18 Quick and Easy Chicken Breast Recipes

Chicken cutlets, chicken salad, chicken in a creamy sauce—so many options. These 18 chicken breast recipes go from fridge to table in about 30 minutes or less.

By
Katie Morford, MS, RD
Katie Morford, MS, RD
Katie is a culinary dietitian with a master's degree in clinical nutrition. She has 25 years of experience as a recipe developer, writer, and teacher.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
and
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated December 06, 2022
Have Dinner on the Table in a Flash with These Chicken Breast Recipes

Simply Recipes

Whether it's lacquered with a tangy glaze or roasted to golden perfection, I’m a chicken lover through and through. And clearly, I’m not alone when you consider that a Google search of “chicken dinner” turns up nearly a billion results. It’s what I often crave come dinnertime, particularly when I don’t have a lot of time on my hands.

Here you’ll find a collection of chicken recipes that emphasize ease. Indeed, most will take no more than 30-ish minutes to get from fridge to table because they all start with boneless breasts. Don't forget this useful tip when working with chicken breasts: Pound your chicken with a rolling pin or mallet. One end of the chicken breast is typically thicker than the other. This sometimes causes one piece of the chicken to cook quicker and come out drier than the other. You can even out the piece of chicken by laying it between two pieces of parchment and pounding the thicker end using a mallet or the side of a rolling pin.

Get ready for some irresistible chicken breast recipes that will be on the dinner table in no time at all.

Robin Shreeves joins Katie Morford, RD in compiling this list.

  • Chicken Piccata

    Chicken Piccata
    Elise Bauer

    Talk about winner, winner chicken dinner. This flavorful piccata recipe is not only quick to make but undeniably delicious. It’s a one-pan affair whereby the savory sauce of butter, lemon, and capers cooks in the same skillet as the chicken. Add any cooked grain on the side and steamed broccoli or green beans to round out the meal.

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  • Chicken Breast with a Mustard Cream Sauce

    Chicken Breasts with Mustard Cream Sauce
    Sally Vargas

    Transform chicken breast with a sauce—that’s all you need to take a dish from drab to fab. Here, chicken breasts are coated with a quick mustard cream sauce that will leave you going back for seconds. Serve with rice, pasta, or a simple arugula salad.

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  • Teriyaki Chicken Breasts

    Teriyaki Chicken Breasts
    Elise Bauer

    Boneless skinless chicken breasts are poached in a homemade teriyaki sauce with soy sauce, sake, ginger, mirin, and sugar. Sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds right before serving for a flavorful and quick dish. Complete this meal with Asian Coleslaw or soba noodles. That’s how you get dinner on the table in 30!

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  • Chicken Carbonara

    Chicken carbonara

    Alison Bickel / Simply Recipes

    You wouldn't think a dish this fancy looking could come together in a half hour, but it does. The pasta cooks while you brown bacon and chicken. A simple sauce of egg and pasta water turns out silky and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan and pepper finish it off.

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    Continue to 5 of 18 below.

  • Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts

    Lemon Pepper Chicken in a Pan Garnished with Shredded Parsley and Lemon Slices

    Simply Recipes / Marta Rivera Diaz

    Lots of flavor. Little effort. The perfect weeknight combination. Lemon pepper seasons the chicken and fresh lemon juice, butter, and garlic give the chicken a luscious flavorful sauce. Don't forget rice or mashed potatoes on the side to soak up the goodness of the sauce.

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  • Chicken With Creamy Mushroom Sage Sauce

    Chicken with Mushroom Sage Sauce
    Sally Vargas

    Lover of mushrooms? Then, this is the dinner for you! Chicken breasts are pan fried in olive oil and finished in a mushroom cream sauce loaded with cremini and shitake mushrooms. Enjoy with some egg noodles for a quick and easy dinner.

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  • Chicken, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes in Port Wine

    Chicken with Mushrooms and Port Wine
    Sally Vargas

    Looking for a midweek meal that will knock your family's socks off? Look no further than this chicken dish made with mushrooms, and tomatoes, finished in a port wine sauce.

