If you're ready to expand your culinary skills, you can't go wrong with any of these simple chicken recipes. Chicken is incredibly versatile, and there are beginner-friendly options for almost any kind of chicken dish, whether you're craving a classic like roast chicken, something indulgent like chicken wings, or something inventive like a chicken pizza.
While you may be used to fancy restaurant-quality chicken, don't let that scare you away from attempting one of these easy chicken recipes. Clear, step-by-step instructions will guide you through the whole cooking process and teach you staple techniques like how to bread chicken cutlets or how to spatchco*ck a chicken. Once you get a little practice, we hope you'll never have to stress over what to make for dinner again.
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Chicken Noodle Soup
Homemade chicken noodle soup will warm your heart and your belly with a single bowl. This chicken noodle soup recipe calls for a whole chicken, which might seem like a lot of effort, but it also makes a whopping 12 servings, so you'll be slurping down savory chicken and tasty noodles for days.
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Chicken Orzo Skillet
This one-skillet chicken dish comes together in a flash, especially if you swap cooking the chicken for a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. Once the chicken has been seared, you'll start incrementally putting in the other ingredients: orzo, wine, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken stock, half-and-half, and baby spinach. Half-and-half gives the dish its creaminess, while spinach amps up the nutrition.
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Salt and Pepper Chicken
This popular Chinese chicken recipe is so simple to make at home and requires less than 30 minutes to whip up. The Chinese five-spice blend instantly gives a bold flavor to the chicken, while cornstarch allows it to crisp up to perfection. Garlic and jalapeños take the recipe to the next level. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper balance out the spices. The meal comes together with a serving of grilled green beans and a cloud of white rice.
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Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie
This chicken pot pie counts on two store-bought shortcuts—rotisserie chicken and frozen puff pastry—to make the classic dish quick and easy. Be sure to give the puff pastry a quick sweep of egg wash before sticking it in the oven for a golden-brown finish.
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Crispy Honey Mustard Chicken With Fries
Sometimes, you just need a crispy chicken dinner to satisfy your cravings. Here, skin-on chicken thighs are coated in honey mustard and panko before going into the oven. The chicken is paired with retro crinkly fries and a quick slaw for an easy dinner that comes together with 20 minutes of hands-on time.
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Chicken and Chard Dumpling Soup
This fresh take on chicken soup recipes uses chewy gnocchi, tender chicken, and Swiss chard for a balanced meal in a single bowl. (Best of all, it's easy to make—only 30 minutes of hands-on time.)
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Southwestern Chicken Soup
It's labeled a soup, but let's be honest: This is a real white chicken chili. It's got salsa verde for flavor and cannellini beans for weight, both main ingredients in any good white chicken chili recipe, plus cumin and green onions for extra taste.
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Miso Chicken Noodle Soup
Dress up your classic, comforting chicken noodle soup recipe with a little miso. This recipe from Healthyish by Lindsay Maitland Hunt uses white miso paste, soy sauce, tofu, udon or soba noodles, and chicken (of course) for a soup that is savory and satisfying all at once.
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Grilled Pizza With Chicken and Peach
Chicken may not be the first topping that comes to mind when you think of pizza, but this summer chicken recipe proves that it's on the same level as mozzarella and peppers. Best of all, this recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, so you can spend more time focusing on the pizza and less cooking chicken.
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Zesty Chicken Salad
For this chicken salad recipe, you'll poach chicken breasts—it's easier than you think—and mix it with dill pickles, mayonnaise, shallot, and more for a homemade chicken salad you can rely on for office lunches, picnics, and more.
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Grilled Chicken and Pepper Salad
This easy chicken recipe has a salad base, but don't think that means it won't fill you up. Delicious marinated grilled chicken brings flavor and heft to the meal, and a homemade salad dressing means you can be certain this is a healthy dish.
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Almond-Crusted Chicken With Arugula Salad
This easy weeknight chicken dish can be made quickly, but speed doesn't come at the expense of flavor: With almond flour and sesame seeds for flavor and crunch on the chicken breast cutlets and a customizable salad, this is sure to become a regular in your weekly meal rotation.
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Cherry-Bourbon Chicken Wings
Make watching the game at home special with this irresistible chicken wings recipe. These wings are saucy, sweet, and sour, for a near-complete flavor palette in every bite. If you cook them on the grill, they'll even get a crispy, caramelized finish that will keep everyone coming back for more.
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Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Wings
If you strongly believe that garlic makes everything better, this chicken wings recipe is for you. They're messy and delicious—everything wings should be—and can be cooked on the grill or in a broiler, depending on the cooking tools available for you.
