50+ Spicy Chicken Recipes for People Who Love Heat

Updated January 30, 2020
Credit: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Blakeslee Giles, Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Kick up the heat with one of our best spicy chicken recipes of all time. Whether you're looking for something mildly hot that will appease everyone at your table (like these easy Buffalo Chicken Sliders or this Mexican Chili Verde Chicken Casserole) or a more intense recipe for more adventurous eaters (like these customizable Fiery Chicken Thighs with Persian Rice), fans of kickin' chicken will want to bookmark this collection. 

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Sweet and Spicy Chicken and White Bean Stew

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross

Sweet and Spicy Chicken and White Bean Stew Recipe

Lemongrass lends a hint of citrus to this spicy stew. We recommend serving this dish with an off-dry riesling, which will balance nicely with the heat and cut through the richness of the velvety coconut milk.

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Spicy Chicken Cacciatore

Credit: Randy Mayor; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Spicy Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Serve this saucy dish over polenta or pasta. Transform leftovers into soup: Shred the chicken, and place in a pot with sauce. Add unsalted chicken stock, diced zucchini, and diced carrots; simmer until veggies are tender.

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Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Credit: Caroline Arcangeli; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Julia Levym

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Recipe

For a family-friendly weeknight dinner that feels comforting but loads in the good stuff, Buffalo chicken spaghetti squash is where it’s at. Featuring shredded chicken, carrots, celery, blue cheese, Buffalo sauce, and a drizzle of ranch, these hearty spaghetti squash boats are deliciously cheesy, easy, and convenient.

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Green Chile-Chicken Stew

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Green Chile-Chicken Stew Recipe

All the big flavors from a south-of-the-border Posole are found in this freezer-friendly stew. Ideal for feeding a crowd during a gameday party, serving the family for a weeknight meal, or enjoying the leftovers for lunch, this recipe deserves a spot in your list of favorite cool-weather soups and stews.

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Air-Fried Chile Chicken Chimichanga

Credit: Meredith Food Studios

Air-Fried Chile Chicken Chimichanga Recipe

This lightened take on chimichangas only tastes indulgent. Perfect for lunch or dinner, the golden, toasted tortilla gives way to a creamy, rich, and chewy interior. For an even crispier exterior, feel free to rotate the burrito more than once. We used Ole Extreme High Fiber, Low Carb wheat wraps—you can find similar wraps at the grocery store.

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Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Celery

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Karen Rankin

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Celery Recipe

We can’t decide what we love more about these Buffalo celery bites—the fact that they require zero cooking, come together in about 15 minutes, and are roughly the easiest appetizer ever OR the sheer magnitude of how delicious they are.

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Chicken Tamale Casserole

Credit: Lee Harrelson

Chicken Tamale Casserole Recipe

If you’re craving tamales but just don’t have the time, this tamale casserole is a quick and easy answer. Homemade tamales can be too time-consuming to prepare on a weeknight, but corn bread mix captures the same flavor. Feel free to experiment with different types of meat, such as ground beef or turkey, or trying chile verde salsa instead of enchilada sauce. No matter how you prepare it, this dish will quickly become a family favorite. 
 

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Za’atar Roasted Chicken over Sumac Potatoes

Credit: AVERY, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2019

Za’atar Roasted Chicken over Sumac Potatoes Recipe

On countless visits here before I made Israel my home, I’d buy giant bags of za’atar from the shuk; that way, after I left and no matter where I was, if I was pining for the sun and spice of this magical place, I could sprinkle it back into my life, if even just for the duration of a meal.

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Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

This easy buffalo chicken dip is addictively delicious, and you’ll never bring it to a party without getting rave reviews. Our buffalo chicken dip recipe delivers bold, three-cheese flavors and a kick of spice from the hot sauce. The creamy, tangy dip is the perfect crowd-friendly comfort food to make as temperatures drop.

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Cajun Chicken Pasta

Credit: Ralph Anderson; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey

Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe

One easy way to kick up the flavor in a dish is to add Cajun seasoning. Here, the seasoning is sprinkled on the chicken strips before they're sautéed and tossed into the linguine-vegetable mixture.

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Spicy Red Curry with Chicken

Credit: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Spicy Red Curry with Chicken Recipe

Transform your basic slow-cooked chicken into a rich, exotic dish with a spicy red curry sauce and fluffy jasmine rice. An aromatic blend of lemongrass, ginger, and garlic gets a creamy, spicy kick from coconut cream and sliced red Fresno chiles. You’ll warm yourself from the inside out with this hearty, flavor-packed chicken supper recipe.

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Buffalo Chicken Salad

Credit: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Cindy Barr

Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe

Wing-fans and salad-fans, this one’s for you. We gussied up the classic buffalo chicken appetizer and transformed it into a healthy entrée salad of saucy chicken strips, crisp carrots and celery, and pungent buttermilk-blue cheese dressing. A quick and easy weeknight meal, this buffalo chicken salad will please everybody at the dinner table. Serve this buffalo chicken salad with toasted French bread baguette slices for a more filling meal, and reserve some dressing on the side for dipping.

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Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Missie Crawford

Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup Recipe

Coconut milk tames the heat and combines deliciously with shredded chicken breast in Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup.

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Fiesta Chicken and Carrot Rice

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Fiesta Chicken and Carrot Rice Recipe

This quick-cooking chicken dish comes together in a single skillet, cutting back on cleanup time, and helping get dinner onto the table with a minimum of fuss. It also happens to be delicious, and a family favorite among even the pickiest of kids.  Gina Homolka is the founder of skinnytaste.com and @skinnytaste.

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Nashville Hot Chicken Bake

Credit: Meredith Food Studios

Nashville Hot Chicken Bake Recipe

If you’re craving hot chicken but don’t feel like doing the work, try this quick and fun dish. It’s spicy with hints of sweetness, with juicy and flavorful chicken and crunchy bread topping. 

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Instant Pot Chicken Wings

Credit: Meredith Food Studios

Instant Pot Chicken Wings Recipe

Make homemade wings in minutes with some help from your Instant Pot. Everyone's favorite pressure cooker get your chicken wings cooked through quickly, while the broiler crisps them up. Serve with crunchy veggie sticks and the sauce of your choosing. 

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Fiery Chicken Thighs with Persian Rice

Credit: Johnny Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr

Fiery Chicken Thighs with Persian Rice Recipe

Pay close attention to the rice as it cooks over medium-low heat--when you hear it begin to crackle, turn the heat down to low. Continue to cook until the bottom side of the rice develops a golden crust. Serve with 1 pound fresh green beans sautéed in 1 tablespoon butter.

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Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Buffalo Chicken Tacos Recipe

Your favorite appetizer just got upgraded to the dinner menu. These reinvented tacos check every craving box with less than a third of the sodium and half the fat of traditional Buffalo wings.

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Air-Fried Spicy Chicken Wing Drumettes

Credit: Gina DeSimone

Air-Fried Spicy Chicken Wing Drumettes Recipe

Chicken wing drumettes (the upper part of the wing) are a smart choice for air frying—their small size means you don’t have to spend all day cooking endless batches. Traditional drumettes require tons of oil to guarantee maximum crispy goodness; this genius recipe gets it done with just a tablespoon of super-flavorful sesame oil.

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Mexican Chili Verde Chicken Casserole

Credit: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Mexican Chili Verde Chicken Casserole Recipe

This casserole is a favorite in our test kitchen and it's easy to see why. It's delicious, family friendly and easy to prep. You might want to double this recipe—you're going to want leftovers. 

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Spicy Air-Fried Chicken Thighs

Credit: Gina DeSimone

Spicy Air-Fried Chicken Thighs Recipe

If you’ve been fighting the temptation of fried chicken for the sake of your healthy diet, you can finally indulge guilt free. This spicy, crispy chicken emerges from the air fryer with all the flavor and crunch you’ve been craving. For the best flavor, be sure to let the chicken marinate as instructed—if you have the time, go the full 12 hours.

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Chicken Biryani

Credit: Victor Protasio

Chicken Biryani Recipe

A standard in Indian cuisine, biryani gets plenty of flavor and fragrance from the spice mix, which typically includes turmeric, cardamom, ginger, and cumin. We use basmati rice here, which is a delicate white rice with an almost floral aroma. We particularly like Royal brand basmati, which has extraordinarily long grains.

