Ingredients Chicken Our 50 Best Chicken Recipes By Food & Wine Editors Updated on November 2, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: John Kernick From the legendary Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken with Bread Salad to Superkhana International's Butter Chicken Calzones, and from Nigella Lawson's Chicken in a Pot with Lemon Orzo to Pim Techamuanvivit's supremely savory golden Gaeng Rawaeng, these are some of Food & Wine's best chicken recipes — and yes, of course, we've got recipes for fried chicken, chicken schnitzel, chicken salad, chicken soup, and plenty more. Some are easy recipes for a satisfying weekday meal, and others are perfect for a dinner party, or a weekend project. Get clicking and find your new favorite chicken recipe today. 01 of 50 Roast Chicken with Bread Salad © Quentin Bacon This roast chicken, from the late chef Judy Rodgers at San Francisco's Zuni Café, is legendary. The reason it's so good is because she insisted on small free-range birds (which tend to be juicier than large, lean roasters), a 24-hour salting period to allow the seasoning to penetrate deeply, and a high roasting temperature for a supremely crispy skin. The accompanying bread salad is meant to be a bed on which to serve the roast chicken and sop up its delicious juices. Get the Recipe 02 of 50 Pan-Roasted Chicken with Grapes, Garlic, and Rosemary Photo by Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Dinner doesn't get simpler or more elegant than 2017 F&W Best New Chef Angie Mar's pan-roasted chicken. To make it, cut a whole chicken into eight pieces, then roast 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. Get the Recipe 03 of 50 Air-Fryer Fried Chicken with Hot Honey Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Who needs a deep fryer when you can get such delicious results from an air-fryer? Starts with a hot-sauce buttermilk soak, then coat the chicken with well-seasoned flour mixture. A dip in beaten eggs, then back into the flour mixture to ensure a crispy coating, and the air-fryer will take it from there without quarts of oil and all of the splatters that go along with it. Get the Recipe 04 of 50 Sheet Pan Baked Chicken, Feta, Tomatoes, and Kale with Pasta Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Tangy feta and juicy tomatoes roast together in the oven, creating a creamy sauce that clings to ruffly campanelle or corkscrew-shaped cavatappi pasta in this easy bake sheet pan dinner. The whole dish comes together in under an hour as the chicken, cheese, and aromatics bake in the oven, while the pasta and kale quickly cook on the stove. Serve hot, room temperature, or as a chilled pasta salad. Get the Recipe 05 of 50 Arroz de Galinha Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell As the child of Portuguese immigrants, 2011 F&W Best New Chef George Mendes grew up eating all sorts of rice dishes at home. "There was simple tomato rice served with fried fish and then rabbit rice on special occasions and holidays," he says. This cozy chicken and rice recipe draws on those memories. In it, shredded rotisserie chicken, olives, sautéed onions and bell pepper, and crispy rendered soppressata are topped with cooked saffron rice and baked until the rice gets crispy on top to make a comforting dinner. Get the Recipe 06 of 50 Super-Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwiches Eric Wolfinger Seasoning boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a classic, Southern fried chicken spice blend and dill pickle juice makes for the juiciest, crunchiest fried chicken sandwiches. Choose a dill pickle brine without much sugar, which can burn during cooking. Get the Recipe 07 of 50 Kung Pao Chicken Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell 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. Get the Recipe 08 of 50 Gaeng Rawaeng Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell At Nari in San Francisco, chef Pim Techamuanvivit's gaeng rawaeng, a whole Cornish game hen submerged in a deeply savory golden curry redolent with spices, is served with impossibly flaky roti for sopping. In this recipe, a small chicken — standing in here for the Cornish game hen in the original dish — gently cooks in a velvety sauce of coconut milk spiced with chiles and galangal. Get the Recipe 09 of 50 Panko-Coated Chicken Schnitzel © Quentin Bacon The French Laundry chef-owner Thomas Keller uses panko bread crumbs to give chicken a crunchy crust. "Pounding chicken breasts to a uniform thickness