41 Chicken Breast Recipes That Are (Actually) Full of Flavor
Purge any memories of bland meat with mushy steamed veggies from your brain. Our best chicken breast recipes prove the easy-dinner icon can be delicious—with the proper techniques and tried-and-true recipes in your arsenal. We can help with that.
Start by buying the best chicken breast you can find. Then follow our tips for frying the crispiest chicken cutlets, learn the key to the juiciest grilled chicken, or check out every other way to cook chicken breast, including Instant Pot and air-fryer methods. (Yes, we have chicken fajitas.) With these recipes for chicken breast, you can finally cook the maligned meat confidently.
Try any of our favorite weeknight-ready boneless, skinless chicken breast recipes, or devote just a smidge more time to a bone-in chicken breast. Either way, it will definitely be a winner-winner chicken dinner.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Christina Allen1/41Smoky Chicken and Avocado Kale Salad
For this boneless chicken breast recipe, you’ll quickly marinate the white meat in a mixture of chipotles in adobo sauce, lime juice, and honey. Even just 10 minutes does the trick—roasting in the oven further concentrates the sauce’s smoky flavor.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Rosanna Anil, Prop Styling by Paola Andrea2/41
Supremely Easy Teriyaki Chicken
Making teriyaki sauce is easier than you think. Here are the ingredients: cornstarch, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. You probably have the full list in your kitchen right now.
- Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova3/41
Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
Of all the recipes with chicken breast, this one might be the most beloved. Nothing beats a bowl of classic chicken noodle soup; this is the only recipe you’ll ever need for the iconic sick-day dish.
- Photo by Emma Fishman4/41
BA’s Best Chicken Parmesan
We tested this classic Italian dish for six weeks to perfect its ample flavor (garlic and garlic powder, rich tomato sauce) and ideal textural contrast (crispy fried chicken, gooey melted mozzarella). Don’t fret about leftovers: They make for great sandwiches.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley5/41
Dakjuk
Gently poached chicken breast serves two functions in this recipe: The poaching liquid acts as a speedy, aromatic broth, forming the base for a deeply comforting Korean porridge. Then, the succulent shredded meat gets piled on top.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie6/41
Soy-Garlic Popcorn Chicken and Rice Cakes
For a snacky starter, skewer bouncy rice cakes and crispy popcorn chicken bites coated in a sticky, sweet, garlicky glaze.
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Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken cordon bleu is the ultimate, classic stuffed chicken breast recipe. To make it, pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts thin, fill them with slices of ham and cheese, and dredge them in breadcrumbs before frying. Complete the meal with a mixed greens salad and a glass of white wine.
- Photography by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Christina Allen8/41
Golden Chicken With Mustard and Shallots
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be juicy and delightful. Our proof? This golden seared chicken. The key here is to dredge the poultry in a mixture of flour, salt, and turmeric, which creates a light crust and keeps them from sticking to the pan.
- Photograph by Jenny Huang, food styling by Tyna Hoang, prop styling by Sophie Strangio9/41
Chicken With Schmaltzy Red Pepper Vinaigrette
A one-pan chicken dinner is a win on busy days or, frankly, any day. Rendered fat from the chicken skin adds lots of savory flavor to the red pepper vinaigrette, drizzled over the chicken and sauteed peppers.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kaitlin Wayne, prop styling by Stephanie De Luca10/41
Chicken Noodle Salad With Spicy Peanut Sauce
Yes, poached chicken can be great. Especially in the summer, when you can make it ahead of time and stash it in the fridge to have cold noodle salad virtually on demand. Oh, and save that poaching liquid—use it as you would stock.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni11/41
Warm Chicken Piccata Salad
Alternatively, once it gets chilly outside, try a warm salad. Toss seared chicken with radicchio and a warm vinaigrette to make this quick, hearty weeknight dinner.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Emma Fishman12/41
Chicken Cutlets With Burst-Tomato Sauce
This is one of those quick summer dinners you’ll want to put on repeat. Bloom whole spices in olive oil, add a dash of red wine vinegar, and tip in a pint of cherry tomatoes until they’re warmed through and burst into a juicy sauce to spoon over perfectly seared chicken cutlets.
