27 High-Protein Chicken Dinners with 400 Calories or Less

bowls of chicken and peppers

Enjoy a protein-packed dinner with these chicken recipes. Each serving of these dinners has at least 15 grams of protein and clocks in at 400 calories or less. Recipes like Kung Pao Chicken with Bell Peppers and Creamy Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms One-Pot Pasta are filling, healthy and deserve a spot in your weekly meal rotation.

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Cabbage Roll Chicken Enchiladas

Cabbage Roll Chicken Enchiladas

This 5-ingredient dinner recipe uses two genius hacks to make dinner healthy and get it on the table in under an hour. First, swap in cabbage leaves for tortillas to cut the carbs and get an extra serving of vegetables. Second, use prepared ingredients--spicy refried beans and enchilada sauce--to add tons of flavor without a long ingredient list.

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Greek Chicken with Roasted Spring Vegetables & Lemon Vinaigrette

Greek Chicken with Roasted Spring Vegetables & Lemon Vinaigrette

This Greek-inspired chicken and vegetable sheet-pan meal is bursting with flavor. The chicken is coated in a mayonnaise and bread crumb mixture, roasted alongside asparagus, cremini mushrooms and grape tomatoes and then served with a lemon-feta vinaigrette.

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Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajita Bowls

Skip the tortillas in favor of this warm fajita salad, which features a nutritious medley of chicken with roasted kale, bell peppers and black beans. The chicken, beans and vegetables are all cooked on the same pan, so this healthy dinner is easy to make and the cleanup is easy too.

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Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Chicken & Orzo

Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Chicken & Orzo

Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives. This load-and-go recipe makes a complete and satisfying meal; just add a green salad.

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Kung Pao Chicken with Bell Peppers

Here's an easy chicken recipe you'll definitely want to add to your dinner repertoire. A quick marinade tenderizes the chicken and infuses flavor in this healthy version of a take-out favorite. Adding a little oil to finish the marinade coats the chicken and helps keep it from sticking to the pan.

06 of 27

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

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This one-pan chicken-and-broccoli recipe comes out of the oven all browned, cheesy and bubbling like a casserole, but is really prepared more like a skillet meal on the stovetop. Serve with a crunchy green salad.

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Creamy Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms One-Pot Pasta

You'll only have to dirty one pot in this easy pasta recipe that cooks chicken and vegetables right along with the noodles. Plus, by using the exact amount of water you need to cook the pasta, the starch that usually gets drained off with your pasta water stays in the pot, giving you delectably creamy results.

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Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto

Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto

This fragrant, Italian-flavored soup takes advantage of quick-cooking ingredients--boneless, skinless chicken breast, bagged baby spinach and canned beans. It features a simple homemade basil pesto swirled in at the end to add a fresh herb flavor. If you are very pressed for time, you can substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons of a store-bought basil pesto. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Casseroles make perfect meal-prep dinners--this enchilada version is so easy to prep ahead. The whole casserole can be built and left to hang out in the refrigerator for up to three days. Then all you have to do is bake it off on a busy night and you have a healthy dinner on the table in a jiff. The quick homemade enchilada sauce in this recipe is great when you don't have any of the canned sauce on hand--just season crushed tomatoes with spices and salt for an instant enchilada sauce.

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Roasted Chicken Thighs, Potatoes & Scallions with Herb Vinaigrette

Roasting chicken thighs directly on top of the vegetables bastes the scallions and potatoes with delicious drippings in this healthy dinner recipe. Serve with steamed broccoli, sautéed spinach or a mixed green salad.

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Homemade Chicken Tenders with Everything Bagel Seasoning over Salad

Using everything bagel spice is a quick way to season and add extra crunch to breadcrumbs for chicken tenders. If you can't find any premixed, make your own by combining equal parts dried minced onion and garlic, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, salt and ground pepper (see Associated Recipes). This healthy chicken recipe tops a simple salad for an easy dinner that's ready in 25 minutes.

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Quick King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Usually made by layering creamy chicken and tortillas (lasagna-style), this classic Tex-Mex chicken casserole gets speedier for an easy weeknight dinner when we mix everything together in a skillet, then pop the whole pan under the broiler to make the cheese topping gooey.

