These 25 healthy chicken dinner ideas will help you answer the tired old question of “what’s for dinner?”
More often than not when someone in the family asks, “What’s for dinner?” the phrase, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner,” is the saucy reply. That’s because if I’m in a meal planning conundrum and need to think of something on the fly, chicken always saves the day. I’ve got several tried and true chicken recipes in my archives, from enchiladas to chicken caprese, because no matter the craving, there’s a chicken recipe for that. And it always hits the spot.
Below find a bevy of healthified, lighter chicken main meals that you can bet will beat the odds of the wonderment of what should be on the dinner table, every single time. Chicken. It’s what’s for dinner.
Sheet Pan Winners
You’ve gotta love a meal that’s made entirely on one pan — so perfect for easy cleanup.
Easy Tandoori Chicken and Vegetables
from FoodieCrush
This version of the classic Indian tandoori chicken dinner is baked on a sheet pan with Indian spiced vegetables for a complete meal any night of the week.
Sheet Pan Cashew Chicken
from The Recipe Critic
This easy sheet pan chicken dinner is perfect for a weeknight meal. It’s a healthier version of one of your favorite takeout dishes. Made with lean chicken, crisp-tender bell peppers and broccoli, crunchy cashews and a sweet (but not too sweet) and savory sauce, it’s a keeper.
Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken with Brussels Sprouts
from Two Peas and Their Pod
This Honey-Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken with Brussels Sprouts is a perfect anytime weeknight recipe that’s healthy and full of flavor.
Crispy Parmesan Baked Chicken Milanese and Vegetables
from Cafe Delites
This crispy, juicy parmesan baked chicken milanese is complete sheet pan dinner with potatoes and green beans in a delicious garlic butter sauce. The chicken is baked instead of deep fried, making it a lighter version of milanese, but rest assured, no flavor is sacrificed here!
Chili-Honey Chicken & Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro Yogurt
from The Modern Proper
Sweet and spicy, this chicken sheet pan dinner is a breeze to make. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs and sweet potatoes are tossed with ginger, chili powder, and some honey, then baked and dolloped with a tangy, fresh cilantro yogurt, to create a super flavorful meal you’ll love.
Asian
From Japanese to Thai, these vibrant chicken dinner favorites are not only healthy but full of flavor.
7 Spice Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls
from FoodieCrush
Homemade Japanese 7 Spice (Shichimi Togarashi) infuses homemade teriyaki sauce to boost the flavors of this healthy teriyaki chicken bowl, featuring chicken thighs, edamame, and sushi rice.
Thai Coconut Chicken and Rice
from FoodieCrush
This easy Thai Coconut Chicken and Rice dinner has just the right amount of spice from jalapeño and ginger to flavor this creamy coconut sauce for a simple all-in-on meal. Feel free to use light coconut milk to make this even healthier.
Slow Cooker Yellow Chicken Curry
from FoodieCrush
This healthy chicken curry is full of warm spices and made healthier with light coconut milk and plenty of colorful veggies. It’s also made extra easy in the slow cooker.
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Rice Bowls
from FoodieCrush
When weeknight dinner making seems like almost too much to add to your already full plate, prep the ingredients for these slow cooker teriyaki chicken and vegetable rice bowls over the weekend and then toss together for a healthy, quick, and easy answer to your weeknight dinner question.
Mexican
These Mexican and Tex-Mex inspired recipes are super colorful, bold, and flavorful, and made lighter thanks to a few easy tweaks.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
from FoodieCrush
This easy chicken tortilla soup features a warm broth filled with chunky bites of black beans, sweet corn, shredded chicken, and tomatoes and is topped with tortilla strips and a surprise crispy jalapeño topper.
Easy Shredded Chicken and Zucchini Tacos
from FoodieCrush
Easy shredded chicken tacos get a healthy veggie upgrade when diced zucchini is added in for a fast dinner or lunch any day of the week.
Chicken Fajita Foil Packet Dinners
from FoodieCrush
Quick and easy to prep, these chicken fajita foil packet dinners with a simple homemade fajita seasoning mix are cooked on the grill or in the oven and ready to eat in just about 30 minutes.
Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad
from FoodieCrush
Made with black beans, corn, avocado, and crunchy romaine lettuce and topped with an easy 5-ingredient homemade BBQ sauce, this hearty BBQ chicken salad is full of healthy, crunchy veggies and lean protein.
Italian
These classic Italian favorites are easily made lighter without sacrificing any flavor.
THE BEST Chicken Caprese
from FoodieCrush
With store-bought pesto, cherry tomatoes, leafy basil, and thick sliced fresh mozzarella, you can make this chicken caprese, skillet dinner in under 30 minutes. Serve with parmesan roasted cauliflower and sautéed spinach with garlic.
Healthy Chicken Picata
from Healthy Seasonal Recipes
This healthier version of the Italian classic is made with lemon, capers, (a smaller amount) of white wine, olive oil instead of butter, and parsley and is so delicious. Serve over whole wheat pasta or alongside your favorite veggies.
Baked Chicken Parmesan
from FoodieCrush
This easy, super delicious chicken Parmesan is baked instead of fried, but is just as crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. If you’re trying to cut down on carbs, serve it over a bed of zucchini noodles or roasted spaghetti squash.
Creamy Chicken Pesto Penne with Broccoli
from FoodieCrush
This creamy pasta combines the fresh bite of broccoli and red bell pepper with grilled chicken in a creamy almond milk and pesto sauce, and is equally good served hot or chilled.
