48 Easy Chicken Dinner Ideas
Updated: Jan. 30, 2024
Need a meal for a busy weeknight or last-minute potluck? Try one of these delicious and easy chicken dinner ideas.
If you keep a pack of chicken in the fridge or the freezer, you’re never far from a delicious dinner. Chicken breasts are great for busy nights, as they cook up quickly in skillet recipes. Boneless, skinless thighs are deliciously juicy and tender in a stew or roast. Wings and legs are crowd pleasers, especially drenched in sauce. Even leftover chicken can transform into something new.
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Quick Chicken Piccata
The simple, lively flavors of chicken piccata—lemon, parsley and white wine—are delicious in the warmer months, but they also brighten up cold evenings. Serve with your favorite pasta noodles.Editor’s Tip: There are so many good reasons to buy chicken online, but which poultry is worth the premium price? We tested 10 services to find the best-of-the-best chicken delivery.
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Easy Chicken Creole
Turn up the heat with this fiery, smoky chicken dish inspired by Creole cooking. It’s a delicious way to use up leftover chicken, whether it’s cubed or shredded.
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Herbed Chicken Caesar Salad
Chicken Caesar salad is a restaurant favorite that’s easy to make at home. Bottled dressing and pre-washed lettuce make this a speedy, healthy dinner.
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Chicken Garden Medley
A celebration of summer vegetables, this pasta recipe is extremely flexible. Use whichever veggies are in the garden (or in the crisper drawer), from squash to potatoes, peppers to carrots, broccoli to beans. The lightly creamy sauce goes with everything.
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Teriyaki Grilled Chicken
Sweet and tangy teriyaki sauce is a fantastic alternative to barbecue chicken. Leftovers, chilled in the fridge and then sliced, make a delicious topping on fresh dinner salads.
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Buffalo Chicken Chili
A twist on traditional chili, this spicy chili delivers the flavors of your favorite buffalo chicken (and dipping sauce). Both cream cheese and bleu cheese thicken the soup and add a welcome savory tartness that balances the heat. This is an ideal game day recipe.
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Comforting Chicken A La King
Chicken a la king is a vintage recipe that deserves a comeback! A tasty, creamy sauce cooks right in the pan with minced celery and mushrooms. This meal is a treat for lunch or dinner. Looking for more? Try this delicious marry me chicken recipe.
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Stir-Fry Chicken Lo Mein
Inspired by our favorite Chinese restaurant dinner, this flavorful chicken pasta dish is a fantastic vehicle for veggies. Even fussy kids will eat snow peas, sliced carrots or baby corn served in the delicious sauce.
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Chicken Biscuit Potpie
Tired of chicken and vegetables for dinner? Tuck them into a rich, creamy potpie! Using biscuits for the crust instead of puff pastry makes this the ultimate comfort food.
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Chicken with Florentine Sauce
Florentine sauce is so simple and delicious, it should be in every cook’s repertoire! Made with wine, cream and butter, it tastes great with just about anything. This recipe jazzes up the classic with spices, pimientos and green onions—feel free to play with your favorite flavors!
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Sunday Roast Chicken
No chicken dinner collection is complete without a Sunday supper-worthy roast chicken! This version puts a citrus-y twist on the classic, adding a lively brightness that’s especially tasty on cool summer evenings.
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Garlic-Grilled Chicken with Pesto Zucchini Ribbons
While this is the perfect recipe for anyone with a spiralizer, you can also create this simple chicken dinner with a plain vegetable peeler too. Using zucchini in place of traditional pasta makes the dish low-carb and gluten-free, and it also adds a ton of fresh flavor to the dish.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
This classic chicken stew is so simple, you’ll want to add it to your regular rotation. A sauce made with apple juice and scented with cinnamon makes it a little bit cozy and autumnal. Serve over couscous, rice or polenta.
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Deviled Chicken
Inspired by the flavors of deviled eggs, this chicken dinner has such a delicious sauce you may want to double the recipe. The sauce tastes great with roasted vegetables too.
