70 Creative Chicken Recipes For Weeknights When You Don't Want To Think About Dinner

You know what they say—"Chicken: It's what's for dinner." It's true, chicken breasts, thighs (our favorite cut), or even a whole bird all have a spot on our kitchen table. Unfortunately, that can mean falling into a dinner rut much too easily for our liking. If you’re like us and just can’t bear to make your (or your family’s) old standbys for the umpteenth time, we’ve got you. Get inspired with our list of best chicken dinner recipes—you’ll be sure to find a new weeknight favorite.

We bet you’ve got a classic like chicken Parmesan in your rotation already, so let’s switch it up. We’ve included some fun spins on it here, like chicken Parm pasta (with everything bagel seasoning), our air fryer chicken Parm, and our chicken Parm soup. And Parmesan isn’t just for tomato sauce! We love it just as much in a garlicky, lemon cream sauce, like in our lemon asparagus chicken pasta, or paired with bread crumbs, like in our slow-cooker garlic-Parmesan chicken. And don’t even get us started on Alfredo sauce. We’ve included our favorite recipe for chicken Alfredo and a few new ones too. Our fave? Chicken tikka Alfredo. Somehow the Parmesan + curry works!

While pork and beef sometimes get all the love when it comes to south-of-the-border food, we love using leaner white meat for healthy Mexican-inspired weeknight meals. Chicken pairs SO well with cheese, avocado, and spices, in everything from flautas (pretty much taquitos + chimichangas, if you’re unfamiliar) to quesadillas. Grab a pack of tortillas (or make your own!), and you’ll have myriad different options for how to serve your chicken.

Want even more chicken inspiration? Try our stuffed or baked chicken recipes too.