Chicken Recipes: Easy Baked, Skillet and One-Pan Ideas

How we cook chicken on a weeknight

Cooking breasts instead? Slice or butterfly them into even cutlets so they cook as fast as the rest of the dish, and pull them at 165°F (74°C). Thighs are safe at the same temperature but are noticeably more tender at 175°F, when their connective tissue softens.

Whatever the cut, pat the chicken dry before it goes in the pan. Surface moisture is the reason chicken steams and turns grey instead of browning, and those browned bits are what turn a splash of broth into a sauce.

Let cooked chicken rest for five minutes before slicing so the juices settle back into the meat rather than running across the board.

Short on time? Classic Chicken Salad is the quickest here at 15 min, with 15 min of hands-on work.