The California girl in me starts to feel a little nervous at the onset of fall. I know it’s a little crazy, but I can’t help thinking #winteriscoming. The thing that makes me feel better without fail? Fall food.
More often than not, chicken is the star of my fall dinners, because it’s quick, easy, and so versatile, especially with fall produce. I love having a handful of easy chicken dinner recipes that I can turn to again and again to help take the guesswork out of meal planning. Here are my favorites: Six fantastic meals that will take you through fall…and yes, even winter.
Top: Cheesy Bruschetta Chicken Cutlets | Simply Recipes
Related: How to roast chicken perfectly.
When Stacie featured the Cheesy Bruschetta Chicken Cutlets at Simply Recipes (above) in a weekly meal plan, I knew it would quickly fill a spot on my family’s hit list. We’re talking major appetite appeal and with a cook time of just fifteen minutes. Pair it with some bread and veggies from the freezer for the ultimate quick weeknight meal.
The Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken at Diethood is the bomb. Seriously. It’s sweet and savory, easy and versatile — oh, and you saw that it cooks in a slow cooker, right? Serve with some brown rice that you have saved in the freezer and bask in weeknight dinner glory, without any of the hard work.
Photo by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Although not forthright in the name, the Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Arugula, and Garlic at The New York Times is a brilliant sheet pan dinner. It’s easy in the sense that it’s forgiving: chicken thighs and legs stay tender without much oversight, you can swap spinach for arugula, and you can spice the chicken with nearly whatever you have on hand, if not harissa. And take a minute to read some of the comments — there is a lot of great advice from other home cooks.
Also, I’ve made this dinner for eaters of nearly every age and many different occasions: It’s a true chicken one hit wonder.
Related: A week of easy dinners using store-bought rotisserie chicken.
Do your kids only eat chicken breasts? If so, be sure to check out my easy trick for making juicier, faster chicken breasts. And then pop over to Gimme Delicious to bookmark Layla’s 15 Minute Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken. It’s a lifesaver on your busiest nights.
I love the Asian Chicken Stir Fry Sheet Pan Meal at Foodie with Family because of its ease and serious flavor, but also because it takes advantage of veggies that I can easily keep stored in the fridge during the week. In other words, there’s no need for last minute shopping here. If you don’t have oyster sauce, you can use a little extra soy sauce or even hoisin sauce.
Related: Copycat kids meal recipes: Healthy chicken nuggets!!
My mom and I are still making the 5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili at Gimme Some Oven that I featured in my healthy chili roundup last year. A fresh tomatillo sauce really is a cinch to make, but I’m also obsessed with the preservative-free Trader Joe’s salsa verde when in a hurry. Whatever sauce you choose, keep this recipe in your back pocket at all times.
I have tried each and every recipe you have listed here and Honey Garlic Chicken is the best of them all. It would be very cool to see more recipes like that especially South-Asian. Deviled Chicken is also one of my favorites.
Glad you love these as much as we do! Happy to share more of these. So helpful right?!
Love these chicken recipe…perfect for summer cookout. i’m going to make it tomorrow!!