5 Simple Chicken Recipes
for Weeknight Dinners

5 Simple Chicken Recipes for Weeknight Dinners

Weekday evenings are hectic enough as it is without the pressure to make delicious and healthy meals from scratch every night. Maybe your commute home from work leaves you exhausted, or your kids are involved in numerous extra-curricular evening activities. Perhaps you’re simply tired from the stresses of day-to-day life. Having a go-to repertoire of simple dinner recipes on hand is a great way to avoid spending your evenings standing in front of the fridge wondering what you have to cook.

Chicken is a popular choice for weeknight dinners because it’s flavorful and versatile. You can make chicken-based recipes even quicker and easier by using precooked options.

Precooked chicken is safe, convenient and tasty! Check out this list of five easy precooked chicken recipes, and start looking forward to your weeknight dinner routine!

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1. Creamy Ranch Chicken Alfredo

Craving pasta but don’t have the time to cook a sauce with a seemingly endless list of ingredients and seasonings? Then Creamy Ranch Chicken Alfredo is for you. Chicken Alfredo is quintessential comfort food that warms you up on cold days or makes a lackluster day at work seem not so bad. And this recipe takes less than half an hour from beginning to end!

While your pasta cooks, bring canned Alfredo sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Add in your grilled chicken and ranch seasoning, then stir in some spinach and tomatoes. Once the pasta is done, add it to the sauce and top with cheese and basil before serving.

You don’t need to go out to eat to experience the creamy goodness of Chicken Alfredo. Bring the comfort of your favorite Italian restaurant to your home without spending hours hunched over your recipe. Pair your pasta with your favorite wine for the coziest night in.

2. Mexican Chicken Skillet Mac and Cheese

You don’t need to stop eating mac and cheese once you reach adulthood. There’s no shame in a good old-fashioned box of mac and cheese, but if you want to up the flavor, this Mexican Chicken Skillet Mac and Cheese is one of the best precooked chicken recipes.

This easy recipe serves eight people and takes only 15 minutes to prep and cook using your oven’s broil setting. Better yet, you only need two pans to create this mouth-watering recipe. You may already have many of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry — butter, milk, flour, cilantro, pepper jack cheese and elbow macaroni! When coupled with the right spices and deliciously seasoned chicken, these staples can help you whip up a delightful dinner for busy weeknights.

Start by melting butter in a large skillet and cooking chopped bell peppers until soft before adding flour, seasonings and milk. Stir in the cheese, pasta and chicken. Top with more cheese and broil for five to seven minutes. This recipe comes with a little bit of spice courtesy of the jalapenos, cumin and cayenne pepper. If a little bit of fire isn’t for you, feel free to leave out the jalapenos!

3. Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Shells

Picture sitting down to indulge in warm, gooey, cheesy stuffed shells at the end of a long day. With this Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Shells recipe, you can make that image a reality!

This recipe takes only 30 minutes to make and serves eight people. Creating the ricotta mixture inside the shells is easy — mix up ricotta, spinach, mushrooms and Parmesan. Spread a layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of a greased baking dish, line up your stuffed shells and spread the rest of the marinara on top of the shells. Top with rotisserie chicken, cover and bake!

Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Shells

After 15 minutes, sprinkle your shells and chicken with some shredded mozzarella cheese, and bake for five more minutes. Sprinkle with parsley to garnish before serving. If you have a big family or want to cook something that will leave you with leftovers, this stuffed shells recipe is for you! Whip up some frozen garlic bread to take this meal to the next level.

4. Chicken “Tot” Pie

What’s better than chicken pot pie? Chicken “Tot” Pie! Tater tots are another delicious food you may have loved as a child but haven’t eaten as often as an adult. If you’ve started craving the crispy goodness of a tater tot just by reading this, we’ve got the weeknight chicken dinner idea for you. This recipe is an excellent way to bring some childlike wonder into your weeknight dinner regimen, and it might work even better if you have kids to please!

Make your pie filling in a cast iron pan by heating butter, sautéing chopped onion, and stirring in flour. Add broth, heavy cream, rotisserie chicken and frozen mixed vegetables. Top the mixture with an even layer of frozen tater tots and bake for 20-25 minutes. For a final touch, sprinkle with parsley before serving. You might never go back to making regular chicken pot pie again!

Make Weeknight Meals Quick and Easy With John Soules Foods

One of the best ways to save time while you cook your weekday dinners is to purchase precooked chicken and beef. At John Soules Foods, we offer a wide selection of chicken and beef options, both refrigerated and frozen. When time is tight, you can rely on John Soules Foods to help you keep cook times short and keep stress out of the kitchen! 

We prioritize quality and flavor in all our foods. Find a John Soules Foods distributor near you and start incorporating precooked meat into your meals today!

Make Weeknight Meals Quick and Easy