There are omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, meat-eaters who don’t eat beef, and “vegetarians” who eat fish in today’s “come as you are” food scene. But almost never do you find someone who eats nothing but chicken.
Theres probably good reason for that. Versatile, mild, affordable, healthy and utterly available, chicken is something of a standby in modern cooking. It is, in fact, the most popular protein source in American homes, beating out beef for “most common meat on the dinner table. “.
Chicken has another thing going for it, too, that may help further explain its popularity: You can cook it pretty quickly. Not all cooking methods will get it done in a jiffy, though. Here, five ways to get a chicken dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less, beginning with one you probably know quite well: oven-baking.
It may seem hard to cook chicken quickly while keeping its flavor and moisture. There are, however, a number of quick and easy ways to cook tasty chicken in 30 minutes or less.
Grilling
Grilling boneless, skinless chicken breasts is one of the fastest ways to cook them. When it’s around 500°F, chicken only takes 5 to 8 minutes on each side to grill.
To add lots of flavor in a hurry, marinate chicken in a plastic bag overnight before grilling Easy homemade marinades include olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and herbs or a store-bought marinade. Brushing the chicken with barbeque sauce during the last few minutes adds sweet charred flavor.
Grilled chicken is great for making quick meals during the week, like chicken tacos, sandwiches, salads, and more. To cook chicken breasts even faster, pound them to a thickness of 1 inch before putting them on the grill.
Broiling
Like grilling, broiling uses high heat from above to cook chicken quickly. Boneless breasts take 5-8 minutes per side under the broiler.
To keep the chicken extra juicy, rub a high smoke point oil like avocado or grapeseed oil on the chicken before broiling. Spice it up with a dry rub of herbs and spices
Broiling adds nice color and char to chicken with little effort. The intense heat crisps up the exterior while the interior stays moist. Try topping broiled chicken breasts with salsa and cheese for easy chicken nachos in minutes.
Pan-Frying or Sautéing
For the ultimate quick chicken dinner, bust out a skillet and pan-fry or sauté chicken cutlets or cubes. This hands-on cooking method only takes about 4-5 minutes per side to cook chicken through.
To make it even faster, skip raw chicken and use cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Shred or dice the chicken and sauté with frozen veggies and sauce for a fast weeknight stir-fry.
Other quick sautéed chicken recipes include teriyaki chicken and veggies or chicken piccata with artichokes over pasta. Just cover the pan while cooking to steam food and speed up cooking time.
Stir-Frying
An easy adaptation of sautéing, stir-frying makes lightning fast chicken dishes in a wok or large skillet. Cut raw chicken into bite-sized pieces for the fastest cooking time of just 2-3 minutes.
Turn leftover chicken or pre-cooked frozen chicken strips into a quick stir fry by mixing with frozen stir fry veggies. Add a store-bought stir fry sauce near the end to let the sauce coat the ingredients without overcooking them.
Some easy homemade stir fry sauces include oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and red pepper flakes. Serve stir fried chicken and veggies over rice or lo mein noodles.
Microwaving
Believe it or not, the microwave cooks chicken breasts from raw in just 4 minutes. Microwaving retains moisture in chicken better than other conventional oven cooking methods.
Place the chicken in a microwave-safe baking dish and add a bit of liquid like chicken broth, lemon juice, or water. Cover the dish and microwave 4-6 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Let the chicken rest a few minutes after cooking then use it in dishes like chicken tacos, casseroles, sandwiches, salads, and pasta dishes. Microwaved chicken lacks the nice char and browned exterior of grilled or pan-fried chicken but still cooks quickly.
Baking
One of the easiest cooking methods, baking chicken gets dinner in the oven quickly when using boneless, skinless breasts. Pounding them to a 1 inch thickness reduces baking time to about 10-12 minutes per side.
Save even more time by skipping raw chicken. Bake frozen chicken nuggets, tenders, or breaded chicken patties from the freezer according to package instructions for ready-in-minutes baked chicken.
Pair baked chicken with fresh or frozen veggies and starch like potatoes or rice for the ultimate easy baked chicken dinner. To add lots of flavor, coat chicken in spices, herbs, or breadcrumbs before baking.
Poaching
Poaching chicken cooks it gently in hot liquid like broth, milk, or water. Adding aromatics like garlic, onions, or herbs infuses the chicken with flavor.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts poach in just 8-10 minutes making this moist cooking method one of the fastest. Try incorporating poached chicken into dishes like chicken noodle soup, pot pie, casseroles, salads, and more.
Slow Cooker
While slow cooking typically takes hours, using a slow cooker can still create quick chicken dinners with minimal hands-on time. In the morning, add chicken breasts or thighs to the slow cooker with sauce or seasoning and set on high for 4 hours.
Shredded slow cooker chicken works well for recipes like fajitas, tacos, casseroles, sandwiches, soups, and pastas. Slow cooked chicken falls off the bone for tender, succulent meat ready when you walk in the door.
Pressure Cooking
Modern electric pressure cookers dramatically reduce chicken cook times. Boneless breasts take only about 6 minutes at high pressure to cook through and become tender.
Try tossing cut up raw chicken in the pressure cooker with ingredients like salsa, enchilada sauce, or coconut milk and spices. The chicken instantly absorbs the flavors and releases moisture and gelatin for rich depth.
Shredded pressure cooked chicken is great in tacos, burrito bowls, curries, pasta dishes, and more. For the fastest fresh chicken dinner, stock up on frozen chicken to throw in the pressure cooker any night of the week.
