Turkey’s gone, time to embrace chicken now! Why chicken? Boring as it may be, it’s still the old faithful at this time of year: lean, high in protein and easy to cook.
Those pounds that had crept up over the Christmas period? That gym membership that was determinedly renewed on the 2nd of January? The resolution to be healthy, moderate and balanced eating home cooked food from scratch? Chicken is usually the answer to each of those questions. And it really needn’t be boring, which is demonstrated by my 10 favourite, skinny chicken recipes below.
The top choice: a salad made with poached chicken, with plenty of vegetables as a base, plus a protein boost of peanut butter sauce, which is incidentally beyond delicious. And it’s suitable for meal prep by keeping these three elements (chicken, crudites and sauce) separate in the fridge.
Nutritious, delicious and easy: marinate the vegetables and chicken chunks in spicy Asian flavours before tray baking everything. Plus, you can vary the vegetables according to preference.
My favourite chicken recipe, without question. It’s ready in minutes, it’s versatile and satisfying. It tastes rich thanks to the creamy sauce, but if you serve it without any fillers, it’s the ultimate skinny dinner.
Creamy chicken with leeks and mushrooms
RECIPE
Roast chicken breast, sliced and sprinkled with fresh tarragon + melon balls or chunks + feta cheese + crunchy seeds and filo crumbs = an excellent salad. It has all the flavours required in a good salad, with sweet melon and salty feta. You can use ready-roasted chicken from rotisserie, or Sunday roast leftovers, or peek below for juicy roast chicken breast recipe.
Chicken, feta and melon salad
RECIPE
Roasted chicken breast with tarragon and garlic, and it’s not a sad, dry affair it often tends to be. So what’s the secret to delicious and succulent oven baked skinless chicken breast? Hint: no fancy marinades or equipment needed!
Juicy roasted chicken breast
RECIPE
It’s a classic for a reason, chicken Caesar salad with bacon and anchovy-Parmesan dressing. You can use leftover roast chicken or the recipe above to roast a fillet from scratch. And the croutons from this recipe are impossibly delicious.
If you prefer chicken thighs to breast, you might want to check out this recipe: my variation of the ‘chicken under the brick’ or ‘smothered chicken’ as it’s variously known. It’s boneless chicken thighs cooked in the frying pan, weighted with another skillet to ensure maximum crispiness and thorough cooking.
Chicken under the skillet
RECIPE
You don’t have to suffer from a cold to enjoy comforting chicken soup, especially lovely in a colder season. The best chicken soup is made from whole chicken carcass, with my Grandma’s unique ingredient. Also, butchers tend to give away chicken carcasses for free!
Chicken soup with noodles
RECIPE
It would be amiss not to include the Italian classic: chicken Fiorentina, or petto di pollo alla fiorentina. Chicken Florentine style, with creamy spinach sauce, is an easy and incredibly tasty dish, ready in minutes when following my simplified recipe.
Chicken alla Fiorentina
RECIPE
Chicken stuffed with cheese, but a cheat’s recipe: this is a chicken parcel stuffed with mozzarella, basil and garlic wrapped and baked in parchment paper. Admittedly, it lacks crispy outside you’d expect from the recipe name, but hey! this will make you feel virtuous enough to make up for the fried crunch.
Chicken and mozzarella parcels
RECIPE