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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.
Wondering if this can be made in the oven vs stovetop? Perhaps keeping breasts full, browning them stovetop then finishing in the oven ??
Hi there,
Sure, that should work well for you! I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
My mouth is so happy right now
Hey! Thanks SO much for trying out this recipe, I hope you loved it! xxTieghan
Dish turned out delicious! Just one note that I would suggest boiling the cauliflower a little earlier on. Cuts the time down, so you can plate all at once. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey! Thanks SO much for trying out this recipe, I hope you loved it! xxTieghan
I made this chicken last night (didn’t have the ingredients for the mashed cauliflower on-hand), and oh my goodnessssssss, how delicious! I think you changed my life with that sage, lol.
Hi there! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! ? xTieghan
Love it!
Thanks so much! xTieghan
This was simply delicious! Loved every bite!
Hey there! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
Yum! Another winner. This is a delicious, easy and light dish! The juice from the tomatoes with the lemon and wine – so good! The sauce thickened up very nicely after simmering for a little and is full of flavor. I only added 1/4 cup of lemon juice because that’s all I had and I could definitely taste the lemon flavor in the sauce! I’m also in love with the mashed cauliflower. I’ve never had it before this recipe but it’s so smooth and creamy and goes perfectly with this meal, especially the tomatoes. I sautéed my garlic in a pan with olive oil before combining it with the cauliflower and thought it was perfect.
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so happy to hear you enjoyed it! xTieghan
This recipe looks delicious. I would like to serve for company. I hat cooking when I have guests. Is it possible to do this ahead of time and refrigerate and then put in oven to heat up?
Loving your recipes! Suz
Hey Suz,
To be honest, this is not a recipe I would recommend making ahead for fear of the chicken drying out. Here are some recipes that would work well for you and give the best results:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/butternut-squash-and-cheese-stuffed-pasta-shells/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pesto-caprese-chicken/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/spicy-pesto-cheese-stuffed-roasted-red-peppers/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Thanks so much for your response! Truly appreciated. Will try this another time and use one of your recommendations. Just love your cookbooks and all your recipes. You are so refreshing with the different twists you have in your recipes! Suz
I tried this today and it was great. I only reduced the lemon juice to only a squeeze as wine is usually acidic enough for me. The cauliflower was excellent. Will definitely make this again.
Hey Sandra,
Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it! Have the best weekend? xTieghan
Great recipe! The chicken was fantastic. I used C4C gluten-free flour and I did dip my chicken in an egg wash before dredging in the flour/parm mix so the coating would stick a little better. I thought the combination of flavors was perfect. The mashed cauliflower could not have been better to have along side the chicken and tomatoes. I did back off on the garlic as others suggested and when I make this again I might roast the garlic first. Beautiful fall meal bursting with flavor!
Hey Cari,
Happy Friday!! I so appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Made for 3rd time. This is fabulous! Slightly reduced sage & thyme – to taste. For those who thought too much garlic in cauliflower, I tried one piece & good flavor. Added piece to sauce & simmered few minutes. Then added garlic to mix.
Hey there,
Wonderful! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving the recipe a try!! xTieghan
I just made this, and yes, the three cloves were too much. Next time I will do as you did and split them up.
So my chicken cooked perfectly but overall, this dish was extremely lemony and sour. Did that happen to anyone else? I would cook this again but I would forgo the lemon slices and use 1/4 cup of lemon juice instead of 1/3.
Hey Talia,
Sorry to hear this! Were your lemons ripe? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Same here, when I make again, I’ll cut the lemon and the garlic in the cauliflower..it overpowered the dish.
My husband and and I are enjoying cooking your recipes. Prep time is always longer than your recipes say but sure that’s our issue. This recipe was delicious. Chicken was flavorful and moist. Lacking cauliflower so we served it over brown rice and it was yummy. Biggest decision now is what recipe to try next. Thanks!
Hey Patty,
Happy Sunday! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it! xxT
This is by far one of my favorites!! Amazingly good. Wondering if you have any suggestions on how to go about making any of this ahead of time? Thank you!
Hey Melissa,
I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed, thank you for making it! You could make the mashed cauliflower ahead of time but I would make the chicken fresh:) xTieghan
Delicious but would definitely either roast or cook the garlic before blending with the cauliflower. The bite of the garlic was too much
Thanks for trying the recipe Tracey! xTieghan
Has anyone ever tried to make the cauliflower ahead of time and reheat? Any success? I always hate doing that to mashed potatoes, I think the texture and taste is never as good as fresh. b=But I thought it might be possible to do that with the cauliflower. Possibly putting it in a baking dish and reheating it in the oven/broiler to brown the top bit.
Hey Lauren,
I think that would be totally fine to do. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan