35 Cheap Chicken Recipes for Dinner Tonight
By: Jen | December 19, 2024 | We may get commissions for links in this post.
Budget-friendly cheap chicken recipes give you an easy way to make affordable home cooked meals. These easy chicken dinners won’t break the bank.
In most of them, the chicken is the most expensive ingredient. Sometimes, though, you can use canned chicken, which can be pretty affordable. Especially if you buy store generic brand* or stock up when you have coupons or great store sales.
Chicken is one of the more affordable meats. It’s a great protein for meals. The problem is that on its own, it doesn’t have much flavor.
You need easy chicken recipes that pack a lot of flavor and don’t use expensive ingredients to do it. Some of these call for bottled sauces and seasonings that aren’t cheap when you buy them. But they will last for ages – years, in most cases.
A couple of these call for an air fryer or a cast iron skillet, but any of them can be cooked in a conventional oven or on a stove top with whatever type of cookware you like.
(*Hint about store brands: they are usually name brands repackaged for the store. You are typically getting the same thing as the name brand for less. Sometimes they even taste better.)
Cheap Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes
Pan seared chicken with cheese and salsa. This recipe tastes as good as it sounds. The mix of Muenster and Colby Jack makes all the difference.
An easy one-pot dinner of roast chicken, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, garlic and herbs. The chicken is crisp on the outside, juicy and flavorful. The vegetables are roasted perfectly in the chicken drippings.
Thai Coconut Chicken Drumsticks with Brown Sauce and Spinach is an easy-to-make and inexpensive dinner inspiration. This budget-friendly family favorite brings home those healthy and delicious flavors of Thailand. The drumsticks are pan fried and then topped with an amazing brown sauce, wilted spinach and toasted shredded coconut.
This casserole recipe is full of flavor. It calls for rotisserie chicken, but when that's too expensive, any chopped chicken - even canned chicken - will work. You put that in a savory creamy sauce with a buttery crushed Ritz cracker topping.
She gives lots of substitution tips. as well as suggestions for either serving vegetable sides or incorporating the vegetables into the casserole itself. It's a very versatile recipe you could change up from one time to the next.
This is a whole meal cooked in a sheet pan. Easy prep, easy cleanup. You get chicken thighs with carrots, onion and potatoes. You could easily add more veggies or replace the potatoes if you're going for lower carb.
Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken is a traditional dish made with seasoned chicken cooked into a beautiful, brown and flavorful gravy.
This easy Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken requires only 5 ingredients and is ready in less than an hour! Served with an amazing, sweet and sticky honey lemon glaze, this chicken recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner!
Why put a second Ritz cracker chicken casserole recipe on ths list? Because this one is way simpler and the seasonings are a little different. Try them both to see which you prefer.
This easy and kid-friendly Ritz chicken casserole recipe is the perfect comfort food for cold weather. All you need is shredded chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, Ritz crackers, shredded cheddar and a can of corn.
This Canned Chicken Salad recipe is easy to make in less than 10 minutes! It’s creamy like tuna salad and seasoned simply with seasoned salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. This version is healthier than most and replaces most of the mayo with Greek yogurt!
Diced chicken meets macaroni in a cheesy curry sauce. It has very few ingredients and they're all affordable.
This Chicken Stir Fry recipe is an easy recipe and perfect for a weeknight dinner. It's loaded with chicken, broccoli and brown rice for a healthy recipe that's ready in 20 minutes!
One Pot Jerk Chicken with Rice and Peas is a one pot meal with chicken rubbed with a jerk marinade cooked on top of some fluffy rice. This is an easy oven One Pot Caribbean Jerk Chicken & Rice with Peas dinner meal that starts on the stove top and finish in the oven.
Try this delicious, creamy, filling, hearty Chicken Barley Chili. So simple to make and it feeds an army!
This chicken soaks in a tasty buttermilk brine overnight and then you roast it. The buttermilk and the chicken are probably the only ingredients you may not already have at your home.
You hear "nachos" and think of carbs from the corn chips. But what if you replaced those chips with sweet peppers?
Mini pepper nachos are a delicious weeknight meal. Piled with your family's favorite toppings, these healthy nachos are a perfect low carb option that even the kids will love.
This is serious comfort food. Chicken (thighs or breasts) is seasoned then cooked with rice in a cheesy, creamy sauce and topped with crisp, fried onions. There is no chopping in this recipe and it all comes together in one pan.
This Original Jamaican Curry Chicken Recipe is flavorful, tasty, finger licking with just the right amount of spice in a beautiful curry gravy.
Creamy white chicken chili is a perfect cold weather meal. You can make a big batch with loads of flavor and not a lot spend on ingredients.
This pan-fried marinated chicken breast recipe is perfect for any occasion. You can marinate the chicken in advance and pan-sear it in a matter of minutes.
Meyer Lemon Chicken Recipe – delicious pan-fried chicken smothered in a luscious Meyer lemon and garlic sauce.
These baked chicken tenders are easy to make. Even picky eaters will go for them. You can make them with boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts. Make a large batch and keep them in the freezer for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking.
Perfectly cooked moist juicy Chicken with Indian flavors. Only takes an hour to make, but tastes like it took all day.
This is actually a low carb and keto dish, despite looking and tasting a lot like Chicken Parmesan from an Italian restaurant. You cook it in the air fryer and it's ready in just twenty minutes.
It's juicy and delicious. Serve it on its own or with zoodles or pasta.
This baked chicken breast recipe is simple and makes the juiciest chicken breast in just 15 minutes. Say goodbye to dry chicken and hello to perfectly tender baked chicken breast.
This recipe delivers all of the classic flavors of your favorite Chinese noodle dish. Soy sauce, boneless skinless chicken thighs, mixed veggies, ginger and garlic make this a dish that's big on flavor but comes together in just 30 minutes time. This is a perfect recipe for a side dish or a quick weeknight meal.
This low-calorie, low-carb chicken drumsticks recipe is a perfect, effortless way to make chicken legs just in a few minutes with minimum ingredients for all super busy days. A healthy and filling recipe for weight watchers!!!
This Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl is one of the easiest meals you can put together. It’s a great option for meal prep for the week and makes an easy lunch or dinner.
This old-fashioned Chicken and Rice with celery and onions is one of the world's most nearly perfect comfort food recipes. Your family will love it!
These quick and easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos are on the table in under 30 minutes! Add your favorite taco toppings for a delicious, family-friendly meal.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken. Slow cooked chicken breasts tossed in a
sweet and tangy Asian inspired sauce. An easy weeknight meal the whole family will love!
Waterzooi, or Ghent chicken casserole, is one of the classic dishes from the Belgian cuisine. It is super delicious and easy to make.
If you are looking for a tasty but easy dinner option, you are in the right place. Baked cranberry chicken is made from ingredients you can keep on hand and the prep work is so easy.
Baked chicken with cherry tomatoes makes an easy one-dish meal which is ready in under 30 minutes. The sweetness and smoky flavor of cherry tomatoes come through in the juicy, flavorful chicken breasts.
Herb Roasted Chicken recipe makes an easy, flavorful dinner with just 5
minutes of hands-on prep. It's also naturally gluten free and paleo!
With just lemon, olive oil, garlic and rosemary, you can make baked chicken super tasty.
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