This quick and easy fish piccata recipe is one you will turn to time and again. The fish cooks in just minutes and the sauce cooks in the same pan. It’s quick, it's easy and it’s a real crowd pleaser.
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Making fish piccata at home is simple
Fish piccata is one of those dishes that you think is reserved for a good Italian restaurant, but I’m going to convince you that you can make it at home. Served over a bed of angel hair pasta, the fish is lightly breaded and pan fried, and you make the sauce right in the pan. No need to be afraid of a pan sauce any more. Once you master it, you’ll be making piccata everything with ease.
Ingredients
A few notes on the ingredients:
- Fish: I like to use tilapia because it’s easy to find and relatively inexpensive. You can easily substitute salmon, white fish, or sole.
- Capers: Caper berries are usually found near the pickles in a small glass jar. They are in a brine that you’ll want to drain before using.
How to make fish piccata (simple step by step instructions)
To make things even simpler, here are some step-by-step photos to help you every step of the way.
Start by cutting your fish into 4 fillets that are close to evenly sized. You can also ask your fish monger to do this for you.
Place a large saute pan over medium high high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan.
Dredge the fish on both sides with flour and season with salt and pepper.
Once the pan is hot, gently place the dredged fish into the pan. Cook about 3-5 minutes on each side, being careful not to over cook.
Remove the fish from the pan, and set aside on a plate. To the same pan, add the white wine and use a whisk to scrape up all the little brown bits. Once it's cooked down for a few minutes, add in the butter and lemon juice and whisk until the sauce comes together and thickens a bit. Add in the capers, turn off the heat and add the fish back into the pan.
Serve over pasta or sautéed spinach and pour the pan sauce over the top of the dish.
For all measurements and a more detailed guide, check out the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Piccata is an Italian word and it’s culinary meaning is to be pounded flat. In recipe terms it’s a piece of protein that is flat, has been dredged in flour and cooked with a sauce of lemon, butter and spices.
While we like to use fish at our house because we don’t mix meat and milk, chicken piccata is a classic take on the recipe. You’d bread the chicken the same way you do the fish, but the cooking time will differ a bit. Veal piccata is another option as well.
I suggest serving fish piccata over angel hair pasta or spaghetti. Sometimes I’ll make lemon-garlic one pan pasta and sometimes I leave the pasta relatively plain. You could also serve it over a bed of sautéed spinach or even with lemony zoodles.
How to store and reheat leftovers
It’s unlikely that you’ll have any leftovers when you make fish piccata. However, if you do, please store the fish separate from anything else you served with it (pasta, rice, veggies, etc) so that when you reheat it, you don’t over cook the fish.
To reheat the fish, either pop it in the microwave in 15 second intervals or put a little bit of butter in a small frying pan and slowly reheat on the stovetop. Either way, you just want to get it warmed through, not overcooked.
One more simple tip
When you are dredging the fish, put a glove on one hand and use that hand exclusively for dredging the fish. The other hand is then free to cook, use tongs, grab ingredients etc. Once all the fish is in the pan, toss the glove.
Looking for more simple fish recipes? Try these:
When you try this recipe and love it 😍 let me know by leaving a comment below or 5 ⭐ rating!
📖 Recipe
Simple Fish Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 lb fish fillets Tilapia is my go to, but white fish or sole will also work
- ½ cup flour for dredging
- 6 TB unsalted butter 4 TB for cooking fish, 2 TB for making sauce
- ¾ cup white wine use a variety you like drinking
- 2 lemons juiced
- 2 TB capers optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut your fish into 4 fillets that are close to evenly sized.
- Place a large sauté pan over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan.
- Dredge the fish on both sides with flour and season with salt and pepper.
- Once the pan is hot, gently place the dredged fish into the pan. Cook about 3-5 minutes on each side, being careful not to over cook.
- Remove the fish from the pan, and set aside on a plate. To the same pan, add the white wine and use a whisk to scrape up all the little brown bits. Once it's cooked down for a few minutes, add in the butter and lemon juice and whisk until the sauce comes together and thickens a bit. Add in the capers, turn off the heat and add the fish back into the pan.
- Serve over pasta or sautéed spinach and pour the pan sauce over the top of the dish.
Notes
Nutrition
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Ann says
We are also kosher and I make a chicken piccata using olive oil and a little vegan margarine. It's really good. I actually think I prefer it to fish piccata using butter, but I might try your recipe and see if I like it your way!
Marni Katz says
I'll have to try that! Thanks for the suggestion 🙂