45 Healthy Chicken Breast Recipes That Are Anything But Boring
Definitely no bird food on this list.
Sometimes eating a healthier diet can be synonymous with suffering through boring meals, but no more! Gone are the days of plain steamed veggies, unexciting salad greens, and unseasoned chicken breasts. Instead, we’ve rounded up a variety of our favorite healthy recipes that are so flavorful, the fact that they’re healthier than most is just the cherry on top. These healthy (yet still super-satisfying) chicken breast recipes even have us rethinking our allegiance to chicken thighs (😱). Try them, and see for yourself just how good “healthy” can be.
When it comes to healthy eating, we think it's key to keep boredom at bay. Chicken breasts can often get a bad rap, but they're also the perfect blank canvas for endless flavor combos that would never come across as bland "health food." The trick is to fill your plate with lots of colors and flavors, just like they do at some of your favorite fast-casual salad or bowl restaurants like Panera or Sweetgreen. Our copycat Sweetgreen harvest bowl, our copycat Chipotle burrito bowl, our copycat Panera Bread strawberry poppyseed salad, or our copycat CPK Italian chopped salad are veritable rainbows of veggies, greens, and fruits. Best part about making them at home? You can customize them however you like—we like adding beans, nuts, and hard-boiled eggs for even more protein, but you do you!
Looking for something heartier than a salad? We’ve got you covered too. Our white chicken chili, our chicken primavera spaghetti squash boats, our cheesy salsa chicken & cauliflower rice skillet, and our healthy chicken noodle soup make smart swaps, without any loss of flavor. Make a big batch—the whole family will want to get in on these.
And don’t forget about your air fryer! Our air fryer orange chicken, our air fryer spinach & artichoke stuffed chicken, and our air fryer chicken Parmesan are proof you can have crispy, saucy, flavor-packed chicken, even without deep frying.
Want even more inspiration? Check out our favorite healthy breakfast recipes and our top healthy lunches too.
Chicken Fajitas
When a sizzling plate of fajitas goes by you, it’s impossible to ignore. The signature smell, the trail of steam—this classic Tex-Mex dish is a showstopper. As iconic as they are when ordered out, fajitas are ridiculously easy to make at home, just how you like them.
Get the Chicken Fajitas recipe.
Chicken Caesar Wraps
A chicken Caesar salad is a timeless classic, only made better (and more portable!) in a wrap. Our best tips for greatness: Make your own croutons, but use store-bought Caesar dressing.
Get the Chicken Caesar Wraps recipe.
Copycat Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl
Attention, Sweetgreen lovers! Your regular weekday lunch is about to get an instant upgrade. Loaded with roast chicken, sweet potato, and that signature balsamic vinaigrette, our copycat version of Sweetgreen’s beloved harvest bowl will make your favorite takeout lunch an everyday reality.
Air Fryer Orange Chicken
This air-fried version is just as delicious and savory-sweet as the original orange chicken without the added effort or calories. Typically deep- or pan-fried in oil, this orange chicken recipe saves a ton of calories, fat, AND effort. Serve it over rice, whole grains, or some air-fried veggies.
Get the Air Fryer Orange Chicken recipe.
White Chicken Chili
Adding white beans makes this heartier than your average chicken noodle soup, and the addition of green chiles, jalapeño, and sour cream add the perfect amount of heat and creaminess to switch up classic chili. Plus, everything comes together in less than an hour!
Get the White Chicken Chili recipe.
BBQ Chicken Salad
Juicy grilled BBQ chicken sits alongside festive South-of-the-border-inspired toppings like black beans, corn, cheese, and tortilla strips. Put that on top of crunchy romaine and drizzle it with BBQ sauce and ranch dressing, and you’ve got yourself a hearty meal you’ll look forward to eating again and again.
Get the BBQ Chicken Salad recipe.
Air Fryer Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Chicken Breast
Spinach & artichoke dip is one of our all-time faves. We love it so much, we stuffed it inside boneless, skinless chicken breasts then cooked them in our air fryer for just 20 minutes for wildly-tasty results.
Get the Air Fryer Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe.
Chicken Primavera Spaghetti Squash Boats
Spaghetti squash turns our favorite angel hair pasta primavera into a gluten-free, low-carb dinner. It's the perfect healthy dinner to keep things fresh—swap in your favorite seasonal veggies, and you can make it year-round.
Creamy Gochujang White Chicken Chili
This creamy, red-tinted spin on white chicken chili incorporates gochujang for a unique spin on a classic winter dinner. Gochujang, an umami-packed Korean red chili paste that is both sweet and savory, gives lots of flavor without a ton of heat (great for family dinners!).
Cashew Chicken With Cauliflower Rice
This absurdly easy cashew chicken only takes 30 minutes from start to finish (yep!), and the delicious sauce has only five ingredients. You literally can't beat that for a low-carb dish!
Get the Cashew Chicken With Cauliflower Rice recipe.
One-Pan Chicken & Quinoa
Here’s a quick and easy dinner that’s high in protein and takes very little effort. We love the Tex-Mex spices here; the chili powder and cayenne add a nice kick that the avocado and sour cream perfectly offset.
Get the One-Pan Chicken & Quinoa recipe.
Copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowl
While we’re all about switching things up, when we want a tried-and-true perfect meal, we always go back to the Chipotle chicken burrito bowl. It’s classic, reliable, and, best of all, completely customizable. No corn salsa? Extra guac? At home, you can have it all!
Get the Copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowl recipe.
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Hasselback your chicken by cutting shallow slits into the chicken breasts (don't cut all the way through!) and stuff each slit with bacon and a creamy spinach and artichoke filling.
Greek Stuffed Peppers
Filled with zucchini, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and sharp crumbled feta, these tender stuffed peppers have all the flavors you love from a Greek salad, plus a hearty addition from herby chicken breast and couscous.
Get the Greek Stuffed Peppers recipe.
Chicken-Avocado Caprese Salad
To make this salad, we stuck with the simplicity of a Caprese, just adding grilled balsamic chicken, creamy avocado, and a little romaine for crunch. The result is a simple salad that is still refreshing and light, but also satisfying enough to be dinner all summer long.
Get the Chicken-Avocado Caprese Salad recipe.
Buffalo Chicken Wrap
This Buffalo chicken wrap is just as easy to customize as it is to make. Feel free to adjust the spices to add more or less heat, swap out the slaw for lettuce, the blue cheese sauce with ranch dressing, or use Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise.
Get the Buffalo Chicken Wrap recipe.
Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
The fact that crispy golden chicken can be achieved without the use of any oil whatsoever is amazing. This air fryer chicken Parm tastes every bit as good as the traditional version, but requires much less effort to whip up.
Get the Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan recipe.
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Extra crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside, these tacos are so much fun to make and eat. Putting cheese directly in your skillet might sound wrong, but it works! Once off heat, the cheese hardens and crisps up, giving the texture of a crunchy taco shell, sans carbs.
Get the Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos recipe.
Cheesy Salsa Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Skillet
Pull out some frozen chicken, riced cauliflower, a bottle of salsa verde, plus a block of cheese, and you’re ready to make a low-key low-carb dinner. Bonus: You can whip this up in just 25 minutes—seriously!
Get the Cheesy Salsa Chicken And Cauliflower Rice Skillet recipe.
Buffalo Chicken Salad
This salad the best way to eat buffalo chicken wings, covered in a homemade ranch dressing, with all of your favorite sides. Bonus, no saucy orange fingers!
Get the Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe.
