63 Chicken Breast Recipes You'll Make Over And Over

Chicken breast is an inexpensive and lean protein that works in almost everything: soups, pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and more. We love that they cook quickly, whether in the oven, on the stovetop, or on the grill. It's easy to buy and stores well in the freezer, so you can always have some on hand for dinner emergencies. Perhaps the only downside to chicken breast is that it's easy to get in a rut and wind up making the same, tired chicken dishes again and again. Well, the chicken rut is officially over: This round-up of our favorite chicken breast recipes is packed with inspired and creative dishes for weeks of exciting meals. 

Most of these recipes are dishes you could make on a busy weeknight, because they're ready in less than an hour — many take only 30 minutes. Slow cooker chicken dishes also make it easy to get flavor-packed and tender chicken with little prep work. Just let it simmer away while you get on with your day! There are also chicken recipes to try in your air fryer and Instant Pot. Some recipes make things especially quick by calling for cooked chicken breast, which can be saved from a previous meal (making the most of those leftovers!) or sliced from a rotisserie chicken that you grab on the way home. 

Perhaps most tempting of all? 20 copycat recipes that let you make your favorite fast food and restaurant chicken dishes at home! Who's hungry? 

There's no need to head out the door to indulge in Chick-fil-A chicken strips: You can easily make them yourself! Look for packaged chicken tenders in the meat case where you find other cuts of chicken. The tenders get a quick batter before they're fried up, and the secret ingredient? A tangy pickle juice marinade. Bake up a bag of frozen waffle fries to serve with these copycat strips and your favorite dipping sauces.

Recipe: Copycat Chick-fil-A Crispy Chicken Strips

Not only is it the Best Enchilada Soup, it's ready in only 15 minutes! This is a fantastic recipe for using up leftover cooked chicken, or meat from a rotisserie chicken. Throw the chicken plus some diced veggies, canned corn, and beans into a pot and bring everything to a simmer. By the time you set out warm tortillas, and toppings like diced avocado, sliced jalapeños, and shredded cheese, the soup will be done. 

Recipe: The Best Enchilada Soup

This recipe combines garlicky chicken breast with a vibrant bruschetta sauce made with diced tomatoes, onions, and garlic. While the chicken bakes in the oven, the bruschetta ingredients get cooked quickly in a hot pan to meld the flavors and make the tomatoes nice and juicy. Served over pasta with a drizzle of tangy balsamic vinegar, this makes a lovely dinner — especially in summertime when gardens are overflowing with fresh tomatoes and bunches of basil.  

Recipe: Chicken Bruschetta Pasta

Giada de Laurentiis has an amazing recipe for Chicken Cacciatore and we love everything about it, except that it takes nearly an hour to prepare. On a busy weeknight after a tiring day, we just need something a little faster. This Chicken Cacciatore With A Twist cuts that time almost in half by swapping out chicken thighs for quick-cooking chicken breast. In a rich, simmered sauce of tomatoes, wine, and garlic, it's delicious over pasta or with a thick slice of artisan bread. 

Recipe: Giada's Chicken Cacciatore With A Twist 

Here is your chance to recreate the signature fried chicken from KFC, complete with a buttermilk marinade and a whole lot of spices. The original KFC formula includes 11 "secret" herbs and spices. This copycat recipe comes close with 10 herbs and spices and many of them, like paprika, oregano, and garlic salt, are likely already in your spice cabinet. The chicken breasts are dredged in egg and seasoned flour mixtures, then fried 'til crispy and golden. Make three whoppingly big sandwiches, or bread and fry smaller portions for sliders. 

Recipe: Copycat KFC Chicken Sandwich

We love this Mexican-inspired dish because it has the bubbling, cheesy goodness of a long-baking casserole, yet it's done in only 20 minutes. Layer tortillas and shredded, cooked chicken in a baking dish along with corn, beans, shredded cheese, and salsa verde. (Use your own, homemade salsa or your favorite bottled brand.) You can make this casserole as spicy as you like by adding in sliced hot peppers or a generous shake of chili powder. Make this recipe as an quick dinner, or to divide into containers for lunches all week.   

