5-Ingredient Chicken Recipes That Are As Simple As They Are Delicious

Chicken with 40 Leaves of Basil
Photo: Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely

Cooking at home has endless benefits. To start, you can save money, calories, and get to spend time with your family. But cooking can be time-consuming, and when weeknights get crazy, gourmet is a no-go. If you're looking for quick, easy recipes that won't break the bank, five-ingredient recipes are here for you. Chicken recipes are always a good idea for fast, cost-efficient dinners, especially when they only call for five ingredients. These simple recipes will help you combine a handful of ingredients with pantry staples like butter, oil, and spices to create a crowd-pleasing dinner.

When it comes to these five-ingredient chicken recipes, you might have the ingredients already on hand, so you don't even need to make a grocery store run. These simple recipes are perfect for nights when you're cleaning out the pantry or running low on time. Skip the takeout route and serve up these easy five-ingredient chicken recipes for dinner this week.

01 of 16

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Crock-Pot Salsa Chicken
Caitlin Bensel

Recipe: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Easy and versatile, salsa chicken can be served over rice, used for quesadillas, in tacos, and more.

02 of 16

Oven-Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Oven-Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Oven-Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Delicious baked chicken is easy to attain, just make sure to use a wire rack so the air can circulate around the chicken for a crispy finish.

03 of 16

Chicken With 40 Leaves of Basil

Chicken with 40 Leaves of Basil
Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely

Recipe: Chicken With 40 Leaves of Basil

A basil and oil mixture adds serious flavor to a whole chicken. Think of it as an herbaceous take on the classic chicken recipe that uses 40 basil leaves and 12 cloves of garlic.

04 of 16

Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes

Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes serve as the perfect base for homemade chicken salad in this colorful recipe that comes together in just 15 minutes.

05 of 16

Dry-Rubbed Smoked Chicken Wings

Dry-Rubbed Smoked Chicken Wings
Jennifer Causey

Recipe: Dry-Rubbed Smoked Chicken Wings

Pitmaster Wade Reich of Butts To Go in Pell City, Alabama, shared the recipe for these easy, flavorful wings with us. The low-and-slow method always works for tender wings.

06 of 16

Top-Shelf Chicken Under a Brick

Top-Shelf Chicken Under a Brick
Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Top-Shelf Chicken Under a Brick

You've never seen golden, crispy grilled chicken quite like this. Your cast-iron skillet works overtime to cook the potatoes and flatten the chicken against the grill so it cooks quickly.

07 of 16

Lemon-Barbecue Chicken

Lemon-Barbecue Chicken
Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Recipe: Lemon-Barbecue Chicken

The marinade for this chicken can be made up to two days in advance. Just make sure to allow chicken to marinate for at least three hours before grilling to enjoy maximum flavor.

08 of 16

Mama's Fried Chicken

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Recipe: Mama's Fried Chicken

Less is more when it comes to this simple, classic fried chicken recipe. Mama hasn't been wrong about much, including this crispy chicken.

09 of 16

Poppy Seed Chicken

Classic Poppy Seed Chicken
Southern Living

Recipe: Poppy Seed Chicken

This classic casserole is always a crowd-pleaser.

10 of 16

Chicken Parmesan Pizza

Chicken Parmesan Pizza
Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett

Recipe: Chicken Parmesan Pizza

Convenient items like jarred pizza sauce and frozen French bread helps pizza night come together with just 5 ingredients.

11 of 16

Lemon Chicken

Best Lemon Recipes Lemon Chicken

Recipe: Lemon Chicken

Using lemons is an easy way to add a bright flavor to chicken and this recipes come together from start to finish in just 20 minutes.

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Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken
Photo: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Roast Chicken

Master the art of roasting a whole chicken with this easy recipe.

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Herb-Grilled Chicken

Herb-Grilled Chicken
Jennifer Davick; Styling: Alan Henderson

Recipe: Herb-Grilled Chicken

Use fresh herbs from your garden or grab your favorites at the grocery store.

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Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken
Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

This chicken recipe is as easy as it gets, and you can replace chicken pieces like wings with those chicken breasts waiting in your refrigerator.

15 of 16

Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken

Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken
Southern Living

Recipe: Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken

If you're craving fried chicken, lighten up a bit and leave the deep fryer behind. Your cast-iron skillet works just as well for this simple recipe.

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Chicken Alouette

Chicken Alouette Recipe
Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Chicken Alouette

This recipe from our December 1991 issue is still a favorite for showers, luncheons, and holiday meals because of its pretty presentation.

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