Heart-Healthy Chicken Recipes

March 26, 2010
Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Keep your heart healthy with these main-dish chicken recipes that are low-fat, low-sodium, and low-cholesterol, but high in convenience and flavor.
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Grilled Chicken Thighs with Ginger Sauce

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower
Grilled Chicken Thighs with Ginger Sauce Recipe

Flavorful chicken thighs might just be our favorite cut. Here we dress them up with a simple ginger-scallion sauce.

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Grilled Chicken Thighs with Pineapple, Corn, and Bell Pepper Relish

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross
Grilled Chicken Thighs with Pineapple, Corn, and Bell Pepper Relish Recipe
This grilled chicken recipe boasts phenomenal flavors from its savory-sweet relish and it's under 250 calories.

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Herbed Wheat Berry and Roasted Tomato Salad with Grilled Chipotle Chicken Breasts

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen
Herbed Wheat Berry and Roasted Tomato Salad with Grilled Chipotle Chicken Breasts Recipe

The fresh flavors of the wheat berry tomato salad pair perfectly with the chipotle chicken in this dish. If preferable, you can substitute cooked farro or barley.

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Garlic-Sage Roasted Chicken with Kale and Radicchio Caesar Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen
Garlic-Sage Roasted Chicken with Kale and Radicchio Caesar Salad Recipe
Looking for heart-healthy? This roasted chicken caesar packs major health benefits and loads of flavor.

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Skillet Chicken with Seared Avocados

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower
Skillet Chicken with Seared Avocados Recipe

The tiniest bit of sugar helps the avocado halves char in the pan, adding robust toasty flavor.

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Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Penne

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower
Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Penne Recipe
Multigrain penne is the perfect option for a hearty, heart-healthy dinner. The bite of the broccoli rabe elegantly contrasts the chicken sausage.
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Greek Slaw and Chicken Pitas

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen
Greek Slaw and Chicken Pitas Recipe
Rotisserie chicken fills this stuffed pita for a delightful dinner, table ready in just 15 minutes.

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Grilled Chicken with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross
Grilled Chicken with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata Recipe
These low cholesterol chicken recipes meet heart-healthy guidelines because they' all have less than 10 grams of total fat and 3 grams of saturated fat per serving. Plus, they don't have any trans fats other than those that might naturally occur in foods. All of the recipes have less than 500 mg sodium and 100 mg cholesterol per serving, and many of them feature other heart-healthy nutrients such as vitamin E, vitamin C potassium, fiber, and monounsaturated fat.

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Moroccan Chicken Thighs

Becky Luigart-Stayner; Cindy Barr; Sabrina Bone; Kathleen Kanen
Moroccan Chicken Thighs Recipe
The dark meat of chicken thighs is slightly higher in fat than chicken breasts but still meets healthy heart guidelines. This recipe has added health benefits from the fiber in the chickpeas and the beta carotene and vitamin C in dried apricots.
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Roasted Chicken with Lemons and Thyme

Becky Luigart-Stayner
Roasted Chicken with Lemons and Thyme Recipe
Roasting chicken with lemon and fresh herbs is a great heart-healthy way to add flavor without relying on the addition of excess salt.

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Yogurt-and-Spice Grilled Chicken Skewers

Photo: Tina Rupp
Yogurt-and-Spice Grilled Chicken Skewers Recipe
Marinate the chicken breast strips in a spiced yogurt mixture, grill and serve with a sweet mustard sauce for a high-flavor, good-for-your-heart main dish.

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Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry

Caitlin Bensel
Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe
This Asian-style one-dish meal is brimming with flavor as well as heart-healthy nutrients due to the combination of lean chicken breast, bell pepper, snow peas, peanuts, fresh ginger and garlic and lower-sodium soy sauce.
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Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa Recipe
A three-minute dip into a pungent, low-fat, low-sodium cilantro-lime marinade is all that's needed to deliver big flavor to chicken breasts.

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Grilled Chicken with Plum Salsa

Randy Mayor; Melanie J. Clarke
Grilled Chicken with Plum Salsa Recipe
The American Heart Association recommends that you protect your heart by eating more fruits and vegetables. We think adding a tangy fresh fruit salsa to your grilled chicken is an ideal way to follow that advice.

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Grilled Chicken Tostadas

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross
Grilled Chicken Tostadas Recipe
A small amount of avocado adds heart-healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fat to these tasty grilled tostadas.
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Grilled Chicken and Lemon Salad

Grilled Chicken and Lemon Salad Recipe
Marinate the chicken for one hour in a heart-healthy marinade of olive oil and fresh lemon juice, grill, and then serve with vitamin C-packed veggies such as snow peas and bell peppers.

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Lemon and Oregano-Rubbed Chicken Paillards

Howard L. Puckett; Melanie J. Clarke
Lemon and Oregano-Rubbed Chicken Paillards Recipe
Add flavor to chicken with a low-sodium, low-fat mixture of lemon rind, oregano, black pepper, and garlic. Serve with fresh garden veggies and steamed rice for a heart-healthy meal. To increase the fiber, use brown rice.

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Grilled Herbed Chicken

Photography: Randy Mayor; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Grilled Herbed Chicken Recipe
In addition to providing great flavor with no fat, fresh herbs are also a source of heart-healthy antioxidants that may help fight heart disease.
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Roast Chicken Provençale

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Roast Chicken Provençale Recipe
Cooking a whole chicken with fresh herbs tucked between the flesh and the skin allows all the flavor of the herbs to infuse the chicken while it's roasting. Be sure to remove the skin before serving because the skin is where most of the fat is located.

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Summer Chicken Salad with Garden Herbs

Photo: Karry Hosford
Summer Chicken Salad with Garden Herbs Recipe
Cooking your own chicken for a salad instead of using a rotisserie chicken from the deli is a good way to cut back on sodium. And, you'll have the bonus of some homemade stock to use in place of high-sodium canned chicken broth.

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Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
These chicken-filled lettuce leaves are popular as appetizers in Asian-style bistro restaurants, but two wraps make a satisfying main dish. Go ahead and add the chopped peanuts because they offer monounsaturated fat–a kind of fat that's good for your heart.
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Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar  Sauce

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar  Sauce Recipe
A little bit of butter goes a long way in this recipe. Using only 1 tablespoon adds to the richness of the balsamic-honey sauce and creates a notable flavor without significantly increasing the saturated fat.
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