Chicken is one of those sanity-saving ingredients that so many of us always have on hand – we know (hope) there will be “something” we can conjure up with those breasts or thighs or wings … But when it comes to deciding what that “something” is, with chicken there is almost too much choice! So in a panic, we roll out the same old stir-fry, as who has time to experiment on a busy weeknight?!
I hear you and I’ve been there. That’s why I’ve collected what I think are the very best chicken recipes to suit all tastes and showcase various flavours and cooking styles, from Asian and Mexican, to Middle Eastern and Italian. As with all my recipes, the criteria for “best” are that they are achievable, affordable, stress-free, quick and/or easy to cook, ideally customisable and preferably use only one pan – and it goes without saying that they must be absolutely delicious.
There is so much you can do with versatile chicken and here you will find a huge variety of recipes using breasts, thighs, tenderloins, wings, cutlets, whole chickens and ground (minced) chicken: from my viral Creamy Garlic Chicken and Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken – both on the table in 20 minutes – to foolproof, hands-off recipes like Easy One-pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables and Slow-cooker Chicken Nachos, to perfect weeknight staples like Quick Coconut Chicken Curry and, of course, Chicken Schnitzel (but make it freezer-friendly!).
It depends on the night. Thighs are the most forgiving and the best value, so they suit curries, traybakes and anything slow-cooked — Everyday Garlic Lemon Chicken Thighs is our most-cooked example. Breast suits lighter, faster meals like Bang Bang Chicken Salad. Chicken mince is the cheapest way to stretch a packet across a family – see 10 Dinner Ideas for 1 Packet of Minced Chicken.
The ones our readers come back to most are Bang Bang Chicken, Creamy Garlic Chicken, Baked Chicken Rissoles, Speedy Satay Chicken and Creamy Chicken and Leek Pot Pie. They’re a good place to start if you’re building a weeknight rotation.
Familiar shapes and mild flavours tend to win. Think crumbed, skewered or mince-based rather than saucy. Baked Chicken Rissoles, Crispy Chicken Fingers, Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Kebabs and Cheesy Baked Chicken Tacos are the reliable ones in our house.
Plenty of them can, which makes chicken a good protein to batch cook. Freezer Friendly Chicken Schnitzel is built for it, and there’s a whole Get Ahead & Freeze collection if you want to cook once and eat twice. Each recipe card notes whether it freezes well.
Buy thighs or mince over breast, and choose recipes that bulk out the meat with vegetables, rice or pasta so one packet feeds more people. Our Slow Cooker and One Pot collections are the cheapest chicken dinners on the site.
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For recipes labelled ‘gluten-free’ or ‘dairy-free’, the ingredients included in the recipe are typically gluten- or dairy-free. However, it is the user’s responsibility to carefully check the ingredient panels on the specific brands of products purchased and used. Simple Home Edit cannot be held responsible for any adverse reactions.
