65 Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes To Try When You're Short On TIme

Stuff tender chicken breasts with store-bought pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella for an easy dinner that'll be on the table in just half an hour.

Recipe: Pesto-Stuffed Chicken

Sit back and savor all the flavors and ingredients of chicken fajitas in this creamy, cheesy one-pot pasta dish. 

Recipe: One-Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta

Featuring a blend of fresh seasonal vegetables and succulent chicken thighs, this one-pan recipe is made in the oven for a simple, yet comforting weeknight meal.

Recipe: One-Pan Autumn Chicken Roast

Lemon and rosemary are small but mighty flavor powerhouses that can elevate a simple pack of chicken breast into a fragrant, juicy affair. 

Recipe: Easy Foil-Pack Lemon And Rosemary Chicken Dinner

This chicken topping comes together with a creamy, tart yogurt sauce; avocado for added velvetiness; and celery for a slight crunch. Serve it as part of a salad, on pita bread, or even with your favorite toast for a light lunch. 

Recipe: Low-Carb Avocado Chicken Salad

This pasta bake is a cheesy heaven. For the best result, start watching your casserole dish as early as five minutes into the broiling time and pull it out if you observe that the top has started burning.

Recipe: Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake

This recipe is totally flexible with whatever crunchy veggie you've got in your fridge — whether it's green beans, asparagus, or even cauliflower. The sauce — made up of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and many other ingredients — does most of the work in this dish.

Recipe: Chicken & Veggie Stir-Fry

Soy sauce, brown sugar, and chicken thighs are all you need to make this saucy chicken dish. Heat up some frozen veggies and you've got yourself a full meal. 

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken

Save this dish for a special night. Chicken thighs are flavorful on their own but paired with a garlicky heavy cream sauce, they'll be devoured in a second. 

Recipe: Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Before starting anything else, make sure to start boiling a large pot of salted water for your pasta. You don't want to be caught in the middle of the recipe without cooked pasta ready to go!

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta

Lots of people come up with their own variations to this recipe. Our tip? Try the recipe out as is first, then decide if you want to add more or less vinegar, sugar, or even throw in some chopped cashews into the mix the next time you make it.

Recipe: Sweet & Sour Chicken

It's got fat, it's got acid, it's got salt, and it's even got some herb action. This chicken recipe seems to hit every flavor profile in the most delicious way possible. 

Recipe: Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken

Hasselback chicken simply refers to chicken that has slits cut into it. In this case, it means more ricotta and spinach taste stuffed into every single bite. 

Recipe: Hasselback Chicken

For a pop of color and some extra vitamins, pair this with some cooked spinach, roasted broccoli, or asparagus. 

Recipe: Creamy Lemon Chicken

If you're feeding a hungry group, you might want to double the amount of rice and broth you use, as many commenters who've tried the recipe suggest. 

Recipe: Paprika Chicken & Rice Bake

From the outside, this dish might appear to be a simple roll of fried chicken. But with a single knife cut, you'll discover a world of creamy Swiss cheese tucked into ham and succulent chicken. 

Recipe: Crispy, Creamy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Sear the chicken thighs in a tablespoon of butter, then use the rendered chicken fat to cook the garlic, brown sugar, honey, and herbs. Throw the chicken back in to thoroughly coat it in this honey and garlic sauce.

Recipe: One-Pan Honey Garlic Chicken

If you're short on time, you can use a can of ready-made biscuits instead of making them from scratch (though we highly recommend trying that out at least once!).

Recipe: Cozy Chicken And Dumplings

This simplified version of the popular Indian dish leaves out none of the essential spices that make this meal so universally loved.

Recipe: Easy Butter Chicken

Chicken thighs are incredibly flavorful on their own but with some brown sugar and garlic, they'll deliver a burst of flavor with every morsel. 

Recipe: Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

If pesto is so good in pasta, why not use it in a chicken dish? Even better if you pair this pesto chicken bake with a side serving of bread to mop up the sauce with.

Recipe: Pesto Chicken Bake

This dish is packed with vegetables like onions, bell pepper, and diced tomato that infuse it with a bright and droolworthy color. 

Recipe: Chicken Cacciatore

Fresh pinapple + chicken + a sweet soy-hoisin sauce = a finger-lickin' good meal 😍

Recipe: Sticky Pineapple Chicken

This dish is way easier than it looks and comes together in three simple steps: Stuff the chicken with mozzarella cheese, cover it in a bread crumb mixture and fry it, then bake it with canned tomato sauce. 

Recipe: Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

This chicken pot pie tops our list of all pies, even dessert pies. And if you're okay with a bit of dicing, the final result is as easy as cooking up some diced vegetables, then covering the pan with a pie crust and popping it in the oven for 30 minutes. 

Recipe: One-skillet Chicken Pot Pie

Yep, we were today years old when we learned that orange chicken is actually marinated in orange juice, along with soy sauce and cornstarch. 

