Chicken Recipes

Light up the grill for this simplified version of the classic, flavorful Indian chicken dish, courtesy of Madhur Jaffrey.

Crushed juniper berries combine with garlic and herbs to perfume this smoky chicken that makes for a stunning centerpiece for a leisurely lunch with good company. For a shortcut, substitute quality rotisserie or smoked chickens; simply cover with foil and reheat in a 200°F oven before carving and serving. Either way, smothering the chicken and crushed potatoes with a classic shallot vinaigrette means every plate will be wiped clean.

To help build deep layers of flavor in these tacos, Fermín Núñez begins his marinade by toasting and charring aromatics: dried chiles, cinnamon, allspice, and onions all hit the heat before soaking with juicy chicken thighs for an hour, imparting smoky flavor before they cook quickly on the grill or in the oven (see Note). Pair them with fresh tomatillo salsa cruda for a next-level taco night.

A pinch of ground allspice adds interest to a not-too-sweet maple and mustard concoction inspired by chef Brendan Collins. The simple sauce does double duty as a dressing for salad and as a marinade for chicken thighs — just reserve a little bit of the sauce for adding effortless pizzazz to a quick salad, and use the rest of it as a marinade to give chicken thighs a lacquered shine and deep flavor. The recipe is for grilled chicken thighs — see the note at the end of the recipe for how to prepare them in the oven.

These juicy roast chickens are marinated in a tangy, garlic-laden, Puerto Rican-style marinade. "It's the vinegar that makes you want to keep eating," Bill Kim says. "That flavor lingers and haunts you."

Dried figs are poached in port to make a luscious Portuguese-inspired sauce to pair with roast chicken for a meal perfect for the first fall nights. Ruby port provides the best color, but tawny will also work well

For this delicious, mustardy chicken, Jacques Pépin splits the chicken and cuts between the leg and shoulder joints to halve the cooking time.

When F&W’s Kay Chun roasts chicken, she adds brussels sprouts to the roasting pan so they absorb the fantastic flavor of the caraway-infused chicken juices.

The garlicky butter in this recipe yields juicy meat and crispy skin, making this herb-roasted chicken dish a winner every time.

Wylie Dufresne is a genius at using avant-garde techniques to turn everyday ingredients into miraculous dishes. For instance, at his Manhattan restaurant WD-50, the revamped menu includes chicken confit with peas and carrots: The “peas” are actually carrots coated with freeze-dried pea powder. But when F&W challenged the Top Chef Masters contestant to create a fast recipe, he simply roasted the carrots to serve with chicken and tomato-infused tapioca porridge. It takes three chefs 12 hours to prepare the WD-50 dish, but less than an hour for a home cook to make this one.

Sprinkled with cardamom, roasted until crisp, and topped with an apple-flavored sauce, chicken legs become extraordinary. The chicken is perfectly matched by the raisin-studded rice pilaf that's also flavored with cardamom.

Andrew Zimmern’s Kitchen AdventuresFamily meal night across America just got easier, and so did entertaining on a budget. Don’t wait for August to make ratatouille; paired with roast chicken pieces, it’s a classic combination that even your kids will devour. If you care to, this dish works equally well with turkey quarters on the grill: Use the same marinade, but roast using indirect heat over wood coal for about 80 to 90 minutes for dark quarters, and 70 minutes for turkey breast.

Yes, three heads of garlic. You don't have to peel the cloves first. They soften during cooking and take on a subtle sweetness. Each person squeezes the garlic out of its skin onto the plate to eat with the chicken.

At his chicken-focused restaurant in Atlanta, Bantam + Biddy, Shaun Doty uses an Old Hickory rotisserie to cook his birds, which are coated with a lemony fennel-seed rub.

This chicken dish is elegant enough for entertaining and easy enough for a simple

This one-skillet recipe is based on a dish Cathal Armstrong's father, Gerry, made when Armstrong was growing up in Dublin, with a big difference. "We only got fresh corn for our birthdays. Otherwise it was frozen." More Great Chicken Recipes

Julia Child's chicken recipe is a lesson in simplicity and technique, yielding a flavorful, perfectly cooked bird you'll want to make again and again.

This aromatic roasted chicken is infused with Moroccan spices like cumin, coriander, and cinnamon, then roasted to golden perfection. Tender and flavorful, it’s often paired with olives, preserved lemon, or root vegetables for a rich, exotic meal.