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  • Classic Chicken Salad

    Chicken Salad with celery and bell pepper
    Elise Bauer

    This is a traditional chicken salad made with red onion and apple that works great for lunch or a light weekday supper. While the chicken poaches gently in salted water, you’ll have time to dice the other fixings and whisk together the dressing. Serve between two slices of your favorite loaf bread or alongside a generous salad with a flavorful vinaigrette. 

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    Continue to 9 of 18 below.

  • Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken

    cilantro lime chicken on a plate with avocado slices
    Elise Bauer

    After a 30 minute marinade (or an all day marinade if you throw it together before work), this chicken takes just about 5 minutes to grill. Serve with a side of refried black beans or cilantro lime rice.

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  • Cheesy Bruschetta Chicken Cutlets

    Cheesy Bruschetta Chicken Cutlets in a stainless steel skillet
    Coco Morante

    If you’re looking for a crowd pleaser that takes about 15 minutes to make, this is the ticket. Quick cooking chicken cutlets are made in a skillet and topped with a tomato and garlic combo. Mozzarella and Parmesan go on at the very end and melt over the edges of the tender chicken. Serve over any cooked pasta or with a sliced baguette (great for mopping up the pan juices). Make an arugula salad tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to serve on the side. 

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  • Creamy Chicken Florentine

    Creamy chicken Florentine in skillet.

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    Chicken, spinach, and mushrooms in one 30 minute dish? Yes, please. Garlic, wine, cream, and Parmesan cheese create a hard-to-resist sauce and make this a satisfying and rich, but quick, weeknight dinner.

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  • Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

    A plate with pickles, chips and shredded bbq chicken sandwich with pickle slaw and topped with bbq sauce. A second plate with two sandwiches and sarrano mayo are behind the plate.
    Nick Evans

    These chicken sandwiches are just what your tummy ordered! Shredded chicken breast and tangy barbecue sauce are piled high on a toasted bun with crunchy slaw for a dinner that is ready in…wait for it…30 minutes!

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    Continue to 13 of 18 below.

  • Classic Cobb Salad

    Cobb Salad
    Sally Vargas

    This is a good one to make when you have a few things prepped in advance, notably hard boiled eggs and leftover chicken. From there it’s a matter of frying up a pan of bacon and stirring together a creamy blue cheese dressing. Arranging all the Cobb Salad elements over leafy greens is an artful task that results in a terrific main dish supper.

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  • Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce

    Chicken Apples Honey Mustard
    Elise Bauer

    A perfect dish for fall, apples and flour-dredged chicken breasts brown in olive oil. Top them with an easy honey mustard sauce. Serve with rice or noodles on the side to sop up any extra sauce.

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  • Chicken Cutlets With Caper Sauce

    Chicken Cutlets with Caper Sauce on a bed of arugula
    Elise Bauer

    This dish is sort of like a chicken piccata but without the breading or lemon. It's still incredibly delicious with garlic, shallots, capers, and red pepper flakes adding flavor. A bed of arugula, fennel, and Parmesan kick up the flavor even more.

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  • Herbed Chicken Tenders With Tomato Sauce

    breaded chicken tenders and tomato sauce
    Elise Bauer

    Chicken tenders are part of the breast, and when they're disconnected from their larger part, they create thin strips that cook up quickly. Here, breaded tenders bake for 12 minutes, served with a dipping sauce made from tomato and Italian seasonings.

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    Continue to 17 of 18 below.

  • Chicken Schnitzel

    chicken schnitzel on plate with arugula and lemons

    Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

    Schnitzel is so simple. Bread chicken and fry until it's golden brown and crispy. It's so simple and works with an array of sides like German potato salad, buttered noodles, salad, or sautéed greens.

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  • Chicken with Creamy Cassis Sauce

    Chicken Cassis
    Elise Bauer

    Quick and easy chicken dinners can be exciting, and this recipe proves just that! Chicken breasts are lightly sautéed and served with a sauce made with white wine, cream, and creme de cassis, a liqueur made from blackcurrants.

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