20 Great Summer Chicken Recipes

Cooking chicken on the grill is a wonderful way to impart more flavor to America's favorite white meat. This quick and easy lemon basil chicken for your barbecue is a real crowd-pleaser for summer cook-outs and weeknight meals. Bonus: it's ready in just 30 minutes. Chicken breasts are flavored with a quick marinade of garlic, lemon, and basil and then grilled to juicy perfection.

The sweetness of peaches adds something special to this summer chicken recipe that makes a great tasty family meal for any night of the week. Use chicken breasts or affordable chicken thighs for this baked chicken and peaches recipe. Tangy, homemade orange and honey sauce combines with peaches and lightly fried chicken for a delicious and very easy preparation.

Take a culinary journey South of the border with this super-easy summer chicken dish inspired by Mexican flavors. Lime, tequila, cilantro, honey, and a few spices make a zesty marinade for chicken that's cooked on the grill. Serve these yummy chicken breasts with Mexican rice, or slice them for enjoying in tacos, lunchbox wraps, and burritos.

Fried chicken is one of the true pleasures and signs of summer. What would picnics and cookout parties be without it? This fantastic fried chicken recipe includes foolproof instructions for marinating your chicken in buttermilk to add flavor, then dredging the meat in a seasoned flour blend before deep-frying in a skillet. The result is crispy, yet moist, fried chicken that's sure to inspire your family and friends to ask for second helpings.

Here's a go-to recipe for chicken pasta salad that you'll want to use again and again this summer. You can use a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket to make the preparation easy (and avoid the oven on hot summer days). Cubed cooked chicken combines with chopped bell peppers, green peas, tangy cheese, and a ranch-style Green Goddess dressing, for a tasty, satisfying, protein-rich salad you can take to work in your bagged lunches, pack for picnics, or enjoy on hot summer days for a cool, no-cook dinner.

Stuffed chicken breasts look super fancy, but are actually pretty straight-forward to make. You could easily serve this flavorful, elegant chicken breast recipe at dinner parties, or for a weekend family dinner. Chicken breasts are flattened, filled with basil and cheese, rolled in bread crumbs, then baked to perfection. Includes instructions for an addictively delicious homemade mushroom sauce to finish the dish and provide the perfect, yummy topping.

When you're craving a lighter meal this summer, or looking for a filling lunchbox recipe, look no further than this Greek chicken souvlaki gyro sandwich recipe. Fresh marinated chicken is grilled and stuffed into a warm pita, then topped with homemade tzatziki, tomato, onion, lettuce, and fresh dill, for a delicious taste of the Mediterranean.

Here's a perfect summer recipe for those busy weeknights when you don't have too much time to get dinner on the table (or just don't feel like slaving over a hot stove). A single sheet pan proves the ultimate time-saving, cleanup-sparing dinner hack. All there is to do with this easy chicken and vegetables recipe is mix up a quick marinade, arrange the chicken and veggies on the pan, and pop the pan into the oven. You can tweak the timing depending on which vegetables you use, or just follow this easy recipe for a no-stress dinner.

Skip the take-out this summer with this simply delicious at-home recipe for Chinese lemon chicken. You can recreate the popular Chinese restaurant entrée easily at home. Steaming the chicken makes for a healthy preparation, and store-bought Chinese sauces deliver authentic flavor in a short period of time.

Look no further for your favorite chicken burger of the summer! These herb and dill pickle filled chicken burgers are super tasty and make for a refreshing meal on a warm day. Quick enough for a weeknight dinner and delicious enough for grilling parties, with a mouth-watering tarragon mayonnaise sauce on top, you'll want to add this chicken recipe to your repertoire.

This luscious, sweet-meets-savory recipe for honey chicken kabobs is perfect for any summer celebration. Calorie-wise, boneless skinless chicken breasts are marinated in a bright mixture of honey, lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, and oregano. The result is tender, juicy and flavorful chicken that makes a wonderful summer meal, served on a bed of hot cooked rice.

This creamy, skillet pasta chicken recipe is delicious and super easy to prepare, making it the perfect summer dinner when you don't feel like working too hard in the kitchen. The lemon cream sauce is so addictive, you'll want to use it in other recipes, too.

Having guests to your place for a game day party? Skip the microwave Buffalo chicken wings and make your own healthier, tastier chicken wings using your oven! Making crispy, delicious oven-baked Buffalo chicken wings at home is a snap when you follow this easy recipe. You don't have to tell anyone these wings aren't "really" fried!

When you're craving a quick and comforting meal, this chicken corn potato soup is just the thing to satisfy your dinner cravings. With shredded chicken, fresh sweet corn, and potatoes, plus all the optional garnishes you choose to add, this healthy chicken soup is a great addition to your recipe box. Makes a great thermos lunch for taking to work, too!

Here's a tropical twist on the traditional fried chicken sandwich that will transport you to the Caribbean — no plane tickets required. Chicken meat is rolled in a crusty coating of sweet shredded coconut and panko bread crumbs and then fried, to create the filling for a sweet, salty, crispy, and totally irresistible summer sandwich.

Pineapple has a sweet and tropical flavor that combines surprisingly well with chicken. This scrumptious, Thai-inspired recipe for chicken fried rice studded with pineapple chunks, nuts, and raisins, makes a wonderfully flavorful everyday dinner during summertime. You can also use this recipe to create a show-stopping buffet dish at summer parties, serving it in a hollowed-out pineapple half.

Chicken rolls stuffed with sweet mango filling and brushed with a delicious mango-sriracha glaze are a wonderful dish for summer entertaining. Prepare this elegant dinner entrée on the grill for extra flavor.

Based on the traditional Thai dish, these flavorful lettuce wraps are super tasty, exotic, and fun to eat, too. Makes a surprisingly satisfying, crunchy, and delicious dinner for weeknights in summer. It's great as a party appetizer too, with lettuce and the filling set out separately so guests can make their own wraps!

This super simple, four-ingredient crockpot recipe for apricot chicken is warming, comforting, and delicious. You'll love the flavor combination of mild chicken, onion, spicy salad dressing, and sweet apricot preserves. Serve this crockpot apricot chicken dish over hot cooked rice, pasta, or couscous with a tossed green salad on the side, for a complete, easy weeknight dinner this summer.

Whether for lunch or dinner this summer, flavorful classic chicken salad sandwiches are always a hit. Serve them with french fries or cole slaw on the side, or with a simple tossed salad for a healthier meal.