If you’re not in the habit of cooking with them, capers are one of those ingredients that you might buy for a certain recipe (in my house it’s lox bagels) and then forget about.
But let’s put them to work! I’ve rounded up recipes from food bloggers that make great use of those briny, itty bitty flower buds. You’ll see a couple different takes on Chicken Piccata here, but also a Mexican dish as well as a pasta salad, a dip and other ideas that cover vegan and gluten-free diets. The recipes are organized by amount of capers they call for (starting with the most capers), so you can calibrate to what you need to use up.
And of course, don’t forget that you can always sprinkle capers on a sandwich or into a salad!
With thanks to the bloggers below for sharing their images and links to their work!
3 and a ¼ ounce of capers, about ⅔ cup
Chicken Piccata Soup
Let’s say you want Chicken Piccata, but you also want soup. Lisa and Pete, the frugal-minded people behind the Drugstore Divas blog, have a recipe for you. “It has the same delicious flavor of the traditional chicken dish, but, instead of a lemon caper sauce, it’s a lemon caper soup base,” they write. Their recipe calls for 3 and ¼ ounces of capers, which works out to about ⅔ of a cup of capers. This is actually more than the amount of capers sold in those tiny narrow jars, so make sure you have enough!
¼ cup of capers
Chicken Piccata Pasta
Kristin over at the Cookin Chicks says her Chicken Piccata Pasta tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen, but really just takes 20 minutes. Diced chicken, a creamy lemon sauce and pasta, plus a quarter cup of those capers you need to use up, add up to what she calls “a good, simple dinner option.”
⅛ cup of capers:
Puttanesca Sauce
Here’s another idea from the Drug Store Divas: Puttanesca Sauce. They write, “combine anchovies, olives and capers to make the briny Italian favorite: Puttanesca sauce. It’s great served over fresh linguine pasta and comes together in just about 20 minutes.”
3 tablespoons of capers
Vegan Pescado a la Veracruzana
Nancy over at Mexican Made Meatless trades fish for cauliflower in her spin on this classic coastal dish. She combines old and new world flavors, and writes, “This version is a vegan one that you’re going to love!” Other ingredients include nori, bay leaves, onions, parsley, garlic, olives and chili peppers–it promises to be flavorful!
3 tablespoons of capers
Red Lentil Pasta Salad with Chickpeas
Willow, the vegan and gluten free recipe developer behind Create Mindfully, says this dish takes 20 minutes and makes great use of pantry staples. She also notes that it’s excellent for a potluck or a party because it can be served at room temperature. It incorporates other briny ingredients, like olives and marinated artichokes, and everything comes together with a roasted red pepper tahini dressing.
2- 3 tablespoons of capers
Goat Cheese Lentil Dip with Dill and Capers
Veronika over at The Healthful Ideas blog says this dish is ready to serve as a dip, a spread or a side. The capers, she says, are nonnegotiable and she likes to use their brine as well. She also points out that a quarter cup of this spread has 7 grams of protein.
2 tablespoons of capers
Pasta Alla Salmone
Here’s a creamy salmon pasta dish from Sabrina Currie at West Coast Kitchen Garden. Her recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of capers, which she says “add tiny bursts of refreshing acidity to this rich pasta recipe.” She says this dish is elegant enough for a holiday dinner, but comes together fast.
2 tablespoons of capers
Roasted Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Capers
This chop and bake recipe “couldn’t be simpler to make, but it tastes like a dream,” writes Ksenia Prints over at At The Immigrants Table. Plus, you’ll use up two tablespoons of capers.
1 tablespoon of capers
Chicken Piccata (Cheesecake Factory copycat)
“With tender pan-seared chicken, bright fresh lemon juice, and briny capers in a rich piccata sauce, this dish is a restaurant-quality dinner you can make in under 30 minutes,” writes Renea at the Feathered Nester. “It’s one of our most flavorful easy recipes—perfect for busy weeknights or date night in.”
1 tablespoon of capers
Italian Chicken Meatballs & Sweet Potato Spaghetti (gluten free)
Capers help fill out the flavors in a homemade tomato sauce in this recipe, whose base is a tangle of spiralized sweet potatoes. If you’re set on using up a lot of capers, this may not be the right recipe (it just calls for one tablespoon). That said, here’s how recipe developer Rebecca over at Strength and Sunshine, describes its appeal, “the smells and aromas from all the components of this dish will have you salivating until you get a big plate in front of you and in your belly! Serve this to your family to make them happy and you extra happy knowing they’re eating one nourishing, hearty, homemade meal!”
1 tablespoon of capers
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Capers and Dill
This recipe combines the assertive flavors of capers, sun-dried tomatoes and dill in a creamy, vegan pasta dish. Veronika over at The Healthful Ideas blog, says it’s great on its own or with a protein. She also notes that she likes to use the capers, as well as their brine.
