Easy Chicken Dinners: Six Ways to Cook Chicken That Aren't Boring

Six ways to cook chicken that stop it being boring

Chicken gets a bad reputation because most people cook it the same way every time and then complain it's dry. The fix isn't a fancier recipe, it's variety: a creamy skillet one night, a one-pan rice dish the next, a fast stir-fry when you're tired, a hands-off roast at the weekend. Same cheap, lean meat, six completely different dinners.

Five of these are genuine weeknight food, on the table in well under an hour, and the last is the Sunday roast you grow into. I've flagged the one mistake that dries chicken out in each, because that's almost always the difference between a good chicken dinner and a sad one. Pick by how much time and energy you have tonight.

Marry Me Chicken — the creamy skillet that went viral for a reason

Chicken breasts seared to a golden crust, then finished in a creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and Parmesan. It earned its silly name because it's the kind of thing that makes someone propose, and it went round the world because it's genuinely that good for the effort, which is not much.

The trap with chicken breast is overcooking, and the fix is to take it out of the pan once it's seared and let it finish gently in the sauce rather than frying it to leather. Pound the breasts to an even thickness first so they cook at the same rate, and pull them at the moment they're just done. The sauce reduces while they rest, and a few minutes off the heat keeps them juicy.

→ Marry Me Chicken recipe

One-Pot Chicken and Rice — everything cooks in the same pan

Chicken thighs seared until the skin is golden, then rice and broth go into the same pan and the whole thing finishes together, the rice soaking up every bit of the chicken's juices and fat. One pan, almost no washing up, and a dinner that tastes like far more work than it is.

Use thighs, not breast, because they stay juicy through the longer cook the rice needs, where breast would dry out. The one thing to get right is the liquid-to-rice ratio and then leaving it alone; lifting the lid to stir lets the steam out and gives you unevenly cooked rice. Let it rest off the heat for a few minutes at the end so the rice firms up and any extra moisture is absorbed.

→ One-Pot Chicken and Rice recipe

Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry — the 25-minute answer to a tired evening

Thin strips of chicken and broccoli cooked fast in a hot pan, then coated in a glossy sauce of soy, oyster sauce, ginger and garlic. It's the dinner for the night you almost ordered takeaway, because it's on the table faster than delivery and tastes fresher.

The whole thing lives on high heat and being prepped before you start. Have everything cut and the sauce mixed before the pan is hot, because once you're cooking there's no time to chop. Don't crowd the pan; too much chicken at once drops the temperature and steams the meat grey instead of searing it brown. Cook in batches if you need to, and the broccoli should stay bright and just tender, not grey and soft.

→ Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry recipe

Sheet-Pan Chicken and Vegetables — the dinner that cooks itself

Bone-in chicken thighs and a tray of mixed vegetables, everything roasted on one pan at high heat until the skin crisps and the vegetables caramelise. Once it's in the oven there's nothing to watch, which makes it the dinner for nights when you want to do anything but stand at the stove.

The trick is matching the cooking times. Dense vegetables like potatoes and carrots need a head start, while quick ones like peppers or courgette go in later, or you cut everything to sizes that finish together. Use bone-in, skin-on thighs because they stay juicy and render fat that flavours the vegetables underneath; boneless breast on a sheet pan dries out before the veg is done. Don't crowd the tray, or everything steams instead of roasting.

→ Sheet-Pan Chicken and Vegetables recipe

Chicken Adobo — the Philippines' national dish, and it's nearly hands-off

Chicken thighs braised in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay and black pepper until the meat is falling off the bone and the sauce is dark and intense. It's the national dish of the Philippines, it keeps and reheats beautifully, and the ingredient list is short enough that you probably have most of it already.

The balance of soy and vinegar is everything, and the one rule worth knowing is not to stir the vinegar in too early; let it simmer and mellow before you start moving things around, or it stays harsh and raw. Braise it low and slow until the thighs are tender, then reduce the sauce until it clings. Serve it over plain rice, which is exactly the blank canvas that salty, sour, garlicky sauce needs.

→ Chicken Adobo recipe

Roast Chicken — the one to grow into for a slow Sunday

A whole chicken with herb butter pushed under the skin, lemon and garlic in the cavity, roasted until the skin is crisp and the meat is juicy. It takes longer than the rest, which is why it's a weekend job, but it's the most rewarding thing you can do with a chicken and it feeds a table with leftovers for the week.

Two things make or break it. Get the skin dry before it goes in, ideally by leaving it uncovered in the fridge for a few hours, because dry skin crisps and wet skin steams. And rest the bird properly after roasting, a good fifteen minutes under loose foil, so the juices redistribute instead of running out the moment you carve. A chicken cut into straight off the heat loses everything that makes it worth roasting.

→ Roast Chicken recipe

The one rule under all of them

Chicken dries out when it's overcooked, and that's nearly the only way to ruin it. Breast wants to come off the heat the second it's done; thighs are far more forgiving and stay juicy through a long braise or roast, which is why most of these use them. A cheap instant-read thermometer takes the guessing out of it entirely and pays for itself the first time you don't serve dry chicken again.