100+ Easy Chicken Recipes Your Family Will Love

January 31, 2020
Photo: Daniel Agee; Food Styling: Karen Rankin; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson
There's nothing like an easy chicken dinner on a busy weeknight. Whether you're looking for a quick casserole (this Chicken Parmesan Casserole is a real crowd-pleaser), a simple sheet pan supper (when you're craving something fast and healthy, look no further than our Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies), or set-it-and-forget-it Crock-Pot meal (like this satisfying Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken and Black Bean Soup), we've got the easy chicken recipes you need. 
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Easy Roasted Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes and White Beans

Jen Causey; Prop Styling: Kay Clark; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners 
Easy Roasted Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes and White Beans Recipe
This simple baked chicken packs a ton of flavor atop a nice, toasty mixture of beans, tomatoes, and herbs. Since the chicken cooks on top of the vegetables, its juice add to the sauciness of the burst, roasted tomatoes, the buttery olives, and the tender creamy beans.
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Easy Chicken Spaghetti

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer
Easy Chicken Spaghetti Recipe

Give your traditional chicken casserole a break and serve this bright and lively chicken spaghetti. You only need a Dutch oven and a 9-x-13 baking dish to create this delicious meal, meaning there is less clean-up afterwards. Cook and shred your chicken in advance to save time.

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Easy Chicken Fajitas

Oxmoor House
Easy Chicken Fajitas Recipe

Make chicken fajitas a go-to weeknight dish. Our easy chicken fajitas recipe—which calls for fewer than 10 ingredients and comes together in just 20 minutes—is perfect for kids and adults alike. 

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Easy Chicken Parmesan

Photo: Greg DuPree Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Prop Styling: Thom Driver
Easy Chicken Parmesan Recipe

This chicken parmesan is an Italian classic that's easy to make and easy on your budget.

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Easy Chicken Adobo

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Anna Theoktisto
Easy Chicken Adobo Recipe

Inspired by the Philippine national dish, this Easy Chicken Adobo uses a simple blend of garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce to give chicken a zingy boost. Traditional adobo sauces are commonly enriched with coconut milk, and the dish is frequently made with pork. But for everyday cooking, we like this lighter, simpler chicken recipe. Serve with rice. This is the perfect dinner for spicing up your usual routine. 

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Easy Chicken and Butternut Squash Hash

Caitlin Bensel
Easy Chicken and Butternut Squash Hash Recipe

This veggie-packed skillet supper comes together quickly thanks to smart shortcuts. Pre-cubed butternut squash saves chopping time; parcooking it with the Brussels sprouts in the microwave shortens the final cook time. Center-cut bacon adds salty, smoky flavor with 25% to 30% less fat than regular bacon. Fold any leftovers into mac and cheese.

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Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken Pho

Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Adam Dolge; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken Pho Recipe

For pho, it's legitimately all about the intensely delicious broth. And thanks to the flavor-concentrating power of the pressure cooker, we were able to make a robust and dynamic chicken broth—using shallots, fresh ginger and cilantro, and a few spices—in a matter of minutes.

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Easy Beer Can Chicken

Photo: John Montana; Styling: Lynn Miller
Easy Beer Can Chicken Recipe
Crack open a cold one and get cooking. Don't worry: With just seven ingredients and three steps, this delicious beer can chicken is a lot easier than it looks.

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Easy Chicken Biryani

TIme Inc. Video Studio
Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe

Flavored with fragrant, Indian spices, traditional chicken biryani is an incredible comfort food, but it typically requires cooking the chicken and vegetables separately, using several pans. Our simplified method delivers the classic, crave-worthy flavors with a little less effort and cleanup. 

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Easy Tandoori Chicken

Easy Tandoori Chicken Recipe
Try to find chicken breasts of similar size and weight to get the most even results when cooking. This low calorie, low carb recipe will become a fast favorite in your kitchen.

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Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Oxmoor House
Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Ready made pie crusts make this homestyle Chicken pot pie recipe super easy. A 10-ounce package of frozen oven-roasted diced chicken, thawed, and a 16-ounce package of frozen vegetables can be substituted for the canned chicken and vegetables.