cuts down on cooking time," he advises. Get the Recipe 10 of 50 Chicken Mole Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell This mole by chef Ofelia Barajas at La Guerrera's Kitchen in Oakland is inspired by her grandmother Jovita Vargas' recipe from her restaurant in Guerrero, Mexico. It's rich, warm, and well balanced, with a variety of chiles adding layers of heat, fruitiness, sweetness, and smokiness. Get the Recipe 11 of 50 Whole Roast Chicken with 40 Brussels Sprouts Next time you roast a chicken, add brussels sprouts to the pan so they absorb the fantastic flavor of these caraway-infused chicken juices. Get the Recipe 12 of 50 Marghi Na Farcha (Parsi Fried Chicken) Photo by Joel Goldberg / Food Styling by Mallory Lance 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. Get the Recipe 13 of 50 Butter Chicken Calzones Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Missie Neville Crawford At their Chicago restaurant Superkhana International, Zeeshan Shah and Yoshi Yamada's flavor-packed Butter Chicken Calzone takes three days to make; thankfully, they've shared some shortcuts (like a great store-bought butter chicken spice blend and store-bought pizza dough) for this homemade version. Whole-milk yogurt and gently acidic tomatoes team up with warm spices to flavor and tenderize boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the rich calzone filling. Get the Recipe 14 of 50 Chicken Caesar Skewers F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple quickly marinates chicken in a Caesar-inspired marinade flavored with garlic and anchovies before skewering and broiling. He serves the chicken with lettuce leaves for wrapping. Get the Recipe 15 of 50 Chicken-Carrot Kade Paan Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Chef Samantha Fore's favorite Sri Lankan grab-and-go snack, maalu paan, a yeasty roll stuffed with spiced fish and potato, inspired this rendition, filled with curry-spiced chicken, leek, and carrot. Typically made with homemade dough, these get a speedy upgrade thanks to store-bought frozen rolls. Get the Recipe 16 of 50 Smoky Skillet-Grilled Chicken with Crispy Bread Antonis Achilleos This hybrid skillet-on-the-grill method lets you capture all the delicious juices that the bird gives off as it cooks, while still allowing the chicken to absorb plenty of barbecue flavor. Smoky charcoal, plus the rich, deep notes of smoked paprika and chipotle chile, add plenty of depth. Achiote paste delivers a seductive red color to the meat, and a bed of rosemary adds that irresistible flavor. A final brilliant touch is thick slices of grilled bread to serve alongside, ready to sop up all those beyond-wonderful juices. Get the Recipe 17 of 50 Balinese Grilled Chicken Photo by Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Marian Cooper Cairns / Prop Styling by Natasha Kolenko Grated fresh turmeric gives this grilled chicken a golden glow, while plenty of garlic, ginger, and puckery tamarind add bright flavor. Coconut charcoal burns exceptionally clean, letting the marinade shine. In Bali, Indonesia, Ibu Djelantik serves this chicken with her version of sambal matah, a bright, slaw-like condiment with chiles, shallots, and makrut lime or Key lime juice that offers a refreshing counterpoint to the chicken. Get the Recipe 18 of 50 Juicy Lemon-and-Herb Roast Chicken Greg DuPree When opening his eponymous Philadelphia restaurant in 2012, Greg Vernick tested about 60 brines to find the perfect one for his roast chicken, ultimately selecting a brine that delivers serious oomph through the use of seaweed and soy sauce, which enhance the savory qualities of this dish. Get the Recipe 19 of 50 Butter-Roasted Chicken with Soy-Garlic Glaze Recipe developer Kay Chun rubs a clove, anise, ginger, and garlic butter under chicken skin before roasting to create an incredibly juicy and delicious bird. Get the Recipe 20 of 50 Arroz con Pollo with Avocado-Green Pea Salsa Using a family recipe, chef Jose Enrique makes this chicken-and-rice recipe with what seems like too much stock, wine, and pilsner, but the result is especially moist. Use short-grain rice like Bomba, which absorbs liquid well. Get the Recipe 21 of 50 Classic Southern Fried Chicken Fried chicken aficionados know that the best bird is a symphony of savory, crackling skin giving way to meltingly juicy meat — and the real ones know that what gets you there is Crisco. Though some recipes are batter-based, that's just a matter of preference. In this, a dredge in flour and seasoned salt