26 Healthy Chicken Dinners in Four Steps or Less
It takes no more than four steps to make these delicious chicken recipes for dinner. From creamy casseroles to hearty soups, you're sure to find a meal here that's both flavorful and easy to make. Recipes like our Quick Lemony Chicken Soup and Balsamic-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Portobellos & Shallots are satisfying additions to your dinner table and are wonderful paired with a simple side salad.
Warm Up With a Quick Lemony Chicken Soup
This 20-minute dish provides 32g of protein and is just 261 calories per serving. To ensure this comforting soup's velvety texture, whisk a little of the hot broth into the eggs before adding them to the pot; it cooks them gently and prevents curdling.
Loaded Broccoli & Chicken Casserole
This delightfully creamy broccoli and chicken casserole is a satisfying dinner that is sure to please a crowd. To keep prep simple, look for bags of pre-cut broccoli florets. If you like a little spice, swap out the Monterey Jack cheese for pepper Jack instead.
Weeknight Lemon Chicken Skillet Dinner
This one-pan chicken dinner doesn't get much easier, or more satisfying. In just half an hour, you can have a complete meal on the table that doesn't require loads of dishes afterwards. We call for tender haricots verts because they're quick cooking; traditional green beans likely won't be tender enough after the brief cooking time at the end. If that's all you have on hand, steam them first, and then add them to the pan for the final step. Serve this hearty chicken and potatoes dinner with a simple side salad to sneak in another serving of veggies.
Creamy Lemon-Parmesan Chicken Casserole
This creamy chicken casserole recipe pops with lemon and savory Parmesan cheese. It's also loaded with vitamin C-packed broccoli. Using whole-wheat orzo ups the fiber content in this healthful and comforting dinner.
Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts
We combine feta, a salty, tangy cheese, with baby spinach for a bonus serving of greens built into a stuffed chicken breast. Try using mozzarella or provolone cheese for a more mild, kid-friendly dish. If you have leftover spinach, use it for a simple side salad. If you don't want to bother stuffing the chicken cutlets, turn these ingredients into a simple salad with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Balsamic-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Portobellos & Shallots
This quick and easy savory recipe gets a zip and tang of sweetness from balsamic glaze. The meaty portobellos pair perfectly with juicy chicken thighs.
20-Minute Creamy Skillet Chicken with Corn, Tomato & Basil
This saucy 20-minute chicken recipe features fresh summer corn, tomatoes and basil. Serve this light and tangy quick dinner over pasta or brown rice.
Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Butter-Chive Pasta
You'll be amazed how crisp these schnitzel-inspired cutlets get with only 6 minutes of cooking.
Chicken Chorba
"Chorba" comes from the Arabic word for drink, referring to this soup's thin broth. It's popular across North Africa and is prepared in numerous ways—with fish, meat or just veggies. This no-frills recipe was passed down to London-based chef Nargisse Benkabbou from her maternal grandmother. The simple ingredients make a tasty meal that evokes her past. "In Morocco, chorba is often enjoyed during Ramadan, so it always reminds me of the times we used to gather with my family to break the fast," she says. Benkabbou—who frequently flies to Marrakech, where she's the executive chef at L'Mida—aims to celebrate her heritage with every dish. But she doesn't hesitate to add her own modern twist. "I love spicy food," says Benkabbou. "So I always end up adding harissa to my chorba, although it's a bit untraditional."
Roasted Maple-Glazed Chicken & Carrots
Olive oil and maple syrup transform into a sticky-sweet sauce in the hot oven. Drizzling the chicken drippings over the carrots amps up their flavor even more.
Air-fried General Tso's Chicken
This air-fryer riff on the Chinese takeout classic saves the day with less clean-up than deep frying at home. Air fryer sizes vary (hence the cook time's wide range); if you have a smaller air fryer, commit to cooking in batches so that there's plenty of room for the air to circulate and crisp up the chicken.
Apricot-Glazed Chicken with Quinoa Pilaf
A bitter-tasting compound called saponin coats the outside of quinoa seeds, requiring a quick rinse to remove it. But check the package: some brands come pre-rinsed, saving you a step.
Chicken Mushroom Potpie
This homey pie boasts creamy, savory sauce and refrigerated piecrust dough for convenience.