"This recipe looks like a doozy, but it really delivers," says Andrea Reusing. "The chickens are just so reliably juicy, even when they're cooked longer than they should be." Smoking the birds quickly over anise-scented tea makes them wonderfully fragrant. If you prefer to cook one chicken instead of two, smoke it in a wok or a pot rather than a roasting pan.

This is a fantastic roast chicken, but the real star in the recipe is the olive bread, which gets spread in the roasting pan and toasted in the chicken pan juices. The bread turns custardy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

Marinated in tangy sour orange juice, garlic, and Yucatán spices, these chickens are roasted or grilled to juicy perfection. Bold, citrusy, and deeply flavorful, they capture the vibrant essence of traditional Yucatán cuisine.

This six-pound bird yields a lot of meat. But if you want even more, get a capon (a castrated rooster). They're quite huge: nine to 11 pounds. (You'll have to increase the amount of ingredients relative to the size of the bird, which will also take longer to cook.) Eugenia Bone gets capons from dartagnan.com.

Tender chicken is roasted with fresh ginger, garlic, and aromatic spices, creating a flavorful, fragrant dish with a hint of warmth and zest. Perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Rubbing butter on chicken skin (as well as under it) and letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours is a great way to make it extra-crispy, with moist breast meat. Here, Floyd Cardoz flavors the butter with cilantro, garlic, mint, chiles, cumin and lime juice.

Chicken quarters roasted with golden squash and sage are nice for a chilly autumn evening. To help the squash to brown evenly, be sure to spoon off the fat from the roasting pan after removing the breasts. This is a case where less is more: A thin layer of fat will brown the vegetable better than a quarter-inch of it.

This crisp and juicy roast chicken from star chef Jonathan Waxman of NYC’s Jams is perfect with his chunky seven-herb salsa verde.

"I'm crazy for chicken," Piero Incisa della Rocchetta says. "I regularly eat a whole one by myself." Inspired by beautifully browned Peking duck, he brushes chickens with a mixture of soy sauce and honey from the beehives in his Patagonia vineyards.

In this supersimple dish from Justin Chapple, chicken legs roast on top of torn pieces of bread that absorb the rich and tangy juices, becoming deliciously crisp and chewy.

Chefs Evan and Sarah Rich of RT Rotisserie in San Francisco make the very best chicken. They use a buttermilk brine that includes umami powder, garlic and Douglas fir—a signature ingredient from their flagship restaurant, Rich Table, that they forage themselves. In this adaptation, the chicken is roasted in the oven, and the brine is made with buttermilk, dried porcini, garlic and rosemary, though if you have access to Douglas fir sprigs, feel free to use them.

For this easy one-pan dish, Grace Parisi roasts chicken legs on a bed of potatoes and kale so the meaty juices keep the vegetables moist. Prep takes just 10 minutes and the resulting meal serves eight or makes for excellent leftovers. There's very little clean-up as everything bakes up together and can be served straight from the pan. It's super healthy from the kale and lemon, but also hearty because of the roasted potatoes.

“I’ve always been confident that simple, delicious food is good on its own terms. You just have to not mess it up.” — Judy Rodgers

Ashley Christensen, the chef at Poole's in North Carolina, kicks up her pimiento cheese with spicy poblanos and green hot sauce. In this brilliant riff, Justin Chapple spreads the creamy dip under the skin of a whole bird before it's roasted to get both crispy skin and juicy meat.

Succulent chicken is butter-roasted to golden perfection, then finished with a savory soy garlic glaze. The result is a rich, juicy dish with a perfect balance of umami, sweetness, and crisp, caramelized skin.

Juicy roast chicken is served with a vibrant cilantro mint chutney, bursting with fresh herbs, citrus, and a hint of spice. This dish balances rich, savory flavors with bright, zesty freshness for a bold, satisfying meal.

Chef Hillary Sterling's roast chicken is spicy, garlicky, and perfectly juicy — and excellent served over smoky, caramelized vegetables.

The secret to incredibly flavorful chicken cutlets is a quick marinade in feta brine in advance of grilling. Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple then whips the feta cheese with lemon juice and olive oil to use as a spread for the excellent sandwiches here.

Chicken thighs are perfect for the grill because they stay nice and moist. Skewering them with rosemary imparts a lovely herbal flavor.

To make the most of rotisserie chicken, Food & Wine's Justin Chapple tosses it with a buttery Buffalo sauce, then bakes it into a calzone with Monterey Jack cheese. To stay in keeping with traditional Buffalo wings, he serves the calzone with celery sticks and blue cheese.