and pepper (shoutout to Lawry's) delivers a subtle zing, while the vegetable shortening delivers the perfect crisp without scorching. Get the Recipe 22 of 50 Big Bob Gibson's Chicken with White Barbecue Sauce © Marcus Nilsson At Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, chef Chris Lilly butterflies a whole chicken, smokes it, then dunks the bird into a vat of tangy white barbecue sauce. Home cooks can grill pieces of chicken until crispy and nicely charred, then serve them alongside Lilly's terrific Alabama white sauce. Get the Recipe 23 of 50 Honey-Chile Chicken Wings © Quentin Bacon Chef Tim Wood avoids the deep fryer and opts to broil or grill his chicken wings, which turns them super-crispy. A soy-and-honey glaze makes them sweet, sticky and salty. Get the Recipe 24 of 50 Pickle-Brined Chicken © Simon Watson "When you have leftover pickle juice, isn't it a waste not to use it to make chicken taste delicious?" asks Brooklyn chef Frank Falcinelli. He brines chicken breast in dill-pickle juice to flavor it and keep it moist in the oven, then serves it on top of incredibly tender leg meat he's shredded and mixed with sautéed chard. Get the Recipe 25 of 50 Sticky Grilled Drumsticks with Plum Sauce © Cedric Angeles Recipe developer Grace Parisi prepares a wonderfully sticky and nicely sweet glaze of fresh plums and red pepper jelly to brush over drumsticks while grilling. Hot red pepper jelly makes for a spicier glaze; sweet pepper jelly creates a milder one. Get the Recipe 26 of 50 Cardamom Chicken with Rice Pilaf © SUSAN SPUNGEN 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 warmly spiced. Get the Recipe 27 of 50 Hot-and-Crunchy Chicken Cones Austin's The Mighty Cone food trailer has become famous for its Hot-and-Crunchy Cones: fried chicken coated in an ingenious mix of cornflakes, slivered almonds and sesame seeds, then wrapped in a tortilla with a mango-jalapeño slaw and a spicy ancho "paint." To simplify the recipe, keep the crunch but omit the chile "paint," instead upping the amount of jalapeños in the slaw. Get the Recipe 28 of 50 Chicken Marsala © Abby Hocking Our variation on the Italian-American classic includes smoky, salty bacon to balance the sweetness of the wine. Get the Recipe 29 of 50 Chicken with Port and Figs © DANA GALLAGHER Dried figs are poached in port to make a luscious Portuguese-inspired sauce. Ruby port provides the best color, but tawny will also work well. Get the Recipe 30 of 50 Pan-Roasted Chicken with Corn Relish 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." Get the Recipe 31 of 50 Chicken Parmesan with Pepperoni © Quentin Bacon Chef Bryan Vietmeier merges two Italian-American favorites here in one blissful, zesty, cheesy, crispy, saucy dish. Get the Recipe 32 of 50 Chicken and Rice with Fresh Chorizo © Quentin Bacon "In the Amazon, cooks make a Portuguese-style chorizo that's very good," says chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino. He pairs it with plenty of zesty aromatics in his version of a South American classic. Get the Recipe 33 of 50 Curry Chicken–and–Sweet Potato Galette Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Alexander Hardy infuses flavor into each layer of this golden galette. The crust, seasoned with turmeric and garlic, surrounds a savory blend of green seasoning–spiked chicken thighs, roasted sweet potatoes, and sweet mixed bell peppers. Get the Recipe 34 of 50 Zesty Braised Chicken with Lemon and Capers A generous pour of Sauvignon Blanc adds balance and brightness to the lemon-and-caper-infused liquid. Get the Recipe 35 of 50 Chicken alla Diavola © Dana Gallagher Salvatore Denaro's pollo alla diavola ("devil's-style chicken") is intensely seasoned. Two days prior to cooking, Denaro infuses white wine vinegar with a big bunch of dried Sicilian oregano for a marinade. Then he seasons the marinated chicken with an herb mixture, or condimento, that includes Turkish bay laurel and myrtle leaves. Feel free to experiment with a variety of herbs for the condimento. Pollo alla diavola is traditionally grilled over wood embers, but the chicken may also be grilled over a charcoal or gas fire, or broiled in an oven. Get the Recipe 36 of 50 Garlic Fried Chicken © Con Poulos F&W's Justin Chapple seasons and bakes his chicken at low heat in the oven before battering and deep-frying it until it's perfectly crispy and extremely juicy. The benefit: Baking the chicken first means it can be fried quickly at high heat and develop the perfect crust. Get the Recipe 37 of 50 Braised