10 Tasty Chicken Recipes to Upgrade Your Midweek Dinners

Nothing says midweek dinner quite like chicken. It’s relatively affordable, incredibly versatile and, used in the right dish, can go a surprisingly long way. It’s also lean, packed with protein and works with just about every flavour you can throw at it — what’s not to like?

Chicken is one of those things that almost always makes it into my weekly shop, but I’ve definitely become more conscious of how I use it. Rather than automatically serving a whole chicken breast per person, I’ll slice it through pasta, add it to a traybake or bulk it out with rice, potatoes and plenty of vegetables. You still get a proper, satisfying dinner, but the chicken goes much further.

So, following on from my recent mission to make our weekly food shop work a little harder, here are 10 of my favourite chicken dishes that always go down a treat in our house. They’re easy enough for a weeknight, reasonably healthy and, importantly, don’t require a shopping list as long as your arm.

And because life is about balance, I’ve added a decidedly less virtuous bonus at the end: my homemade fried chicken using a seasoning mix I buy and absolutely swear by.

1. Preserved Lemon & Garlic Chicken Traybake

Chicken thighs roasted with baby potatoes, red onion, garlic, preserved lemon and plenty of herbs.

Quick recipe: Toss 6 boneless chicken thighs with 600g baby potatoes, a sliced red onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 chopped preserved lemon, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Roast at 200°C for 35–40 minutes until golden. Finish with fresh parsley.

Why it works: Everything cooks in one tray and inexpensive chicken thighs stay beautifully juicy.

2. Creamy Garlic Chicken & Spinach Pasta

A lighter creamy pasta that uses sliced chicken rather than making it the entire meal.

Quick recipe: Brown 2 sliced chicken breasts with garlic and black pepper. Add 150ml chicken stock and 100ml single cream, simmer briefly, then stir in spinach and 300g cooked pasta. Finish with Parmesan and plenty of black pepper.

Make it go further: Two chicken breasts will comfortably feed four when sliced through the pasta.

3. Honey, Soy & Ginger Chicken Rice Bowls

Sticky chicken, fluffy rice and crunchy vegetables make a really easy alternative to a takeaway.

Quick recipe: Slice 500g chicken and fry until golden. Add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, grated ginger, garlic and a splash of water. Bubble until sticky and serve over rice with cucumber, shredded carrot and spring onions.

Keep it healthy: Load up the vegetables and use brown rice if you prefer.

4. Chicken, Tomato & Mozzarella Bake

Essentially all the flavours of chicken parmigiana without breading and frying the chicken first.

Quick recipe: Brown 4 chicken breasts and place in a baking dish. Pour over a simple tomato sauce made with chopped tomatoes, garlic and oregano. Top with sliced mozzarella and bake at 190°C for 20–25 minutes. Scatter with basil before serving.

Serve with: A big green salad, roasted vegetables or a little pasta.

5. Paprika Chicken & Vegetable Rice

A proper one-pan dinner and a great way to stretch a relatively small amount of chicken.

Quick recipe: Brown 400g diced chicken with 1 tbsp smoked paprika. Add an onion, 2 sliced peppers and garlic. Stir in 250g rice, 400g chopped tomatoes and 500ml chicken stock. Cover and simmer for around 20 minutes until the rice is tender.

Make it go further: Add frozen peas for the final five minutes.

6. Greek Chicken, Feta & Lemon Traybake

Fresh, colourful and particularly good when you want something lighter that still feels substantial.

Quick recipe: Roast chicken thighs with baby potatoes, courgette, red onion, cherry tomatoes, lemon, garlic and oregano at 200°C for around 40 minutes. Crumble feta over the top for the final five minutes and finish with fresh herbs.

Serve with: A simple green salad or tzatziki.

7. Chicken & Mushroom Potato-Topped Pie

All the comfort of a chicken pie without needing pastry.

Quick recipe: Fry 400g diced chicken with a sliced leek and 250g mushrooms. Add 200ml chicken stock and 100ml crème fraîche and simmer until thickened. Transfer to a baking dish, cover with mashed potato and bake at 200°C for 25 minutes until golden.

Use it up: This is particularly good with leftover roast chicken.

8. Spicy Chicken Arrabbiata

We may as well give chicken the arrabbiata treatment too — chilli, garlic and tomato are hard to beat on a miserable midweek evening.

Quick recipe: Brown 400g sliced chicken, then add garlic and chilli flakes. Pour in 400g chopped tomatoes with a spoonful of tomato purée and simmer for 15 minutes. Toss through penne and finish with Parmesan and parsley.

Turn up the heat: Add fresh red chilli if chilli flakes aren’t enough.

9. Garlic, Lemon & Herb Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

Simple ingredients, but exactly the sort of dinner I actually want to eat during the week.

Quick recipe: Flatten 4 small chicken breasts slightly and season with garlic, lemon zest, oregano, salt and pepper. Pan-fry until golden and cooked through. Serve with crushed baby potatoes roasted until crisp and a generous green salad.

Keep it lighter: Skip a creamy sauce and spoon the lemony pan juices over the chicken instead.

10. Chicken Fajita Bowls

All the best bits of fajitas piled into a bowl — and an excellent fridge-clearer.

Quick recipe: Fry strips of chicken with sliced peppers and onions, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic and a little chilli. Serve over rice with shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa and a spoonful of Greek yoghurt.

Make it your own: Put everything on the table and let everyone build their own.

Bonus: My Favourite Fried Chicken

And now for the one that absolutely cannot be filed under healthy.

I love fried chicken, and while I could pretend that I lovingly measure out 14 different herbs and spices every time I make it, I don’t. I buy a fried chicken seasoning mix that I love, and it does the job brilliantly.

Coat chicken pieces in the seasoning mixture according to the packet instructions, making sure they’re really well covered, then fry until deeply golden, crisp and completely cooked through.

Serve it with homemade slaw, corn on the cob and wedges — or go all in with chips and gravy.

Is it as virtuous as the other ten? Absolutely not. But if we’re going to eat sensibly most of the week, I think we’re allowed one fried chicken night.

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Joanne Brook-Smith is a lifestyle writer with a passion for food, travel and hospitality. She spends much of her time exploring restaurants across Yorkshire and beyond, sharing honest reviews and celebrating the people who make dining out such a memorable experience.