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Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Oxmoor House
Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole Recipe
Prepared in 40 minutes, this quick and easy make ahead dish is sure to make any weeknight or holiday gathering easier. This cheesy dish is similar to the potluck classic known as poppyseed chicken casserole, or Ritz cracker chicken casserole.
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Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Photo: Justin Walker; Styling: Carla Gonzalez-Hart
Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Pillowy dumplings flecked with fragrant fresh herbs cook drop-style in the stock mixture.

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Easy Bistro Chicken

Photo: Oxmoor House
Easy Bistro Chicken Recipe

Tomatoes, fresh herbs, and a handful of spices add full-bodied flavor to this one-pot chicken and pasta dish that comes together quickly on busy nights.

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  Simple Sheet Pan Chicken And Veggies

Meredith Food Studios 
  Simple Sheet Pan Chicken And Veggies Recipe
Comforting, savory, and satisfying, this sheet pan chicken dinner is perfect for weeknights. The chicken has a crispy, slightly salty skin with a juicy, tender interior. Meanwhile, the vegetables get lightly bathed in the chicken’s buttery juices.
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Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Thighs with Green Beans and Potatoes 

Jen Causey; Prop Styling: Kay Clark; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners 
Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Thighs with Green Beans and Potatoes  Recipe
Looking for a sheet pan meal that’s just as delicious as it is seamless? These tender, juicy sheet pan chicken thighs have just enough bbq sauce glaze to make them super tasty and beautiful. The potatoes get cooked until they’re tender in the middle, but crispy on the outside.

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Sweet-and-Spicy Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox
Sweet-and-Spicy Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots Recipe
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as a sheet pan supper that’s high on flavor and low on cleanup. This tangy sheet pan chicken supper gets a little kick from cayenne pepper that’s balanced in the sauce with caramelized grapes. Roasted cauliflower and carrots offer a savory touch to the dinner.

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Sheet Pan Greek Chicken with Roasted Potatoes

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos
Sheet Pan Greek Chicken with Roasted Potatoes Recipe

Two spice rack staples—cinnamon and nutmeg—give this chicken a wonderful depth of flavor, and fresh tomatoes, lemons, and herbs add zest. Buy bone-in chicken breasts that are about the same size so that they cook evenly.

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Sheet-Pan Chicken Tikka Masala

Photo: Jen Causey; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Julia Levy
Sheet-Pan Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

With a little sheet pan savvy, flavor-packed chicken tikka masala has never been more accessible. While we suggest marinating the chicken for at least four hours, if you didn’t plan ahead, you can simply marinate the inherently tender chicken thighs for as long as you have time for. 

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Sheet Pan Chicken with Dressing

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos
Sheet Pan Chicken with Dressing Recipe

Crusty, toasty chunks of cornbread team up with juicy chicken thighs and tender roasted fennel, apples, celery, and carrots in this wonderful sheet pan supper. Whether your cornbread is store-bought or homemade, make sure that it is not overly sweet. Cut the apple and vegetables as directed so that they all cook in the same amount of time.

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Sheet Pan Parmesan "Fried" Chicken with Broccoli and Sweet Potato Wedges

Justin Walker
Sheet Pan Parmesan "Fried" Chicken with Broccoli and Sweet Potato Wedges Recipe
In addition to getting the food into the oven in stages, you should also prep the food in stages to make most efficient use of your time. As the oven preheats, skin and bread the chicken; when the chicken goes in, prepare the sweet potatoes. Once those go in, get the broccoli ready.
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Chicken Sausage and Vegetables Sheet Pan Supper

Erin Kunkel
Chicken Sausage and Vegetables Sheet Pan Supper Recipe

"Fab, fuss-free dinners are my holy grail,” says Michelle Tam (nomnompaleo.com,@nomnompaleo) about sheet pan meals. This one is adapted from her and husband Henry Fong’s latest Nom Nom Paleo cookbook, Ready or Not! “Sheet pan suppers allow me to maximize the amount of veggies for dinner," she says. "And cleanup is a breeze."

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Sheet Pan Chicken with Roasted Baby Potatoes

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower
Sheet Pan Chicken with Roasted Baby Potatoes Recipe

A very hot oven quickly roasts the potatoes and finishes the chicken without overcooking. You can substitute fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise, for the small Yukon gold potatoes.

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Sheet Pan Orange Chicken with Garlicky Green Beans

Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Blakeslee Giles; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Sheet Pan Orange Chicken with Garlicky Green Beans Recipe
Make Orange Chicken that's cheaper, fresher, and more delicious than Chinese take-out. Believe it or not, all you need is sheet pan to make sticky, orange-glazed chicken and crisp green beans. If you can't find French green beans, blanch regular green beans for 2 minutes, dry them, and proceed with the chili sauce.
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  Greek Chicken Kabobs With Simple Herb Yogurt Dip  

Meredith Food Studios 
  Greek Chicken Kabobs With Simple Herb Yogurt Dip   Recipe
These easy chicken skewers are packed with flavor and make a perfect lunch for you or the kids. Your secret weapon? Greek salad dressing, which has all the flavor of a homemade marinade without the hassle of buying and preparing extra ingredients.

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Simple Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

Time Inc. Video Studio
Simple Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Recipe

This simple whole chicken recipe is great served as is with crusty bread or over rice, but it’s also a great way to cook chicken ahead of time to use in a variety of dishes, such as chicken salad, soups, and casseroles.

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Simple Whole Roasted Chicken

Time Inc. Video Studio
Simple Whole Roasted Chicken Recipe

This is a foolproof method for how to roast a whole chicken, yielding immaculately crispy skin and incredibly juicy meat. Try it once, and you may never go back to buying prepared rotisserie chicken from the deli again—because honestly, it’s almost as easy to make this incredible version at home.

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Simple Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken

Time Inc. Video Studio
Simple Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken Recipe

This easy pressure cooker recipe yields perfectly cooked, juicy chicken, along with a flavorful broth, that can be served over rice or used in any number of other chicken dishes—such as soups, pastas, casseroles, salads, and more. You can use a traditional pressure cooker here, but this is also a great recipe for the Instant Pot, if that’s your cooker of choice.

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Easy Pho

Photo by Hector Manuel Sanchez
Easy Pho Recipe
For pho, it's legitimately all about the intensely delicious broth. And thanks to the flavor-concentrating power of the pressure cooker, we were able to make a robust and dynamic chicken broth—using shallots, fresh ginger and cilantro, and a few spices—in a matter of minutes.

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Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

Photo: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Tori Cox and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya Recipe

This classic Creole rice dish is perfect for the slow-cooker as all the flavors blend together over time in a marvelous way. 

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Slow Cooker Chicken, Bacon, and Potato Soup

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Slow Cooker Chicken, Bacon, and Potato Soup Recipe
This chicken potato soup is perfect for ushering in fall: It's hearty enough for the beginning of soup season, yet brothy and veggie-packed so it doesn't feel too heavy. This recipe is ideal for a weekend, when you can check on the slow cooker after just a few hours.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Stew with Pumpkin and Wild Rice

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox
Slow-Cooker Chicken Stew with Pumpkin and Wild Rice Recipe

This savory fall stew is filled with tender cubes of pumpkin, shredded chicken, and nutty wild rice in a creamy sauce. When choosing a pumpkin, look for a sugar or cheese pumpkin. Field pumpkins, which are larger in size, have watery, stringy flesh and are best used for decoration. Or substitute a butternut squash.

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Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Jennifer Causey
Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken and Black Bean Soup Recipe

This filling and flavorful soup is ideal for a chilly evening. Freeze leftover chipotle chiles and adobe sauce in a flattened Ziploc bag for future use. Want to make it in your Instant Pot? Click here for the recipe. 

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Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa Stew

Jennifer Causey
Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa Stew Recipe
Look for bags of cubed butternut squash in the produce section to save you the trouble of peeling and dicing a whole squash. Find Castelvetrano olives either jarred in the olive and pickle section or fresh at most specialty market antipasti bars.

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Slow Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

Caitlin Bensel
Slow Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Chicken Recipe

This may be our easiest slow cooker recipe yet. There’s no browning in the skillet, no last-minute stovetop sauce—all the magic happens right in the slow cooker. Craving crunch? Serve it as a wrap in the cabbage of your choice.

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Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Corn Slow-Cooker Chowder

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall
Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Corn Slow-Cooker Chowder Recipe
This hearty (but not too thick) chowder would be easy to serve for a football watch party or tailgate. It’s not as expected as a traditional dip, but will be appreciated for those guests sick of the typical tailgating cuisine! The best part about this recipe is that there’s no ahead-of-time cooking on the stovetop—everything goes in the slow cooker as is.
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