MyPlate-Inspired Chicken Recipes
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Nutritious Chicken Recipes
Cooking Light is working with the Partnership for a Healthier America and USDA’s MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to thousands of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit the MyPlate website.
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Cobb Salad Tacos
Adding a tortilla transforms this American salad into a fun, portable meal. Choose a pungent blue cheese, like Roquefort, for a strong hit of flavor, or go with milder Gorgonzola for just a touch.
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Oven-Fried Coconut Chicken
The marinade infuses dark-meat chicken with a light coconut flavor; flaked coconut in the breading heightens the nutty taste. Find panko in your supermarket's ethnic food aisle.
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Chicken Noodle Bowl
This Asian-inspired chicken noodle bowl is full of flavor from a combination of soy sauce and sesame oil mixed with fresh snap peas.
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Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Other fruit preserves, such as apricot, blackberry, or peach, will also work in this rich, easy-to-make, chicken recipe.
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Porcini-Dusted Chicken Scaloppine
This dish puts dried porcini mushroom powder to use as a flavorful coating for chicken cutlets. If fresh porcini or chanterelle mushrooms are available, use them for the sauce. Serve with steamed haricots verts and garlic mashed potatoes.
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Grilled Cumin Chicken with Fresh Tomatillo Sauce
Bring the heat of the southwest to the dinner table with a delicious take on the weeknight meal of grilled chicken. Serve with chipotle rice.
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Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry
Chile paste and fresh ginger add just the right amount of heat to this flavorful stir-fry, which will add a little zip to your weeknight dinner rotation.
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Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Quesadillas
A rich mixture of Monterey Jack cheese, grilled chicken, and fresh veggies will make these quesadillas a hit with everyone in the family.
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Maple-Mustard Glazed Chicken
The tangy-sweet flavor combination of this sauce will work equally well with chicken thighs or pork. Serve with hot cooked rice and steamed haricots verts or a tossed green salad.
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Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup
In this chicken and butternut squash soup, sugary butternut squash and meaty chicken thighs remind us how well sweet and savory flavors play together in Moroccan cuisine.
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Raspberry-Chipotle Chicken Breasts with Cucumber Salad
Sweet and savory, this chicken and fresh cucumber salad combo is under 250 calories and will leave you full and satisfied.
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Grilled Chicken with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata
Cover your basic grilled chicken with a zesty herb topping for an anything-but-average meal. It also works well over steak or fish.
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Barbecue Pulled Chicken Sliders
Make these easy barbecue pulled chicken sliders by pairing shredded rotisserie chicken with homemade barbecue sauce for an easy weeknight meal.
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Apricot-Glazed Grilled Chicken
Grilling chicken is an easy way to transform this humble food. You'll get the best results if you let the chicken stand out at room temperature before grilling.
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Chicken with Quick Chile Verde
If you can’t find fresh tomatillos, substitute canned whole tomatillos and use less salt. Grilled lime wedges are a zesty garnish.
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Grilled Chicken Tostadas
This dish gives a Southwestern accent to the American summertime classic, grilled chicken. For more intensity, pickle the onions overnight.
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Buffalo Chicken Thighs
Play up the buffalo chicken theme with a side of celery sticks and light ranch dressing.
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Chicken-Matzo Ball Soup
For a shortcut version of this recipe, use store-bought, unsalted chicken stock instead of making your own.
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Chicken with Olives and Lemons
Briny olives and tart lemons combine with fresh herbs for a Mediterranean-influenced chicken dish. Serve with hot cooked orzo.
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Honey-Lime Chicken Kebabs with Mango Slices
For a colorful accompaniment to this hearty chicken dish, add mini bell peppers to the broiler pan with the skewers.
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Grilled Chicken with Honey-Chipotle BBQ Sauce
You can also use 8 thighs or 8 drumsticks or 4 pieces of each; cook about 10 minutes per side.
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Mango-Serrano Drumettes
If the skillet gets crowded, brown the chicken in batches.
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Sticky Chile Drumettes
This recipe is similar to our Garlic-Buffalo Drumettes but has a sweet-tangy flavor and a little more spice.
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Biscuit-Topped Chicken Potpie
Your family will adore the fluffy deliciousness of this potpie's biscuit topping.
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Chicken and Pierogi Dumplings
Pierogies are the comfort dumplings of all comfort dumplings. We just chickened them up. The browned veggies lend color and flavor to the sauce; be sure to keep them moving in the pan so they don't get too brown.
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Crispy Pan-Fried Chicken with Ranch Dipping Sauce
Take these in your lunch box for an tasty, energy-packed meal to keep you going the rest of the day.
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Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs)
These meatballs make a terrific party snack. Look for flat skewers at Asian markets, or use two skewers for each group of meatballs so they'll turn easier.
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Roasted Chicken with Mustard Greens
You can easily substitute kale or spinach for the mustard greens if you would prefer.
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Green Curry Fritters
Talk about flavor! Green curry paste (found in the Asian-foods section) and chile paste impart tons of savory-spicy-fragrant hits to ground chicken.
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Chicken and Dumplings
This lightened-up classic—beloved in both the South and the Midwest—is satisfying enough to be a one-dish meal. This particular recipe is based off of the more biscuit-like Midwestern version of dumplings.
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Pan-Seared Chicken Breast with Rich Pan Sauce
To calibrate yourself to be a better cook, learn to use all of your senses throughout the process. For the richest sauce, use a stainless steel pan; the browned bits that stick to the bottom provide flavor.
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Open-Faced Chicken Sandwiches with Green Pea Spread
Frozen peas and arugula offer a little taste of spring, even in cooler months.
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Chicken and Mushroom Empanada
The empanadas can be made ahead of time and chilled until ready to bake. For less heat, seed the jalapeño peppers after roasting.
Have a filling you want to make but need an empanada dough recipe? This Whole-Wheat Empanada Dough is light and flaky and can be baked rather than fried. Wine in the recipe adds yeast flavor and aids in flakiness; its acidity also breaks down the gluten, allowing you to stretch the dough easily when forming the empanadas.
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Sticky Soy-Hoisin Chicken Thighs
These chicken thighs are messy, but that's part of the fun. Serve with steamed sugar snap peas and hot cooked rice tossed with green onions.
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Glazed Chicken with Almond Quinoa
For a sweeter profile, substitute apricot jam for the red pepper jelly.