Food and Recipes Meat Chicken These Chicken Recipes Are Ready In 20 Minutes Or Less Serve winning chicken dinners in 20 minutes or less with these easy recipes. By Jenna Sims Jenna Sims Jenna is a Senior Digital Editor for Southern Living and joined the team in 2014. She writes, produces, and assigns content with a focus on email growth and commerce content. She covers a range of topics in the lifestyle space from holiday gift guides to new product launches to tips for cooking with your air fryer. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on June 16, 2023 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Even if you have only 20 minutes, that's still plenty of time to pull together a homemade weeknight dinner for your family. Yes, really! These speedy chicken dinners are quick and easy, but still full of flavor. It is also likely that you already have most of the ingredients you need on hand. Recipes like Chicken Stir-Fry, Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken, and Chicken Caprese Pasta may sound like they require an all day cooking affair, but they're actually ready in just 20 minutes or less. Add one of these 3-ingredient side dish recipes and your easy weeknight dinner will be ready in no time. 01 of 20 Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Serve the healthy chicken mixture in lettuce wraps, wheat wraps, or over a bed of mixed greens. With a little bit of mango and other fresh flavors, this recipe tastes like a vacation and the minimal effort you have to put in will make you feel like you're on one, too. 02 of 20 Chicken And White Bean Salad With Citrus Vinaigrette Greg DuPree Homemade dressing elevates this vibrant salad into an easy and healthy dinner. With purple cabbage, cannellini beans, and fresh orange segments, this recipe is a real people-pleaser. 03 of 20 Balsamic-Garlic Chicken Breasts Beth Dreiling Hontzas If you need more than four servings or want to have leftovers for the rest of the week, you can easily double this recipe. Additionally, you can pair this flavorful, yet versatile chicken with rice, orzo, or even a simple green salad. 04 of 20 Breaded Chicken Salad with Grapes, Honey, Almonds, And Broccoli Hector Manuel Sanchez Think of this recipe like a healthier version of your favorite chicken salad, complete with grapes and broccoli. Make the dressing and toss together the salad ingredients while the chicken is baking in the oven; dinner will be on the table in 20 minutes. 05 of 20 Herb-Grilled Chicken Southern Living Who doesn't love a good, versatile piece of chicken to pair with their salad or side? Use your favorite herbs to pull together this quick dish that will soon become a weeknight grilling staple. 06 of 20 Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken Southern Living While Mama's Fried Chicken may be reserved for Sunday supper, this pan-fried chicken is easy enough to serve any night of the week. Most of the work involves dredging the chicken in a simple batter. In just 20 minutes you will have the perfect bite. 07 of 20 Grilled Chicken 'N' Cheese Sandwiches Southern Living Chicken and cheese are always good together. We know this from our favorite chicken casserole dishes, but slipping some chicken salad into your grilled cheese will seriously upgrade dinnertime. 08 of 20 Fried Chicken Tacos With Buttermilk-Jalapeño Sauce Photo: Iain Bagwell Make taco night easy by slicing up a few fried chicken tenders and blending your favorite store-bought ranch with a bit of lime, cilantro and garlic. Using store-bought chicken means you'll have dinner on the table in 15 minutes or less. A smattering of sliced radishes make this dish taste fresh and invigorating. 09 of 20 Chicken Noodle Bowl With Peanut-Ginger Sauce Greg DuPree This colorful dish will be a bright spot in your weeknight routine. Process the incredible Peanut-Ginger sauce in a blender, and use the microwave for the rice noodles. You can even prep the veggies the night before to get dinner on the table faster. 10 of 20 Heirloom Tomato And Chicken Toss Greg DuPree This fresh salad is like a panzanella without the bread. Although, we totally recommend pairing this dish with a crusty piece of bread and a glass of your favorite wine. 11 of 20 Chicken-And-Prosciutto Tortelloni Soup Alison Miksch Store-bought tortelloni is both comforting and easy to prepare. You might not believe that a hearty soup can be ready in just 20 minutes, but this weeknight-ready recipe fits the bill. 12 of 20 Chicken Stir-Fry Greg Dupree This 10-minute stir-fry is even faster than takeout and tastes better too. Rotisserie chicken and a package of frozen vegetables are the secret. Pair this dish with your family's favorite rice and they'll be asking for seconds before the end of the night. 13 of 20 Chicken And Fontina Panini Greg Dupree Enjoyable for lunch or dinner, this panini uses rotisserie chicken and a jar of pesto sauce to come together in just 15 minutes. The crusty ciabatta and the flavorful pesto make this simple sandwich recipe one you'll turn to again and again. 14 of 20 Green Chile-Chicken Soup Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis This soup will be ready to serve in much less than an hour, but it tastes like it has been on the stove for at least two. We lean on rotisserie chicken to get that all-day cooking flavor. Garnish with radishes, sour cream, and cilantro. 15 of 20 Chicken Fingers Coated With Cheesy Snack Crackers Sheri Castle If you are looking for a weeknight dinner that will make everyone smile, this dish can do that. Simply toss your chicken in some sour cream and seasonings, coat in your favorite cheese crackers, bake and enjoy. 16 of 20 Cajun Chicken Pasta Ralph Anderson This bold and creamy pasta comes together while you're getting your pasta water to boil. If you're in a real hurry, you can use a package of frozen vegetables to save time on the slicing and dicing. 17 of 20 Cranberry Chicken Salad Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner Sweet pickle relish and dried cranberries make this chicken salad a standout sandwich. Stir the ingredients together and serve immediately, or chill it first if you have more time. 18 of 20 Buttermilk Alfredo Chicken Spinach Pasta Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Here's another filling pasta dish that makes use of rotisserie chicken to get dinner on the table in 20 minutes. This velvety Alfredo sauce is healthier than you find in most recipes, but just as rich and full-flavored. 19 of 20 Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox Meaty beefsteak tomatoes make a creative and colorful bowl for this chicken salad recipe, and are especially appealing when tomatoes are in season. Use a tri-color mix of bell peppers to make it even more colorful. 20 of 20 Chicken Caprese Pasta Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox This light pasta dish is great for a quick weeknight dinner, but also impressive enough to serve when entertaining on the weekend. You can use fresh or dried pasta and homemade or jarred pesto for this dish. We recommend doing whichever is easiest. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit