It’s easy to go on autopilot when planning weeknight dinners, sticking with recipes you know are quick, easy, and taste good to the whole family. But sometimes that leads to a rut where you get irked at your kids for whining, “Spaghetti? Again?” (even though secretly you feel exactly the same way inside). My husband and I always have chicken breasts thawed and ready to go, and more often than not, they end up getting tossed in a skillet with some kind of seasoning or sauce and served with veggies… and we’re so bored with it. What we need — and maybe you do too — are some easy chicken breast recipes to work into your week that freshen up this refrigerator staple.
Weeknight Lemon Chicken Breasts
If you are still in skillet mode, do your thing — but do it a little better with Damn Delicious’ weeknight lemon chicken recipe. They take about 30 minutes start to finish, and you could serve them so many ways, though I love the idea of popping a salad and some crusty bread on the table for the ease of it.
Chicken Breasts Stuffed With Ricotta, Spinach, & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Laughing Spatula’s recipe is an immediate yes in my book, as anything involving cheese, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes always is. Prep takes 10 minutes and then cooking takes about 20, during which you can also boil some pasta for a side. Maybe this is how you finally get some spinach in your kids…
Orange Chicken
Faster and healthier than takeout, Averie Cooks’ orange chicken can be ready in 10 to 15 minutes and is so, so freaking good. You don’t need a ton of ingredients to make her version, but you could also add all the veggies you want and toss them in the same sauce.
Jerk Chicken Tacos
These jerk chicken tacos from Simply LaKita come together in under 30 minutes and would make for a delicious twist on your usual taco Tuesday fare. Don’t skip the quick mayo in this recipe — the right dressings really make this weeknight dinner sing.
Pineapple Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
All hail sheet pan recipes for keeping the dishes and overall effort of cooking to an absolute minimum. Laughing Spatula’s sheet pan pineapple chicken does exactly that, yielding perfectly cooked chicken, pineapple, and bell peppers in just 30 minutes. Pop it on top of some rice, top with green onion, and enjoy.
Easy Shredded Buffalo Chicken
If you want simple yet flavorful, you have to try this recipe from All The Healthy Things. You literally just stick the handful of ingredients in a pot, cook for 25 minutes, then shred with two forks and stir in the buffalo sauce. I love the idea of making a big batch of this and putting it in wraps for easy lunches throughout the week.
French Onion Chicken
You could serve me French onion roof shingles and I’d happily eat them — anything with the caramelized onion and cheese treatment is a winner. All The Healthy Things’ French onion chicken is a great way to add maximum flavor to an otherwise bland protein. It takes around 50 minutes all in, so it’s not the fastest recipe on the list, but if I’d had a rough week and my husband was occupying our kid, I’d comfort myself with this dish.
Simple BBQ Chicken Wraps
Speaking of wraps, if you’re more of a barbecue person than a buffalo fan, opt for Dude That Cookz’ recipe. The only part you have to cook is the chicken, which takes about 15 minutes, and you can quickly chop the other wrap fixings and heat the tortillas while your protein sears.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Burrito bowls, enchiladas, nachos — the options of what you could make with this recipe from Budget Bytes are truly endless. It takes 10 minutes of prep, requires five ingredients, and is so affordable — plus it yields enough for leftovers. Just… chef’s kiss.
Cajun Chicken Pasta
Chili’s copycat recipes? Sign me up, honestly. Damn Delicious’ spin on the chain’s Cajun chicken pasta takes 30 minutes to pull together, but looks every bit as flavorful and satisfying as the restaurant version. Now to perfect that skillet cookie of theirs…
Bruschetta Chicken
Another half-hour dinner recipe: Princess Pinky Girl’s bruschetta chicken, which would be delicious served over greens or pasta. Add as much balsamic as your heart desires (all of it, TBH) and serve while the cheese is still melty and hot.
Brb while I go buy all the onions and tomatoes and chicken breasts from the store…