Recipe: Easy Orange Chicken

The key to this succulent chicken is in the dressing: Just mix up the soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, onion, and garlic, and thicken it up with cornstarch to make a sticky concoction that'll make the chicken irresistible. 

Recipe: Slow Cooker Honey Teriyaki Chicken

The seasoning here simply calls for salt and pepper but feel free to go crazy with your favorite spices, like cayenne, cumin, paprika, or even lime juice.

Recipe: Zesty Lime Chicken Black Bean And Rice

You might be tempted to fry your chicken at high heat but that's just a recipe for burnt, undercooked chicken. Set it to medium heat instead and remember that thighs usually take a bit longer to cook than the other chicken parts. 

Recipe: American Buttermilk-Fried Chicken

I'm sure that Chipotle's chicken recipe involves more than three ingredients but we're not kidding when we say that's exactly how many it takes (plus the salt and pepper) for us to create something that tastes exactly the same. Try it. We dare you! 

Recipe: Chipotle's Chicken

This chicken dish will satisfy your chicken craving and your pizza craving in one go. 

Recipe: Hasselback Pizza Chicken

When you're pouring the sauce over the chicken in the baking dish, make sure not to overdo it or you'll risk making your fried chicken soggy.

Recipe: The Best Crispy Chicken Parmesan

Craving a comforting chicken dish? Try out this pasta recipe, which is at once creamy, and full of veggies and browned chicken. 

Recipe: One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

If you're the kind of person who thinks that "two cloves of garlic" always means "at least a head of garlic," then this recipe is for you. It consists of 40 cloves of unpeeled garlic so we suggest cooking this with your windows cracked open.

Recipe: 40-clove Garlic Chicken

If you've got a rotisserie chicken in the fridge, this sliders dish will come together in no time. Just slice a pack of a dozen rolls in half and layer them with cheese, shredded chicken, hot sauce, and ranch dressing, and pop them in the oven for 20–25 minutes. 

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Sliders

The tastiest dishes are sometimes just the most practical ones. Like this one-pan meal, which is easy to cook and clean up.

Recipe: One-pan Fall Chicken Dinner

On a chilly evening, there's honestly nothing better than a meal of roasted chicken thighs and hearty, starchy vegetables like potatoes and carrots. 

Recipe: Easy One-Tray Chicken Thighs And Veggies

According to one person who tried the recipe, adding just one teaspoon of sugar makes this dish much better, perhaps because it accentuates the creamy coconut milk. 

Recipe: Coconut Chicken Curry

The prep here is quite minimal and the marinade comes together with just five ingredients.

Recipe: Easy Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

Heavy cream, chicken stock, mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese come together to form an absolute explosion of umami flavor that'll envelop every bite of chicken and pasta.

Recipe: One-Pot Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta

In other words, this is the perfect meal both you and your kids can enjoy.

Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders

To elevate this recipe, add a can of cream of mushroom soup, some extra cheese, or your favorite spices.

Recipe: Cauliflower Rice Chicken Bake

The secret here is to brine the chicken for at least two hours, as this is the step that'll ensure your chicken comes out juicy. 

Recipe: Honey-Glazed Fried Chicken

This recipe is easy to make after a long day of work. Just lay out the veggies and chicken on a pan, toss everything with olive oil, then layer pesto and mozzarella cheese on your chicken. Bake for 25–30 minutes, and you're ready to eat. 

Recipe: One-Pan Pesto Chicken & Veggies

The cilantro and avocado are totally optional, but strongly encouraged. 

Recipe: White Chicken Chili

Consider this recipe the lazy version of chicken parmesan. It's all the same flavors, but way fewer ingredients.

Recipe: Caprese Chicken

This sweet and sticky chicken recipes tastes amazing on a bed or rice with your favorite sautéed veggies. We also love it leftover the next day on top of a salad. 

Recipe: Grilled Chicken With Tomato, Soy, and Sesame Seeds

You can dress up these stuffed peppers with pretty much anything in your fridge from roasted veggies to black beans. 

Recipe: Pesto Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Drumsticks are one of the cheapest cuts of chicken, but if you know how to cook them, they can really be delicious. Case in point: This Japanese-inspired recipe. 

Recipe: Japanese Sticky Chicken

The best thing about sheet pan recipes is the minimal clean up. Let's hear it for fewer dirty dishes. 

Recipe: Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes

This cheesy goodness is exactly what you'll be craving on chilly winter nights. Bring on the hot sauce. 

Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Tortellini Bake

While it's only five ingredients, this skillet dinner feels way more sophisticated. 

Recipe: Chicken Sausage and Leek Skillet

Your classic Caesar salad gets a fancy makeover with this recipe. 

Recipe: Parmesan Crusted Romaine and Chicken

Skip the delivery tonight and bring this restaurant-quality chicken dish right into your own kitchen.

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Marsala