Easy chicken recipes for dinner with few ingredients healthy

erik bernstein

Think eating healthy means eating plain rice, steamed veggies, and boring, dry chicken breast over and over? Think again! We’re all about variety, and we’ve got healthy versions of your chicken favorites (lightened up chicken Parm, anyone?), plus salads, lettuce wraps, sandwiches, and more. We know health looks different to different people, so we’ve included options for every diet, like low-carb, paleo, low-oil, and keto. Whether you're reaching for chicken breasts, thighs (the favorite cut of the Delish kitchen), or a whole bird, the options are endless. Check out our top healthy chicken recipes—you’ll be sure to find a new weeknight favorite.

Let’s go back to that boring, plain piece of chicken breast for a minute. On its own, chicken can be a great healthy choice—it’s full of lean protein, amino acids (including serotonin-boosting tryptophan), and is a great alternative to red meat. No matter how good it is for you though, it doesn’t matter if you never want to eat it. Obviously deep-frying or pairing it with loads of carbs is tempting, but trust us—all it takes is some spices, sauces, and innovative ingredients to make chicken dishes that’ll stand up to even the most decadent of options. Try adding different spices, like the taco seasoning in our chicken fajitas or everything bagel seasoning in our keto everything bagel chicken; extra flavorful sauces, like in our chimichurri chicken salad or our Buffalo chicken wrap; or replacing fatty or carb-heavy ingredients with others, like in our keto fried chicken (breaded with pork rinds) our our Greek chicken potato salad (no mayo, tons of flavor). All it takes is a little creativity in the kitchen to make chicken dishes that taste great and keep you feeling great too.

And we can’t overlook our air fryer—it’s hands down the best kitchen appliance to invest in if you’re trying to cut down on oil in your kitchen. We’ve included some of our favorite air fryer chicken recipes here—like our orange chicken, crispy chicken sandwich, and air fryer chipotle chicken meatballs—but feel free to explore all the (100+!) other things you can make in one too.

Want more healthy meal inspiration? Check out our favorite healthy breakfasts, packed lunches, and low-calorie desserts too.

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Chicken Fajitas

We can thank the cuisine of Tex-Mex for the classic fajita. Minimal prep and minimal cook time means these can be on your dining room table FAST. Fiesta time!

Get the Chicken Fajitas recipe.

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Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup

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One-Pan Chicken And Quinoa

Here’s a quick and easy dinner that’s high in protein and takes very little effort. We love the Tex-Mex spices here; the chili powder and cayenne add a nice kick that the avocado and sour cream perfectly offset. Of course, feel free to use a little less of either spice if you prefer.

Get the One-Pan Chicken And Quinoa recipe.

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Keto Fried Chicken

To make a keto-friendly fried chicken we skipped the flour and breaded them in pork rinds, almond flour, and Parmesan. We also baked this chicken to skip all of the unnecessary oil—it still bakes into a chicken breast that you would swear was fried. Feel free to use thighs or drumsticks as well if you like.

Get the Keto Fried Chicken recipe.

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Peanut-Sesame Chicken Lettuce Cups

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Chicken Primavera Spaghetti Squash Boats

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Perfect Baked Chicken Breast

It's kind of amazing how much of a difference brown sugar, garlic powder, and paprika can make. Not only does it add a slightly smoky, sweet taste, but it makes your chicken look way prettier. (Though healthy, naked chicken breasts are a very sad sight to behold.)

Get the Perfect Baked Chicken Breast recipe.

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Healthy Chicken Casserole

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Skinny Cashew Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

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Garlic Butter Meatballs

These garlic butter meatballs are low-carb, gluten-free, and veggie-packed without skipping out on any of the tastiness. Now this is a low-carb dinner you can feel good about.

Get the Garlic Butter Meatballs recipe.

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Crockpot White Chicken Chili

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Air Fryer Drumsticks

This modernized air fryer recipe is loosely inspired by two Chinese dishes: fragrant and umami-filled Cantonese soy sauce chicken, and a dish that was popular in '80s and '90s in China, Coca-Cola wings.

Get the Air Fryer Drumsticks recipe.

