71 Easy Chicken Recipes for Dinner
These easy chicken recipes are precisely what you need for a weeknight dinner routine that’s more fun, and far less stressful. Within this collection, you’ll find recipes for using chicken in fajitas, salads, and sandwiches; and in sheet-pan dinners, on the grill, or in a braise. There are recipes that use the Instant Pot or slow cooker. And ones that rely on a rotisserie bird from the grocery store—some come together so fast that, if you blink, you might miss yourself making them.
Scroll through to find chicken breast recipes that actually taste good (yes, it’s possible!—poaching helps) and fresh ideas for juicy chicken thighs, speedy ground chicken, flavor-packed chicken wings, and more. The time has come to whisper “goodbye” to your mom’s dry chicken casserole recipe. You’ll meet again someday (no, you won’t). Read on to find your next go-to chicken dinner; we promise, Mom will approve.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell2/71Warm Chicken Salad With Asparagus and Creamy Dill Dressing
Give trusty rotisserie chicken a second life via steam bath (couldn't we all use one?). Pile the warmed-through slices with vegetables you’ll steam alongside for an easy one-pot chicken dinner.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson3/71Sheet-Pan Chicken With Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Sheet-pan dinner recipes are popular for a reason, and this Italian-American “pizza chicken” is sure to please the whole family—especially if you offer garlic bread on the side. With a total time of just 35 minutes, it won’t be long until dinner is served.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Tiffany Schleigh4/71Grilled Peruvian Chicken With Green Sauce
Traditional recipes for pollo alla brasa start with a whole chicken or skin-on, bone-in parts, but this riff prioritizes speed and ease with skinless, boneless chicken breasts, which only need about 20 minutes in the marinade and even less time to cook. The creamy, herbaceous sauce will win you over.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich6/71Skillet Chicken Parmesan With Gnocchi
For this crowd-pleasing dish, quick-cooking shelf-stable gnocchi goes in the same pan as the chicken. Just before serving, add a handful of fresh basil.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich7/71Sheet-Pan Sticky Apricot Chicken
Got a jar of jam in your cupboard? Then you’re halfway to delightfully sticky chicken legs with roasted carrots. (And here are a few more ways to use up those last dregs of jam and jelly.)
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell8/71Double-the-Mustard Chicken With Potatoes and Greens
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce9/71Juiciest Grilled Chicken Breast With Citrus Marinade
Summer meal prep should go like this. Step one: Marinate and grill chicken breasts. Step two: Enjoy on salads and grain bowls and in sandwiches all week long.
Cooking this bbq chicken for dinner tonight and looking for a side dish? Try wedges of romaine with this riff on Thousand Island dressing that gets its flavor from sundried tomatoes.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano and Stevie Stewart10/71Chilaquiles Rojos
Leftover chicken is even better than the first time around when you transform it into this comfort food classic.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton11/71Crispy Chicken Over Turmeric-Lemon Cabbage and Peas
Silky cabbage serves as a bed for crispy chicken in this all-in-one-pan weeknight dinner.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Lillian Chou12/71Cornell-Style Chicken
First published in 1950, this summer staple comes by way of a college professor tasked with incentivizing people to eat more chicken. The vinegar-and-egg marinade tenderizes the meat while adhering to its skin, ensuring flavor both outside and in.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton13/71San Bei Ji
Three-cup chicken is a Taiwanese staple, named for its easy flavor combo of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Pearl Jones16/71West Indies Shepherd’s Pie
This shepherd’s pie uses ground chicken and leans toward warming flavors, incorporating bright bursts of the tropics—ginger, habanero chile, lime—as well as aromatic Angostura bitters.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou17/71Grilled Chicken With Lemon and Thyme
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton18/71Braised Rotisserie Chicken With Bacon, Tomatoes, and Kale
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton19/71Crispy Chicken and Potatoes With Cabbage Slaw
Photo by Evan Sung20/71One-Pan Crispy Braised Chicken and Fennel Pasta
Sometimes it’s the dishwashing that really exhausts you after a long day at work. Which is where one-pot dinners like this are important.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell21/71Chicken Salad With Apricots, Celery, and Blue Cheese
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton23/71Grain Bowls With Chicken, Spiced Chickpeas, and Avocado
We love how fresh mint and parsley perk up this easy combo of whole grains, shredded chicken, peppery greens, and pickled onion.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich25/71Grilled Chicken Salad With Creamy Any-Pickle Dressing
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Micah Marie Morton26/71Oven-Grilled Honey-Mustard Chicken
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone28/713-Ingredient Garlic-Herb Grilled Chicken Wings
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Emily Eisen, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou31/71Chicken Cobb Salad
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova33/71One-Pan Chicken Drumsticks With Rice and Beans
Photo by Christopher Testani34/71Instant Pot Lemon Chicken With Garlic and Olives
The Instant Pot’s sauté function is key here: chicken thighs get crispy and browned before they finish cooking in a briny, lemony, garlicky stock.
