10 easy chicken breast recipes for quick and tasty meals

• There are many ways of preparing the chicken breast and the choice of the recipe depends on personal preferences, taste and the accompaniments you would want to serve alongside the delicacy.
• The recipes that are listed below are very favourable for the person who wants a tasty meal that can be prepared within a short time.
• Ruhana Ebrahim, food styling expert and recipe developer shared with Briefly.co.za the creative ways to use chutney and tips for preventing the chicken fillet from becoming dry.

Here is a list of the best chicken breast recipes that would be great choices for lunch and dinner. Your family and friends without a doubt would enjoy these meals.

Tips from a food expert

Ruhana Ebrahim, food styling expert and recipe developer shared tips with Briefly.co.za for preventing the chicken fillet from becoming too dry:

Brines and marinades with yoghurt or lemon juice, help to break down the proteins and tenderize the chicken, bringing more moisture into the chicken when cooking.

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1. Make sure to cook the fillet in a single flat layer and cook only until the juices run clear.
2. Make sure to always use room temperature fillets to cook.
3. If you'd like fillet with the skin on, the best way is the sear-and-bake method, then rest covered in foil for 5min before serving. This ensures the juices are redistributed throughout the fillet.

Ruhana Ebrahim also revealed creative ways to use chutney for quick and tasty meals except for chicken breasts:

1. Spread some chutney on veg/meat sandwiches and wraps.
2. Kick your toasted cheese sandwiches up a notch by adding chutney to the filling.
3. Add it to a charcuterie board as a dip, add it to curries, stews, bobotie for depths of flavor.
4. Add it to your roasts to thicken up the gravy.

Some unusual pairings but delicious are: adding to the stuffing for turkey/chicken roasts. Pouring over a block of cream cheese & serving with crusty bread. Adding to sour cream &and serving as a dip.

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Chicken breast recipes

We have gathered the best recipes so you can enjoy your meal!

1. South African Piri Piri chicken

To make this dish, you need the following ingredients:

• Two lemons
• Virgin oil
• A half of yellow onion
• Minced garlic
• One teaspoon of salt
• Half a teaspoon of black pepper
• A teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• A tablespoon of chilli powder, paprika
• One teaspoon of ground oregano
• Half a teaspoon of ginger
• Boneless and skinless chicken breast

Method of preparation

1. To make this popular dish, mix the spices. These are lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and the already chopped onions in a bowl.
2. Mix them uniformly until you get an even consistency.
3. Take the chicken breasts and add to this mixture and then marinate them in the fridge for some time.
4. After the breasts marinate, heat a skillet and then add your chicken and brown it until all sides are golden brown.
5. Heat the oven and take the marinade that was left, add it to the chicken, and then put it back in the fridge for future use. Make sure you use a skillet that is made from cast iron material to ensure that you don’t burn your chicken.
6. After the chicken is ready, you can serve it with any carbohydrate like rice. You can garnish your chicken by adding a piece or pieces of lemon on top or some coriander leaves. Serve it hot or warm and enjoy the dish.

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The fantastic thing about this recipe is its simplicity. The ingredients that are required are readily available and also easily accessible in grocery stores. For those who are sensitive to pepper, minimal addition can still work well. The marinade works as the sauce. So, there is no need to make a separate dish.

This dish takes only four hours to prepare, and this depends on the number of visitors or the people that are invited. The dish is nutritionally sufficient, and it is comprised of 410 calories if cooked in the above method using the listed ingredients. This recipe is good for lunch or dinner, and it is enough to leave you craving for more. It is one of the best chicken fillet recipes.

2. South African braai chicken

In South Africa, the word ‘braai’ means to cook over the fire. This dish is very popular in many parts of South Africa.

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Ingredients

• Half a cup of apricot jam
• A third cup of white vinegar
• Quarter a cup of water
• Quarter a cup of dark brown sugar
• Three tablespoons of garam masala or curry powder
• Salt
• Ginger root
• Two garlic cloves
• A quarter teaspoon of ground pepper
• Chicken breasts

Preparation

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for the chicken and blend them.
2. Add the chicken and marinate in a fridge for about one hour.
3. In a skillet, grill the chicken for around 20 minutes until it turns golden brown.
4. Make sure you keep brushing the chicken with the preserved marinade until it cooks thoroughly. Feel free to discard the marinade.

