The humble chicken breast is the go-to meal ingredient for most clean-eating, muscle-building, health-conscious types. And with good reason—it’s cheap, easy to cook, incredibly versatile, and packed with that all-important protein you need to be big and strong. The problem is that we tend to eat chicken so often it just becomes bland and boring after a while. So to prove you can teach an old bird new tricks, here are 7 creative chicken breast recipes that will breathe life into your regular meal plan:
1. Chicken with Tomato Herb Pan Sauce
A simple dish that’s really straightforward to prepare and doesn’t take long to cook. The chicken breasts are seasoned and fried in a combination of garlic and fresh herbs, then topped with a seared tomato and white wine pan sauce for a sweet, zingy meal that will have you licking the plate clean.
Full recipe: Annie’s Eats
2. Brown Sugar Spiced Baked Chicken
As the name suggests, this is a sweet recipe with just a slight kick. Drop the chicken breasts into a ziplock bag with brown sugar, paprika, oregano and garlic powder. Seal, shake, and refrigerate for 1-3 hours to let the chicken absorb the flavours, then bake for 20 minutes in the oven. Simple and delicious.
Full recipe: Rachel Schultz
3. Cilantro Thai Grilled Chicken
A great way to reinvent chicken is to experiment with marinades. This one tastes amazing and requires only four ingredients—garlic, cilantro, fish/soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil. Blend these in a food processor, pour over the chicken, leave for 15 minutes, then grill or broil. One of my favourite chicken breast recipes.
Full recipe: Artsy Foodie
4. Lemony Chicken Breast with Cucumber Feta Salad
There’s something about lemon and chicken—they just really click together. For this recipe, you’ll be marinating your chicken breasts with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and dill. Leave them for 20 minutes or so, cook in a pan over a medium heat, then serve with a fresh, zesty salad of tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese.
Full recipe: Inspired Taste
5. Pesto, Chicken, and White Bean Soup
Soup is often overlooked as an option for cooking chicken breasts, but it takes very little effort and can really help you mix things up. This one is just meat, vegetables, beans and pesto cooked in broth with a little seasoning. The Italian sausage in this recipe adds even more variety, as well as an additional protein boost.
Full recipe: Chowhound
6. Cheddar-Garlic Oven Fried Chicken Breast
Chicken, cheese and garlic is a mouth-watering combination that I can never get enough of, no matter how often I have it. This oven-baked recipe hits the nail on the head with its buttery-garlic dip and cheesy breadcrumb coating. It makes for some incredibly moist and tender chicken that can be served with just about any side-dish.
Full recipe: Food.com
7. Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
We’ve looked at various rubs, sauces and marinades, but let’s not forget you can stuff chicken breasts too. This recipe also gives you an alternative use for broccoli—another clean-eating food that can get boring real quick. Simply flatten out the chicken breasts with a mallet, stuff with cheese and broccoli, roll up and seal with a toothpick, then cook.
Simple!
Full recipe: Eat Yourself Skinny
Q: Got any favourite chicken breast recipes of your own? Share them with us in the comments below.