Picking the Right Chicken
To minimize total cooking time, choose thinner cuts of chicken like breasts and cutlets that cook quickly. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs work well for fast cooking methods like grilling, pan frying, baking, and microwaving.
Chicken tenderloins or nuggets also cook up super fast from frozen or raw. Take advantage of precooked chicken like rotisserie chicken or frozen breaded chicken products to shave off even more hands-on cooking time.
Flavoring and Serving Quick Chicken
Many quick cooking methods like grilling, broiling, and pan frying create delicious, browned chicken with crispy exteriors. Take advantage by simply seasoning the raw chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, and other favorite spices and herbs.
Other easy ways to add big flavor include marinating chicken beforehand, brushing with barbeque sauce, or serving with flavorful sauces and toppings. Opt for flavor boosters like pesto, chimichurri, tapenades, relishes, salsa, and fresh herbs.
Pair fast cooked chicken with quick vegetable side dishes like sautéed spinach, roasted broccoli, or sheet pan veggies. Incorporate chicken into meals like stir fries, fajitas, pasta dishes, sandwiches, rice bowls and more. With so many quick and easy cooking methods, you can enjoy delicious homemade chicken any night of the week.
Key Tips for Fast Chicken Dinners
- Pound chicken to an even 1-inch thickness for quick, consistent cooking
- Marinate chicken in advance to infuse with flavor
- Cut chicken into smaller pieces to reduce cooking time
- Use pre-cooked chicken to skip the actual cooking step
- Add liquids to chicken when microwaving and cover to retain moisture
- Use flavorful sauces, spices, herbs, and toppings for instant flavor
- Cook chicken first then use in quick skillet meals, pasta dishes etc.
- Pair with easy veggie sides like sautéed greens or roasted vegetables
- Stock up on frozen breaded chicken products and nuggets for last minute meals
With a little planning and some easy cooking techniques, you can enjoy moist, flavorful homemade chicken any night of the week – even on your busiest weeknights. Follow these tips for fast weeknight chicken dinners ready in 30 minutes or less.
1: Microwave
For the most part, people have never thought to cook chicken (or any other meat) in the microwave, unless they’re making leftovers. But if your recipe doesnt require that the chicken be browned, theres really no rule that says you cant utilize the speediest appliance in your kitchen.
In a microwave, you can cook two chicken breasts in 4 minutes. It doesnt get faster than that. The trick is keeping it moist, which is easy enough to do. Simply add a liquid (water, chicken broth, an olive-oil-lemon-juice mixture) to the microwave dish, cover, and nuke.
Give it a shot:
- Quick Orange Chicken
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
Even if making a chicken dinner in the microwave feels odd to you, you can still use the appliance to cut the time for any other cooking method you choose. Before pan-frying, grilling, broiling or baking, pop the chicken in the microwave for a minute or two. That head-start will shave minutes off the cooking time when you move the chicken to the oven, stove or grill.
Put a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken every time before you put it on the table, no matter how you cook it, how long it takes, or what recipe you use. If it reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit or more, youre good to go. Those 10 seconds might end up saving you more time and energy than you know. Batch Cleaning.
The part of cooking chicken that takes the most time is cleaning it. To cut down on dinner prep time, clean and portion chicken in large batches when you have an hour to spare. You can freeze what you’re not going to use that day and take out what you need the night before.
4: Broil
While some people confuse broiling with baking, about the only similarity is the oven locale. Baking surrounds food with heated air to cook it, while broiling uses direct infrared radiation to cook food from above. Its kind of like reverse grilling.
On the downside, broiling can require some hard scrubbing after the fact, because drippings can really get crusted in. On the upside, broiling uses super-high heat, usually about 500 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it a crazy-quick way to cook. Chicken breasts can be done in as little as 5 to 8 minutes per side. (Even bone-in chicken parts can cook quickly this way, although not as quickly as breasts). If youve got less than 20 minutes to get your chicken dinner on the table, broiling is an excellent way to go.
Try it tonight:
- Chicken Satay
- Curry Chicken Breast Pitas (pre-marinate)
- Gazebo Chicken
Next, moving outside (or not) … Cold Storage
Frozen chicken, if wrapped properly, preferably in its original store packaging, can last for a year or more. If the store packaging has been compromised, wrap the chicken snuggly in foil and/or plastic wrap, and then seal in a heavy-duty freezer bag.
The Best Chicken Breast You’ll Ever Make (Restaurant-Quality) | Epicurious 101
FAQ
What is the quickest way to cook chicken?
If speedy is what you’re after, try tossing those chicken breasts in a pan (or a wok). In as little as 10 minutes (that’s the total time, not per side), you can quickly and tasty cook food by pan-frying, sautéing, or stir-frying.
How to speed up cooking a chicken?
Spatchcocking sounds a little scary, but it’s very easy to do. By cutting the backbone out with a stout pair of kitchen scissors, you can flatten the bird so that the legs and breast are all on the same level. This cuts cooking time by 15-30 minutes, making roast chicken a far more practical option for midweek.
Is it faster to bake or fry chicken?
Another benefit is that frying is more efficient than baking. This means that food cooks faster and the inside doesn’t dry out while the outside gets crispy.
Will chicken cook at 350 for 30 minutes?
Yes, chicken can be cooked at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes, but the exact cooking time will depend on the size and cut of chicken.