Chicken all'Arrabbiata All'Arrabbiata means "in an angry style" in Italian. At Marzano in Oakland, California, chef Robert Holt braises his chicken with five kinds of peppers in a wood-fired oven. Get the Recipe 38 of 50 Chicken Dijon © Johnny Valiant Melissa Clark's favorite part of the chicken is the drumstick, because it's juicy and easy to brown. She likes using only drumsticks in this mustardy stew—thickened with tangy crème fraîche — so that all the meat cooks at the same rate. Get the Recipe 39 of 50 Chicken Marbella © Abby Hocking Based on the Silver Palate classic, our Chicken Marbella uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and a wonderful sweet-briny mix of capers, olives, dried apricots, and pitted prunes. Get the Recipe 40 of 50 Chicken Divan © Abby Hocking The cheddar cheese and crushed potato chip topping might just be our favorite part of this delicious chicken and broccoli casserole. Get the Recipe 41 of 50 Chicken Cordon Bleu © Abby Hocking Classic chicken cordon bleu is made with Swiss cheese and sliced ham, but we like to stuff our chicken breasts with grated Fontina and thinly sliced prosciutto. Get the Recipe 42 of 50 Yucatán-Spiced Chicken These roasted bone-in chicken breasts with a light, citrusy sauce, crisp-tender chayote, and poblano peppers are an homage to flavors chef Marcie Turney fell in love with in the Yucatán. Get the Recipe 43 of 50 Pollo al Pastor with Charred Tomato Salsa Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer and John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis In this flavor-packed chicken, Juan Pablo Loza, director of culinary operations at Rosewood Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, shares his obsession for the al pastor style of cooking. This dish takes its inspiration from a traditional way of roasting chicken in Michoacán, where butterflied whole chickens are marinated with citrus, and speared with thick wooden stakes hammered into the ground. Here, the cooking style is adapted to a horizontal grill basket set over two stacks of bricks on the grate, positioning the chicken up and away from the hot coals. Get the Recipe 44 of 50 Poul Nan Sos (Haitian Chicken in Sauce) Eva Kosmas Flores The meat is marinated overnight with onions, garlic, thyme, and chiles along with citrus, and then rubbed forcefully onto the chicken to access the fragrant oils. After the meat takes on all that flavor, it's stewed with the marinade and loads of bell peppers for a satisfying, thrilling stew. Get the Recipe 45 of 50 Chicken-Fried Chicken Livers © Con Poulos James Holmes, the chef at Lucy's Fried Chicken in Austin, soaks livers in buttermilk, hot sauce and soy sauce to temper the gaminess and make them extra-delicious. Get the Recipe 46 of 50 Chicken Parmesan Heros © Rick Poon Hero sandwiches at the sub shop are usually served on untoasted rolls, but we prefer to brush the bread with olive oil and run it under the broiler for a minute or two. If you like, put a slice of mozzarella on the top half of each before broiling. Get the Recipe 47 of 50 Leftover Blue Cheese Chicken Salad Sandwich © Con Poulos Jonathan Waxman's tasty chicken salad — made with the leftovers from a rotisserie bird — gets dressed with a mix of yogurt and Gorgonzola cheese. Get the Recipe 48 of 50 Classic Chicken with Dumplings © Scott Hocker The dumplings in this simply-flavored chicken with dumplings are made like biscuits. Baking them in the oven while the chicken cooks saves precious time. Get the Recipe 49 of 50 Colombian Chicken Soup (Ajiaco) © Maura McEvoy Chicken breast adds plenty of protein but not much fat to this version of ajiaco, a cilantro-scented chicken soup that's virtually Colombia's national dish. Stirring in fiber-rich brown rice turns the soup into a satisfying one-dish meal. Get the Recipe 50 of 50 Roast Chicken with Chile-Basil Vinaigrette, Charred Broccoli, and Potatoes Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Degaris Pursell Chef Hillary Sterling's epic chicken at Vic's in New York got its juiciness and deep flavor from brining, air drying, and marinating. The process is simple but does require some planning — start at least a day ahead. She served the bird on a mix of charred broccoli, onions, and fingerling potatoes, fiery from the chiles and fresh from the basil, with a bright kick of red wine vinegar. Six heads of garlic mellow and sweeten after roasting, adding a caramelized flavor to the dressing and the marinade. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit