50+ Spicy Chicken Recipes for People Who Love Heat 

January 30, 2020
Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

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

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

Photo: 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

Photo: Lee Harrelson
Chicken Tamale Casserole Recipe

A simple cornbread base is the secret to getting a hearty (usually time-consuming) Mexican dish on the dinner table in no time. This Chicken Tamale casserole is a quick and easy swap for more traditional tamales - but just as delicious!

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Za’atar Roasted Chicken over Sumac Potatoes

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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Cindy Barr
Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe

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

Photo: 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

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

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

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

Photo: 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

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

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

Photo: 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

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

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

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

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

Caitlin Bensel
Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe

Add a little zip to your weeknight dinners by learning how to make this 25-minute chicken stir fry. Chile paste and fresh ginger add just the right amount of heat to Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry while peanuts add saltiness and crunch.

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Paprika-Rubbed Sheet Tray Chicken

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

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

Photo: 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.

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Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Photo: 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

Photo: 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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Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr
Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs Recipe

One of the most popular Cooking Light chicken recipes of all time, these sweet and spicy broiled chicken thighs are flavored with chili powder, cumin, garlic and cider vinegar.

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Nashville Hot Chicken Dip

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Mark Driskill, Deb Wise, Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck
Hot Chicken and Doffles Recipe
Winner, winner, hot chicken doffle. If these glorious waffle-doughnut hybrid chicken sandwiches don’t peel you out of bed in the morning, we probably can’t help you. Chicken cutlets are dunked in hot sauce-laced buttermilk, doused in an oil bath to master the coveted crisp-crunchy skin, and then glossed with spicy melted butter.

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Buffalo Chicken Cheese Ball

Photo: Hannah Burkhalter
Buffalo Chicken Cheese Ball Recipe
The buffalo flavor that we all know and love is typically made by combining vinegar, butter, and a cayenne pepper-based hot sauce. Skip the intense prep that buffalo wings require-- get all of the flavor you crave with a buffalo cheese ball.

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