The Best Weeknight Chicken Breast Recipes

Chicken pairs naturally with flavors like mushroom and onion, absorbing the earthiness from the former and the crisp, spicy bite of the latter. And since Americans are eating more cheese than ever, why not bring some of it to the dinner table? The saltiness of Parmesan and the gooeyness of melted mozzarella make this recipe from Taste of Home a home run for both kids and adults. Additionally, it's super easy, and only takes a total of 40 minutes to prepare, cook, and plate. For side dishes, serve with green beans tossed with toasted, sliced almonds, or with a big green salad that has lots of fresh tomatoes.

Using mayonnaise in cooking and grilling is way underrated. It brings amazing flavor to grilled cheese, and keeps grilled fish from sticking to the grill and burning. And it works its own special magic with baked chicken. This recipe from Food.com uses mayonnaise as the base for a sauce containing paprika, lemon zest, celery seeds, and a hint of cayenne pepper. There's very little prep outside of stirring things together and slathering the sauce over the chicken while it bakes for about 25 minutes. And while it's cooking, you can whip up a side dish of tomato and avocado salad with fresh cilantro, and serve everything with a baked potato on the side. It's easy, quick, and delicious.

Stuffing chicken breasts is a great way to make a dinner that looks fancy and tastes amazing. And even though stuffing poultry might seem like an intimidating task, it's surprisingly easy as long as you have a good, sharp knife. This recipe from the Food Network is healthy, too, though it's certainly not lacking in flavor given that it has pepper jack cheese and lots of garlic. Conveniently, the stuffing calls for frozen corn and frozen kale, which cuts down the prep time significantly. And since the dish is so hearty, you don't need to go overboard with side dishes; a tomato-corn relish adds color and contrast. It also brings freshness to the plate.

Another variation of stuffed chicken breasts is from the Food Network. This recipe has an elegant flavor profile, centering goat cheese as the primary ingredient in the stuffing. The stuffing also contains egg whites for lightness, parsley and tarragon for herbaceous freshness, shallots for a bite, Dijon mustard for a tangy flavor, and lemon zest for acidity. Additionally, there's a sauce for the dish that's built from the drippings of the chicken and stuffing combined with butter, garlic, and thyme. I like to serve the dish with blanched green beans and a quinoa salad with sun dried tomatoes, but you can also serve it with a kale salad with slivered almonds and halved cherry tomatoes. 

This recipe from Cooking Light uses Dijon mustard as the central flavor component in the sauce, along with fresh rosemary, chopped shallots, chicken broth, and a little heavy cream, to serve over sautéed chicken breasts. I like to sautée the chicken with a tablespoon of butter instead of olive oil for flavor, but either fat works fine. And while it tastes like comfort food, it's relatively healthy as long as you're careful with the heavy cream. You can serve it with steamed broccoli flavored with lemon and a little butter and boiled potatoes, or with bean salad with fresh herbs and a green salad.

Having a couple of easy, filling one-pot dinner recipes in your cooking arsenal sets you up for success and helps you avoid the takeout trap. It's also good because leftovers can be easily tossed in a plastic container for lunch the next day, killing two birds with one stone. This recipe from Cooking Light is a crowd pleaser that features chicken breasts, thinly sliced lemons, halved baby red potatoes, cremini mushrooms, green beans, fresh thyme, and a sauce built with those flavors combined with milk, flour, and stock. The result is a homey, satisfying dinner that sticks to your ribs without the fat of other comfort food dishes. A side salad is an optional accompaniment if you want to sneak in another serving of vegetables. 

Larb, which is a meat salad from Laos and Thailand, is a delicious and healthy salad made with a variety of meats, from pork to beef to chicken. And fortunately, it's not difficult to prepare as long as you have a food processor. This recipe from Cooking Light is a great introduction to Thai cooking, which only takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook. The secret is in the seasoning, so make sure you use enough curry paste and salt in the food processor when blending the chicken breasts. Fresh cilantro, chopped shallots, and lime juice build the flavor profile of the meat salad, which is best served on cabbage leaves with some chili paste. 

Just because you don't have a ton of time to prep and cook doesn't mean you don't want your meals to be sophisticated. For this reason, it helps to have some staples in your kitchen that can quickly elevate a dish, like shallots, pine nuts, and golden raisins. This recipe from Bon Appétit combines those ingredients together along with chicken breasts, broth, fresh parsley, and lemon to create an elegant and healthy dish you can whip up in under 30 minutes. Serve with a rice pilaf and freshly steamed broccoli, making sure you spoon plenty of the sauce and gremolata over the top of everything for a uniform flavor. 

The thickness of a chicken breast can determine a lot, from cooking time to seasoning ratios. Pounded chicken is more likely to retain moisture while cooking quickly than non-pounded. Additionally, once pounded thin, chicken breasts absorb flavor like a sponge. This recipe from Bon Appétit is perfect if you're an aficionado of Asian flavors like fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, shallots, and of course lemongrass.  As long as you remember to marinate the chicken for 30 minutes with those ingredients (which you can do the night before to save time) along with brown sugar and crushed red pepper flakes, you'll have a seriously delicious chicken dish ready in about ten minutes. Serve with rice and veggies.