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Chicken Provolone
If you have an oven-proof skillet, this delicious, Italian-inspired chicken dish is a one-skillet meal. After cooking on the stovetop, you’ll top the chicken with prosciutto and cheese and slip under a broiler so the ham crisps and the cheese melts. Delicious.
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Sausage & Vegetable Skillet Dinner
Simple flavors pack a punch in this impossibly speedy skillet supper. Use your favorite chicken sausage, whether it’s sweet or hot. Since potatoes and corn both cook in the skillet, there’s no real need for a side, but serve a green salad if you like.
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Barbecued Picnic Chicken
What sets this barbecue chicken apart? The homemade sauce! It’s simple to stir together, and you can adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes—from extra sweet to extra spicy. If you don’t want to grill, you can also bake the chicken in the oven.
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Pizza Chicken Roll-Ups
Here’s a clever way to get kids to enjoy dinner: Give chicken a pizzeria-inspired twist. These chicken rolls are slathered with mozzarella, pepperoni and tomato sauce. Make sure to get pizza sauce, not pasta sauce (which is too wet for this recipe).
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Honey Chicken Stir-Fry
Not many dinners come together quicker than stir-fry! Because all of the ingredients are cut up bite-sized, they cook quickly. While broccoli is a classic stir-fry pairing, you can use just about any veggie you have on hand: simply chop it up to the same size as the chicken.
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Salsa Verde Chicken Casserole
You can use up leftover chicken in this zingy casserole, but it’s so good, you might buy a rotisserie chicken just to make it. Go ahead and tweak the seasonings to appeal to your crew’s spice preference. Leftovers are great for breakfast tacos.
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Soupy Chicken Noodle Supper
Craving chicken noodle soup tonight? Try this speedy recipe, which relies on leftover cooked chicken and bouillon to make a quick, flavorful dinner. It’s the best thing to eat when you have a cold (or just need something comforting).
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Mediterranean Chicken
Greek-inspired flavors give this skillet chicken dinner a savory, bright seasoning that’s welcome on the table any time of year. In the summer, serve with your favorite hearty side; in winter, try boiled red potatoes and peas.
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Baked Chicken Fajitas
One of our best quick dinner recipes, these chicken fajitas can be on your table even on the busiest weeknight. The trick? Prep the marinade in the morning so the chicken has plenty of time to absorb the flavor. You can also slice all the veggies and keep them in the fridge until ready to cook.
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Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Chicken
This ingredients list might make you do a double take: salsa and peach preserves? But the rave reviews prove the brilliance of the sweet-and-spicy combination. Plus, using pantry ingredients makes this chicken dinner a snap to make at the last minute, even when there’s nothing fresh in the house.
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Chicken Enchilada Bake
Just five ingredients make up this cheesy, smoky, creamy enchilada bake—and you might have all of them in your pantry and fridge already. Cutting tortillas into small, layerable squares makes this dish a lot easier than the traditional way of assembling enchiladas.
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Red Pepper Chicken
The first night you make it, serve this Southwestern-flavored chicken with rice and a fresh salad. If you have enough for leftovers, they’ll be delicious the next day too. Shred or slice the leftovers and serve in tacos with beans, tortillas, sour cream and your favorite taco fillings.
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Chicken Broccoli Shells
This comforting casserole is the perfect food to make ahead and keep in the freezer. It’ll be ready to cook on a busy weeknight or to share with a friend in need on a meal train.
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Chicken Aloha
This sweet, saucy chicken will appeal to the whole family. Sweet and tart canned pineapple steers the dinner in a slightly tropical direction. Pair with rice and steamed snow peas.
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Creamy Chicken Thighs & Noodles
This dump dinner makes the slow cooker do all the work! Pour the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning, and dinner will be ready at the end of the work day.
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Curry Chicken and Rice
Make sure to save some leftover rotisserie chicken to use in this zippy dinner. As with all curries, the ingredients list is flexible. Don’t have spicy canned tomatoes? Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to plain canned tomatoes. Don’t love peas? Use minced carrots, peppers or cauliflower instead.
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Skillet-Roasted Lemon Chicken with Potatoes
This one-skillet roast chicken recipe is one to bookmark. Slices of lemon, potatoes and tomatoes cook alongside the chicken, imbuing the entire dish with bright, savory flavor.