- Photography by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Adriana Paschen, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jamie13/41
Chicken Salad With Citrus and Chile Oil
With a double punch of acid from citrus and vinegar, plus a chili crisp–inspired dressing, this roasted chicken salad is equipped to deliver big, bold flavors.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne14/41
Skillet Chicken With Tangy-Sweet Peperonata
Peperonata, the Italian side dish of sweet red peppers, onion, and garlic, inspired the base for this weeknight-friendly dinner, which is topped with sliced, seared chicken breasts.
- Photograph by Laura Murray, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Sophie Strangio15/41
Za’atar Chicken Cutlets With Cabbage Salad
Za’atar usually contains (at least) dried oregano, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds. You can buy the Middle Eastern spice mix—you want it fragrant, green, and not clumpy—or make your own. We’ll show you how.
- Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Micah Morton16/41
Dakgalbi
The beloved Korean stir-fried chicken dish dakgalbi is usually eaten ssäm-style: Place a perilla, shiso, or Thai basil leaf on top of a lettuce leaf; top with dollops of ssamjang or kimchi; add a piece of chicken, some sweet potato, and a rice cake; and there you have it: the perfect bite.
- Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Heather Greene17/41
Chicken Piccata
If you hate boneless skinless chicken breasts and you’ve somehow made it this far in the recipe collection, we’re grateful because this one will convert you with its buttery white wine and caper sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and a crisp iceberg salad.
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Sophie Strangio18/41
Chicken Soup With Rice Noodles and Scallion Crisp
Not every chicken soup needs hours and hours on the stove. This one gets big flavor in no time, calling for a healthy amount of garlic, ginger, scallions, and fresh herbs.
- Gentl & Hyers19/41
Cock-a-Leekie Pie
Classic chicken pot pie might be among the best chicken breast recipes, but have you had cock-a-leekie pie? Inspired by the traditional Scottish comfort food cock-a-leekie soup, this recipe features a buttery chicken-and-leek filling, all wrapped up in flaky pie dough.
- Photo by Chelsie Craig20/41
Curry Leaf Popcorn Chicken
We’ll let one of our readers take this: “This is so phenomenally good! It’s well worth the work, and yes, it’s messy. Who cares? It’s hard to stop eating these tasty little pieces of popcorn chicken once you start.”
- Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Yekatarina Boytsova21/41
Chicken Tinga Tostadas With Bacony Black Beans
This recipe delivers everything you could want in a chicken dinner: crispy tostadas, shredded meat smothered in a smoky tomato salsa, bacony refried beans, and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and cheese.
- Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova22/41
Garlic-Ginger Chicken With Cilantro and Mint
Both the Indian-inspired marinade (garlic, ginger, mint, cilantro, amchur, and more) and the seared-then-steamed cooking method deliver huge flavor and texture payoff: charred, spicy, juicy chicken.
- Photograph by Tracy Nguyen23/41
Pancit Sotanghon
If you have a leftover cooked chicken breast from another recipe, add it to this Filipino noodle bowl. Alternatively, you can poach, roast, or pan-sear a piece explicitly for this dish.
- Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li24/41
Fresh Pepper Kung Pao Chicken
You don’t need a baking dish or a sheet pan—you don’t even need to turn on your oven. The best thing about a stir-fry is that it all goes down in one skillet on the stovetop. (PS: You can use chicken thighs for this recipe, too.)
- Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova25/41
Pollo al Carbon
Once you have succulent pollo al carbon, you may never go for BBQ again. “Al carbon” refers to charcoal, and since the coals generally burn longer than needed to grill the chicken, why not go ahead and warm up tortillas and make some fire-roasted salsa verde? (Use Mexican oregano if you can get your hands on some.)
