Healthy Chicken Recipes: 3 Easy, High-Protein Dinners

Chicken breast and skinless thigh are lean, affordable sources of protein, and they take well to quick, vegetable-packed cooking. These three recipes each serve a busy weeknight: minimal washing up, exact quantities, and nothing that needs a specialist shop. The NHS Eatwell Guide recommends basing meals on starchy carbohydrates and eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day — each recipe below is built around those principles.

1. One-pan lemon, garlic & herb chicken traybake

Serves 4 · Prep 15 minutes · Cook 35 minutes · Approx. 400 kcal per serving

Ingredients

• 4 skinless chicken breasts (about 150g each)
• 600g baby potatoes, halved
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 1 lemon — half sliced, half juiced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 150g green beans, trimmed
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/gas 6). Put the potatoes, onions, lemon slices, garlic, olive oil, oregano and a good pinch of salt and pepper in a large roasting tin and toss well.
2. Roast for 15 minutes until the potatoes are starting to soften.
3. Lay the chicken breasts on top, squeeze over the lemon juice, and season. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.
4. Scatter over the cherry tomatoes and green beans and roast for a final 5–10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear, no pink meat) and the vegetables are tender.
5. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve straight from the tin.

Tip: Swap the potatoes for 400g of drained tinned chickpeas for a lower-carbohydrate version — add them with the tomatoes in step 4.

2. Speedy chicken & vegetable stir-fry

Serves 2 · Prep 10 minutes · Cook 10 minutes · Approx. 450 kcal per serving (with noodles)

Ingredients

• 2 skinless chicken breasts (about 150g each), sliced into thin strips
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 100g sugar snap peas
• 1 large carrot, cut into thin batons
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 2cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp reduced-salt soy sauce
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
• 150g dried medium egg noodles (or 250g cooked rice, to serve)
• 2 spring onions, sliced, to finish

Method

1. Cook the noodles according to the packet, drain and set aside.
2. Mix the soy sauce, honey and sesame oil in a small bowl.
3. Heat the groundnut oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Stir-fry the chicken strips for 4–5 minutes until golden and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
4. Add the pepper, sugar snaps, carrot, garlic and ginger to the wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes until just tender but still crisp.
5. Return the chicken to the wok, pour in the sauce and toss for 1 minute until everything is glossy.
6. Serve over the noodles, scattered with spring onions.

Tip: Keep the heat high and don’t overcrowd the pan — the vegetables should stay bright and crunchy, which also preserves more of their nutrients.

3. Mediterranean chicken & white bean stew

Serves 4 · Prep 10 minutes · Cook 25 minutes · Approx. 380 kcal per serving

Ingredients

• 4 skinless chicken thighs (about 120g each)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 × 400g tins cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 150ml chicken stock
• 100g baby spinach
• 40g pitted black olives, halved
• Salt, black pepper and a squeeze of lemon, to finish

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large deep pan over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs and brown for 3–4 minutes each side. Remove to a plate.
2. In the same pan, soften the onion for 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and smoked paprika for 1 minute.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, beans and stock. Bring to a simmer.
4. Return the chicken to the pan, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
5. Stir in the spinach and olives and cook for 2 minutes until the spinach wilts. Finish with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
6. Serve in bowls with crusty wholemeal bread or brown rice.

Tip: This doubles well and freezes for up to 3 months — a genuinely useful batch cook.

Healthy chicken cooking tips

• Remove the skin before cooking to cut saturated fat; flavour with herbs, spices, citrus and garlic instead.
• Don’t wash raw chicken — it spreads bacteria around the kitchen. Cook it thoroughly instead.
• Rest meat for a few minutes after cooking so the juices redistribute.
• Build the plate the Eatwell way: roughly half vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter starchy carbohydrate.

For more light evening meals, try our healthy dinner recipes for two, or start lunch with our carrot and coriander soup.

Frequently asked questions