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Keeping things colorful and cozy today with this Sage Lemon Butter Chicken Piccata with Mashed Cauliflower. Lightly breaded chicken seared until golden with fresh sage, lemon, and butter. The chicken is finished in a simple white wine pan sauce with burst cherry tomatoes. It’s simple but mouthwatering. Especially when served over creamy mashed cauliflower hinted with garlic. This dish makes great use of those end of summer tomatoes. It’s the late summer dinner that everyone will love!
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I’ve been waiting to share this recipe for far too long now.
I first made it a couple of weeks ago when I had one too many cherry tomatoes in my kitchen. I immediately fell in love with the recipe. But something about this dish just felt too cozy to share mid-August, so I waited until today. The second week of September feels like the perfect timing for this chicken piccata. It uses up all those end of summer tomatoes, but yet feels cozy with the addition of warming sage (my favorite fall herb) and super creamy mashed cauliflower…a new favorite side dish that I never expected to love as much as I do.
It’s the perfect transitional recipe to slowly step away from summer and head into the cooler fall days.
And most importantly, it’s just really good. The chicken soaks up all that delicious buttery pan sauce. It’s perfectly seasoned with fresh sage, thyme, and lemon. The mashed cauliflower is surprisingly satisfying, so creamy and so delicious.
When paired together, I could not love this hearty, but healthy…ish dinner more.
Here is how you make this chicken piccata. It has a few steps, but comes together in under an hour.
First up, start with the chicken. If you’ve made chicken parmesan this is very similar. Just dredge the chicken through a mix of flour and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Then pan-sear it in a hot skillet. This allows the chicken to form a nice golden crust on the outside. Using thin chicken cutlets is key. The thin chicken cooks evenly and browns nicely in a short amount of time.
Tip: if your grocery store does not carry chicken cutlets, as a swap, try asking your butcher to pound out chicken breasts for you. This is a super easy task to do at home, but truthfully…it’s just not that much fun. The butcher can quickly pound out the chicken and save you the trouble…and the mess.
Also, you can easily make this chicken piccata gluten-free by replacing the flour with almond flour. Or your favorite gluten-free flour blend (I like cup4cup).
Once the chicken has been pan-seared, add in some lemon slices and fresh sage. The lemon and sage infuse the butter while crisping up, becoming even more flavorful. Reserve these for topping.
In the same pan, add a splash of white wine and fresh cherry tomatoes. This creates a lemony tomato sauce with capers and fresh thyme. It’s not a traditional chicken piccata sauce by any means, but it’s quick, and it sure is good.
While the chicken is cooking, work on the mashed cauliflower. This is SO EASY.
Simply, boil some cauliflower florets, drain, and mash with a little cream cheese (mostly for extra creaminess), butter, and salt. I know it seems so simple, but don’t knock the mashed cauliflower until you try it. It’s ultra-smooth, so creamy, and really does taste like mashed potatoes, just a smidge lighter.
It’s the perfect healthy side dish to serve with the lemony, sage chicken. When served together, the two create a really delicious dinner that’s great for any night of the week!
Since everyone is in town for my brother’s wedding this weekend, I’m really excited to make this for them tonight. I already know this is going to be a new favorite. Nothing not to love!
If you make this sage lemon butter chicken piccata with mashed cauliflower be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sage Lemon butter Chicken Piccata with Mashed Cauliflower.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken cutlets, or 2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, (can use GF flour too)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice + 1 addition lemon, sliced
- 12 fresh sage leaves
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons capers
Mashed Cauliflower
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2-3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
- 1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour and parmesan in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken through the flour mix, pressing gently to adhere. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet.3. To the same skillet, add the butter, sage, and lemon slices. Sear the sage until crisp, and the lemon until golden on each side, about 1 minute. Remove the sage and lemon from the pan and add to the plate with the chicken. 4. To the skillet, add the tomatoes, thyme, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes begin to pop, about 4-5 minutes. Pour in the wine and lemon juice, cook 1 minute. Add the capers and season with salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes or until warmed through. 5. Meanwhile, make the mashed cauliflower. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower florets and cook until tender, 10 minutes. Drain well.6. In a food processor, combine the cauliflower, garlic, cream cheese, and butter, season to taste with salt and pepper. Pulse until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. 7. To serve, spoon the mashed cauliflower onto plates. Add the chicken, sage and lemon slices. Then spoon over the pan sauce and tomatoes. Top with fresh thyme.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
This recipe was deeeelious! Will definately by trying more of your recipes.
Hey Barbara,
Thanks for cooking this recipe and for the feedback, so glad it was a win! Have a great day!
Wondering how much of this recipe can be done ahead so that I am not cooking the whole time my guests are here.
Thank you. This recipe is delicious.
Jane
Thanks so much, Jane!
You can definitely make the mashed cauliflower ahead of time. Honestly, you could make the chicken all the way through and just keep warm in the oven on low. I hope this helps! xT
Thank you so much for your speedy reply!
Jane
Review for mashed potatoes only (I served them with HBH Skillet Creamy Cajun Lazone with Herby Corn, which is also fabulous): these are so delicious! I made them once, then got swayed by a fancy NY Times recipe where you cooked the cauliflower in milk. Nope, Tieghan’s is better. This time I’m back to her recipe. Try them with the other chicken recipe, too!
Wow thank you sooo much! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! xT
I’m hoping to cook this dish for a group of 12. Would the oven roast have the same results?
Hi Jeremy,
So sorry, I have not tested this recipe in the oven, you could certainly give it a try though! Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
This was fabulous! Felt a little bit righteous and healthy with the veggies;). Simple and delicious. Thank you!
Hi Sharilyn,
Wonderful!! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, I appreciate you making it and your comment! xx
Delicious!!! Have made multiple times. Love the mashed cauliflower!
Hey Beth,
Happy Wednesday!! 🌸🌤️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it turned out well for you! xT
This was absolutely delicious. My husband rated it a double 10! 10 for taste and 10 for presentation. He didn’t believe he was eating mashed cauliflower, said he could have sworn it was mashed potatoes, but only better. Chicken was so tender and sauce so flavorful, I will definitely be making this again. Thank you, Tieghan, for another award winning recipe!
Hey Karen,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
This was wonderful. The cauliflower is better than mashed potatoes! Plus the fried sage is to die for.
Hey Cynthia,
Happy Friday!!❄️ Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx
The chicken was phenomenal! SOO good. I never know what to do with my sage, so I was excited to try this recipe! The cauliflower, on the other hand, was SUPER strong. Like burned our mouths strong. lol … I don’t know if my garlic was more potent than usual, but we could’ve done 1 clove and it would’ve been great.
Hey Mollie,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a bunch for giving it a go!? xT
This was good. I would change the following. I would add the thyme with the wine and lemon as it burned when added with the tomatoes since the pan still is at medium high heat. I would reduce the wine and lemon as there was too much sauce compared to meat and use less flour and cheese to coat chicken. I would eliminate the lemon slices as they added bitterness to the sauce. loved the crisp sage.
Hi Ann,
Thanks for making the recipe and sharing your feedback! Hope you’re off to a great day! xTieghan
This was amazing. I don’t know how you come up with this stuff ?
Hey Alyssa,
Amazing!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback:)