Mediterranean
From chicken skewers to the most addictive Greek chicken salad, these Mediterranean dishes make eating lighter such a breeze.
Easy Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
from FoodieCrush
This easy and flavorful healthy chicken gyro recipe couldn’t be simpler. It starts with a simple 5-ingredient yogurt lemon marinated chicken that can be pan-fried, baked, or grilled, and is topped with a simple cucumber and dill tzatziki sauce.
Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Bowl with Broccoli and Tomato
from FoodieCrush
This healthy, Mediterranean-inspired chicken quinoa bowl is perfect for quick and easy meal-prep dinners. Plus, it’s flexible enough to mix and match ingredients for take-to-work lunches that never get boring.
Greek Salad with Chicken
from FoodieCrush
This delicious Greek salad topped with Greek marinaded chicken is the best for meal prepped lunches or light dinners. Top it with kalamata olives, feta cheese, crunchy cucumbers and my Mediterranean tomato salad with an easy Greek vinaigrette dressing.
Grilled
Fire up the grill and tuck into these healthy chicken dinners, which each feature plenty of stellar side dish ideas.
Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers
from FoodieCrush
Greek flavors inspire citrus infused chunks of chicken thanks to a tart marinade that keeps the chicken juicy with a lemony punch. Serve with a Greek salad and lemon rice, orzo, or crispy roasted potatoes.
Mediterranean Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Olive Tapenade
from FoodieCrush
A simple marinade with two kinds of balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs, and grainy mustard gives this grilled balsamic chicken topped with an easy olive and sun dried tomato tapenade a classic Mediterranean flavor zing. I love serving this alongside my outrageous herbaceous Mediterranean chickpea salad.
Chicken Satay with Lighter Almond Dipping Sauce
from FoodieCrush
These flavorful skewers of thinly sliced marinated chicken need just a few minutes on the grill to absorb that wonderful smoky, charcoal flavor, and are ready for dipping in this lightened-up, spicy coconut almond milk and almond butter dipping sauce. Serve with my Thai quinoa salad or Thai coconut noodle salad.
Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken
from FoodieCrush
This grilled cilantro lime chicken recipe delivers lots of flavor thanks to a quick marinade, and with just 7 ingredients and 3 steps, it’s easy enough to cook any night of the week. I love serving it with quinoa or rice and a yummy salad.
Grilled Greek Chicken Kebabs
from FoodieCrush
Boneless, skinless chicken breast marinated in the traditional Greek flavors of lemon, garlic and oregano then threaded on skewers with a few veggies makes these grilled chicken kebabs an easy and healthy weeknight dinner winner. Serve with my Mediterranean orzo salad.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Bowl with Broccoli and Tomato
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 6- ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon , juiced and zested
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup Easy Roasted Broccoli and Feta
- ½ cup Easy Roasted Tomatoes
For the Quinoa:
- 1 cup dried quinoa
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breast into 1-inch chunks and add to a gallon freezer bag. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano and salt and pepper then add to the bag, seal, and marinade for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the broccoli and tomatoes to the pan with more olive oil if needed, and warm through.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa. Rinse it in a fine mesh strainer under cold water first. Bring a sauce pan of water to a boil over high heat, then add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and the quinoa. Boil it like pasta, until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, fluff with a fork, and return the quinoa to the pot, cover with a kitchen towel, then a lid and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- To assemble the bowls, divide the quinoa between the bowls and top each with half of the chicken and vegetable mixture. Season with more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and drizzle with more olive oil if you'd like. Sprinkle with feta cheese crumbles and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
More Healthy Dinner Ideas to Check Out:
- 31 Healthy Comfort Food Recipes
- 50 Favorite Mediterranean Diet Recipes
- 40 Shrimp Recipes
- 30 Healthy Easy Chicken Recipes
- 50 BEST Salmon Recipes
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Thanks for the mention! Honored to be included on this list :)
Thanks for including my Thai Rubbed Chicken in this gorgeous round up! Always appreciated!!
Heidi, this list makes me hungry. Thank you so much for featuring my chicken broccoli casserole!
I’d love to try most of these! Where do I get the recipes???
Click the links under the photos.
Never knew where that saying came from! Love this. Thanks for including me!
Thanks so much for including my Greek Chicken Meatballs. I really appreciate it!
Your blog is fantastic. Every from your post is more exciting than the before ones. Thank you for sharing these tasty recipes with us.
The perfect roundup!! Thanks for including my chicken pot pie Heidi!!
Thanks for the chicken roundup Heidi! I’m always looking for a new chicken dish- healthy is good too!
This is pretty much the most beautiful roundup of recipes I have ever seen. Thanks for all the winner winner chicken dinner recipes (and the backstory!)
Great round-up Heidi! Always looking for new chicken ideas :)
I’ve never been so inspired by chicken! Hard to know where to start, but I’m thinking Paprika Chicken and Spinach with White Wine Butter Thyme Sauce! Thanks for the inspiration!
So much chicken! Great roundup and thanks for posting. I’m trying to develop and cook more healthy recipes for my blog, and my health in general. Lots of inspiration and all the photos are so beautiful!
Wow, who needs beef?
Thank you, I can’t wait to start on this list.
I love every one of these … the colors and flavors are so bright and bold — thanks for including me :)
You can never have too many chicken recipes for dinner. These all look amazing. I cannot pick which one I want to check out first.