Viktoria's Table

With a pinch of salt, and a handful of love

Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes {pancetta + capers + lemon butter sauce}

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Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes – this is simply the most delicious chicken scallopini: sautéed mushrooms and artichokes, pancetta and tangy capers in luscious, lemon butter sauce – simply divine!

Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes in a luscious lemon butter sauce - simply divine! | www.viktoriastable.com

I’ve been excited to try new recipes and post the best here, and I’ve forgotten about tried and true gems like this one – chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes, smoky pancetta, tangy capers and luscious lemon butter sauce! Just the ingredients list should be enough for you to start drooling, but let me just reiterate – this dish is simply divine! It won’t be a stretch if I say that this is my favorite chicken recipe.

Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes in a luscious lemon butter sauce - simply divine! | www.viktoriastable.com

It was inspired by a dish I ate at Romano’s Macaroni Grill restaurant, back in the day, when the waiters sang Italian opera to honor their guests’ birthdays, the chef would come out occasionally to a round of applause, and the whole vibe was reminiscent of a big Italian family get together. Sadly, that restaurant, despite its popularity, closed down long time ago in our area, but their superb chicken scallopini is the one dish that stands out high and above all the rest (along with their unforgettable fresh out-of-the-oven rosemary bread).

Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes in a luscious lemon butter sauce - simply divine! | www.viktoriastable.com

I loved it so much back then and had to have the recipe. I didn’t have to search much, as this is apparently one of the most requested copycat recipes ever. Over the years I have adapted the original recipe to my taste and I’ve made it much lighter (it really doesn’t need one pound of butter in addition to the cream). I’ve tried it with frozen artichoke hearts, canned ones, and marinated ones, and it turns out fantastic every time!

Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes in a luscious lemon butter sauce - simply divine! | www.viktoriastable.com

There is no way to go wrong with these ingredients. The only thing that can go wrong, is the lemon butter sauce. The trick is to taste and adjust to your liking as you make it. The version I offer here uses partly chicken broth, and partly cream, way less butter, and results in a perfectly balanced, creamy, lemony flavor. If I use marinated artichokes, I reduce the amount of lemon to just a splash – the result is just as great!

Serve it over angel hair pasta (spinach angel hair featured here), or as is, with crusty bread, and you have a substantial, satisfying, and insanely delicious dinner in under an hour.

The best chicken scaloppine recipe - sauteed mushrooms and artichokes, smoky pancetta and tangy capers, in luscious lemon butter sauce - simply divine! | www.viktoriastable.com

Other meat recipes you might like:

This no-fuss, super simple but delicious 2-ingredient chicken paprika often makes it to our table when I don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen.

Who doesn’t need more chocolate in their lives?  This chocolate hazelnut chicken mole is another excuse to indulge in it.

Or, for a fancy and impressive meat appetizer, try these super yummy steak bites with blue cheese butter !

4.8 from 5 votes
The best chicken scaloppine recipe - sauteed mushrooms and artichokes, smoky pancetta and tangy capers, in luscious lemon butter sauce - simply divine! | www.viktoriastable.com
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Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 

Chicken scallopini with mushrooms and artichokes - sauteed mushrooms and artichokes, smoky pancetta and tangy capers in a luscious lemon butter sauce.

Course: Main Dish
Servings: 3 -4
Calories: 524 kcal
Author: Viktoria
Ingredients
  • 1 lbs mushrooms sliced
  • 12 oz artichoke hearts - frozen or canned
  • 3 oz pancetta
  • 2 Tbs capers
  • 2 chicken breasts butterflied if needed, and pounded thin
  • 3-4 tbs flour for dredging the chicken
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbs avocado/grapeseed oil for frying the chicken + 2 tbs for sauteing the mushrooms
  • For the lemon butter sauce:
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 tbs white wine
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 3 tbs butter
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat a pan on the stove top, and add the pancetta - cook until browned and crisp.
  2. To the same pan, add the mushrooms, and 1 tbs of oil if needed. Season with salt and black pepper, and saute until mushrooms are fully cooked - about 8-10 minutes.
  3. Slice the artichoke hearts into quarters and add to the pan with the mushrooms.
  4. Add the capers, and cook for a few more minutes.
  5. Butterfly the chicken breasts if they are quite thick, or simply pound them to flatten to 1/4 inch thickness. (I like to put the chicken in a zip lock, one piece at a time, and completely seal it, before I flatten it with a meat mallet). Cut the flattened chicken into smaller pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour lightly.
  6. In another pan, heat the remaining 2 tbs of oil, and fry the chicken pieces, approximately 3 minutes per side. Add cooked chicken to the mushrooms and artichokes.
  7. Make the sauce by heating the lemon juice and white wine, and boil until reduced by a third.
  8. Add cream and cook until slightly thickened. Mix 1 tsp corn starch with a bit of chicken broth, to remove lumps, and add to the pan, with the remaining chicken broth. Cook until sauce thickens.
  9. Add butter to the sauce slowly incorporating it, by whisking. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. If too sour, add more chicken broth and corn starch.
Recipe Notes