Scarpariello is a classic Italian-American dish, but it’s easy to pull off at home with jarred pickled peppers and sweet Italian sausage. This one-pot meal requires no chopping at all (just dump and stir) and features ingredients that you can find just about anywhere (making it ideal for, say, that poorly equipped vacation rental). Raid the pickle aisle for jars of your favorite pickled peppers; they add a flavorful punch with zero effort. Serve the scarpariello with crusty bread to soak up the juices.

Chef Anita Lo designed this easy recipe for those nights when you're cooking for one.

Sweet sugar snap peas give this light summer salad from Ivan Conill’s Branch Line in Boston a satisfying crunch, while whole-milk ricotta adds heft with its mild, creamy richness. Shredded rotisserie chicken may be omitted for a vegetarian version, or you can substitute with flaked hot smoked salmon.

Wide pappardelle noodles are tossed with tender chicken and a vibrant pistachio mint pesto, creating a fresh, herbaceous dish with a subtle nutty crunch. A light yet satisfying pasta perfect for any season.

This chicken is cooked in nutty brown butter until it's juicy and tender, then gets a zesty splash of fresh lemon juice to brighten it up.

This paella recipe with chicken and chorizo is a satisfying array of colors, textures, and flavors, making it a one-pan meal you're sure to return to again and again.

A hearty and sustaining dish, asopao is a Puerto Rican stew filled with rice and plenty of vegetables and topped with spiced ground chicken. Starchy potato can stand in for the yucca.

Instead of using dried lemon pepper seasoning, season chicken and potatoes with fresh lemon juice and zest, chopped garlic cloves, and ground pepper, along with some chopped fresh dill and oregano. While the thighs roast, the fat adds extra flavor and crunch to the lemony potatoes. After the chicken is done, the potatoes roast in the drippings for a few extra minutes until they start to brown. Serve the finished dish with lemon wedges.

Tender vegetables simmer in a mixture of chicken drippings and butter in this simple, speedy dish.

Fresh ingredients team up with store-bought shortcuts to get this comforting dinner on the table in just over 30 minutes.

"In under an hour, heirloom tomatoes and slivers of red onion are transformed into a savory sauce that brings bright, summery flavor to this simple grilled chicken. Chicken cutlets quickly pick up the flavors of the tomatoes and onions; let them soak in the marinade after cooking for an extra kick."

A sticky glaze of soy sauce and brown sugar gets subtle heat from fresh jalapeños to give these crispy fried wings the perfect level of spice, sweetness, and salt.

Dinner doesn't get simpler or more elegant than this pan-roasted chicken. To make it, a whole chicken is cut into eight pieces, then roasted with grapes, garlic cloves, and sprigs of rosemary to yield crispy-skinned chicken in a schmaltzy pan sauce that begs for a crusty piece of bread.

Easy, elegant, and endlessly delicious, Chicken Diane is a one-skillet dish that's perfect for any night of the week.

At chef Ziqiang Lu's Birds of A Feather in Brooklyn, tingly heat from Szechuan peppercorns teams up with slightly sweet dark soy sauce and Shaoxing wine to build deep flavor into this quick stir-fry. Have all of the ingredients at the ready before heating the wok for best results. Lu recommends browning the dried chile peppers until well toasted. This helps tease out their aroma and leaves you with a warming mouthfeel that lingers.

Sauce Chasseur is classically thickened with a rich demi-glace, but this version uses cream which allows the flavors of the herbs, tomatoes, and acidic wine to come through.

Try your hand at this simple Everyday Spice Blend, then put it to good use on chicken thighs for dinner tonight.

Chef Meherwan Irani's Parsi-style fried chicken is first marinated with an aromatic mix of ginger, garlic, chiles, and spices then dredged in flour and dipped in fluffy beaten egg for a crispy, golden crust. Basting the chicken while it cooks helps to crisp the outside while keeping the inside juicy and evenly cooked. He serves this dish with a quick slaw of shredded cabbage and carrots, chopped cilantro, and healthy dashes of vinegar and lime juice.

Caramelized tomato paste, briny pimento-stuffed olives, and aromatics give this soupy rice dish the foundation to stand alone as a hearty main course.

Char-grilled marinated chicken thighs get their bold flavor from ají panca and gochujang and are served with a cooling black mint dipping sauce.

Seasoning boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a classic Southern fried chicken spice blend and dill pickle brine makes for the juiciest, crunchiest fried chicken sandwiches.