This brown butter caper chicken is pan seared with just the right amount of salty and savory flavors in a nutty brown butter sauce. It looks and tastes decadent, but is easy to make!
If you’re looking for a new way to dress up a chicken breast cutlet, this is a great recipe for you! Chicken breast can get boring, but when you add an easy flavorful sauce like this one, you’ll have a good reason to enjoy it again. The rich, nutty flavor of the browned butter is enhanced by the slightly salty capers, and tastes so good spooned on top. Since it’s easy to make, this recipe works just as well as a weeknight meal as it does for a special occasion.

Why You’ll Love Brown Butter Caper Chicken
Easy To Make – Making the brown butter is the most time consuming portion of the dish, and that time is spent stirring the butter. The only other prep work for this recipe is finely dicing the onions. Everything else is done in the pan.
Flavorful Sauce – The brown butter has an aromatic, nutty flavor and the capers are pleasantly salty. The salt from the capers enhances the nuttiness of the butter making for a delicious sauce that manes a bland chicken breast taste like an elevated restaurant dish.
Great Presentation – The pan-seared chicken browns nicely, then topped with brown butter, capers and diced onions. It has a slightly elegant presentation that works for both Sunday dinner or a holiday meal.
Versatile – The sauce is the star here. The chicken is the vessel to serve it. You can just as easily serve this brown butter caper sauce over fish, steak, or shrimp, and it’s delicious on top of pasta, potatoes, or rice.
Brown Butter Caper Chicken Ingredients Notes
- Chicken Breast Cutlets: Choose good quality chicken breast cutlets. If they don’t have cutlets available, you can cut a chicken breast in half horizontally to make them thinner, or pound them with a mallet. Thinner cuts help the chicken cook more evenly.
- Brown Butter: The brown butter offers an intense buttery flavor with toasty, nutty undertones that are rich and flavorful. Remember to start with 2 sticks of unsalted butter.
- Aromatics: Onions and garlic complement the brown butter and add the perfect savory notes.
- Capers: No salt is added to this dish – the capers add just the right amount and enhances the flavor of the brown butter. If you are sensitive to salt, start with one tablespoon of capers and add more as desired.
You’ll find the complete ingredients list with amounts in the recipe card below!
How To Make Brown Butter Caper Chicken
- Brown the butter: Brown the butter then remove from heat and set aside.
- Prepare chicken: Add oil or ghee to the pan and sear chicken. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Make the sauce: Sauté the onions, garlic, and capers, and add the browned butter. Stir until combined.
- Complete the dish: Add the chicken back to the pan and cook just until warmed, stirring the sauce gently.
- Serve: Plate the chicken and spoon the sauce over each cutlet and serve!
Variations, Substitutions, & Cooking Tips
- Protein Alternatives: Chicken thighs would also work with this recipe, as would steak, shrimp or scallops, and white fish like cod, tilapia, or halibut.
- Vary the salt level: As we mentioned above, start with 1 tablespoon of capers if you are sensitive to salt, then add more until you get your desired level of saltiness.
- Change up the onions: Shallots would be a great swap here and would make the dish look even more elegant.
- Punch up the flavor: Add a bit of lemon zest or a squeeze of lemon juice to add that citrusy flavor. This would make the dish taste similar to a piccata.
- Add some heat: Love spice? Add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper, or even some finely chopped jalapeno to bring the heat to this recipe.
- Butter prep: You can make browned butter ahead of time and keep it on hand for adding to recipes as needed. It freezes nicely.
Storage & Reheating
Cool any leftovers to room temp and place in an airtight container. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to one month.
To reheat, place leftovers in a shallow skillet and cook over medium heat until warmed through, being careful not to over cook the chicken. To reheat in the microwave, place in a microwaveable dish loosely covered, and heat in one minute increments, stirring sauce between bursts, until heated through. To heat in the oven, place leftovers in an oven safe baking dish. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees, and cook chicken for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

Brown Butter Caper Chicken
This pan seared chicken with brown butter sauce and capers is just the right amount of salty and savory with a nutty brown butter sauce. It looks and tastes decadent, but is easy to make!
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Breast Cutlets
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil or Ghee
- 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 1/2 of a Medium Yellow Onion finely chopped, or 1/4 cup chopped shallots
- 2-3 Tablespoons, Capers
- 3/4 Cup of Browned Butter (Make first, or ahead of time)
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of Avocado Oil or Ghee in a pan over medium heat. Finely chop onions while pan is heating.
- When oil is hot, add chicken to pan. Cook for 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Transfer chicken to bowl and set aside.
- Add chopped onions and minced garlic to pan. Add an extra splash of ghee or oil if needed. Cook over medium heat until onions are tender, stirring occasionally.
- When onions are tender, add capers (and a splash of the caper liquid if desired).
- Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add brown butter and sauté 1-2 minutes until combined.
- Add chicken back to pan, spoon sauce over chicken, and heat for another minute or two.
- Plate, spoon extra sauce over chicken, and serve.
Notes
See our instructions for how to make browned butter.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 586Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 190mgSodium: 506mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 34g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.
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