27 Chicken Breast Recipes That Redeem the Whole Idea of Chicken Breast

Skin-on chicken breasts are slathered with a sweet and spicy sauce made from chiles, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Don’t forget to finish it off with a heavy handful of cilantro. 

Recipe: Sticky Chile Chicken

Let chicken sit in a simple olive oil and lime juice marinade before grilling and topping with an Indian-style pickled salsa made from beefsteak tomatoes, serrano chiles, green onion, ginger, and avocado. 

Recipe: Grilled Cilantro Chicken with Pickled Tomato and Avocado Salsa

This dish is all about classic Italian flavors. Garlicky grilled chicken is topped with a chunky caprese salad made from tart grape and cherry tomatoes, mini mozzarella balls, and basil.

Recipe: Garlic-Basil Grilled Chicken with Caprese Salad

This dish is all about classic Italian flavors. Garlicky grilled chicken is topped with a chunky caprese salad made from tart grape and cherry tomatoes, mini mozzarella balls, and basil.

Recipe: Chicken with Tomatoes, Apricots, and Chickpeas

This recipe from cookbook author and writer J. Kenji López-Alt is genius: Half of this intense, hearty vinaigrette goes on the chicken right before it’s cooked—less a marinade than a “pre-sauce”—and the other half gets drizzled onto the grilled chicken, creating layers of flavor without a long marinating time. 

Recipe: Herby, Garlicky, Lemony, Mustard Grilled Chicken

Use any extra chicken from the Herby, Garlicky, Lemony, Mustard Grilled Chicken to make this Chicken Salad with Miso Dressing to eat as you please throughout the week.

Recipe: Chicken Salad with Miso Dressing

Couscous, rice, and green beans all make great side pairings for this chicken dinner. First, brown chicken in a pan with butter, then transfer to a baking dish with artichokes, sherry, cream, lemon peel and juice, and parmesan cheese.

Recipe: Lemon-Artichoke Chicken

Portobello mushrooms, fresh corn, and chunks of grilled chicken give this spinach salad weight, while paprika dressing delivers the smoky flavor so you don’t miss the char.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken, Corn, and Spinach Salad with Smoky Paprika Dressing

This version of the classic is super-simple—no tandoor oven required. Add a few vegetables to the grill and some naan to round out the dinner.

Recipe: Shortcut Tandoori Chicken

Combine different colors of greens for an especially pretty salad. Crisp, frilly mizuna tastes like a cross between napa cabbage and mustard greens and comes in a green or red variety. If your grocery store doesn’t carry mizuna, try a farmers’ market. That’s also a good place to check for more unusual flat-leaf varieties of mustard greens, like handsome Red Giant. Small leaves taste the mildest.

Recipe: Sesame Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Greens

Romesco has its roots in the Spanish province of Catalonia. Although the red-colored sauce has lots of variations, most combine roasted red peppers, nuts, garlic, and crusty bread to make a thick sauce that often tops grilled fish.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Kebabs with Romesco Sauce

A classic Italian pairing of orange and fennel livens up basic chicken. The sauce turns into a light glaze when brushed on the chicken at the end, but could also work as a marinade if you have time to chill it overnight.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Fennel with Orange Glaze

This grilled chicken breast gets its crunchy skin yet moist, tender meat from a final toasting over direct heat. Plus, pre-salting the chicken breasts and grilling over indirect heat keeps them extra juicy.

Recipe: Juicy Grilled Chicken Breast

Designed for cilantro fans, this Indian-style chutney gives chicken breasts loads of flavor and keeps them moist in their parchment-paper packets. Don’t let the grill get over 425°F, or the paper may catch on fire.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Coconut Chutney

A Sunset reader from Oregon turned us onto this recipe, which tastes even better the next day. We used Skippy brand peanut butter for a smooth, slightly sweet sauce, but you can also use natural peanut butter if you prefer—just be sure to add a pinch of sugar so the flavors are balanced.

Recipe: Asian Broccoli Chicken Salad

Make a big batch of this chicken and barley and eat it throughout the week. You’ll get a nutty flavor from the ancient grains and fresh aromatic kick from herbs like thyme and parsley.

Recipe: Chicken with Barley and Mushrooms

This homey meal is honestly like eating a bowl of comfort. You get a little heat from jalapeno chiles, but it’s nicely tamed by mild cheese. To make it even easier to make, buy pre-cut chicken tenders.

Recipe: Chicken with Chile-Cheese Rice

Our play on a Vietnamese rice noodle bowl, this vermicelli bowl lets the deep flavors of Chinese five spice shine. Add chilled cucumber slices, shreds of carrot, a generous drizzle of fish sauce, and plenty of cilantro and mint leaves.

Recipe: Five-Spice Chicken Noodle Salad

Pasta is one of the ultimate go-to comfort dishes, and this earthy mushroom and creamy brie version won’t disappoint.

Recipe: Chicken Fettuccine with Mushroom Brie

You can throw this chicken on anything from sandwiches to grain bowls, but we especially like it mixed with a few sliced grilled vegetables and stuffed in a thick corn tortilla.

Recipe: Lime and Pepper Grilled Chicken Breasts

For a pasta that feels fresh and not too heavy, try this vegetable-packed chicken pasta. Chicken is marinated in balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, and garlic before it’s mixed into penne with bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and red onion.

Recipe: End-of-Summer Pasta

The workhorse of the weeknight dinner, chicken gets a little zip of excitement by getting cooked in a hot wok with bell peppers and broccoli for crunch and color. Be sure to have all your ingredients ready to go before you heat the wok or frying pan, since cooking needs to happen fast.

Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Stir-Fry

This mushroom and chicken casserole recipe is a delicious one-dish dinner solution for a busy weeknight. Bake the chicken casserole while the potatoes cook; keep it warm for a few minutes while you mash the potatoes and make the sauce.

Recipe: Chicken Breast and Mushroom Casserole

Use up that peanut butter in your pantry with this classic grilled chicken and homemade peanut sauce pairing.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken with Peanut Sauce

This bright salad delivers a blend of firm and tender textures and sweet-spicy flavors, plus make-ahead options and a time-saving method for browning shallots in the microwave. Tip: Leftover shallot oil can be used for a second salad.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Melon Salad with Crispy Shallots

Grilling chicken adds a mildly smoke note that’s essential for all the lime, cilantro, and chile flavors going on in this meal. Plus, cooking a quesadilla on the grill means there’s no dirty skillet to clean.

Recipe: Grilled Chipotle-Chicken Quesadillas

Create a blend of flavors for grilled chicken breasts by marinating it in a mixture of tequila, fresh lime juice, fresh ginger and dried chipotle chile. Use the reserved marinade to stir into whipped cream for a rich, savory topping.

Recipe: Grilled Fusion Chicken