Four Chicken Recipes to Impress Your Friends

Introduction

It’s always good to have that special recipe ready that you can whip out at a moment’s notice to impress family and friends.

Chicken is a popular ingredient that has the benefits of being easy to source and affordable, while also offering great versatility.

This chicken yakitori recipe is one of the best around, delivering incredible flavour on juicy skewers drenched in thick and sticky sauce.

But why stop at one recipe when there are so many top-notch chicken dishes to choose from? Below you’ll find four of the best.

Hot Chicken Salad

Admittedly this doesn’t have a lot in common with salad other than the fact it can be eaten cold the next day, but this chicken dish is a real crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients –

• 1kg cooked chicken
• 400g chopped celery
• I can cream of chicken condensed soup
• 450g mayonnaise
• 450g sour cream
• 2 cans water chestnuts (drained)
• 225g mushrooms (canned or fresh)
• 150g chopped almonds
• T tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Half teaspoon pepper
• 250g grated cheddar cheese
• 150g French-fried onions

Method 

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
2. If you are using fresh mushrooms, not canned, you may want to sauté them for a few minutes before adding to your recipe. Do this now, before you start.
3. You can either use leftover chicken or roast chicken for this dish. It’s fine to use hot or cold chicken in this recipe.
4. Chop the chicken into bite-sized cubes and place in a bowl.
5. Add in the next 11 ingredients and mix thoroughly.
6. Transfer the contents to a 13×9” baking dish and spread out thoroughly.
7. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese and French-fried onions over the top.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

If you don’t like your onions too crispy, these can be added in the last 10 minutes. For a low-fat version of this recipe, swap the sour cream for plain yoghurt and choose low-fat versions of the mayonnaise and soup. Delicious!

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This recipe is the perfect example of how it’s possible to create a delicious dish without a huge list of ingredients. Classic yet stunning, a green side salad is the perfect accompaniment.

Ingredients –

• 125g crumbled feta cheese
• 75g chopped sun-dried tomatoes (in oil)
• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons oil (reserved from the sun-dried oil)
• 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (can substitute for Italian seasoning if preferred)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F.
2. Mix tomatoes and cheese in a small bowl
3. Using a meat mallet, flatten chicken to approximately 1/4-inch thickness
4. Brush half of the oil onto the chicken breasts and sprinkle with the seasoning
5. Divide the cheese mixture into four and place on top of the chicken breast
6. Starting with the short side, roll up the chicken breast and hold in place with a cocktail stick
7. With the seams facing down, place the chicken breasts in a baking tray and brush with the remaining oil
8. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly cooked through.

African Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

If you’re bored of the same flavour profiles with every chicken dish you see, this sumptuous feast promises something very different but equally mouth-watering!

Ingredients –

• 6 chicken thighs (with the bone left in)
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (medium size)
• 160g mango chutney
• 60g smooth peanut butter
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes with chilli (drained)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F.
2. Place the chicken in a 13×9” baking dish and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
3. Cook the chicken without covering for approximately 30 minutes.
4. Place the oil in a deep-frying pan over a medium heat
5. Cook the diced potatoes in the frying pan for 10-12 minutes or until soft
6. Combine the peanut butter and chutney in a small bowl
7. Add the peanut butter and chutney mix to the potatoes in the pan and stir through
8. The tomatoes and chilli can now be added to the pan
9. Remove the frying pan from the heat and take the chicken out of the oven
10. Spoon the peanut butter, potato, chutney, and tomato combination over the chicken and put back in the oven
11. Bake for 10-15 minutes, making sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked through.

If you find mango chutney hard to source or you’re not a fan of the taste, it can be replaced by peach or apricot jam, or marmalade.

Chicken and Wild Rice Strudel

Many people will be more familiar with the sweet apple strudel, but this savoury dish makes the perfect main course.

Ingredients –

• 210g cooked chicken, roughly chopped
• 70g Swiss cheese, grated
• I packet wild/long grain rice (ready to serve)
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 12 sheets filo pastry (14×9”)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 204°C/400°F.
2. Put the chicken, cheese, rice, seasoning, salt, and pepper in a bowl and combine
3. Lay out one sheet of filo pastry and brush with melted butter. Repeat for five more sheets of pastry.
4. Make sure the remaining pastry is kept covered with a damp cloth to prevent it drying out
5. Spoon half of the chicken and rice mixture onto the filo pastry, leaving a 1-inch gap around the edge
6. Fold in the short sides of the pastry to enclose the filling
7. Starting with the long side, tightly roll up your pastry
8. Line a 15×10” tray with baking paper. Place the pastry roll on the parchment paper, seam down.
9. Brush pastry with melted butter and bake for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated through and golden brown.
10. Repeat process with remaining ingredients.

Serve with asparagus, baby greens and a tomato salad and an optional cream of mushroom sauce on the side.

Discover Your Inner Chef!

These four chicken recipes are just a handful of what’s available, so whether it’s chicken yakitori, African chicken with sweet potato or a flaky chicken strudel, there’s a recipe out there for everyone!