Looking for an easy weeknight dinner? Chicken’s always a great option, and one of our favorite ways to prepare it is to bake it. Baked chicken? Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard it too—it’s got the unfortunate reputation for coming out dry, boring, and bland. But we promise, these baked chicken recipes are anything but. Your oven can take chicken from meh to MIND-BLOWING, so you don't have to suffer through dry, flavorless chicken anymore (because who wants that?). Whether you’re looking for comforting casseroles, game day snacks, sheet-pan dinners, or veggie-forward ideas, we’ve got 50+ recipes here for you.
One of the great things about oven-baked chicken is its versatility. It can be paired with a cheesy, creamy sauce, like in our chicken Alfredo bake, our chicken & coconut rice casserole, or our chicken cordon bleu casserole. Let it be the keto-friendly star of the show, as in our keto chicken Parm pizza (yep, with chicken as the crust!), our keto fried chicken, or any of our stuffed chicken recipes. Mix it up in a savory sweet dish alongside fresh or dried fruit, like in our chicken biryani, our apple cider glazed chicken, our cranberry balsamic chicken, or our pineapple baked chicken. The options are really endless.
Oh, and don't forget the snacks! Whether you’re looking for options for tailgating, movie night, or a potluck dinner, you don't want to be dealing with the traditional fryer oil a lot of recipes call for. Our popcorn chicken, sheet pan honey mustard pretzel chicken, chicken bacon ranch poppers, or our classic Buffalo chicken wings will still be major crowd-pleasers, and they're ALL baked.
There’s definitely something particularly satisfying about pulling one pan out of the oven and knowing dinner is all ready. Less effort and most importantly, less dishes! Want even more chicken inspiration, baked or otherwise? Check out our favorite chicken and potato or chicken and rice dishes, then take a look at all the things you can make from a rotisserie chicken too.
Cilantro-Lime Chicken
Cilantro and lime is a classic duo that we can't get enough of. Serve this with our cilantro lime rice if you can't either.
Get the Cilantro-Lime Chicken recipe.
Chicken and Rice Casserole
You don't even have to dirty a pan for this easy recipe. Put the uncooked rice and onion, broth, and cream of mushroom soup into a casserole dish and then top with chicken thighs. After everything cooks together, you'll have the most flavorful rice without any stress of cooking it on the stove.
Get the Chicken and Rice Casserole recipe.
Chicken Kiev
This recipe is old school (19th to 20th century!), but still worth being in your weeknight chicken dinner routine. Who doesn’t love a crispy-crunchy, chicken cutlet-like exterior? The best part about this recipe is that the sauce lives within the chicken, so you don’t have to worry about making one on the side.
Get the Chicken Kiev recipe.
Sheet Pan Citrus-Glazed Chicken
Marinated thighs get roasted right alongside Brussels sprouts making it one of our favorite low effort chicken weeknight dinners with a very high reward. Reserve some of the marinade to brush over the chicken towards the end of baking: It makes a sweet, sticky, and downright irresistible glaze.
Baked Chicken Drumsticks
The only time we really think about eating chicken drumsticks is when we roast a whole chicken. We forget to cook them on their own sometimes, but with this simple baked recipe, we're about to start! After a quick marinade, these drumsticks bake in the oven in no time and stay extremely tender and juicy.
Get the Baked Chicken Drumsticks recipe.
Lemon Pepper Chicken
This recipe starts on the stovetop for a perfect golden sear then finishes in the oven for the juiciest, most flavorful results. If you don't want to turn on your oven, you can do everything over the stovetop too (but trust us, it's worth the second step!).
Get the Lemon Pepper Chicken recipe.
Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken
We all love grilled chicken, but we don't all have a grill, and sometimes we just don't want to stand outside, either. Luckily, this oven-baked BBQ chicken is just as wonderful and doesn't dry out with that beautiful layer of sauce on top. It's the perfect dinner, no matter the weather!
Get the Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken recipe.
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken
In our opinion, the crunchier the better. Which is why pretzels make the perfect chicken coating. The obvious and best dipping sauce? Honey mustard, of course. It's a MUST.
No-Boil Baked Chicken Pasta
An ode to baked ziti, this dish is amped up with chicken and spinach and features fun, twirly fusilli pasta rather than ziti. Unlike most baked pasta dishes, you'll skip the pot of water and instead just add more water to the baking dish. Not only does this cut down on dishes, the hands-off approach adds a little breathing room to dinnertime. Win!
Get the No-Boil Baked Chicken Pasta recipe.
Chicken Biryani
For this recipe, we were inspired by the Hyderabadi style of biryani, where rice and a curry filled with veggies and/or a protein are cooked separately, then layered and baked into an aromatic, harmonious, and hearty dish. Serve alongside a fresh cucumber raita for a perfectly balanced meal.
Get the Chicken Biryani recipe.
Chicken Patty
Move over cafeteria school lunch, chicken patties are here, revamped and ready to impress. We fried these for the ultimate crunch experience, but baking them at a high temperature will give you the same experience with less oil. To help the patties brown, spray olive oil onto both sides before baking and place on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet.
Get the Chicken Patty recipe.
Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs
Allow us to make a case for bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. In our humble opinion, they're all-around better. The reason? More fat equals more flavor. Plus, is there anything more delicious than crispy chicken skin?
Perfect Baked Chicken
It's kind of amazing how much of a difference brown sugar, garlic powder, and paprika can make. Not only does it add a slightly smoky, sweet taste, but it makes your chicken look way prettier. (Naked chicken breasts are a very sad sight to behold.)
Get the Perfect Baked Chicken Breast recipe.
No Peek Chicken
DON'T let the title tempt you into peeking at this chicken while it's cooking. Covering it while baking lets it capture all of the steam to cook the rice and chicken together. Trust us, it's worth the mystery 'til the end.
Get the No-Peek Chicken recipe.
Reuben-Stuffed Chicken
As much as we’d like to, we can’t eat a Reuben sandwich for dinner every day. This stuffed chicken, though? That’s a whole other story. It’s filled with all our favorite ingredients—corned beef, Russian dressing, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese—and is fancy enough to serve to dinner guests while still being easy enough to enjoy any night of the week.
Get the Reuben-Stuffed Chicken recipe.
BBQ Lime Chicken
This chicken is coated in the type of delectable, outrageous sauce that will have you licking your fingers all football Sunday long. Make this once and we guarantee it will become your tailgate's must-have. Think serving these delicious morsels on there own isn't enough? Try our sweet BBQ lime chicken tacos or cheesy BBQ lime dip too.
Get the BBQ Lime Chicken recipe.
Chicken Marbella
A nostalgic classic for many, chicken Marbella is briny, piquant, and incredibly flavorful. The chicken is tenderized (and flavored by) a marinade dotted with prunes, olives, capers, and herbs. No matter what you serve it with, this classic dish is sure to impress.
Get the Chicken Marbella recipe.
Keto Fried Chicken
To make a keto-friendly fried chicken, we skipped the flour and breaded them in pork rinds, almond flour, and Parmesan. We also baked this chicken to skip all of the unnecessary oil—it still bakes into a chicken breast that you would swear was fried. Feel free to use thighs or drumsticks as well if you like.
Get the Keto Fried Chicken recipe.
Crispy Balsamic Chicken
Simple, healthy weeknight dinners are a must during the fall, and this one-pan dinner is a favorite of ours. Crispy chicken thighs are surrounded by Brussels sprouts and a tangy balsamic sauce. It's quick and easy and might inspire you to want to cook a homemade dinner every night of the week.
Get the Crispy Balsamic Chicken recipe.
Mozzarella-Stuffed Chicken Parm
How do you improve upon the *perfection* that is classic chicken Parm? Stuff it with even MORE cheese!
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
