16 Chicken Recipes Every Southerner Should Know By Heart
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
It just got a whole lot easier to get this classic on your dinner table, if it wasn't already. Pull out your Instant Pot and get going.
Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings
Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings
This dish combines essential, resourceful Southern cuisine and the comfort of home cooking, all in one bowl.
Chicken Bog
Recipe: Chicken Bog
If you don't know Chicken Bog, let us introduce you. Considered a distant cousin of pilau, it's chicken and rice at its finest: juicy chicken and rice perfumed by all the spices.
Mama's Fried Chicken
Recipe: Mama's Fried Chicken
If we could only know one fried chicken recipe by heart, it would have to be mom's, no question about it.
Hot Chicken Salad
Recipe: Hot Chicken Salad
Of course, we need a hot chicken version of the beloved chicken salad. You'll want to break out your pimiento peppers for this one.
Sweet Tea-Brined Fried Chicken
Recipe: Sweet Tea-Brined Fried Chicken
There may already be a fried chicken recipe on this list, but we can't pass up a version that brines chicken in the nectar of the South.
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe: Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Once you make this easy version of chicken noodle, you won't be able to relegate it solely to the sick menu any longer. Swap out the whole chicken for pre-cooked, shredded rotisserie and you've got an easy weeknight meal.
Homemade Chicken Salad
Recipe: Homemade Chicken Salad
Is it the unofficial lunch of the South? We can't confirm, but we do have a hunch.
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Recipe: King Ranch Chicken Casserole
A good Southerner knows that this casserole is the supreme dish of all suppers and potlucks. Filled with pulled chicken, green chiles, corn tortillas, and creamy canned soup, it's easy and irresistible.
Old-Fashioned Chicken Salad
Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken Salad
We're throwing in this Old-Fashioned Chicken Salad for good measure. Consider it simplicity at its finest. Chopped chicken meets homemade mayonnaise and a squeeze of lemon. Add boiled eggs and pickled relish at your own risk or volition.
Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
One of the ultimate cozy foods, a homemade chicken pot pie never fails to hit the spot. Here's Peggy Smith's recipe, and trust us, she knew a thing or two as a longtime Southern Living staff member.
Chicken Spaghetti
Recipe: Chicken Spaghetti
Here's a riff on the chicken casserole that's always sure to please. And better yet, all you need is a Dutch oven and 9-by-13 baking dish, making for easy clean up.
Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pies
Recipe: Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pies
Some of us are in it for the crust, and this is the only recipe we really want.
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Recipe: Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
There are many ways to make barbecue chicken, but it never hurts to know the quickest way to get this staple on your dinner table.
Classic Double Roast Chickens
Recipe: Classic Double Roast Chickens
The roasted whole chicken is an obligatory member of any Southerner's recipe box. After all, there's nothing like an entire roast bird for Sunday supper, and this recipe feeds a crowd.
Chicken-and-Wild Rice Casserole
Recipe: Chicken-and-Wild Rice Casserole
A mixture of long grain and wild rice is essential to achieving the right texture for this well-loved dish. Don't forget those toasted almonds, either. They dress everything up.
Ask anyone to talk about Southern food and a few dishes may come to mind. Fried chicken, pecan pie, and biscuits might be at the forefront. Collard greens, grits (cheesy or not), pimiento cheese, more than one family recipe, and plenty of barbecue are sure to make the list, too. But when it comes to the day-to-day cooking, you can't beat a staple Southern chicken recipe. Easy and versatile, chicken is the star of many weekday staples a Southerner should know by heart. Use it as a main in a comforting chicken and dumplings recipe or let it be the star of your Sunday supper as a whole roast. You're hard-pressed to find a dish where chicken can't shine. It's safe to say, these are the chicken recipes you're going to want on repeat all year long.