25+ Essential, Easy Chicken Recipes for Every Night of the Week (2024)

If you're ready to expand your culinary skills, you can't go wrong with any of these simple chicken recipes. Chicken is incredibly versatile, and there are beginner-friendly options for almost any kind of chicken dish, whether you're craving a classic like roast chicken, something indulgent like chicken wings, or something inventive like a chicken pizza.

While you may be used to fancy restaurant-quality chicken, don't let that scare you away from attempting one of these easy chicken recipes. Clear, step-by-step instructions will guide you through the whole cooking process and teach you staple techniques like how to bread chicken cutlets or how to spatchco*ck a chicken. Once you get a little practice, we hope you'll never have to stress over what to make for dinner again.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

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Homemade chicken noodle soup will warm your heart and your belly with a single bowl. This chicken noodle soup recipe calls for a whole chicken, which might seem like a lot of effort, but it also makes a whopping 12 servings, so you'll be slurping down savory chicken and tasty noodles for days.

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Chicken and Chard Dumpling Soup

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This fresh take on chicken soup recipes uses chewy gnocchi, tender chicken, and Swiss chard for a balanced meal in a single bowl. (Best of all, it's easy to make—only 30 minutes of hands-on time.)

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Southwestern Chicken Soup

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It's labeled a soup, but let's be honest: This is a real white chicken chili. It's got salsa verde for flavor and cannellini beans for weight, both main ingredients in any good white chicken chili recipe, plus cumin and green onions for extra taste.

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Instant Pot Chicken Pho

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If you're a fan of the Instant Pot, you likely already use it for almost everything, but trying something a little new with this Instant Pot chicken recipe. It'll give you all the pho flavors you know and love, but with less hands-on time.

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05of 27

Miso Chicken Noodle Soup

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Dress up your classic, comforting chicken noodle soup recipe with a little miso. This recipe from Healthyish by Lindsay Maitland Hunt uses white miso paste, soy sauce, tofu, udon or soba noodles, and chicken (of course) for a soup that is savory and satisfying all at once.

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Grilled Pizza With Chicken and Peach

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Chicken may not be the first topping that comes to mind when you think of pizza, but this summer chicken recipe proves that it's on the same level as mozzarella and peppers. Best of all, this recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, so you can spend more time focusing on the pizza and less cooking chicken.

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Zesty Chicken Salad

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For this chicken salad recipe, you'll poach chicken breasts—it's easier than you think—and mix it with dill pickles, mayonnaise, shallot, and more for a homemade chicken salad you can rely on for office lunches, picnics, and more.

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Grilled Chicken and Pepper Salad

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This easy chicken recipe has a salad base, but don't think that means it won't fill you up. Delicious marinated grilled chicken brings flavor and heft to the meal, and a homemade salad dressing means you can be certain this is a healthy dish.

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Almond-Crusted Chicken With Arugula Salad

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This easy weeknight chicken dish can be made quickly, but speed doesn't come at the expense of flavor: With almond flour and sesame seeds for flavor and crunch on the chicken breast cutlets and a customizable salad, this is sure to become a regular in your weekly meal rotation.

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Vietnamese-Inspired Chicken Patties

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Chicken may be the main ingredient in this recipe, but the vinaigrette is the star of the show. With fish sauce, sambal oelek, and chile, it dresses up the ground chicken meatballs and rice vermicelli noodle base nicely.

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Cherry-Bourbon Chicken Wings

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Make watching the game at home special with this irresistible chicken wings recipe. These wings are saucy, sweet, and sour, for a near-complete flavor palette in every bite. If you cook them on the grill, they'll even get a crispy, caramelized finish that will keep everyone coming back for more.

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Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Wings

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If you strongly believe that garlic makes everything better, this chicken wings recipe is for you. They're messy and delicious—everything wings should be—and can be cooked on the grill or in a broiler, depending on the cooking tools available for you.

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Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

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Green salsa verde and Muenster cheese (or Monterey Jack, if you prefer) offer an alternative to the classic red enchilada sauce in this chicken enchiladas recipe. Mild and tangy, these enchiladas are sure to be a crowd favorite. Plus, they have corn in them, so you can serve them on their own as a full meal or add a side salad for an even more balanced meal.

