Our Vegan Chicken Piccata with Preserved Lemons is anything but your basic vegan chicken. Vegans chicken lovers will become your new favorite dish. It is a great addition to anyone who is on a vegan diet. I am going to show you my secret and top tips to making the most flavorful and delicious Vegan Chicken Piccata. This recipe will taste like the real thing. In America, this dish is traditionally served with pasta but I love having it with Persian rice that drinks up the delicious lemony, buttery, caper sauce. Chicken Piccata is one of those dishes I missed when I went plant-based. If you are trying to be on a meat-free diet you will love this recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You can pick your vegan protein because this recipe is so versatile
The first step in creating your Vegan Chicken Piccata is to make your own vegan basic chicken or buy plant based chicken alternatives from the grocery store. For this recipe I chose a soy, wheat cutlet.
There is a wide range of vegan proteins you can use to make this recipe. I love using seitan which is made from vital wheat gluten. Stay tuned for my online vegan chicken courses. In recent years, there have been so many vegan chicken alternatives to chose from including pea and soy proteins.
The lemony sauce
Lemon Preserves are my secret weapon that levels up the lemony flavor instead of just using lemon juice. This is a Moroccan staple that works when a recipe calls for lemon juice. A teaspoon of this goes a long way. You can purchase this in any Middle Eastern grocery store. I also add just the right amount of capers to give the dish a salty flavor. The white wine balances the flavor and alcohol burns off on the cooking process.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Vegan Cutlets - there are so many vegan chicken options
- Lemons
- Chardonnay Wine
- Vegan Butter
- Preserved Lemons
- Capers
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
- No Chicken Bouillon Cube
Vegan Chicken Piccata Ingredients
How to make the Chicken
1) Pound and Dredge the chicken in flour
Thin out some vegan chicken cutlets that have been defrosting overnight in the fridge. Keep on plastic wrap its much easier to pound. The vegan chicken is lightly dredged in flour and spices. The delicious coating acts as a barrier and helps thicken the sauce.
This is a fun activity for kids to help out with and you do not have to worry about raw poultry.
2) add vegan butter to Fry the chicken in butter and oil
In a medium saucepan, we are going to melt 3 tablespoons of vegan butter and a drizzle of olive oil cook the chicken on medium high until golden brown. Once this is browned set the chicken aside.
how to Make the sauce
1) Using the same pan, add another 3 teaspoons of vegan butter and the minced shallot. After this becomes translucent, I add the minced garlic. Now, I add 1 ½ cups of veggie broth, and 2 cups of white wine. I like a chardonnay and lemon juice. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. I then add my secret ingredient Preserved Lemons. I put about a tablespoon of this. I give it a stir, then we let the sauce cook down and I add the capers parsley, salt white pepper, garlic, and onion powder.
how to serve the dish
Spoon sauce over chicken
Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with pasta or rice. Top with more parsley and slices of lemon.
Add parsley and lemon
Tips
- Pound out the cutlets for better texture and appearance.
- Always rinse your capers with water. Make sure to use capers that are in brine and not salt.
- We fry the cutlets in olive oil and butter because it prevents from burning.
- I love using Myokos cultured cashew butter.
- Keep the chicken warm - Make sure to keep the chicken warm on a plate with parchment paper and covered in foil while you make the sauce.
- Thickness of the sauce - If you'd like to thicken your sauce further then add some cornstarch mixed with 4 teaspoon of water. Simmer until thickened. If you need to thin out the sauce you can add water.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- With so many wheat proteins and mock meats, you can use any vegan chicken protein that you love. My favorite is Seitan chicken.
- You can sub out the white wine with seasoned vegetable broth.
- Beans, soy curls, tofu nuggets and vegan chicken nuggets are also a great replacement.
- You can use a lighter oil like safflower oil instead of olive oil. I personally love the flavor of the olive oil.
- You can use any vegan margarine that you prefer.
- Chopped green olives are a great substitute for capers.
- You can substitute whole wheat flour for white flour.
- This dish can be made gluten free by using soy or pea protein chicken and gluten free flour such as chickpea flour.
- You can substitute the white pepper for black pepper.
Storage Tips
Leftovers & freezing
Keep leftovers in an air-tight container. It will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days or can be frozen.
Do not freeze lemon slices. Thaw completely before serving and reheating.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the Vegan Chicken Piccata with some roasted broccoli, rice, or pasta for a complete meal. Top with parsley and sliced lemons.
This recipe is an easy dinner you can serve any day of the week. This is a meal the whole family will love and everyone's taste buds will crave.
FAQs
Chicken piccata is a sauce made with capers, butter, white wine, and lemon juice. We added preserved lemons for an extra twist.
I was surprised to find out that chicken piccata that uses chicken breast it isn't a particularly common dish in Italy.
Vegan Chicken Piccata with Preserved Lemons
Ingredients
Vegan Cutlets
- 2 pieces large lemons, juiced
- 1 pc lemon sliced
- 4 pieces vegan chicken breasts pounded to ¼-inch thickness
- 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 piece no chicken bouillon cube (or 1 teaspoon vegetable consume)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon whitepepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powde
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sauce
- 1 large shallot, trimmed, peeled and minced
- 4 cloves mixed garlic
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup chardonnay wine
- 1 tablespoon preserved lemons (-middle eastern or kosher supermarkets)
- 3 tablespoons brined capers, rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoons vegan margarine
- 3 tablespoons fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice one lemon half into 1⁄8-inch thick slices and set aside.
- Juice the remaining 2 lemons halves to yield at least a 1⁄4 cup juice.
- Place flour in a small mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and white pepper. Stir with whisk to combine everything.
- Place the cutlet between siran wrap or a plastic bag and flatten to ¼ inch.
- Dredge each cutlet in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Place 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons of margarine in a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Place each cutlet to the pan and cook on one side until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Flip the cutlets and cook until second side is golden brown and vegan chicken is cooked through, another 2 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer browned cutlets to a large plate. Do not clean skillet.
- Add shallot to skillet over medium heat. Cook until soft and translucent, about 1 to 2 minutes, then add minced garlic.
- Add water, bouillon, white wine, lemon juice and lemon slices, and increase heat until it boils. Stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Reduce to simmer after it boils and simmer until liquid reduces for about 10 minutes. Add capers preserved lemon, seasoning to skillet, stirring well to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Continue simmering for another 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon of vegan butter and parsley.
- Spoon sauce over each cutlet.
Video
Notes
- Cooking the vegan chicken - fry the cutlets on a high heat so they get nice and golden on the outside. Each piece of chicken needs 3-4 minutes on each side and you'll probably need to cook them in batches.
- Keep the chicken warm - make sure to keep the chicken warm while you make the sauce.
- Thickness of the sauce - If you'd like to thicken your sauce further then add some cornstarch mixed with 4 teaspoon of water. Simmer until thickened. If you need to thin out the sauce you can add water.
- Leftovers & freezing - leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days or can be frozen. Thaw completely before serving and reheating.
- I love using homemade seitan, stay tuned for my new online courses that will include the best chicken seitan recipe and many vegan chicken recipes.
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