Recipe: Easy Cheesy Burrito Casserole 

Chicken Kiev is a vintage recipe that sounds fancy, but is actually easy to make. And it's ridiculously delicious, too, full of buttery garlic and parsley with a crunchy, breadcrumb coating. To make this dish, chicken breast is stuffed with cold butter, fresh garlic, and diced parsley, then coated with egg and panko breadcrumbs. They're quickly fried to create a golden crust, and finished in the oven. Try this hack to make an easy garlic bread while making your Chicken Kiev! 

Recipe: Simple Chicken Kiev With Parsley And Garlic

If you're looking to elevate your humble chicken with a sauce that's fragrant and unbelievably flavorful, then you've found the right recipe. This chicken curry has layers of flavor from fresh ginger, curry powder, coconut milk, and chopped garlic. While you cook up a pot of rice or warm some soft naan, the chicken, peppers, and onion simmer away in this incredible sauce, soaking up all that flavor and spice. Try a British approach and serve it with oven-baked fries for a heartier version of curry and chips. 

Recipe: The Best Chicken Curry Ever

Many chicken recipes that are labeled "quick" or "easy" say this because they call for cooked chicken breast. But if you're not someone who tends to have a lot of leftover, cooked chicken in the fridge, these recipes are suddenly neither quick nor easy — unless you have an Instant Pot. Whole, boneless chicken breasts cooked in your Instant Pot are ready in less than 10 minutes. You can slice or cube the cooked chicken, or shred it for recipes like pulled chicken sandwiches.

Recipe: Really Fast Instant Pot Chicken

It's not always easy to get your hands on the delicious, prepared chicken salad at Trader Joe's — that's why you should make this copycat version so you only have to go as far as your fridge. The recipe calls for cooked chicken, but also has instructions for quickly poaching some chicken breast in case you need to. Whisk up a dressing of mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar and poppy seeds, add some cranberries and pecans, and voilà: Your own beautiful batch of delectable chicken salad. 

Recipe: Copycat Trader Joe's Chicken Salad

Making really delicious grilled chicken breast should be part of every cook's skillset. It's an economical choice, especially if you're trying to feed a crowd, plus grilled chicken is so versatile. Pull it off the grill to enjoy right away alongside corn on the cob or a tangy potato salad. Slice it into strips to enjoy in fajitas or for sandwiches, and to add to a salad. This chicken gets extra flavor from a marinade of orange, honey, and herbs. 

Recipe: The Best Grilled Chicken We've Ever Tried

A list of favorite BK menu items just has to include their spicy chicken sandwich with that super crispy coating. Well, as is the case with so many fast food goodies, this sandwich tastes even better when you make it at home! Thin-sliced chicken breasts get a double dose of heat from hot sauce and cayenne pepper in the batter. Deep fry or pan fry the chicken until cooked through, then layer it with fresh tomato and lettuce on buns with a slather of mayo.   

Recipe: Copycat Burger King Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Having a pan of pulled chicken in the fridge means your next several days of lunches and dinners will be incredibly easy to throw together, and it takes hardly any time at all. Chicken breasts are simply poached on the stovetop until cooked through and tender. Then you can shred them with a stand mixer or even just your hands. Use the seasoned, pulled chicken in tacos, nachos, soups, salads, and countless other dishes. 

Recipe: Easy Pulled Chicken For A World Of Tasty Options

If you're looking for a great chicken recipe that you can make and freeze for future meals, we've got you. Roll up a batch of these chicken taquitos: Our recipe includes green onions and cilantro, but you can use your favorite fillings like black beans, sliced jalapenos, green chiles, or roasted corn. After baking, serve the taquitos with your favorite salsa and a side of rice, or freeze them for one of those hectic evenings when you need a quick dinner.