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14of 27

Zesty Chicken Enchiladas

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A homemade enchilada sauce takes this easy chicken enchiladas recipe from good to great. Using a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own saves you time and effort—so you can focus on the sauce—and the four-serving yield feeds the whole family.

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Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken With Biscuits

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With this slow-cooker recipe, your cooker takes care of the chicken. When the chicken is almost ready, all you have to do is make some easy-drop biscuits, and then combine it all in a bowl. It'll taste amazing on night one and every night afterward, if you're meal-prepping.

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Chicken and Vegetable Potpie

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Potpie might be the pinnacle of comfort food. This chicken potpie recipe includes onions, carrots, and peas, so it's healthy, too, without sacrificing any of the rich flavor you know and love.

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Creamy Chicken and Corn Potpie

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All good chicken potpies are creamy, but this chicken potpie recipe might be the creamiest, thanks to the addition of corn chowder, which both introduces tasty corn and veggies to the dish and adds plenty of luscious creaminess.

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Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

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Consider this chicken recipe with an eight-serving yield, so you can enjoy an indulgent chicken and pasta dish for days to come or feed a crowd. You'll need your stovetop and broiler for this one, so it's more suited to fall and winter than summer, but it's a dish you'll love in any season.

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Crunchy Baked Chicken With Ham and Swiss

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Baked chicken gets a fresh update with this quick, easy chicken recipe, which bakes chicken cutlets with a rich thyme-and-Swiss cheese sauce topped with prosciutto and breadcrumbs. Mouth watering yet? We've got great news: It's all ready in 30 minutes, too.

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Baked Chicken Parmesan

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Skip the breading step—easily the most challenging part of making chicken parmesan—with our clever baked chicken parmesan recipe, which layers those beloved chicken parm ingredients and bakes them for a still-satisfying (but easier) dish.

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Slow-Roasted Lemon & Herb Chicken

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This easy roast chicken recipe is sure to impress a crowd—but the secret is that it's incredibly easy to make. Foolproof, juicy, and well-seasoned, this is sure to be your new go-to roast chicken dish.

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Spatchco*cked Buffalo Chicken

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You don't need to know how to spatchco*ck chicken before you start this recipe—it's easier than you think, and you'll learn in the process. The finished product is tender with a kick, thanks to a hot sauce marinade, and when you serve it with a wax bean and celery salad on the side, it's a full chicken meal.

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Crispy Chicken With Roasted Radishes

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It sounds fancy and intensive, but this chicken recipe is actually incredibly easy—and all it takes is one pot. It's a chicken thigh recipe that is delightfully crispy and juicy, with roasted red onion and radish on the side—and some toasted baguette to soak up any extra sauces.

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Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Thighs

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Enjoy robust Middle Eastern flavors at home with this completely doable chicken thigh recipe. A delicious blend of spices brings the flavor, and the dish is served with a fresh tomato salad on the side.

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Crispy Chicken Cutlets With Artichoke Dressing

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This easy chicken recipe will have you serving a delicious chicken dinner in less than 30 minutes. The chicken cutlets are amazingly crispy, and the accompanying lemony dressing brings those just-right extra flavors to the meal. With fresh asparagus for the all-important vegetable, it's everything you want from a weeknight dinner.

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Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken With Ginger and Yogurt

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Put your slow-cooker to work with this easy chicken recipe. Cumin, curry powder, and fresh ginger bring the delicious curried taste, and when you set your slow-cooker up before work, you can come home for a ready-to-eat meal that the whole family will love.

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Teriyaki Chicken

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Make your favorite restaurant dish at home with this teriyaki chicken recipe. All you need is chicken and some teriyaki sauce—we'll teach you the rest.