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Chicken-Spaghetti Squash Bake

In this version of a chicken-and-broccoli casserole, spaghetti squash takes on a creamy texture when baked with cream of mushroom soup.

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Chicken & Bok Choy Soup with Ginger & Mushrooms

What is so obliging about this hearty chicken soup is that you can add any vegetables that suit your fancy: napa or Savoy cabbage, mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, broccolini, onions, leeks, mustard or turnip greens, celery or whatever tickles your bonnet. Just be sure that you don't overcook the vegetables. Spice it up with chile sauce, such as sriracha, and/or serve the soup over noodles to make it a more substantial main dish.

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Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Pizza

Cauliflower rice, egg and shredded mozzarella combine to make an easy low-carb pizza crust. Top the gluten-free pizza with tangy Buffalo sauce, chicken and blue cheese for a flavorful dinner or game-day favorite. Fresh celery is added at the end for cool crunch.

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Slow-Cooked Ranch Chicken and Vegetables

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This creamy, veggie-packed chicken dinner comes together easily in your slow-cooker-and makes enough for another night's casserole (see associated recipe)!

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Chicken, Potato, and Gravy Bowls

Tender potatoes and flavorful chicken are topped with a delicious gravy in this meal-in-a bowl.

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Ancho Chicken Breast with Black Beans, Bell Peppers & Scallions

In this healthy chicken recipe, the meat is rubbed with ancho chile powder, a spice made from dried poblano peppers. It adds mild heat and subtle smokiness to the rub on the chicken, but you can use regular chili powder here instead. This recipe makes an extra 1/2 cup of the black bean mash--try it wrapped into a burrito for lunch or as a taco filling (see Tips, below).

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Chicken Cutlets with Artichokes & Lemon-Dill Sauce

You won't want to let a drop of this creamy lemon sauce go to waste. Serve with rice pilaf or roasted potatoes to soak it all up.

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One-Skillet Chicken Paprikash with Mushrooms & Onions

Try this quick and easy one-skillet version of the Hungarian classic chicken paprikash. Serve the chicken cutlets, mushrooms and creamy sauce over egg noodles with a green salad on the side.

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Cauliflower Chicken Fried "Rice"

Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice

Get an extra serving of vegetables and cut back on carbs by replacing rice with riced cauliflower in this healthy chicken fried rice recipe.

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Chicken Thighs with Couscous & Kale

One-pot meals, like this all-in-one chicken thigh, kale and Israeli couscous recipe, are perfect for nights when you want to keep cleanup to a minimum. Look for Israeli couscous--small pearl-shaped pasta made from semolina flour--near other Middle Eastern dry goods in well-stocked supermarkets or specialty-foods stores.

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Chicken Shawarma with Yogurt Sauce

Chicken Shawarma with Yogurt Sauce

The key to cooking juicy chicken without a spit in this healthy recipe is high heat and dark meat. The yogurt in the marinade gives the chicken both its tender texture and its alluring char. More yogurt in the sauce, along with crunchy cucumbers and herbs, keeps the flavors bright.

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Green Goddess Salad with Chicken

In this cucumber, tomato, Swiss and chicken salad recipe, a healthy green goddess dressing is made from avocado, buttermilk and herbs. Any extra dressing is delicious served over grilled chicken or flaky white fish, such as cod or flounder.

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Italian-Herbed Chicken and Mozzarella Melts

Chicken thighs are slowly cooked with Italian-style sauce and herbs, then served on crusty bread slices with olives and two savory cheeses.

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Chicken Kofta with Yogurt Sauce

Chicken Kofta with Yogurt Sauce
Jacob Fox

Marcus Samuelsson and Osayi Endolyn's new book, The Rise, spotlights the Black cooks, historians, purveyors and growers who have influenced American cuisine. Each recipe was inspired by one of more than 40 key Black figures in American foodways. This chicken kofta recipe, for example, was developed in honor of Cheryl Day, baker-owner of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, to give her a quick, casual recipe for dinner after a long day at work. Tuck these chicken kofta into flatbread along with some fresh veggies topped with the flavorful sauce.

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Balsamic Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Oil and balsamic vinegar are the simple flavors that merge roasted chicken and vegetables together in this healthy recipe.

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