t slip.
- You can add the sauce into the chicken piccata in lieu of searing the chicken briefly and you’ll still get the delicious flavor of piccata. The addition of a brief searing keeps a more traditional texture on the chicken, but the choice is up to you.
- If you find you need a little more liquid as the hours tick by, you can add in additional chicken stock as needed.
If you are looking for more flavorful Italian recipes do check out our Veal Parmesan recipe and this versatile garlic parmesan white sauce.
FAQ
Can you put frozen chicken in a crockpot?
You can cook frozen chicken in a crockpot, but you wouldn’t use the number of hours as an indicator of doneness. Instead, you would make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F.
Is it safe to slow cook chicken in a crockpot?
Yes, it is very safe to slow cook chicken in a crockpot. The heat will completely cook the chicken all the way through. Just make sure you’ve left the chicken in the crockpot for enough time so the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F.
Does chicken get more tender the longer you cook it in a crockpot?
Leaner cuts like chicken breast run the risk of getting dry if you leave it in the crockpot for too long. The ideal amount of time for chicken breast to cook in the crockpot is 2-4 hours, which will make sure the chicken is both soft and moist.
What Size Slow Cooker Is Best To Use?
A 5-6 quart slow cooker is an ideal size slow cooker, but if you are short on space, you can also use a smaller crockpot, as long as you cut your recipes in half.
How Do You Modify A Large Slow Cooker To Make A Single Serving Meal?
The key to making a single-serve meal in an otherwise large crockpot is to place an oven-safe bowl inside the crockpot. The ingredients will cook through all the same as long as the bowl is safe enough to take the heat.
What to serve with chicken piccata?
Chicken piccata in a crockpot or made in a saucepan can be eaten alone, or with lots of side dish options. Pasta, rice, or veggies work great with piccata, as does roast or mashed potatoes.
You can even use the sauce in chicken piccata crockpot recipes to dress your pasta, rice, or potatoes.
How do you add artichokes to chicken piccata?
Chicken piccata with artichokes builds on the traditional flavors of lemon and capers really well. You can use fresh artichokes and simply cut away the leaves until you are left with the softest leaves and the artichoke hearts.
You can use a can of artichoke hearts if preferred. Simply add whichever type of artichokes you like to the slow cooker along with the other ingredients.
Slow Cooker Chicken Piccata Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ - 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ cup all-purpose flour plus additional 2 TBSP flour for sauce
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- Juice of 1-2 lemons ¼ cup plus zest of 1 lemon
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup capers
- 2 fresh artichokes hearts and soft inner leaves or 1 can artichoke hearts
- 2-3 TBSP olive oil
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 2 TBSP butter
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise and pound the breasts thin with a meat tenderizer.
- Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
- In a pan over medium heat, add 2 TBSP olive oil. Once hot, sear the chicken pieces for 1-2 minutes per side and let drain on paper towels.
- Add 1 TBSP olive oil to the slow cooker and lay the chicken pieces down on the bottom.
- If using fresh artichokes, cut away the leaves until you are left with the softest leaves and the artichoke hearts. You can also use a can of artichoke hearts and drain them. Add the artichokes to the slow cooker, along with the other ingredients.
- Add the garlic, lemon juice/zest, capers, and chicken stock.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- Combine the flour and butter in a pan over medium heat and pour in the juices from the slow cooker. Whisk until combined and add any additional seasoning if desired.
- Pour the sauce on top of the chicken piccata and garnish with parsley and additional lemon juice if you like.
Leave a Reply