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25+ Essential, Easy Chicken Recipes for Every Night of the Week (2024)

FAQs

Which is the tastiest chicken dish in the world? ›

Best Chicken Dishes Around The World That You Must Try
  1. Butter Chicken- India. ...
  2. American Fried Chicken. ...
  3. Schezwan Chicken-China. ...
  4. Lebanese Chicken Shawarma. ...
  5. Chicken Parmigiana-Italy. ...
  6. French Coq Au Vin. ...
  7. Italian Herbs Roasted Chicken. ...
  8. Stacked Baked Roasted Chicken Enchilada Suizas.

What should you season chicken with? ›

Aside from classics like salt, pepper, basil and garlic, you could try using chilli powder, ginger, cumin, cayenne, paprika, oregano, sage, rosemary and thyme.

How do you prepare chicken the night before? ›

The night before cooking, salt the chicken inside and out. Wrap the chicken in kitchen paper and put in the fridge. Remove from the fridge and leave to come to room temperature. When stuffing the bird, leave an air gap between the stuffing and the top of the breast bone.

Which cut of chicken do chefs prefer for most recipes? ›

Any chef I know prefers the thighs because they have a higher fat content which helps prevent them from drying out and becoming sandpaper in your mouth. Thighs are much more versatile. They stand up to poaching, braising, frying, roasting… they don't require as much direct attention.

What is the most popular chicken to eat? ›

In today's poultry landscape, the Cornish Cross, Jersey Giant, and Red Broiler chickens hold significant places as meat-producing champions.

What enhances chicken flavor? ›

Marinating not only adds flavor, but the combination of healthy fat and acid in most recipes also helps tenderize the meat. A good marinade is roughly three parts oil to one part acid, plus salt and other seasonings like spices, crushed garlic, or a little natural sugar.

What brings out the flavor in chicken? ›

The reaction of cysteine and sugar can lead to characteristic meat flavour specially for chicken and pork. Volatile compounds including 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, 2-furfurylthiol, methionol, 2,4,5-trimethyl-thiazole, nonanol, 2-trans-nonenal, and other compounds have been identified as important for the flavour of chicken.

How do you get seasoning to penetrate chicken? ›

Once your chicken is fully seasoned, toss it in the fridge for at least 3 hours before grilling to ensure that the seasonings have enough time to penetrate the meat.

How to cook chicken for beginners? ›

How to Bake Chicken Breasts in the Oven
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Place chicken on a large rimmed baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of breast registers 165°F, 20 to 25 minutes.
Aug 9, 2023

Is chicken better in oven or pan? ›

While both baking and pan frying can give you tasty, juicy chicken, if you are in a hurry, it is better to pan fry it. Because baked chicken breast is easy to dry out, it needs time to brine or marinade before you cook it.

What cooking method makes chicken most tender? ›

Low and slow cooking methods like braising, stewing, or smoking are most effective when trying to create tender, succulent chicken.

Can you eat chicken every night? ›

Even if you commit to only consuming chicken cooked in a healthy way and not pairing it with any sauces high in sodium or sugar, both dietitians recommend only having it a few times a week.

Should you marinate chicken the night before? ›

Most recipes for marinating meat and poultry recommend six hours up to 24 hours. It is safe to keep the food in the marinade longer, but after two days it is possible that the marinade can start to break down the fibers of the meat, causing it to become mushy.

Should you season chicken the night before? ›

Ideally, a whole chicken would be seasoned a full 24 hours before it was roasted because salting so far ahead of time, I was told, gives the meat more flavor.

Which country makes the best chicken dish? ›

Chicken: Which country does it best?
  • Portugal: Peri-Peri Chicken. Peri-peri, otherwise known as Piri-piri, is thought to have been created by Portuguese explorers in Mozambique in the 15th century. ...
  • Jamaica: Jerk Chicken. ...
  • England: Roast Chicken. ...
  • American South: Southern-Fried Chicken. ...
  • Australia: Barbecue Chicken.
Feb 24, 2023

What is the 5th best chicken dish in the world? ›

The ubiquitous Filipino dish, “Inasal na manok,” was named the fifth best chicken dish in the world by Taste Atlas. “It employs various chicken cuts marinated in a mixture of vinegar and numerous spices such as lemongrass, garlic, and ginger,” Taste Atlas said.

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