“Chicken: It’s what’s for dinner” is never more true than in the summertime. The lean, white meat protein pairs perfectly with all our favorite summer veggies, like summer squash and tomatoes; takes to all our favorite warm-weather cooking techniques, like grilling and air frying; and makes for some of the best potluck dishes for picnics and BBQs. Check out our 50 summer chicken recipes for ideas—from mains to sides, they’re ALL winners.
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We wait all year for our favorite summer fruits and veggies, so we take advantage of them as often as we can when they’re in season. That means if we’re serving chicken, it’s getting paired with all our faves, like bell peppers, zucchini, and corn. Check out our elote (Mexican street corn) tacos, our chicken chowder zucchini boats, and our chicken, tomatoes, and corn foil packs for ideas. One of our favorite tricks? If you’ve got a favorite winter or fall chicken recipes, summer-fy it by adding some grilled veggies or juicy summer fruit—you never know, you might discover a new favorite!
Grilled chicken breasts can be the epitome of boring—too often they're dried out or rubbery. But when soaked in a super-quick marinade with balsamic, brown sugar, and dried thyme, you're guaranteed deliciousness.
You don't really need a recipe to make this insanely popular Mexican dish. Top a tortilla with cheese (and whatever else you've got), then fold it in half and cook until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melty. But if you're looking for some guidance, especially in cooking up some quick and easy chicken to stuff inside, this recipe won't let you down.
This chicken fajita marinade is made with oil, garlic, lime zest and juice, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and salt. It transforms plain chicken breasts into juicy, flavorful strips that are perfect for folding into flour tortillas for taco nights all summer long.
Craving fried chicken, but can't bear the idea of heating up hot oil during the summer? Your air fryer to the rescue! It'll work some kind of magic on the chicken, and crisp it up into perfectly crunchy chicken just as if it had been deep-fried.
We like our chicken tacos topped with red onion (pickled onions would be great too), avocado, cilantro, and cheese. Pico de gallo, salsa, sour cream, or some crushed corn chips would also be delicious. Anything goes!
There's definitely more than one way to make a chicken salad sandwich, but this is our favorite—green apple, red onion, and celery add crunch, while mustard, mayo, and red wine vinegar add creaminess with the perfect amount of tang.
This spin on the classic cobb salad has smoky, sweet, and sticky BBQ chicken, homemade blue corn tortilla strips (Snoop's brilliant addition; they give every bite some salty crunch and help tie the whole salad together), and most important, the world's curliest and crispiest bacon, cooked Snoop's way.
This buffalo chicken salad has it all. It's the best way to eat your buffalo chicken wings, covered in a homemade ranch dressing, with all of our favorite sides. Bonus, no saucy orange fingers!
Traditional chicken salad is great—but stir in some curry powder, toasted cashews, and cilantro and you have one of the most satisfying summer sides EVER.
Grilled chicken salad—filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado—is the kind of healthy summer dinner recipe we tend to make again and again. Change it up with your fave summer veggies, and we bet you'll come back to this all season long too.
Why not skip the burgers at your next barbecue and try this super-easy recipe instead? You won’t want to sleep on the sauce, which is a classic BBQ jazzed up with honey and lime. It's so flavorful, the chicken really doesn't need a marinade—which means you get to eat it way sooner.
Pulled chicken is made so easy in the slow-cooker and this version includes brown sugar, a little Italian dressing, and bourbon for a bit of smokiness. You can definitely leave it out, but we think it's the best part. 😉 Dress these up with homemade coleslaw for the greatest dinner with zero effort.
This chicken is coated in the type of delectable, outrageous sauce that will have you practically licking your fingers. Make this once and we guarantee it will become your summer must have. Think serving these delicious morsels on their own isn't enough? Try our sweet BBQ lime chicken tacos or cheesy BBQ lime dip too.
“Decadent” doesn’t usually come to mind when you think of salad, but this one definitely is. With a rich, tangy dressing, tender, roasted chicken thighs, crunchy croutons, and a snowfall of freshly grated Parm, this chicken Caesar salad is more voluptuous than virtuous, just the way we like it.
We love this salad served on top of greens as much as we love it between two slices of sourdough bread. If you can't find a good ripe mango, pineapple would be delicious as well!