This dish is mostly popular with chicken drumsticks, but it can also work well with chicken breasts. The dish has 170 calories, and it takes around 45 minutes to prepare. To get a better taste of the chicken, serve it alongside a salad of your choice. This is one of the best chicken breast dishes.

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3. Oven-fried chicken breasts

Ingredients

• Crispy rice cereal one cup
• Five teaspoons of virgin olive oil
• 2 and a quarter bagel chips
• ¾ teaspoons of hot paprika, ground pepper,
• Salt
• One and a half cup of yogurt
• A teaspoon of mustard
• Scallions
• Chilli sauce or ketchup
• Bone in chicken breasts

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven up to 475 degrees.

2. Grind the cereal and the bagel chips together and then transfer them to a foil or a plastic bag.

3. Add three teaspoons of the olive oil then add the chicken and seal it tight. The aim of sealing the ingredients is to make them blend for a better taste.

4. After that, transfer the chicken to the rack which is already coated with the preferred cooking spray. Put the scallions in the olive oil and give them time to bake.

5. Use the yoghurt to make a sweet sauce in a separate bowl, and you can serve the chicken. The yoghurt can either be natural for non-sugar lovers or just regular sugary yoghurt. This is one of the recipes for chicken fillets.

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4. Chicken with bacon and pepper jack cheese

Ingredients

• 4 strips of bacon
• Butter
• A tablespoon of olive oil
• Clove of garlic
• Four tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• Four boneless and chicken breasts
• Black pepper, salt to taste
• Chilli powder
• 4 slices of pepper jack cheese
• Barbecue sauce and garnish.

Preparation method

1. Grease the baking dish sparingly, and then heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Fry the bacon and then set it aside.
3. Clean the chicken breasts thoroughly with running water and then wrap them in a plastic bag.
4. Pound the chicken breasts until they become flat with a thickness of around two inches. Coat the pounded chicken with flour thoroughly.
5. In a hot skillet, melt the olive oil and the butter, add garlic and stir. You can discard it after 30 seconds. Then, proceed by adding the chicken and make sure you cook it for around five minutes each entirely until they turn brown.
6. Arrange the chicken properly in a baking dish. Proceed by putting the barbecue sauce on the chicken and then top it up with bacon.
7. Cut the bacon into even slices and then cover the chicken with it. After adding the bacon, top it with a considerable amount of pepper jack cheese.
8. Bake it until the cheese melts completely. Sprinkle it with some cilantro and serve it when it’s still hot.

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This dish is loaded with 1603 calories. It is a perfect dish for dinner or lunch, and sometimes, you can take it for breakfast. This is one of the amazing chicken breast dinner ideas.

5. Stuffed chicken breasts

The chicken fillet dishes are easy to prepare.

Ingredients

• 180 ml of feta cheese
• 120 ml of cream cheese
• 10 ml of Robertsons mixed herbs
• 100 ml of peppadews or green pepper
• 3 beaten eggs
• 8 boneless chicken breasts
• 250 ml of fine breadcrumbs
• Chicken spice
• Sunflower oil for frying the chicken.

Procedure

1. Start by preheating the oven up to 180 degrees.
2. On a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, peppadews, and herbs.
3. Take another bowl and mix the chicken spice with breadcrumbs.
4. Cut a part of the chicken breasts and fill them with the mixed spices.
5. Take them and dip them in the beaten eggs and then dip them in the breadcrumbs.

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6. In a frying pan, put some oil and fry them for a while turning them consecutively until they turn brown.

7. Then, you can bake them in the oven for 10 minutes. By then, your chicken will be crusty, and delicious. Serve with an accompaniment of choice.

6. Simple fried chicken cutlets

A common thing with South African food is the pepper and sauce.

Ingredients

• One large egg
• A tablespoon of hot sauce
• ¾ cup of milk
• A teaspoon of salt
• Black pepper
• A cup of flour
• Seasoning
• Vegetable oil
• Four chicken breasts preferably boneless.

Preparation method

1. The first step is to get all these ingredients. In a large bowl, mix the milk, egg and hot sauce. Then in a separate bowl, mix the seasoning, salt, flour, and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a separate skillet and then heat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Take the chicken and then dip it into the milk and egg mixture, and let it drop off. Proceed by coating it with flour.
4. Take the coated chicken and put it into the hot oil. Fry it for around four minutes until they all turn brown. Drain off the chicken in the brown paper bags.

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After this, your chicken will be ready to eat. You can serve it hot or keep it warm and serve it then. If the chicken breasts are in large pieces, you can use a knife to cut them into smaller pieces. This dish has around 669 calories in total and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare if all the ingredients are available. This is a good recipe for chicken fillets.

7. Risotto with chicken

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons butter preferably unsalted
• Chicken broth four cups
• Two cups of rice
• A medium onion
• Fresh thyme
• Salt
• Grated ptarmigan cheese
• A cup of white wine
• A cup of fontina cheese for the garnish,
• Ground pepper and fresh parsley in a quarter cup.
• Smoked chicken breasts

Method

1. Put the broth in a hot saucepan and add four cups of water. Let it heat for a while and keep it warm.
2. In a separate pan, scoop the butter, melt it, and then add the onions. Cook them thoroughly and keep stirring.
3. Add the rice and thyme, and then cook for a minute until it becomes entirely glossy. Then, add the wine and keep on stirring until it is completely absorbed.
4. Add salt and cook for about 25 minutes.
5. Remove the thyme and stir it with cheese, and then add butter salt and pepper to taste. Then, top it with parsley and fontina.

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The final result is a whitish meal that is simply delicious. It is one of the best chicken fillet recipes.

8. Chicken stew

This is one of the easy chicken fillet recipes. It is, in fact, the easiest recipe among the ones listed, and also, it can be served with pretty much anything. It is a dish that is popular not only to South Africans but also to other countries in Africa.

Ingredients

• Oil
• Salt
• Two green chopped onions
• Garlic cloves
• Ginger root
• Chopped tomatoes
• Chicken breasts
• Seasoning, pepper
• Chilli
• One bay leaf
• one or two cups of sliced carrots
• Three tablespoons of parsley
• A quarter cup of curry powder

Cooking method

1. In a large bowl, season the chicken with salt and heat the oil in a pan.

2. Take the chicken and fry it and keep stirring to make sure that it browns completely. After that, set it aside.

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3. On a separate saucepan, continue by heating the oil.

4. Put the onions, garlic, and grated ginger and cook until they become golden brown. It is easier if the ingredients are grated to ensure a consistent soup.

5. Add the tomatoes or a tomato paste and cook until thick paste forms, and then add all the other ingredients and cook them more for about 25-30 minutes.

6. Serve it with rice to ensure a more delicious meal.

9. Chicken marsala

Ingredients

• Boneless and skinless chicken
• Three tablespoons of margarine
• Flour
• Mushrooms
• Water
• One chopped onion
• Marsala
• Wine
• Half a teaspoon of thyme.

Method

1. Coat the chicken with some of the flour evenly and then heat a pan.
2. Add two tablespoons of margarine and proceed by frying the chicken for no more than four minutes. Keep stirring consistently until it turns golden brown.
3. In a separate pan, add the oil and then fry the mushrooms with the onions. Keep stirring and continue cooking until they become golden brown.
4. Add water followed by the marsala wine and heat until it’s thoroughly cooked.
5. Serve the two together. This is one of the chicken breast fillet recipes that can be served with salad on the side.

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10. Chicken piccata

Ingredients

• 300g of pasta
• A quarter teaspoon of salt
• 50 grams of flour, ground pepper
• Four tablespoons of stork margarine
• Chicken breasts in halves
• Zest and juice of lemon
• 150 ml of chicken stock
• Knorr seasoning
• One tablespoon of chopped parsley

Method

1. Start cooking the pasta and add a pinch of olive oil and salt.
2. As the pasta continues to cook, add salt and pepper in a bowl, and then add the chicken.
3. Melt the margarine; fry them until they turn brown. Transfer them to a separate bowl and keep them warm.
4. Put the chicken inside the same pan, and then add lemon juice with zest. Boil it completely and then add the seasoning and parsley.
5. In a separate pan, add the margarine and put the pasta in it. Cook it for about 30 seconds and then serve. The paste is served on the chicken.
6. Garnish it with parsley and make sure to serve it hot.

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We hope that all questions on what to make with chicken breasts have been answered and that you have a great chicken fillets recipe that you would enjoy trying out.

Source: Briefly News