Peden and Munk Taylor and Jen35/71Moroccan Chicken Brochettes
This cumin-and-paprika-spiced chicken skewer recipe is best made with dark meat chicken, which is better suited for the grill. The fattier cut keeps the meat from drying out over high heat.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova36/71Make-Ahead Crispy Chicken Cutlets
This is one of the easiest ways to prepare chicken cutlets at home—no messy dredging or frying required. Stash a big batch in the freezer so they’re always on hand. (Then turn them into a week’s worth of dinners.)
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich39/71Miso-Butter Roast Chicken With Acorn Squash Panzanella
Serve a burnished bird with a crispy, craggy bread and squash salad. Think Thanksgiving stuffing vibes, but more free-form.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell42/71Freeform Chicken Meatballs With Carrots and Yogurt Sauce
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson43/71Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken Cutlets With Zucchini Ribbon Salad
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Simon Andrews44/71Ginger-Grilled Chicken and Radishes With Miso-Scallion Dressing
Photo by Eric Medsker45/71Air-Fryer Fried Chicken
So you did your research on the best air fryer and finally added one to your kitchen arsenal. But what the heck should you do with it? Start with this crispy air fryer chicken—then check out a few more of our best air fryer recipes.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne46/71Kung Pao Chicken
You don’t have to save kung pao for takeout night; the balance of salty, sweet, tangy, and hot in this beloved chicken stir-fry recipe is easy to re-create at home.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Gerri Williams47/71Halal Cart Chicken Salad
Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Christina Allen, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht49/71Hot and Smoky Tang Wings
Photo by Louise Hagger50/71Lemongrass Chicken Noodle Salad of Dreams
There’s a brilliant shortcut in this zingy dressing recipe. You’ll use store-bought lemongrass paste instead of chopping the stalks yourself.
Photo by Alex Lau53/71Chicken Skillet With Buttery Orzo
All you need to make this easy recipe is a single cast-iron skillet and a handful of ingredients, including leeks, fennel, orzo, white wine, lemon juice, and (of course) chicken.
Photo by Brian W. Ferry56/71Skillet Chicken Pot Pie With Butternut Squash
Here’s another one of our favorite chicken dinner ideas: pot pie. Rotisserie chicken and store-bought puff pastry make quick work of this comforting pot pie, which is stuffed with kale, butternut squash, pearl onions, garlic, and sage.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell59/71Crispy Pan-Seared Chicken and Zucchini
When zucchini season hits, you’ll have this chicken dinner idea, made bright and briny with cracked olives and juicy lemon wedges, ready to go.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone60/71Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Pita
Traditional shawarma calls for roasting meat on a large vertical spit. If you don't have a spit at home, mimic the effect by roasting boneless, skinless chicken thighs at a high temperature until charred on the exterior, but still moist and juicy inside. Serve with tahini-yogurt sauce, dill, and mint.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi61/71Sheet-Pan Chicken Saltimbocca With Roasted Potatoes and Crispy Kale
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton62/71“Nextover” Chicken Tacos With Quick Refried Beans
Photograph by Scott Semler, food styling by Mieko Takahashi, prop styling by Emma Ringness63/71Sprite-Grilled Chicken Skewers
Your favorite soda has a few tricks up its sleeve—like this tender, spicy-sweet chicken-on-a-stick. Just add corn on the cob for the ultimate summer experience.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou64/71Caesar Salad Roast Chicken
We’re not just suggesting that you put some chicken on a classic Caesar salad. Here, the chicken gets smothered in Caesar dressing and roasted until the garlic, anchovies, and mustard seep into the meat and become deeply caramelized and flavorful.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell66/71Lentil and Chicken Soup With Sweet Potatoes and Escarole
Looking for something quicker than classic chicken noodle soup? Start with leftover roast chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken, and you can make this comforting, hearty soup in about half an hour.
Photography by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Christina Allen67/71Golden Chicken With Mustard and Shallots
If you’ve never put the words “chicken breasts” and “luxury” side-by-side in a sentence before, chicken bathed in a mustardy turmeric cream sauce will change your tune.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Micah Morton, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro68/71Easy-to-Love Chicken Thighs and Couscous
Photo by William Chambers69/71Crunchy Gluten-Free Chicken Tenders
Crush Rice Chex cereal into a crunchy coating for these easy chicken fingers. Round out the meal with easy blanched green beans and silky mashed potatoes.
Photo by Laura Murray70/71Spring Chicken Dinner Salad
Want to know the secret for making skinless chicken breasts that stay juicy? Poach the meat in well-salted water. This simple cooking technique can help you make a variety of healthy chicken breast recipes. To start, we suggest following this one, which walks you through the steps for poaching chicken and combining it with some crunchy diced veggies and a punchy Dijon vinaigrette.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kaitlin Wayne, prop styling by Stephanie De Luca71/71Chicken Noodle Salad With Spicy Peanut Sauce
Some chicken recipes just knock it out of the park every time. And this cool, crunchy, spicy, nutty noodle salad packed with refreshing vegetables is one of those recipes.
Looking for even more chicken inspiration? Check out this collection of chicken thigh recipes, this set of recipes for chicken legs, and more great chicken breast recipes here.