We love relying on rotisserie chicken—our favorite supermarket shortcut—for quick and easy meals. This healthy lunch couldn't be more simple to make. Toss shredded chicken with a good amount of parsley (this is inspired by our favorite condiment, chimichurri sauce, after all), garlic, olive oil, and vinegar and serve with toasted bread.
Though we love pineapple fried rice and these Hawaiian chicken skewers, this pineapple chicken stir fry may just take the crown. It has the tangy bite from the pineapple, a solid crunch from cashews, and a little kick of heat from jalapeño. What's not to love?!
The pineapple in this recipe doesn't just serve as a pretty serving vessel. It adds a fresh and vibrant sweetness to this teriyaki sauce as well. Use the juice that pools at the bottom of your pineapple when scooping out the chunks.
Everything you need for dinner is inside these easy foil packs, including super tender chicken, pineapple and veggies, plus a tangy BBQ sauce. Simply bring the edges of the foil together in the middle and crimp so that no steam can escape (the key to ultra juicy chicken). Once the chicken is cooked through, just serve straight from the packet or slide each serving onto a plate.
Our BBQ chicken pizza recipe uses tangy Gouda, creamy mozzarella, and a hefty dose of red onions and cilantro for freshness. We happen to think it gives good ol' California Pizza Kitchen a run for their money.
This super savory pasta salad is a hit at barbecues and potlucks, and hearty enough to qualify as a meal. Swapping in a tangy mustard vinaigrette for the usual mayo-based dressing lightens things up a bit, and a healthy serving of seared chicken and crispy bacon make it satisfying enough to be a meal all on its own.
Many cookouts are plagued by folks using breasts and not knowing how to grill them. Chicken thighs like we've used here, however, are a lot more forgiving due to their natural tenderness and flavor. They taste even better when slid on skewers alongside bok choy and scallions, then glazed with a hoisin barbecue sauce.
A taquito is essentially a rolled taco with many of the topping like guacamole and sour cream on the outside. They are traditionally shallow fried to get that beautifully crisp exterior, but our version is baked with an option to make them in the air fryer. However you make them, just be sure to load them up on our favorite part of the recipe, which is the homemade avocado cream.
Tortas are Mexican sandwiches made with extra soft roll that are stuffed with meat and a variety of toppings. This torta recipe follows the "torta de milanese" tradition, featuring a breaded chicken cutlet that adds nice crunch to each bite.
Tostadas have all the delicious crunch of a tortilla chip but act as a vehicle for whatever delicious toppings you like. Here, that means creamy refried beans and a chile-spiked shredded chicken topping. To make this recipe go more quickly, you'll use rotisserie roast chicken, canned refried beans, and store-bought tostadas, though you're welcome to homemake everything too.
Cooking chicken under a brick (or a heavy pan) is one of our most simple and reliable ways to get tender, perfectly cooked chicken and that crispy skin we all crave. We paired this chicken with a delicious spicy, herby pan sauce made with jalapeño, lime and cilantro but you can serve this as is, with a couple squeezes of lemon, or even BBQ sauce.
This bruschetta-inspired chicken is incredible when tomatoes are at their peak mid-summer. We like to use use any big tomato that looks juicy at the farmers market—a colorful mix is always fun!
Using cooked rotisserie chicken, frozen corn, and sweet cherry tomatoes, you can have a summer chowder in under an hour, served in a crispy-tender zucchini boat. While bacon isn’t totally crucial in this dish, rendering it provides a salty, flavorful fat you can use to make this stuffed zucchini extra delicious.
Chicken burgers are generally easy to throw together making them the perfect any-night dinner. These are extra special thanks to chipotle peppers that give them a little extra kick and lots of flavor. Some of the adobo sauce from the canned chipotles is used to make a sauce for the burgers so that the smokiness really shines through. Yum!
What’s better than a tray of cheesy chicken nachos? Four cheese chicken nachos! Don’t worry, though, a couple cans of chopped green chiles cut the richness of all that cheese (not that we’re complaining). We’ll leave the toppings up to you, but we suggest The Works, aka red onion, radishes, avocado, jalapeño, cilantro, and hot sauce.