1. You can make this with marinated artichokes with the same great result. If you do, make sure you add less lemon - only a splash, so you don't end up with quite sour sauce.

2. The sauce in this recipe is a little less than 1 1/2 cups. If you like your meal saucier, double the amounts.

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Comments

    • Yes, there are capers in the recipe, and I just realized I had omitted them from the Ingredients’ list, even though I mention them in the instruction! It’s updated now. Thanks for pointing this out! 🙂

  4. I have vegetable broth already at home, think it would be ok to use that instead of chicken broth? (and still taste great!)

    • Hi Carrie,
      I think vegetable broth will do just fine because at the end, the lemon flavor is most pronounced in the sauce, and you have all those other strong flavors from the mushrooms, fried chicken and artichokes. Hope you like it 🙂

  5. A combination of many of my favorite flavors– can’t wait to try it! One question– do you make the sauce in the same pan with the artichokes, mushrooms and chicken, or do you make it in an empty pan? Thanks in advance!

    • Hi Phoebe, I usually make the sauce in a separate pan, then add to the mushroom, chicken and artichokes and cook everything for a few minutes. You need 2 separate pans – one for sauteing the pancetta, mushrooms and artichokes, and one for the chicken. After you are done with the chicken, you can simply wipe it clean to get rid of any burned pieces, and reuse that pan to make the sauce (provided the pan is deep enough). Hope you like it! 🙂

      • 4 stars
        I use only one pan…..I brown the chicken and set aside. Then I add the pancetta and mushrooms & artichokes and once they are done, removed on the same plate as the chicken, then make the sauce and add everything back into it. I’m all for using as few pans as possible.

  7. 5 stars
    I made this tonight with what I had on hand… it was awesome!

    I used a chicken boullion cube dissolved in water bc no chicken broth. I used 3 marinated artichoke hearts which I chopped (all that was left in my jar). Added 5 grilled button mushrooms (leftover from kabobs from last night). I didn’t add the corn starch and just finished the sauce with butter instead. I also used bacon drippings to start the sauce and cook the chicken bc I didn’t have pancetta. Still got the rich flavor.

    I did make the sauce in the same pan I cooked the chicken. Didn’t even wipe it out bc I wanted the chicken bits in my sauce. It turned out fantastic!

    Highly recommend this recipe.

    Thank you! And my husband thanks you 😉

  8. Oh! I forgot, I also used half and half (again…what I had on hand)!

    Thanks for such an adaptable recipe!!!

  9. Hi there! I’m wondering if you think this could be made ahead and reheated or would the sauce break?

  11. 5 stars
    Absolutely love, love, love this recipe. I think I must be making it more than once a month. It is so very good. Thank you!

  12. I don’t believe that pancetta is ever smoked as bacon is, so I am not sure where you get the “smoky pancetta”. Otherwise great recipe.

    • Thank you, Bob. You’re right – pancetta isn’t smoked, but since I often make this recipe interchangeably with bacon, I have mistakenly carried over the ‘smoky’ part too.

  13. Can this be made ahead of time? I want to make it for a group of friends but I don’t want to be in the kitchen working. I want to have it in a heated oven

    • Hi Teri,

      Yes, you can make it ahead, and then reheat it in the oven. Just make sure you use a pan that can go in the oven, so you don’t have to switch.
      Hope you like it! 🙂

  14. 5 stars
    I know this is an old post, but we just finished this and hubby declared it delicious! Said thank you 3 times! I felt guilty using the heavy cream, though – might try it again with a lighter cream (18% instead of 35%). Thank you.

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