20 Best Ground Chicken Recipes for an Easy, Healthy Dinner Tonight
Think burgers, salads, and chili!
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Chicken recipes—especially ground chicken recipes—are an affordable option for your weeknight dinners. But there's more to it than just saving a buck! Ground chicken is also a great choice for when you're trying to eat a little bit healthier. It's lean, protein-packed, and it's the perfect alternative to your typical ground beef or ground pork recipes. And just like ground turkey, it's filling, too! You can use ground chicken for comfort food favorites, like meatballs, stuffed peppers, chili, and so much more! Or swap in ground chicken when you want to lighten things up for a healthy dinner idea. Here, you'll find ground chicken recipes no matter the occasion, including tacos, pasta recipes, and BBQ dinners, like homemade chicken burgers!
If you haven't cooked with ground chicken before, it couldn't be easier! While some people claim it has a reputation for being dry and bland, the truth is that ground chicken is actually just a neutral, mild base for so many different flavors. You just need the right recipe to make it delicious! Whether you prefer a coconut curry, chipotle-spiced taco mixture, or a play on buffalo chicken recipes, there are so many ways you can transform easy-to-cook ground chicken. We've even included a ground chicken sausage recipe that's perfect for healthy breakfasts! Try one of these recipes today, and you'll see what we mean.
Homemade Chicken Burgers
Add these chicken burgers to your next backyard barbecue. They're just as tasty as beef burgers, but they're even leaner and ready in just 20 minutes!
Get the Homemade Chicken Burgers recipe.
Easy Taco Salad
This recipe calls for ground beef, but you can easily sub in any type of ground meat—chicken included! Looking for other healthy substitutes? Try swapping the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt.
Get the Taco Salad recipe.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serve up edible bowls of acorn squash at your next family get-together. They're cozy, comforting, and can be made with any combination of ground meat or chicken.
Get the Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe.
Taco Lettuce Cups
Ground chicken or ground turkey make for a healthy taco filling. Swap in ground chicken here, then serve it up in a carb-free taco shell made from Bibb lettuce.
Get Ree's Taco Lettuce Cups recipe.
Chicken Chili
This chili recipe is just as comforting and flavorful as beef chili, but it's a little bit lighter and it cooks up in just 30 minutes! For tasty toppings, consider adding sour cream, chopped green onions, and avocado slices.
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Everything you love about your favorite chicken wings (including the buffalo sauce and blue cheese)—in meatball form! These are great for a party appetizer or simply watching your favorite game on TV.
Get the Buffalo Chicken Meatballs recipe at Eating Bird Food.
Chicken Ragu Pasta
In Italian cooking, a sauce made from ground meat, vegetables, and spices is known as a ragu. Here, ground chicken is used along with onion, carrots, rosemary, and tomato sauce.
Stuffed Zucchini
You can feel good about this healthy dinner idea—not only does it use lean ground chicken as the filling but the zucchini "boats" are carb-free!
Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with Broccoli
Preparing a big batch of these chicken meatballs ahead of time will make it easy to get dinner on the table during busy weeknights. It's also a tasty freezer-meal that you can share with neighbors and friends.
Get the Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs and Broccoli recipe at The Modern Proper.
Curry Chicken Lettuce Wraps
These flavor-packed wraps are easy to make as an appetizer or lightened-up dinner. Use butter lettuce for the perfect shape to hold the ground chicken filling.
Get the Curry Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe at Butter Be Ready.
Chicken Apple Sausage
Making your own chicken sausage is easier than you might think—and it's healthy, too! It's a simple combination of ground chicken, apples, onions, and spices. Perfect for serving with breakfast eggs!
Italian Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers is such a versatile dish—not only can you can prepare them entirely in advance, but they also work well when frozen and reheated. You can also swap out the grains based on your preferences—try brown rice, farro, or cauliflower rice.
Get the Italian Stuffed Peppers recipe at Well Plated by Erin.
Chicken Patties
Breaded, juicy, and crunchy—these chicken patties are a nice alternative to chicken cutlets on busy weeknights. Serve them up with mashed potatoes, rice, veggies, or a side salad.
Baked Chicken Meatballs and Spaghetti
Skip the hassle of pan-frying meatballs with this easy baked variation instead. They'll hold their shape nicely and they're hands-free!
Get the Baked Chicken Meatballs and Spaghetti recipe at Recipe Tin Eats.
Chicken Meatloaf
Ground chicken can have a bad reputation for being bland and dry, but this chicken meatloaf is here to set the record straight! It's moist and flavorful thanks to the ketchup glaze and it's sure to become a new family favorite.
Ground Orange Chicken
Whip up this quick variation on orange chicken! It's loaded with ginger, garlic, red chili pepper, and orange zest.
Get the Ground Orange Chicken recipe at Dinner Then Dessert.
Chipotle Chicken Tacos
You can use store-bought taco shells here or try your hand at making your own shells—it's easy! All you need to do is fill corn tortillas with the ground chicken and cheese, rub the tortillas with olive oil and bake.
Get the Chipotle Chicken Tacos recipe at Half Baked Harvest.
Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes
These ground chicken sloppy joes are so mouthwatering, they'll get everyone to the dinner table in no time! To balance out the spicy buffalo sauce, top each bun with cool ranch dressing.
Get the Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes recipe at Easy Chicken Recipes.
Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
Creamy coconut milk, spicy jalapeños, and red curry paste makes these chicken meatballs anything but boring! Serve them on their own or with rice or noodles for slurping up the extra sauce.
Get the Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs recipe at Sweet and Sorrel.
Italian Chicken Burgers
These easy chicken burgers have the same great flavor as your favorite chicken parmesan (including the tomato marinara sauce, melty cheese, and fresh basil). It's a fun mash-up that the whole family will love!
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