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by D’mytrek Brown26/41
Chicken Breast With Peas and Croutons
A bonus of using skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts is that they produce more schmaltz (chicken fat), which you can use to make almost any side dish. Think sautéed greens, a warm salad dressing, or the peas shown here.
- Alex Lau27/41
Chicken Milanesa With Ranch Sauce
Chicken marsala is good, but we’ll take chicken Milanesa any day. The combination of crispy raw veggies, creamy sauce, and crunchy but juicy chicken breasts releases more dopamine than a bag of Cheetos.
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk28/41
Grilled Chicken Breasts With Tadka-ish Sauce
Multiple sauces provide these grilled chicken breasts with insurance against dryness: There’s buttermilk dressing for the greens and a sizzling nigella seed tadka for, well, everything.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca29/41
Chicken Primavera
It turns out that the primavera treatment is equally delicious when you swap the pasta for golden brown chicken cutlets. Who knew? (We did. We knew. But now, so do you.)
- Alex Lau30/41
Five-Spice Fried Chicken Sandwich
We realize this gargantuan fried chicken breast looks intense, but that’s because it’s butterflied. Letting all that crispy goodness hang out (literally) of the bun is part of the sandwich’s appeal.
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Spring Chicken Salad With Smashed Green Beans
Properly-poached chicken breast is a blank canvas for big flavors, and this particular poaching method is a revelation.
- Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio32/41
Chicken With Mushroom Purée and Swiss Chard
Plate these chicken breasts—complete with crispy, golden skin—atop a silky mushroom purée, leveled up with truffle oil for extra umami. Yes, this fine-dining meal came out of your kitchen.
- Photo and Food Styling by Molly Baz33/41
Anything-Goes Green Goddess Salad
This creamy chicken salad is all about the green goddess dressing. Use any combo of tender herbs (cilantro, mint, basil, parsley, dill, tarragon, chives), cultured dairy (yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, labneh, crème fraîche), and acid (lemon juice, lime juice, unseasoned rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar).
- Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones34/41
Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts With Crunchy Radish Salad
This weeknight dinner technique brings out the juiciness in boneless skinless chicken breasts. Cook them mostly on one side over moderately high heat, then pair with a zingy dressing.
- Photo by Emma Fishman, Plates by Meilen Ceramics35/41
Healthyish Chicken Salad
In this summery chicken salad, you’ll toss tender poached chicken breast, crisp greens, cukes, and scallions with a gomae-inspired dressing. There are pops of crunch from sesame seeds and the creamy nuttiness of tahini in every bite. We’re sold.
- Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski36/41
Chicken Saltimbocca With Crunchy Pea Salad
Saltimbocca translates to “jumps in your mouth,” and we’d say that’s accurate in the case of this prosciutto-wrapped, panko-crusted Italian-style chicken cutlet.
- Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich37/41
Brothy Chicken With Ginger and Bok Choy
If you’ve never steamed chicken before, try the gentle cooking method with this recipe. Steam the breasts over medium-low heat just until they’re firm to the touch, which should take no more than 18 minutes.
- Alex Lau38/41
12-Minute Saucy Chicken Breasts With Limes
A spice rub of cumin, turmeric, paprika, and salt mixed with the juice of charred limes makes for earthy, bright roasted chicken. (Shred any leftover meat to make a burrito. Thank us later.)
- Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou39/41
Miso Chicken and Green Bean Stir-Fry
This list is full of easy recipes, but this chicken stir-fry is perhaps the easiest, especially considering the results. (Just look at it!) The fast miso and curry powder paste is transformative.
- Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Jennifer Ophir40/41
Chicken Schnitzel With Crunchy Salad
With the right equipment (i.e., a large Dutch oven, which significantly cuts down on messy splattering oil), shallow-frying breaded chicken cutlets is one of our favorite methods for cooking chicken breasts.
- Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski41/41
Grilled Chicken and Quinoa With Matcha Dressing
A chicken breast recipe with matcha? Trust us; the powdered green tea brings a pleasantly earthy note to the dressing for this grain bowl. It’s like green goddess 2.0.