Easy Ground Chicken Meals for Quick Weeknight Dinners
Ground beef used to be one of the easiest and most affordable proteins to build a dinner around, but lately the price has been climbing rapidly. At many Walmart stores, even the most basic ground beef can run around $5.44 per pound, which adds up quickly when you’re feeding a family.
Because of that, more and more people are looking for affordable alternatives that still work in everyday meals. One option that often gets overlooked is ground chicken. It’s versatile, easy to cook with, and usually much cheaper. At Walmart, ground chicken is often under $4.00 per pound, which can save a couple of dollars every time you make dinner.
If you’ve never cooked much with ground chicken before, it can replace ground beef in a lot of simple weeknight meals. From rice bowls to noodle dishes to skillet dinners, it soaks up flavor well and cooks quickly.
Ground Chicken Recipes
BBQ Ground Chicken Stuffed Baked Potatoes
These hearty baked potatoes are filled with ground chicken cooked in BBQ sauce and topped with melted cheese for an easy comfort meal. If you don’t have baking potatoes, the BBQ chicken also works great served over rice, on sandwich buns, or even piled onto toast.
Ground Chicken Cajun Rice Skillet
This one-pan dinner combines ground chicken with Cajun seasoning, rice, peppers, onions, and peas for a flavorful skillet meal. You can swap the peas for green beans, corn, or frozen mixed vegetables depending on what you have in the freezer.
Ground Chicken Italian Meatball Skillet
Tender ground chicken meatballs simmer in marinara sauce and are served with pasta for a simple Italian-style dinner. If you don’t have spaghetti, these meatballs are also great served over rice, egg noodles, or even tucked into sub rolls for quick meatball sandwiches.
Ground Chicken Philly Skillet
Ground chicken cooked with peppers and onions and topped with melty provolone cheese makes an easy skillet version of a Philly-style sandwich. Serve it on hoagie rolls, over rice, or even on toasted bread if that’s what you have on hand.
Ground Chicken Taco Rice Bowls
Seasoned ground chicken served over rice with beans, corn, and cheese makes an easy customizable dinner. You can swap the rice for lettuce, tortilla chips, or wrap everything in tortillas to turn the bowls into tacos or burritos.
Ground Chicken Teriyaki Noodle Bowls
Ground chicken tossed with noodles, stir-fry vegetables, and teriyaki sauce creates a quick takeout-style meal at home. If you don’t have spaghetti, ramen noodles, lo mein noodles, or even rice work well as the base.
Honey Garlic Ground Chicken & Broccoli
Ground chicken and broccoli are cooked in a sweet garlic sauce and served over rice for a simple stir-fry style dinner. If broccoli isn’t available, frozen stir-fry vegetables, green beans, or shredded carrots all work well in the sauce.
Sweet Chili Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ground chicken cooked with cabbage and sweet chili sauce makes a flavorful filling for crisp lettuce wraps. If lettuce isn’t available or is too expensive, the filling is also delicious served over rice or wrapped in tortillas.
Ground Beef Alternative
Ground chicken is an easy and affordable way to stretch your grocery budget without giving up flavorful dinners. Whether you’re making rice bowls, noodle dishes, skillet meals, or lettuce wraps, it’s a versatile protein that works well in a wide variety of recipes.
Once you get comfortable cooking with it, you’ll see that ground chicken can step in for ground beef in many of your favorite meals. From bold Cajun flavors to sweet teriyaki sauces, you’re really only limited by your imagination and your preferred seasonings.
