I Tried Giada De Laurentiis’ Chicken Piccata Pasta

If there’s one thing I’m always in the mood for, it’s pasta. Whether it’s a beloved 4-ingredient tomato sauce, a creamy Calabrian chili pasta, a weeknight Bolognese, a cold peanut noodle dish, or an easy pasta salad, you can always count me in. We have pasta once (sometimes twice) a week, and I’m always trying to keep it interesting and varied. So when I came across Giada De Laurentiis’ Chicken Piccata Pasta recipe, I knew I had to try it. I love traditional chicken piccata, and I (obviously) love pasta, but I’d never thought to put them together. This recipe does exactly that — with all the briny, lemony flair of the original dish, plus tender, chewy pasta and a glossy sauce that clings to every bite.

The chicken piccata pasta recipe is one of the recipes accessed with a membership or subscription to her site, Giadzy. If you want the real recipe (and appreciate good food), I’d recommend supporting her work. But if that is not available to you at this time, there’s a comparable workaround that involves making her famous chicken piccata and serving it over a simple bed of pasta. I attempted a mash-up of both, using all of the ingredients from her piccata pasta recipe and step one and part of step two in the directions for her chicken piccata. And I’m happy to say that it turned out really well! This video definitely helped and is a great reference for making the authentic pasta dish.

Start by either butterflying two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts and slicing them in half so you end up with four thinner cutlets or cutting them into 1-inch cubes. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge them in flour, shaking off any excess.

While your pasta cooks in a large pot of salted water, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep skillet or braiser. When it’s shimmering, add the chicken and let it cook until deeply golden. For the 4 breast pieces, it’s about 3 minutes per side. For the chicken pieces, cook them, stirring regularly, until all sides have that gorgeous color. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to do this in two batches.  

Set the chicken aside and deglaze the skillet with the chicken broth, scraping up all those crispy browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add a hefty pour of fresh lemon juice, a good amount of capers, and a generous knob of butter, then whisk everything together and let it bubble for a few minutes to thicken and meld.

Return the chicken to the pan and let it simmer in the sauce until it’s cooked through, about 5 minutes. If you’re using the larger breast pieces, set them aside on a clean plate. This is a great time to taste the sauce and adjust with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Keep in mind that you’ll be adding Parmesan in the next step, which will also add saltiness.

Toss the drained pasta into the skillet along with 1/2 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and a splash of pasta water to bring it all together. Stir everything together until the sauce is creamy and the pasta is well-coated. Then do one last taste test and adjust, as needed, before stirring in some finely chopped parsley (about half a cup). If you’re using the halved chicken breasts, slice them into strips and toss the pieces right into the pasta or plate it on top of bowls of pasta. Serve it with more fresh parsley and grated cheese (always more cheese).

What drew me in was the promise of good pasta (duh) and a 30-minute meal that wasn’t just another skillet dinner. From start to finish, the steps were straightforward, and I didn’t once feel overwhelmed, which is a huge plus after a long day.

The chicken browns beautifully; it gets that lovely golden crust, and the deglazing step adds a ton of flavor. The sauce is definitely the star of the show. It’s perfectly lemony, tangy, and briny — basically everything I love about chicken piccata. The butter and fresh Parm create a silky, slightly creamy coating that clings to every strand of pasta.

In the end, I opted to toss the sliced chicken directly into the pasta and sauce, and it made for a cohesive dish where every forkful had a bit of everything. The fresh parsley finish is non-negotiable; it brightens up the whole plate. This isn’t just a quick meal — it tastes like something you’d get at a lovely Italian bistro. In a nutshell, it’s comforting, zesty, and utterly satisfying. 

• Salt the pot, not the pasta. This clever tip — essentially cooking your pasta in generously salted water — from Emma Christensen is the difference between a dish that turns out flavorful versus bland. And it’s also essential for the next step.
• Save some pasta water. This helps emulsify the sauce so it clings to the pasta like it’s supposed to. 
• Use Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s Giada, after all! But, practically speaking, because there are only a few core ingredients, quality matters. Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano gives you the nutty depth and creamy melt this dish deserves.
• Serve with veggies. You can always serve this with a simple salad, but if you’re trying to keep it in one dish, add some blanched, chopped asparagus or halved cherry tomatoes close to finishing, or toss in a handful of baby arugula or spinach at the very end.
• Switch up the protein. If you’re not in the mood for chicken, I think this pasta would go well with this 5-minute garlicky-buttery shrimp, canned tuna, or even white beans or chickpeas.
• Give it more texture. Top the finished dish with toasted breadcrumbs. They’ll be great with or without the herbs.