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Cashew Chicken with Noodles
Salty-sweet cashew chicken is a takeout copycat dish the whole family can enjoy. As a bonus, you can make it from scratch in the same time it would take to drive to the restaurant. Serve with noodles or hot rice.
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Smothered Chicken Breasts
There’s nothing wrong with a quick, sauteed chicken breast for dinner, but this recipe is just about as easy—and it’s much more interesting. After cooking the chicken, fry bacon in the same pan, then finish by cooking onions with the bacon drippings and a bit of brown sugar. Layered on the plate, the entree is restaurant-worthy.
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Chicken and Dumplings
One of our most popular dinner recipes, this chicken and dumplings is comfort in a pan. (You’d never guess that you can make it with fat-free milk!) Plus, it’s speedy to put together using boxed biscuit mix.
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Chicken Penne Casserole
The homemade pasta sauce in this recipe wins rave reviews, with cooks swearing off store-bought pasta sauce. Serve the sauce on any noodle you like, or prep this tasty, cozy casserole. It will take a bit of time to assemble, but once it’s in the oven, you can kick up your feet and enjoy the savory aroma filling the house.
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Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
These yummy enchiladas are baked uncovered so the edges crisp in the oven while the cheese gets gooey. The recipe calls for a simple homemade green chile enchilada sauce, but you can substitute your favorite store-bought sauce.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Tacos
A few simple seasonings spice up slow-cooker chicken tacos, but the recipe is endlessly customizable. Add jalapenos, chiles, salsa or hot sauce to the pot. Serve with tortillas and your favorite Mexican-inspired sides.
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Hearty Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Haven’t tried spaghetti casserole? You’re in for a treat! Creamy, cheesy and freckled with peppers and mushrooms, this pasta casserole is a standout. Feeding fussy eaters? Swap in whatever veggies they’ll eat.
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Slow-Cooked Southwest Chicken
This easy slow-cooker dinner is super versatile. Serve the chicken (plus its rich, bean-based sauce) over rice or with tortillas and sliced avocados.
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Chicken Tater Bake
It’s hard to resist this tater-tot-studded chicken casserole. The recipe makes two 8-in. casseroles, one of which you can freeze for later. If you’re headed to a potluck, you’ll want to bring both!
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Saucy Chicken Thighs
You don’t always have to make barbecue chicken on the grill. This recipe uses the slow cooker to prepare finger-lickin’ good chicken thighs. If it’s too hot to turn on the oven, serve with a side salad and microwaved corn on the cob.
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Shredded Barbecue Chicken over Grits
This is a dream dinner for when the calendar says it’s fall, but the weather isn’t cooperating. Fall flavors like molasses and cinnamon jazz up jarred barbecue sauce, while canned pumpkin adds creamy texture and plenty of flavor to grits.
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Chicken & Mushroom Alfredo
Want to make this creamy pasta dish even easier? Substitute the simple homemade sauce for a jar of store-bought sauce. Alfredo sauce makes any vegetable taste superb, so get creative and add any side veggies you like.
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Air-Fryer Chicken Tenders
Need a quick chicken tender recipe? Make this one. The air fryer ensures a crispy exterior, while the seasoning mix appeals to adults as well as kids. It’s one of our favorite air-fryer chicken recipes.
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Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells
Chicken Parmesan meets lasagna in this cheesy, tomato-y pasta bake. Unlike lasagna, there’s no laborious layering of noodles and sauce. You’ll make a quick seasoned chicken and cheese filling, fill al dente noodles and slather with sauce. Bake until bubbly and irresistible. Serve with a side salad.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
This comforting, spicy soup is just the trick for cool nights. Make in the slow cooker or on the stovetop, whichever you prefer. Leftovers freeze well; portion out single servings for quick lunches.
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Air-Fryer Southern-Style Chicken
Seasoned, crushed Ritz crackers make a robust savory breading for this simple fried chicken recipe. Unlike deep-frying, air-frying is mess-free, thermometer-free and slightly healthier.Originally Published: February 15, 2022