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Hainanese Chicken

Credit: Victor Protasio

Hainanese Chicken Recipe

This is one of the national dishes of Singapore. Deceptively plain-looking, it’s loaded with flavor when done well—tasty aromatics infuse the rice and chicken as they simmer. The toppings and garnishes add more bold taste and texture. Find sweet soy sauce in the international aisle of the supermarket or at Asian markets.

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Thai Chicken and Vegetable Curry

Credit: Scott Rounds

Thai Chicken and Vegetable Curry Recipe

Sweet potato, red bell pepper, and baby kale make this quick curry hearty and colorful. These vegetables make the meat almost secondary; just 12 ounces will go far here. If you can’t find baby kale, you can use spinach or lacinato kale cut into 1-inch pieces.

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Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe

Chile paste and fresh ginger add just the right amount of heat to Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry. Add a little zip to your weeknight dinners with this flavorful stir-fry.

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Paprika-Rubbed Sheet Tray Chicken

Credit: Justin Walker

Paprika-Rubbed Sheet Tray Chicken Recipe

Cookbook author and entertaining maven Alison Roman uses this paprika rub to smear on pork roasts or to marinate chicken wings. It’s her go-to seasoning that makes everything taste like really great sausage. The low and slow oven heat ensures none of the spices or bits of garlic burns, while giving the chicken fat plenty of time to render out slowly and evenly.

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Habanero-Apricot Chicken Sandwiches

Credit: Photography: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Habanero-Apricot Chicken Sandwiches Recipe

Habaneros contain more capsaicin (the compound that contributes spicy heat) than jalapeños, but removing the seeds and membranes lessens that heat considerably.

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Hot Chicken Deviled Eggs

Credit: Daniel Agee; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Robin Bashinsky

Hot Chicken Deviled Eggs Recipe

These Southern-inspired deviled eggs say summer fun like nothing else. A picnic-perfect use for leftover fried chicken, these tasty bites are spicy, but not burn-your-mouth spicy. Feel free to increase or decrease the cayenne pepper depending on how much of a kick you like. A sweetness from the chopped pickles, tang from the vinegar and hot sauce, and salty-savory deliciousness from the fried chicken make for a perfectly balanced chicken + eggs-perience. 

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Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Credit: Johnny Miller; Styling: Sarah Smart

Buffalo Chicken Sliders Recipe

For this slider, we tuck the usual Buffalo wing accompaniments--carrots and celery--inside the patty. This gives you all the flavors of a wing plate while also helping to keep the lean breast meat moist. When shredding the celery (so that it incorporates nicely), you'll have to stop occasionally to pull and discard the strings.

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Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Blakeslee Giles; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole Recipe

In a pinch and in need of a quick meal that will please everyone? A one-pan, assemble-and-bake Tex-Mex casserole just might be the answer. It takes just 5 ingredients to make a melty, cheesy, smoky green chile chicken dish. Add rice and black beans for a full on fiesta.

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Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

Credit: John Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs Recipe

These sweet, Honey Chicken Thighs rank supreme, as one of the most popular Cooking Light chicken recipes of all time – and for good reason. Made in 30 minutes or less, this is the perfect busy weeknight dinner. By mixing a touch of sweet with a hint of spicy, a magical thing happens. Generously seasoned with chili powder, cumin, garlic and cider vinegar, there’s no room for lack of flavor here. Wonder what secret to mouthwatering thighs is? It’s in the broiler; this cooking method adds a distinctive crunchy outer crust and a tender, juicy inside. 

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Nashville Hot Chicken Dip

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez, Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Katelyn Hardwick

Nashville Hot Chicken Dip Recipe

If you are feeling adventurous, go ahead and bump up the amount of hot sauce and cayenne pepper. Just have plenty of liquid on hand the quench the fire. You may also try something sweet, as some people swear that a dessert helps tame the heat.

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Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Credit: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya Recipe

This hearty one-pot meal will transport you to New Orleans on the busiest weeknight. Like it spicy? Serve with hot sauce on the side.

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Hot Chicken and Doffles