Recipe: Easy Taquitos You Can Whip Up Any Weeknight 

It's hard to believe it, but this rich, creamy, and flavorful soup is first of all, easy to make, and second of all, takes only 20 minutes! A little sautéing, a little simmer, and you can dive in. Using cooked shredded chicken is one timesaver, and to shave a few more minutes, use frozen, diced vegetables instead of dicing them yourself. Since you saved so much time on the soup, try making a batch of Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks for dunking.

Recipe: Copycat Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

An traditional Indian dish, biryani is made by layering marinated chicken with rice and aromatics like saffron, ginger, and garlic. The chicken and rice are simmered together, where the flavors and juices meld beautifully. This recipe uses a blend of spices like cumin, garam masala, turmeric, and coriander — if you don't have the individual spices, look for curry or another Indian spice blend to use instead. Biryani makes a wonderful weekend meal or to serve at a dinner party. 

Recipe: Chicken Biryani Your Family Will Fall In Love With

Fair warning: This may just become your new, favorite chicken dish. To start, thin chicken breast cutlets get a simple coating of flour and egg before being pan fried. The real magic here though is the sauce, made with fresh lemon slices, lemon juice, thyme, and butter plus white wine and stock. The cutlets get a quick simmer in this sauce before heading to your plate. It doesn't seem fair to call it a "simple" lemon chicken, because the flavors are to die for. 

Recipe: Simple Lemon Chicken 

If you've ever had this Wendy's sandwich, then you know it's a totally over-the-top and delicious indulgence. So how could it get any better? By making it at home with your own fresh spice blend in the batter, hot and crisp strips of bacon, and jalapeño cream cheese sauce. Go all in on this meal, and bake up a batch of frozen french fries or onion rings to have alongside this spicy chicken sandwich. 

Recipe: Copycat Wendy's Spicy Jalapeño Popper Sandwich 

Chicken breasts in this recipe are full of flavor, first from a tangy and spicy marinade and then from a high-heat sear in a cast iron skillet. The marinade ingredients are like already in your pantry, like bottled Italian dressing, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Serve Blackened Chicken with wild rice or over buttered noodles. You can also add strips of cooled chicken to wraps, or dice it to toss into a cold pasta salad. 

Recipe: The Best and Easiest Blackened Chicken 

This recipe is perfect for busy nights and lazy weekends. You only need five ingredients and 15 minutes of prep time, then pop this pan of cheesy goodness in the oven to bake. The recipe calls for cooked chicken which can be leftover from another recipe or sliced from a rotisserie chicken. Or, quickly cook up raw chicken breast in your Instant Pot or poach it on the stovetop.  

Recipe: 5-Ingredient Broccoli Mac And Cheese

If you've never had chicken tortilla soup, stop everything and make a batch today! The spicy broth is loaded with corn, chiles, salsa, and chicken. Add garnishes of cheese and tortilla chips to the bowls and it makes a filling meal. This version made in a slow cooker is a cinch: first cook your chicken in a spiced broth, then add everything else to simmer together. You can even save time by substituting using leftover, shredded chicken. 

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

If you own an air fryer you already know how amazing and versatile it is. Well, here's another delicious recipe to add to the air fryer rotation. Chicken breasts get dredged in a spice blend that includes paprika, oregano, and thyme before going into the air fryer basket. The whole recipe takes less than 30 minutes, and gives you succulent, flavorful chicken that's perfect with mashed sweet potatoes, rice, over pasta, or to make a healthy chicken sandwich.   

Recipe: Herbed Air Fryer Chicken Breast

They're just chicken nuggets, so why oh why are they so addictive?? This copycat of those delectable Chick-fil-A nuggets has the secret recipe figured out, so now you can fry up a batch of your own anytime you want. Cubed pieces of chicken breast are brined in a milk, egg, and pickle juice mixture — brining these small pieces means that every bite will have that juicy flavor. The pieces are dredged in a spicy flour blend that includes pepper and paprika. Fry the nuggets until they're browned and crispy, and serve them hot with a homemade honey mustard. 

