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38 Essential, Easy Chicken Recipes for Every Night of the Week

38 Essential, Easy Chicken Recipes for Every Night of the Week

By Real Simple Editors

Updated August 24, 2020

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Credit: Getty Images

Chicken is a staple in most home kitchens, and with good reason: Kids love chicken (and tasty chicken recipes) almost as much as adults, and the versatile, lean meat can be used in a huge range of recipes that are also actually pretty easy. There are plenty of chicken dinner ideas out there, but chicken recipes can be used at any meal, whether you’re craving a chicken salad recipe or something heartier like a chicken parmesan recipe.

You may be used to the fancy, elevated chicken dishes you order at restaurants, but don’t let that scare you away from these easy chicken recipes. You don’t have to know how to bread chicken for most of them, and our clear, step-by-step, tested recipes will guide you through the whole cooking process—you don’t even need to know the chicken stock vs broth difference, because these chicken recipes make it clear which you need. (And it’s not the end of the world if you swap them, honestly.)

Here, you’ll see chicken recipes 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. Click through for our best easy chicken recipes, and bid farewell to stressing over what to make for dinner forever.

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Baked Chicken Parmesan

Credit: Charles Masters

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 parm ingredients and bakes them for a still-satisfying (but easier) dish.

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Easy Fried Chicken

Credit: Steve Giralt

Finally: A recipe for fried chicken at home that won’t leave your kitchen covered in grease and you frustrated and hungry. This easy fried chicken recipe uses a basic buttermilk and flour coating for flavor and crispiness, and because it calls for frying in a Dutch oven, your kitchen and stovetop will stay a whole lot cleaner.

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Slow-Roasted Lemon & Herb Chicken

Credit: Jen Causey

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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Almond-Crusted Chicken With Arugula Salad

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

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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Chicken and Chard Dumpling Soup

Credit: Greg DuPree

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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Grilled Chicken and Pepper Salad

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

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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Chicken Noodle Soup

Credit: Jen Causey

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 and Vegetable Potpie

Credit: Roland Bello

Potpie 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 flavor you know and love.

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Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Wings

Credit: Greg DuPree

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 Spaghetti Casserole

Credit: Greg DuPree

Consider this chicken recipe at-home, easy fettuccine alfredo—and 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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Rotisserie BBQ Chicken Salad

Credit: Victor Protasio

Chicken salads don’t get easier than this recipe: You’ll use a rotisserie chicken—a home chef’s secret weapon—to cut down on cook time and even avoid turning on the stove all together, making this the perfect summer chicken dish. Simply mix your ingredients, top with tortilla chips for crunch, and get ready to enjoy a chicken recipe that is both light and refreshing.

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Spatchcocked Buffalo Chicken

Credit: Greg DuPree

You don’t need to know how to spatchcock chicken before you start this recipe—it’s easier than you think, and you’ll learn in the process. The finished product is tender with a kick, thanks to a hot sauce marinade, and when you serve it with a wax bean and celery salad on the side, it’s a full chicken meal.

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Instant Pot Chicken Pho

Credit: Antonis Achilleos

If you’re a fan of the Instant Pot, you likely already use it for almost everything, but trying something a little new with this Instant Pot chicken recipe. It’ll give you all the pho flavors you know and love, but with less hands-on time.

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Chicken Parmesan

Credit: Anna Williams

Is anything better than a hearty, satisfying meal of chicken parmesan? Satisfy those comfort-food cravings with this easy chicken parmesan recipe, ready in just 30 minutes.

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Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs With Edamame

Credit: Marcus Nilsson

If you love the taste of teriyaki chicken but you want a break from the classic chicken thigh or chicken breast options, try this teriyaki chicken recipes, which uses ground chicken to create savory teriyaki meatballs. Snow peas and edamame round out the meal.

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Crispy Chicken With Roasted Radishes

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

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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Zesty Chicken Salad

Credit: Greg DuPree

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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Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken With Biscuits

Credit: José Picayo

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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Cherry-Bourbon Chicken Wings

Credit: Victor Protasio

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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Crunchy Baked Chicken With Ham and Swiss

Credit: Jen Causey

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. Mouth watering yet? We’ve got great news: It’s all ready in 30 minutes, too.

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Baked Pecorino Chicken

Credit: David Prince

Call this a grown-up chicken nugget: This breaded and baked chicken dish has a crispy coating with a tender interior. The whole family will love this chicken recipe, and when you pair it with a sautéed veggie, it makes an easy chicken meal.

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Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Credit: Levi Brown

This fried chicken recipe adds a little bit of a kick to your favorite fried comfort food. You’ll marinate bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces in a buttermilk and hot sauce mixture, then dip it in flour for that amazing crispy finish. Once it’s all fried and done, you’ll have great homemade fried chicken for four—for best results, pair with macaroni and cheese, French fries, or another tasty comfort-food side.

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Sesame-Lime Chicken Salad

Credit: Marcus Nilsson

Entrée-sized (and actually filling) and ready quickly, especially if you cook the chicken ahead of time or purchase a rotisserie chicken, this chicken salad recipe is protein-rich and a great alternative to lackluster desk salads. Cook it for dinner or lunch (or both!) and prepare to eat well.

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Grilled Pizza With Chicken and Peach

Credit: Andrew Purcell

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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Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Thighs

Credit: Greg DuPree

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

Credit: Greg DuPree

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 for the all-important vegetable, it’s everything you want from a weeknight dinner.

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Fried Chicken Biscuits

Credit: Roland Bello

Make your fried chicken, and then upgrade it a little with this fried chicken recipe. You’ll soak the chicken breasts in buttermilk and then coat them in crispy panko bread crumbs. Once they’re fried and cooled, put them in your favorite biscuits and serve with mayonnaise, arugula, pickles, and hot sauce for a perfect breakfast, lunch, or dinner chicken dish.

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Miso Chicken Noodle Soup

Credit: Linda Pugliese

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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