How To Reheat Chicken Piccata – Step By Step
Chicken piccata is a delicious meal comprised of chicken cutlets dredged in flour, fried, and served on top of a scrumptious sauce of lemon juice, butter, capers, and white wine (or chicken stock). For those who love capers and chicken, and pretty much a darn good meal, there will definitely be no waste with a good chicken piccata.
If you have some leftover chicken piccata in the fridge, you would want a way to heat it up without drying the chicken and keeping the taste and integrity of the sauce.
How exactly do you reheat chicken piccata? The best way to reheat chicken piccata is low and slow, in the oven with some extra broth. Doing this will ensure that the chicken is kept tender and the sauce is still saucy!
Reheating Piccata
While oven reheat is the best, you can also choose to reheat the chicken piccata in the microwave if you wish to do it quicker or reheat it on the stovetop. Here is how to reheat chicken piccata in the oven, the microwave and on the stove.
Oven
Reheating chicken piccata in the oven is probably our favorite way because it allows you to leave it for 20 minutes…easy! You want to be sure not to heat your oven too hot, or it will overcook the chicken, and no one likes dry chicken.
To help avoid dryness when reheating in the oven, we recommend adding extra chicken broth to the pan and on top of the chicken so that it maintains it’s texture and doesn’t dry out.
- Line a baking tray with aluminum foil.
- Place the leftover chicken piccata into the aluminum lined baking tray.
- Add some chicken broth to the chicken piccata, and try to stir it into the sauce.
- Place some of the chicken stock on top of the chicken as well, to give it some extra moisture to prevent it from drying out.
- Cover the chicken piccata with some more aluminum foil and place the dish into an oven preheated to around 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Leave the chicken piccata to warm for 20 minutes, and then rotate the dish and leave for another 10 minutes for the piccata to warm through completely.
- Remove the chicken piccata from the oven and serve immediately.
Microwave
A microwave is a great option if you’re pressed for time or if you’re really hungry and want food NOW. Hey, we have those moments too, don’t worry.
So the important thing to keep in mind when microwaving chicken piccata is that you, again, want to add a bit of chicken broth. It’s also important to cover the chicken with a microwave-safe cover. This will prevent any dryness since the cover will act as a steamer of sorts.
- Layer the chicken piccata into a microwavable dish or bowl, and add a little bit of broth into the sauce and over the chicken.
- Cover the bowl with plastic film wrap and heat the chicken piccata on medium power for up to 2 minutes.
- Leave the dish to sit for 2 minutes after this to allow the heat to equalize throughout the dish.
- Repeat this again, but only heating the chicken piccata for 1 minute.
- Check the food to see if it is at the right temperature to be eaten. If it is not, place it in the microwave for another 30 seconds.
The plastic wrap helps to keep the chicken piccata sauce, and prevents any moisture from escaping the dish which could lead to it drying out.
Stovetop
To reheat your chicken piccata on the stove, you will need to place the leftovers into a saucepan.
- Heat it over medium heat on the stove, while slowly adding in a small amount of stock to prevent the sauce and the chicken from drying out.
- Cover the pan with a lid to allow heat to build up underneath and thoroughly warm the chicken. (Did we mention this prevents dryness?)
- Heat the chicken piccata until warm enough to eat.
How To Store Chicken Piccata In The Fridge
When putting your leftovers away, you should ensure that the chicken piccata is stored correctly in the refrigerator.
This will ensure that the sauce and chicken keep their integrity and taste.
When storing the chicken piccata in the fridge, place it in a fridge-friendly container, which seals airtight. Place it on one of the fridge trays, away from the door and away from the back of the fridge.
How To Freeze Chicken Piccata
If you are not planning on eating your chicken piccata the next day, you will want to freeze it to eat further down the line.
To safely freeze chicken piccata, you should place the sauce in a freezer bag, and place the chicken in a separate freezer bag. Try to avoid freezing the chicken and the sauce together, as it might ruin the chicken.
To thaw the chicken, leave it in the fridge overnight, and heat the chicken and the sauce up together in the oven the next day. For a quicker thaw, you can place the sauce and chicken, still in the freezer bags, in a warm bowl of water until defrosted.
Related Questions
Can you freeze chicken piccata?
Yes, you can freeze chicken piccata either before or after cooking. Simply place the sauce in a separate freezer bag to the chicken when being placed in the freezer.
What is the difference between piccata and Francaise?
Piccata and Francaise are both dishes that can be made with either chicken, fish or veal, and consist of a lemon and butter sauce.
However, the difference is that Francaise involves the meat being dipped into flour and egg before frying, whereas piccata requires the meat to only be dipped in flour, and piccata has the addition of capers to the lemon and butter sauce.
What wines can I enjoy with chicken piccata?
The best white wine to pair with chicken piccata is a Sauvignon Blanc. It has bright citrus and herbal notes which complement the lemon and parsley in the dish.
A good Pinot Grigio or Pinot Blanc will also pair nicely with the piccata, as they have crisp minerality and some good citrus notes.
Chicken piccata is a dish with complex flavors, so it pairs wonderfully with quite a few different wines, and both red or white wine lovers can find a good match to the dish.
Reheating Chicken Piccata
Sometimes, there is nothing better than knowing you have some leftover chicken piccata in the fridge waiting to be eaten! However, heating it up wrong can completely ruin the dish, and diminish any hopes you had of enjoying a tasty lunch.
You can heat up chicken piccata in the oven, which will give you the best results, in the microwave or on the stovetop. The trick is to add in a little bit of extra stock, to stop the sauce from drying out, and to give the chicken a little bit of moisture to stay juicy and tender!
Bonus tip for those who made it this far:
If you want to use your chicken piccata in a new way, you can shred it! Shredded chicken is delicious and easy to add to any meal. Plus the flavors from the chicken piccata will be oh so good in say, a Mediterranean shredded chicken sandwich…yum!
Thank you for this info on reheating chicken piccata! You are awesome!! ❤️
You are so welcome! 🙂