Recipe: Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets 

This is one of the best fast food salads to copycat at home, since it's healthy and full of protein. The southwest flavor in this salad comes from a dressing of ranch dressing, hot sauce and liquid from pickled jalapeños, which you can adjust to the level of spiciness you like. Use leftover cooked chicken or bake up some chicken breasts ahead of time. (The recipe tells you how.) A quick, homemade guacamole and some diced bacon complete this delicious salad.  

Recipe: Copycat Wendy's Southwest Avocado Salad

If you're paying for this chicken wrap at Chick-fil-A, you won't believe how easily you can make it at home. Our copycat recipe breaks down this fast food sandwich and reveals that it's just cooked chicken, shredded cheese, and lettuce rolled up in a flour tortilla. C'mon, you can totally make this! Amp up the flavor, too with Sriracha mayo, kimchi, pesto, smoky bacon, roasted veggies, or flavored wraps just to name a few possibilities. If you have five minutes, you can make your own cool wrap. 

Recipe: Copycat Chick-fil-A Cool Wrap

Our popular copycat recipe for chicken noodle soup has everything you love about this Panera menu item. The broth is flavorful, full of chicken, veggies and noodles that are all cooked to perfection. A little cornstarch is the secret to getting a broth that's rich without using any dairy. The veggies in this recipe are sautéed in chicken fat, or schmaltz, which creates an incredible flavor for the whole soup. No worries though if you don't have schmaltz — just substitute olive oil. 

Recipe: Copycat Panera Chicken Noodle Soup

A really good, homemade chicken fried rice is a meal all on it's own, and this recipe has the whole dish ready in only 30 minutes. Just like with a stir fry, have all your ingredients prepped before your start cooking, because it moves quickly once your first ingredients hit the pan. Diced chicken and veggies are cooked with aromatics like ginger and garlic, followed by a beaten egg and cooked rice. A simple sauce of rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar ties everything together.  

Recipe: Fast Chicken Fried Rice

Let your chicken, vegetables, and potatoes all bake together and be ready at the same time. This recipe calls for carrots and broccoli, but you can easily sap in your favorite veggies that cook up in the same amount of time, like cauliflower, parsnips, or zucchini. The spices in this sheet pan dinner are familiar, yet give everything a big boost of savory, herby flavor. Whether you use fresh or frozen vegetables, the whole dish is ready in less than 30 minutes. 

Recipe: Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Breast

This saucy dish of vegetables and chicken is even more delicious the next day, if you can manage not to eat it all in one sitting! The sweet and tangy sauce includes soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic — just put it all in a jar and shake. After browning the bite-sized pieces of chicken, steam the veggies until they're crisp-tender. Finish the dish by tossing everything together with the sauce. Serve this stir fry with freshly cooked white or brown rice, or with a batch of scallion pancakes.  

Recipe: Chicken Stir Fry 

A beautifully light, yet flavorful dish, chicken piccata consists of a vibrant lemon and caper sauce that's spooned over thin pieces of chicken breast. The chicken is dredged in a simple flour coating before being pan-fried, to give it a lightly browned and crisp exterior. You'll want to slice or pound your chicken breasts thin, or you can purchase chicken breast filets or tenders to skip this step. Chicken piccata served with angel hair pasta and sautéed greens is perfect for a quick, but elegant dinner. 

Recipe: 20 Minute Chicken Piccata

A classic Italian-American dish, chicken francese combines chicken cutlets with a rich lemon sauce. You can find it on menus of fine dining restaurants, but it may surprise you to learn that you can easily make it for yourself! Chicken breast filets are coated in a simple flour mixture, then fried to give them a lightly crisp texture. Then in the same pan, you'll learn how to quickly bring together a silky sauce of lemon juice and zest, garlic and white wine. The entire recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes, and is delicious with pasta. 

Recipe: Surprisingly Easy Chicken Francese