Our Best Winter Chicken Recipes

This 170-calorie slow-cooker version of a classic comfort food takes just 25 minutes of prep and uses reduced-fat cream cheese in its creamy homemade broth.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Crushed tortilla chips, stirred into the chili's base, give this dish a lusciously silky texture. Put it together in just 20 minutes.

Chunky Bean and Chicken Chili

Chicken and fresh mushrooms slow-cook in cream cheese, wine and soup. It's easy to put together but tastes complex because of its delicately seasoned cream sauce.

Angel Chicken

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Whole garlic cloves (even 30 of them!) become mellow and buttery-soft when roasted. Sweet potatoes and onion wedges cook alongside the chicken.

Garlic Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Fruit-and-nut stuffing transforms everyday chicken breasts into a company-ready feast. Bonus: It's deceptively simple; you’ll have dinner on the table in an hour.

Grape-Stuffed Chicken with Lemon Orzo

Mix a can of cream of chicken soup, mushrooms, veggies and rice mix for the soup base. Any boneless cooked chicken works in this recipe, but chicken thighs, with more moisture from fat, slow-cook the best.

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

For a fast warm-up on a cold night, put together this quick and easy version of classic chicken and rice casserole with refrigerated light pasta sauce, cubed cooked chicken and cooked rice.

Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole

Combine chicken, chopped vegetables and canned beans for this warm and comforting chili. Our recipe gives variations for Slow Cooker Chicken Chili as well as a spicier Chipotle Chicken Chili.

Warm-Me-Up Chicken Chili

Chicken, noodles, veggies and herbs simmer in a creamy sauce. It's a perfect one-dish winter meal; just serve with a small salad or dinner rolls.

Chicken and Noodles

We adapted a classic French recipe of chicken cooked in wine for this slow-cooker specialty. Burgundy flavors the meaty chicken and forms the base of the gravy.

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

Prepare this chicken dish in just 20 minutes using packaged ingredients. Substitute leftover chicken (or any leftover cooked meat) for the package of frozen chopped cooked chicken breast, if you like.

Tortellini with Chicken and Cheese

Ina Pinkney, owner of Ina's in Chicago--home of this pot pie recipe--calls this dish creamy, chickeny goodness. The pastry tops can be made a day or two ahead. Bake as directed; cool and then cover loosely with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Chicken Pot Pie

Oven-baking the chicken makes this recipe a breeze for any time of the year, and homemade barbecue sauce is always a hit. Serve with rolls and slaw.  

Oven-Barbecued Chicken

This skillet meal is ready in just 10 minutes! Combine chicken, cooked brown or white rice, peas, almonds, and bottled stir-fry sauce.

Fast Chicken and Rice

This one-dish meal uses reduced-fat soup, fat-free milk, salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning and light mayonnaise for lower fat, calories and sodium than traditional casseroles.

Chicken Supreme Casserole

Chicken and fresh vegetables simmer in a garlic-tomato broth for an easy skillet dinner. Feta cheese adds a touch of creaminess. Serve with either plain or flavored couscous.

Greek-Style Chicken Skillet

Simply Ramen Chicken Soup gives you a meal in a bowl that's ready in only 15 minutes. Oregano adds a from-scratch taste to the simple soup.

Simply Ramen Chicken Soup

Combine spices with raisins and apricots to season this slow-cooker chicken stew. Serve on couscous and topped with toasted pine nuts and fresh cilantro.

Moroccan Chicken Stew

Go cross-cultural by combining chicken, Italian pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese in Mexican tortillas.

Easy Italian-Style Enchiladas

Patterned after a legendary Texas recipe, this irresistible main dish includes seasoned chicken stacked up with chili peppers, tortillas, sour cream sauce and cheese.

Texas-Style Casserole

We like the smooth richness of this chunky main-dish soup from Antlers Restaurant at Breezy Point Resort in Breezy Point, Minnesota.

Another comforting chicken soup: Creamy Velvet Chicken Soup, the signature dish in the re-created L.S. Ayres Department Store Tea Room (circa 1905) at the Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis.

Antlers Wild Rice Soup

Creamy Velvet Chicken Soup

This from-scratch deep-dish chicken casserole comes from a Caledonia, Michigan, reader. "It's not your run-of-the-mill chicken pie," says the reader, who adds a bit of pork sausage for farm-hearty flavor. "Anyone who tries it just can't get enough of it."

Unforgettable Chicken Pie

Save time with premade pasta sauce for this slow-cooker recipe. Tender chicken, herbs and fresh vegetables blend for a crowd-pleasing dish.

Slow Cooker French Chicken Stew

A paprika-seasoned sour cream sauce adds richness to tender, juicy chicken. Serve with spaetzle or noodles. The recipe comes from the Sidekick Cafe in Osseo, Michigan.

Country-Style Chicken Paprikash

A package of frozen veggies, canned mushrooms and canned soup shorten the prep work in this takeout-style recipe.

Cashew Chicken

Chicken breast and chopped broccoli combine with a soup-based cream sauce and noodles in this classic potluck dish. You can lighten the traditional recipe by using reduced-fat, reduced-sodium soup and fat-free sour cream, if you prefer.

Creamy Chicken-Broccoli Bake

This country-style chicken soup with dumplings will remind you of Grandma's recipes--hearty, rich and comforting.

Chicken with Lemon-Thyme Dumplings

Smoked cheese melts inside chicken breasts for this easy-to-make entree. It's from the Roth Kase USA cheese factory in Monroe, Wisconsin. The company says the hole in the center of its Italian-style Rofumo lets the distinctive hickory-smoke flavor penetrate the cheese. If you can't buy Rofumo, substitute smoked Gouda, Edam or cheddar.

Showstopper Chicken Surprise

Diane Nemitz of Ludington, Michigan, kept experimenting with the Native American three sisters--corn, beans and squash--until she created this satisfying soup. "I've been experimenting with corn chowders for a while," she notes. "This is the one my husband liked best. Roasting the corn kernels makes the difference."

Three Sisters Corn-and-Chili Chowder

Dress up packaged biscuit mix with cheddar cheese, then bake while a chicken and vegetable mixture simmers in your slow cooker. A small package of cream cheese adds a nice finish to the chicken.

Slow-Cooked Chicken and Biscuits

Apples, pears and cranberries mix with caramelized onions in a luscious tumble over chicken breasts. Why leave the skin on and bones in? Trust us; you'll notice the extra flavor.

Roast Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Fall Fruit

Leftover chicken and frozen noodles cut prep time for this ultimate comfort food.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Enjoy more of our favorite recipes in any of our free printable cookbooks.

Top 10 Slow-Cooker Recipes Cookbook

10 Favorite Casseroles Cookbook

Best of the Midwest Recipe Contest Winners Cookbook

7 Fresh Chicken Recipes Cookbook

21 Sweet Corn Recipes Cookbook

14 Fall Harvest Recipes Cookbook