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Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan

The fact that crispy golden chicken can be achieved without the use of any oil whatsoever is amazing. There's no need to turn on your oven or make a whole oily mess on your stovetop: This chicken Parm tastes every bit as good as the traditional version with much less effort to get there.

Get the Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan recipe.

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Chicken Chowder Stuffed Zucchini

Using cooked rotisserie chicken, frozen corn, and sweet cherry tomatoes, you can have a summer chowder in under an hour, served in a crispy-tender zucchini boat. While bacon isn’t totally crucial in this dish, rendering it provides a salty, flavorful fat you can use to make this stuffed zucchini extra delicious.

Get the Chicken Chowder Stuffed Zucchini recipe.

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Italian Wedding Soup

If you asked us to name our favorite comfort foods, pasta, soup, and meatballs would all be at the top of the list. So it’s no surprise that Italian wedding soup is one of our favorite meals when the weather turns chilly. Loaded with mini chicken meatballs, little pasta nuggets, and plenty of veg, it’s just as comforting as a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

Get the Italian Wedding Soup recipe.

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Lemon Pepper Chicken

If you throw chicken into a pan with salt and pepper and bake it for forever, of course it's going to be terrible. On the other hand, when you add layers of bright and fresh flavors (like lemon pepper!), eating healthy can be extremely easy and delicious.

Get the Lemon Pepper Baked Chicken recipe.

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Best Grilled Chicken Breast

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Chicken Souvlaki

Souvlaki is a classic Greek street food consisting of tender pieces of marinated meat that have been skewered (in Greece “souvla” means skewer) and cooked on a grill. We love it whether we’re serving it on skewers at a BBQ (no picnic tables? no problem!), or tucked into a pita with veggies for a healthy weekday lunch.

Get the Greek Chicken Souvlaki recipe.

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Homemade Chicken Broth

Honestly, a good chicken broth should be sold in hardware stores, because there is nothing it can’t fix. You’ll be glad you went the extra mile—freeze pint containers of the broth for up to 4 months, enough to get you through cold season, or even just when you need a hug in a bowl.

Get the Homemade Chicken Broth recipe.

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Shredded Chicken Tacos

This recipe is inspired by chicken tinga, a Mexican guisado (or stew) that is tender chicken, shredded and added to a tomato sauce spiked with chiles, onion, garlic, and spices. This preparation is a little more weeknight-friendly by relying on the ever-versatile and delicious canned chipotle chiles in adobo.

Get the Shredded Chicken Tacos recipe.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Pozole

Make no mistake: This slow cooker version isn't authentic, but it's quick, easy, flavorful, and filling. If you're looking for something more classic, check out our best-ever pozole. It's the red variety, and it includes a puree of several chiles, giving a complex smokiness to the final dish.

Get the Slow-Cooker Chicken Posole recipe.

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Grilled Chicken Salad

Cucumbers, tomato, feta, olives, and avocado combine to create a healthy salad that may just be your go to office lunch from here on out. Hot tip for taking this salad to go: Ditch the whisking and throw all the dressing ingredients into a jar or small tupperware. Right before you eat, give the jar a good shake and you will have a perfectly emulsified vinaigrette.

Get the Grilled Chicken Salad recipe.

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Thai Basil Chicken

Grown throughout Southeast Asia, Thai basil is, no surprise here, used quite predominantly in Thailand, as well as in many other Southeast Asian countries. It's a bit sweeter than traditional basil, with a more pronounced floral note and a slight licorice-y bite. Here, we combine it with a slew of aromatics and veggies (red pepper, shallots, garlic, chiles), then infuse the chicken with all of this deliciousness.

Get the Thai Basil Chicken recipe.

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Air Fryer Spicy Chicken Taquitos

A taquito is essentially a rolled taco with many of the topping like guacamole and sour cream on the outside. They are traditionally shallow fried to get that beautifully crisp exterior. Our version is baked with an option to make them in the air fryer!

Get the Air Fryer Spicy Chicken Taquitos recipe.

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Keto Chicken Parm Pizza

Yes, believe it! This is a keto pizza crust made from ground chicken. Once you try this, you can try all your favorite pizza topping combos. Not getting enough color on your chicken "crust"? Try broiling for 3 to 5 minutes to get it extra golden.

Get the Keto Chicken Parm Pizza recipe.

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