20 Cozy Chicken Dinners for Winter Weeknights (5 Ingredients or Less)

4-Ingredient Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake

“The brilliance here really does lie in the dish’s simplicity. With just four ingredients, you have a dinner that can feed a family for several days.” —Joey Firoben, Recipe Developer

5-Ingredient Maple Glazed Chicken and Squash

“It’s one of my favorite sheet pan meals and, with just five ingredients, it’s a lifesaver when time is tight, and I’m in need of a cozy dinner.” —Ivy Manning, Recipe Developer

4-Ingredient Egg Roll in a Bowl

“I love this recipe because it uses four easy-to-find ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. Ground meat, a bag of coleslaw mix, soy sauce, and ginger are pretty much all you need to make this dish. It’s on repeat in my house because it’s a nutrient-dense meal that tastes like fried food. Win-win!” —Jessica Furniss, Recipe Developer

5-Ingredient Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

“Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are a staple on our weeknight family dinner menu. They’re quick to prepare (just 20 minutes in a hot oven) and reliably tender and flavorful. Plus, they are affordable and pretty difficult to overcook.” —Shayma Saadat, Recipe Developer

3-Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken

Chicken breasts and jarred salsa verde sizzle together in the oven before being topped with pepper jack cheese to finish this simple 3-ingredient dinner. “You can serve this salsa verde chicken in several ways … alongside rice and beans, veggies like green beans or broccoli, and more. You can also shred the chicken, toss it with the sauce and cheese, and use it to fill tacos or burritos.” —Laurel Randolph, Associate Editorial Director

4-Ingredient Tuscan-Style Chicken Thighs

“The recipe leans on pre-chopped mirepoix, which I highly recommend because it’s worth paying a little extra for the convenience and it really cuts down on prep time … Juicy tomatoes and olives add tons of flavor with no prep whatsoever. In fact, you don’t even need a knife to make this easy dinner.” —Theodora Kaloudis, Recipe Developer

4-Ingredient Crispy Chicken With Zucchini and Shallots

Zucchini, chicken, shallots, and garlic pack in the flavor in this simple one-pot skillet dinner.

“I can’t get over how crispy the skin is on this chicken – So perfect. The zucchini has a slight bite, but also melts in your mouth…I’m not sure how that happened, but it’s great.” —Elizabeth M, Reader

5-Ingredient Chicken Enchilada Chili

This pantry-friendly dinner comes together with enchilada sauce and ground cumin for a flavorful base, plus convenient canned beans, corn, and precooked chicken.

"Absolutely delicious! The chili was bursting with flavors from the enchilada sauce and the cumin. The chicken and vegetables absorbed some of the enchilada sauce, so every bite was perfection.” —Munni P, Reader

5-Ingredient Wine Chicken

This simple take on the classic French dish, coq au vin, delivers impressive results with only 5 ingredients.

“Wine chicken is also excellent with a bright and acidic green salad or your choice of vegetables. It’s also tasty over couscous or buttered noodles, which soak up the luscious sauce.” —Laurel Randolph, Associate Editorial Director

3-Ingredient Honey Mustard Chicken

“Not counting the oil, salt, and pepper, it's just chicken, honey mustard, and lemon marinated for a short time ... I personally love serving this with salad (one of my daughter’s favorites) and either roasted potatoes (they can roast while you marinate the chicken) or crusty bread. Sometimes I’ll serve it with stir-fried broccoli or pan-seared green beans and then drizzle extra sauce over everything.” —Sara Haas, Recipe Developer

5-Ingredient One-Pot Chicken and Rice

Made with chicken, rice, celery, onion and a can of condensed cream of chicken soup, this is comfort at it's finest. "So simple, yet delicious!!!" —LeAnn, Reader

4-Ingredient Chicken Parmesan

“Whenever I’m at Costco, I make sure to snag a bag of panko chicken from the freeze section (or I stock up when it’s on sale!), spaghetti, a couple of jars of Rao’s marinara sauce, and mozzarella to make this shortcut chicken parm.” —Claudia Cash, Contributor

5-Ingredient Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla

This 5-ingredient dinner is ready in 20 minutes flat and has all the flavor of your favorite game-day dish.

"I see absolutely nothing wrong with cheesy chicken for dinner, but if you’re craving some veggies or simply want to bulk up the quesadillas, add some drained and rinsed canned black or pinto beans, thawed frozen corn, or any mix of cooked zucchini, onions, or bell peppers." —Simply Recipes Recipe Tester Liv Dansky

5-Ingredient Greek-Style Chicken and Potatoes

“My go-to oven fry method is simple. Roast the fries in a single layer (it’s ok if they’re squeezed in there) until they’re golden on the bottom, then finish them under the broiler to get the tops browned and crispy. No flipping needed, and no second sheet pan. And if making fries from scratch isn’t your thing, frozen ones work just as well.” —Theodora Kaloudis, Recipe Developer

4-Ingredient Chicken Pot Pie

“The result is a full-flavored, saucy, cozy main dish with a shatteringly crisp and flaky crust that delivers the goodness of chicken pot pie in around 45 minutes, most of that being baking time.” —Megan Scott, Former Senior Editor

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Four ingredients—chicken, prepared salsa and lime—simmer in the slow cooker to create the most tender taco filling. “To jazz things up, sometimes I cover the chicken in a mixture of chili powder, cumin, and oregano before adding the salsa. Or I add a chopped onion and some garlic to the mix. There are plenty of options for playing with flavor to make this your own!” —Sarah Haas, Recipe Developer

4-Ingredient Garlic Butter Chicken and Potatoes

You can't beat the flavorful combo of butter and garlic in this mouthwatering meal. You don't need much else, apart from salt, pepper, oil, and (of course) chicken to finish things off.

“It’s a perfect lunch or dinner when paired with steamed green beans, peas, or broccoli or even a leafy garden salad. At home, we fight to mop up the juices at the bottom of the dish with crusty bread, and rightfully so—it’s the best part!” —Annika Panikker, Recipe Developer

4-Ingredient Ranch Chicken Breasts

While you could easily rely on bottled ranch dressing for this recipe, this recipe whips up a homemade sauce to take the flavor up, while still keeping the total ingredient count .

“To make it a meal, quarter small potatoes, toss them with oil, pepper, and salt, and roast them at 425°F for 20 minutes. Add broccoli florets (stir them right in with the potatoes) when there’s about 8 minutes left of cooking." —Sara Haas, Recipe Developer

3-Ingredient Lemon Chicken

It takes just three main ingredients—chicken thighs, lemon, and garlic—to make this impressively-flavorful dish. “Really easy and good! I put a bed of baby potatoes on the bottom, then lemons and the chicken. Was delicious!!” —Annie, Reader

3-Ingredient Banana Pepper Chicken

“Banana pepper chicken is an easy, quick-cooking main dish, so it needs side dishes that aren’t too fussy to go with it. Some of my favorites are frozen french fries, a simple green salad, polenta, mashed potatoes, or buttered noodles.” —Stephanie A. Ganz, Recipe Developer