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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!
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.
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 756 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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.
This was absolutely delicious!
Hi Sandy,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for your comment and making this recipe:) I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx
This was delicious! Came together so easy and the cauliflower rice was a great accompaniment.
Hey Kari,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was a hit! xTieghan
What would be a good sub for wine? I live in a dry country so wine is hard to access! Kosher salt is also not easily accessible. Could I sub sea salt?
Hey Janelle,
Sure, sea salt is great and you can use chicken broth in place of the wine. Please let me know if you have any other questions!! xTieghan
Absolutely phenomenal. The flavors are so vibrant & the scent of the chicken alone will attract anyone. I am almost speechless at how great this was. Definitely make this!!
Hey Andrea,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
I made this tonight and it was amazing!!! I added a bit of balsamic vinegar. Just love your recipes so much.
Hi Nicole,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!!☀️ xTieghan
I made this tonight for dinner and I thought it was SO good I probably could have eaten the whole thing by myself! The dish had a nice balance to it and wasn’t too lemony like some piccatas can be. I loved the cauliflower mash. I am not a huge fan of garlic and I was afraid putting raw garlic in the cauliflower would be too strong, so I cooked it along with the cauliflower. I forgot to get regular cream cheese but I had tofu cream cheese on hand and I used that and thought it turned out pretty good.
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xx
I made the cauliflower mash with a beef brisket and it was so quick, easy and delicious. Creamy but not too cheesey ? Totally becoming a staple for us! Thank you!!
Hey Sandra,
Love to hear this!! Thanks so much for making them and sharing:) xx
Would love to try this recipe but can it be partially made ahead and then finished just before dinner as I hate to spend time in the kitchen while I have guests? thanks
Hey Maureen,
Sure, I would make the mashed cauliflower ahead of time and then the chicken through step 4 up until you slide the chicken back in. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
This was so delicious!! And the presentation is beautiful! I paired it with a spring mix salad with walnuts, blueberries and feta. Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Juliana,
Wonderful!! I am so so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks a bunch for making it! xT
Do you think this would still
Be just as good using less butter? I’d like to make it healthy but if it’s not going to be good without this much butter then I don’t want to mess with that route. Thoughts?
Hi Rachel,
It depends how much less butter you are planning to use, if you are using less than half of the amount called for then yes I would try something else:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this tonight almost exactly as written (I didn’t have any wine on hand so I used organic chicken broth as a substitute) and it was AMAZING! My husband and two little boys (9 and 7 years old) all gave it raving reviews! My boys said it was the best chicken they’ve ever had and that they actually like cauliflower now (who wouldn’t with the addition of butter, garlic, and cream cheese!) The chicken was so tasty in the sauce and I think my favorite part was the sage leaves. They were slightly crispy and gave the chicken an extra pop of flavor. The cauliflower mash really surprised me. I was going to just make regular old mashed-potatoes at first, but I thought I’d at least give it a go, and I’m so glad I did. My plate looked almost as beautiful as your photos, which is a great feat in my book! Thanks for the recipe, it has been requested that I make it again soon. 🙂
Hey there,
Fantastic! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Thanks so much for your kind message! Happy Holidays!? xx
This was the 3rd chicken recipe of yours I have tried in the same number of nights. They were ALL wonderful and I will be making each of them again. This might have been my favorite! Love the sage and lemon flavor! Thanks for your wonderful easy-to-follow and delicious recipes.
Hey Anne,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
My husband made for my birthday dinner… less the cauliflower. We had a side of barley, mushroom, spinach pilaf. We used the last of the sage from our herb garden for the recipe.
Hi Linda,
Awesome!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend! xTieghan
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I couldn’t eat this fast enough! Seriously, I’m so thankful there are leftovers because I think this is my new favorite all time dish! Such a great dinner when you don’t want anything too heavy but also extremely flavorful.
Hey Em,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
The chicken & tomatoes were great, but the raw garlic in the mashed cauliflower made made taste too sharp. Next time I would roast the garlic first. Otherwise, great recipe. Thanks for sharing
Hey Mckenzie,
Wonderful! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan