23 Healthy and Delicious Chicken Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest thing to cook chicken with? ›

Poached Chicken

Poaching is great because it adds virtually no fat to your food, yet yields subtle flavour and moisture. To poach your chicken, add your ingredients (chicken and any other vegetables, aromatics, and spices you like) to a skillet or pot, and add a cooking liquid such as broth, wine, or coconut milk.

Darker cuts like the thigh and drumstick contain higher caloric content than lighter cuts like the breast. Keeping the skin or frying chicken will also add saturated fat. If you're switching out red meat for chicken, you'll want to stick with chicken breast, as it's the healthiest cut of the bird.

Use Cooking Spray

One of the best ways to make fried chicken healthier is by eliminating cooking oils. Instead, use cooking spray, which has about 9 calories for every 1 second of spraying. Another perk to using cooking spray over cooking oil is that your kitchen will stay a lot cleaner!

Air frying is an innovative way to cook chicken that gives the delicious taste of frying without the need for lots of oil. This is a great alternative to deep frying, as it makes chicken just as crispy and tasty, while requiring far less fat by using powerful waves of hot air to evenly cook your food.

“In general, chicken can be a great low-fat source of protein and an overall nutritious choice to incorporate multiple times per week,” Cartlidge says. But she emphasizes that chicken that is breaded, deep fried or paired with sauces high in sodium or sugar turn this healthy food into a not-so-healthy one.

If your main aim is weight loss, then the best type of chicken you can opt for is- skinless, boneless chicken breast. Do you know that 3-ounce serving of skinless, boneless chicken breast provides just 140 calories, a whopping 26 grams of protein, and just 3 grams of fat?

try to limit processed meat products such as sausages, salami, pâté and beefburgers, because these are generally high in fat – they are often high in salt, too. try to limit meat products in pastry, such as pies and sausage rolls, because they are often high in fat and salt.

A rotisserie chicken is better than some of the other alternatives. Even with additives, a rotisserie chicken is a far healthier choice than a fast food run, says Allers. “It's still lower in fat and calories than fast food. It's serving its purpose – it's fast, but it can still help you create a balanced meal.

The highest fat content in a chicken comes from the skin, followed by the wings, which just barely edge out the next-fattiest cut of chicken meat, the thigh. Next up is the drumstick, followed by breast meat, which is the leanest cut of chicken.

Overall, most health experts and dietitians would not recommend KFC products as part of a healthy diet. Fried chicken, KFC's signature product, is high in calories, fat, and salt, and has been linked to many health risks, including weight gain andl diabetes.

Is an air fryer healthy? ›

Are Air-Fried Foods Better for You? By most measures, air frying is healthier than frying in oil. It cuts calories by 70% to 80% and has a lot less fat. This cooking method might also cut down on some of the other harmful effects of oil frying.

If they are boneless/skinless, pan fry them- you have more control over their done-ness, and a better chance of them not drying out or get overdone. Bone-in, especially with skin on, I'd recommend oven-cooking- both the bones and the skin protect the meat, and give them good flavor.

Chicken helps lose overall body weight if consumed as a healthy and balanced diet. In the process, one can also lose belly fat. While eating chicken, remember to opt for lean chicken breast; it is a good source of protein with fewer calories.

Air fryers may be better for you than deep fryers, but they're only as healthy as the food you put inside. They won't magically remove the saturated fat from bacon or the trans fats from a bag of processed chicken wings. To reap the benefits, reach for better-for-you options like vegetables and lean proteins.

Safer, healthier cooking methods for chicken include sous vide, steaming, pressure cooking, and microwaving.

The best way to cook chicken for the health benefits

When it comes to pan frying, the type of fat you use to grease the pan is important. A healthy oil, such as olive or coconut, is going to be a healthier choice than animal fat, like butter. However, the healthiest way to cook chicken is to bake it or boil it.

For a healthy diet, choose lean cuts of chicken like breast without skin. Opt for cooking methods such as grilling, baking, or steaming instead of frying. Season with herbs, spices, and minimal salt for flavor.

Oven fried chicken is healthier than deep fried chicken because it is cooked in the oven and not in oil. The chicken is cooked at a lower temperature than it would be if it were fried in oil.

Is pan seared chicken healthy? Pan seared chicken breast is a healthy dinner idea because it's high protein and low in carbohydrates.