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Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
Green salsa verde and Muenster cheese (or Monterey Jack, if you prefer) offer an alternative to the classic red enchilada sauce in this chicken enchiladas recipe. Mild and tangy, these enchiladas are sure to be a crowd favorite. Plus, they have corn in them, so you can serve them on their own as a full meal or add a side salad for an even more balanced meal.
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Zesty Chicken Enchiladas
A homemade enchilada sauce takes this easy chicken enchiladas recipe from good to great. Using a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own saves you time and effort—so you can focus on the sauce—and the four-serving yield feeds the whole family.
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Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken With Biscuits
With this slow-cooker recipe, your cooker takes care of the chicken. When the chicken is almost ready, all you have to do is make some easy-drop biscuits and then combine it all in a bowl. It'll taste amazing on night one and every night afterward if you're meal-prepping.
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Chicken and Vegetable Potpie
Potpies might be the pinnacle of comfort food. This chicken potpie recipe includes onions, carrots, and peas, so it's healthy, too, without sacrificing any of the rich flavors you know and love.
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Creamy Chicken and Corn Potpie
All good chicken potpies are creamy, but this chicken potpie recipe might be the creamiest, thanks to the addition of corn chowder, which both introduces tasty corn and veggies to the dish and adds plenty of luscious creaminess.
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Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Consider this chicken recipe with an eight-serving yield, so you can enjoy an indulgent chicken and pasta dish for days to come or feed a crowd. You'll need your stovetop and broiler for this one, so it's more suited to fall and winter than summer, but it's a dish you'll love in any season.
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Crunchy Baked Chicken With Ham and Swiss
Baked chicken gets a fresh update with this quick, easy chicken recipe, which bakes chicken cutlets with a rich thyme-and-Swiss cheese sauce topped with prosciutto and breadcrumbs. Is your mouth watering yet? We've got great news: It's all ready in 30 minutes, too.
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Baked Chicken Parmesan
Skip the breading step—easily the most challenging part of making chicken parmesan—with our clever baked chicken parmesan recipe, which layers those beloved chicken parmesan ingredients and bakes them for a still-satisfying (but easier) dish.
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Slow-Roasted Lemon and Herb Chicken
This easy roast chicken recipe is sure to impress a crowd—but the secret is that it's incredibly easy to make. Foolproof, juicy, and well-seasoned, this is sure to be your new go-to roast chicken dish.
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Crispy Chicken With Roasted Radishes
It sounds fancy and intensive, but this chicken recipe is actually incredibly easy—and all it takes is one pot. It's a chicken thigh recipe that is delightfully crispy and juicy, with roasted red onion and radish on the side—and some toasted baguette to soak up any extra sauces.
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Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Thighs
Enjoy robust Middle Eastern flavors at home with this completely doable chicken thigh recipe. A delicious blend of spices brings the flavor, and the dish is served with a fresh tomato salad on the side.
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Crispy Chicken Cutlets With Artichoke Dressing
This easy chicken recipe will have you serving a delicious chicken dinner in less than 30 minutes. The chicken cutlets are amazingly crispy, and the accompanying lemony dressing brings those just-right extra flavors to the meal. With fresh asparagus as the all-important vegetable, it's everything you want from a weeknight dinner.
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Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken With Ginger and Yogurt
Put your slow cooker to work with this easy chicken recipe. Cumin, curry powder, and fresh ginger bring the delicious curried taste, and when you set your slow cooker up before work, you can come home for a ready-to-eat meal that the whole family will love.
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Teriyaki Chicken
Make your favorite restaurant dish at home with this teriyaki chicken recipe. All you need is chicken and some teriyaki sauce—we'll teach you the rest.
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Mango Chicken Curry With Coconut Rice
In this weeknight delight, yellow curry paste and mango create a sweet and spicy melange that comes together in less than an hour. Coconut milk is essential here, both for cooking the rice and adding creaminess to the curry sauce. Garlic and ginger round out the flavors, making this a classic chicken dish that you'll want to keep on your menu rotation.
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Apricot-Fresno Glazed Chicken
Sweet and spicy band together in this decadent chicken meal that will have your family going back for seconds (and thirds!). Apricot preserves, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, and Fresno chiles meld together into an out-of-this world glaze on chicken cuts of your choice. Top with fresh basil and serve with rice, couscous, potatoes—the possibilities are endless.
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Chicken Enchiladas With Green Salsa
Short on time? Rotisserie chicken, corn tortillas, and shredded cheese mean this weeknight delight comes together in a cinch. Making the salsa fresh brings brightness to the dish, but if you're really pinched, you can use your favorite store-bought brand.
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