Easy chicken recipes from our top chefs
Stuck on what to cook for dinner? Try one of these easy chicken recipes from our top chefs. From one-pot wonders and the classic chicken roast, The Australian’s food writers have you covered.
Roasted, broiled, tossed in a salad, swimming in soup, covered in pastry … there are plenty of ways to enjoy chicken. Instead of copping out with a ‘bachelor’s handbag’ from the supermarket, take inspiration from these dishes by esteemed food writers such as David Herbert, Elizabeth Hewson, Alice Zavlasky, Jen Petrovic, and Yotam Ottolenghi.
Twelve chicken recipes from our top chefs
1. David Herbert’s perfect roast chicken dinner
Roasting a chicken is a skill worth adding to your repertoire, especially in this economy. David Herbert’s bare-bones recipe only requires five ingredients (chicken, lemon, garlic, rosemary, bacon), the genius is in the technique. In just over an hour, you’ll have a belter of a bird. “Try to source the best-quality chook you can: the better the bird, the better the dinner. Often I’ll simply serve it with the juices that accumulate during the resting period.” Get the full recipe for David Herbert's roast chicken here.
2. Elizabeth Hewson’s one-tray chicken
Home-cook Elizabeth Hewson, who confesses to being a newcomer to one-tray cooking, extols the virtues of this particular dish.
“It’s everything I want in a chicken dish – crispy skin, tender meat, sweet, sticky tomatoes that burst in your mouth, and flavour-packed, golden potatoes, all of which swim in a zesty sauce that demands every last bit be mopped up,” she writes for the Australian. Most importantly, though, it’s easy. Read the full recipe for Elizabeth Hewson's one-try chicken here.
3. Guest chef Belinda Jeffery’s one-pan chicken
It‘s another one-pan wonder, this time from guest chef Belinda Jeffery, who put her own spin on a recipe from Darina Allen’s book, One Pot Feeds All.
“The chicken and potatoes are slightly crusty with a deep, smoky flavour from the paprika,” writes Jeffery, who recommends smooshing the roasted garlic cloves from their skins onto the chicken. Read the full recipe for Belinda Jeffery’s one-pan chicken here.
4. Balinese yellow chicken curry
This healthy, aromatic curry is infused with Balinese spices. It’s taken from Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice’s cookbook The Midlife Kitchen: Health-boosting recipes for midlife & beyond. You’ll need to make the curry paste yourself, but Spencer and Rice say it’s worth the effort. Read the full recipe for Balinese yellow chicken curry here.
5. Jen Petrovic’s chicken curry
Guest chef Jen Petrovic says that to enhance the flavour of this dish, keep it in the fridge for a few days before eating.
“I work with an Indian chef who says no reputable Indian restaurant would ever serve a curry on the day it is made.”
Read the full recipe for Jen Petrovic's chicken curry here.
5. David Herbert’s chicken pie
For this recipe, David Herbert recommends using a combination of chicken breast fillets and boned skinless thighs.
“If the pastry doesn’t fit the top of the pie, don’t try to stretch it – cut it into triangles and overlap them slightly.”
Read the full recipe for David Herbert's chicken pie here.
6. Mark Labrooy’s chicken curry pie
Yesterday’s chicken curry could be “one of the best” pies you’ve ever eaten. That’s according to Chef Mark Labrooy, co-owner of Three Blue Ducks, Sydney and The Farm, Byron Bay.
This self-supporting pie doesn‘t require a baking dish, but Labrooy recommends making the chicken curry a day in advance so that it can cool before being added to the pastry.
Serve along blanched bok choy. Read the full recipe for Mark Labrooy's chicken curry pie here.
7. Yotam Ottolenghi & Noor Murad’s blackened chicken with caramel
This sweet and smokey dish comes from Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad’s book Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things.
“Don’t be afraid to really char your chicken thighs here (making sure to ventilate your kitchen well!) This will add an intense flavour alongside the vibrant dressing and make for a very punchy eating experience.” Read the full recipe for Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad's blackened chicken with caramel here.
8. David Herbert’s Portuguese chicken
Burnished-skinned, richly-flavoured, and moderately spiced. David Herbert’s Portuguese chicken is irresistible. The chicken should be marinated for a few hours and cooked in a hot oven. Herbert suggests a crisp cucumber and fennel salad as a companion. Read the full recipe for David Herbert's Portuguese chicken here.
9. Olivia Andrews’ corn & chicken soup
Here’s one for a cold snap. With this chicken and corn soup, Olivia Andrews gives you permission to whip out that takeaway barbecued chicken. “This crowd-pleaser provides the perfect opportunity to sneak in extra vegetables.” Read the full recipe for Olivia Andrews' corn chicken soup here.
10. David Herbert’s hearty chicken soup
This painless, nutritious winter soup is chock full of vegetables. It calls for 1kg of boned chicken thighs, skin removed, and can be made ahead of time. Read the full recipe for David Herbert hearty chicken soup here.
11. Nornie Bero’s Semur chicken
Sumer chicken is always on the menu at Nornie Bero‘s Melbourne restaurant Mabu Mabu. Bero writes, “The Asian flavours of lemongrass, soy, and chilli feature in many Torres Strait Island dishes, influenced by Japanese fishers and divers who have been living on the islands since the 19th century, as well as by visitors from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.”
In this recipe, Bero has added native vegetables such as karkalla and warrigal greens – keep an eye out for them at farmers’ markets. If you can’t find them, green vegetables such as bok choy or silverbeet make worthy replacements. Read the full recipe for Nornie Bero's Semur chicken here.
Bonus chicken recipes
Add some variety to your weeknight meals with these bonus chicken recipes, perfect for quick, delicious dinners that never get old.
Chicken saltimbocca
When Elizabeth Hewson moved to Italy for a year, she found inspiration for this dish in the thin chicken fillets she spotted at the butcher’s, along with some prosciutto proudly displayed on top of the cabinet. The term “saltimbocca” itself derives from “saltare in bocca”, which translates to “jump into the mouth.” And that’s precisely what this dish does, bursting with flavour from just a handful of ingredients.
Read the full recipe for Elizabeth Hewson's chicken saltimbocca here.
Mayo-marinated chicken with chimichurri
Chicken cutlets that cook through and brown in about four minutes, with deep chimichurri flavor enhanced by a post-grill drizzle of fresh sauce.
Read the full recipe for Mayo-marinated chicken with chimichurri.
Ayam Masak Merah (Malaysian chicken casserole)
In this popular casserole dish from Malaysia, chicken pieces are cooked with lots of aromatics, which impart a beautiful flavour. It is simmered in passata to give it the vibrant red colour.
Read the full recipe for Malaysian chicken casserole.
Want more recipe ideas? Check out these vegetarian inspired dishes or try your hand at these quick and healthy weeknight dinner recipes. For more recipes, go to theaustralian.com.au/life/food-drink.
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