Creamy Lemon & Dill Skillet Chicken
This creamy lemon and dill skillet chicken recipe is a true crowd-pleaser and makes for a perfect weeknight dinner. Chicken cutlets cook quickly, taking this recipe from skillet to table in only 20 minutes. The drippings and fond from the pan are at the heart of the tangy, vibrant pan sauce that you serve with the chicken. Drizzle any extra over pasta, rice or mashed potatoes served on the side.
Slow Cooker Chicken, Bacon & Potato Soup
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. Although you can't leave it unattended all day, this chicken potato soup still offers the benefit of hands-free, fuss-free cooking. Baby red, Yukon Gold, or fingerling potatoes will all work well here, as they'll maintain their shape nicely during cooking. Pair this easy chicken and potato soup with a slaw or kale side salad and crusty whole-grain bread for a healthy, satisfying dinner.
Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
Make an easy chicken dish topped with a savory mushroom sauce for a tasty meal that's ready in minutes.
Superfast Crispy Chicken Thighs
The skin is a treat. Here are four keys to making it crispy: First, pat the skin dry before you season it. Second, place the chicken, skin side down, in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Your pan may spit a little fat and smoke as if you were frying bacon. If that bothers you, then turn the heat down, increase the cook time, and gently render the fat from the skin. Third, watch the edges of the skin. When they go golden, pop the skillet in the hot oven. Fourth, flip the thighs during the last few minutes. Hot air will wash over the skins, crisping them.
Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken
Dredging the chicken bits in finely-crushed cornflakes add a nice crunch, plus they brown better in the air fryer than if you were to use flour. Don't skip the powdered sugar, as it also helps brown the popcorn chicken pieces (and also balance the dried spices)
Ajiaco Bogotano (Potato Soup with Corn, Chicken & Capers)
Ajiaco celebrates a key crop in the Andes Mountains region, where more than 4,000 potato varieties are grown. There are three types in this soup. Cookbook author and food stylist Mariana Velásquez uses russets to stand in for Sabanera potatoes, which practically dissolve into the broth, giving it body. Yukon Golds and tiny creamer potatoes replace Pastusas and Criollas—the former lends a golden hue and the latter a sweet, almost buttery flavor. Guascas—a fragrant herb also known as galinsoga, gallant soldier or potato weed—imparts a slightly bitter taste unmatched by anything else, Velásquez says. (Look for it dried online or in the few Colombian markets in the U.S.; you can also find it fresh at farmers' markets.) The soup takes her back to her childhood in Bogotá. She remembers one Friday each month being "Ajiaco Day" at her all-girls school. "They would bring the bowls of broth to each of us and then place the avocados, corn, chicken, capers and cream in the center of the table," she says. "It was the most special lunch and we all loved it."
Chicken Miso Curry
Cookbook author and cooking teacher Sonoko Sakai has a passion for miso, the fermented bean paste that's a staple in Japan. Here, it adds depth of flavor to curried chicken and vegetables. If you make the curry roux ahead of time, you can add it to broth or water like bouillon.
Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken
Goat cheese is a luscious and creamy cheese that's lower in calories, fat and sodium than other soft cheeses. Here, we combine it with fresh herbs and garlic, then stuff the mixture inside chicken breasts for a deliciously speedy weeknight dinner.
Roasted Chicken Thighs & Radishes with Lemon Crème Fraîche
Roasting radishes helps mellow out their spiciness. We reduce food waste by using their tops, too—they add color and a slightly bitter bite. If your radishes come without tops, sub in another dark leafy green, such as chopped kale.
Honey-Garlic Chicken Skewers
These lightly sweet and savory honey-garlic chicken skewers are a real crowd pleaser. The sweet marinade gets nice and sticky with a little char from the grill. Serve these as a quick weeknight dinner or double the recipe for a weekend barbecue.
Spicy Coriander-Cumin Chicken Thighs
Toasting whole ancho chile pieces with coriander, cumin and fennel seeds before grinding with a little lime zest makes a fragrant and flavorful spice blend for the chicken here.
Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
If you like Buffalo wings, you'll love the flavors in this warm, hearty chili that comes together easily in the slow cooker. Sour cream helps cut the heat, but you could also use plain strained yogurt.
Skillet Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs
This one-skillet honey-garlic chicken recipe is quick and easy enough for a weeknight dinner. It has well- balanced flavors of sweet and sour plus a hit of heat from hot honey. A pat of butter lends a silky texture to the sauce and helps carry the flavors.
