Chicken is one meat that you’ll be eating quite a bit of on Paleo because it’s so easy to make, and takes on flavors quite well. You can cook up any of the Paleo chicken recipes on this page for a nice, satisfying meal. With Paleo you are always looking for a nice split between meat and vegetables, and many of these incorporate vegetables in with the chicken. Always choose organic, free range chicken whenever possible as this most closely resembles the type of meat they would have eaten in the earliest of times.
Photo: Jan’s Sushi Bar
1. Cider Glazed Chicken Bites
These cider-glazed chicken bites come out looking fantastic, and the great part is they don’t contain any ingredients that you’re not supposed to have. Rosemary, sage, cider, and honey are the main ingredients aside from the chicken. You might be surprised to find the recommended fat to cook this in is lard or bacon fat, and these are both approved fats on Paleo. It’s going to give the chicken some great flavor, especially when you add the sea salt and ground pepper. This meal is simple enough to become a regular fixture on your weekly menu.
2. Buffalo Ranch Stuffed Peppers
Most of the time stuffed peppers aren’t at the top of the list of favorite foods, but these stuffed peppers take things up a notch by using buffalo ranch as the flavoring. It’s like going to a sports bar and getting buffalo wings and dipping them with ranch, but the whole thing is stuffed inside a pepper so you’re also getting your vegetable serving. It’s a great idea to serve this along with guacamole, and they provide a Paleo friendly guac recipe, which will help cool things off after eating the spicy buffalo chicken.
3. Cilantro Chicken Salad
This chicken salad is infused with cilantro, so it’s going to have a fresh and crisp taste to it. There is also zucchini in this, which provides your vegetable for the meal, and they aren’t using any mayonnaise, an ingredient you’d typically find in a chicken salad. Mayo is fine on the Paleo diet, because it’s just eggs and oil blended together, but most conventional oils do not use the right kind of oil, which is why you want to avoid it. Here they’re using coconut cream for the creaminess that you’d expect from chicken salad.
4. Coconut Cream Chicken Makhani
Makhani is more widely known in the States as Butter Chicken, and is usually not included on most diet programs because of the fat content. But here on Paleo we’re not worried so much about fat, carbs, calories, and such, as long as the ingredients are wholesome and all natural, and as long as the foods are all on the authorized foods list. Here there is plenty of boneless chicken used, as well as coconut cream and plenty of traditional herbs and spices to make it taste just right. There are two tomatoes used to give this plenty of lycopene and other beneficial nutrients.
5. Chicken Salad with Red Pear & Bell Peppers
This chicken salad has plenty going on, with red pears and bell peppers as well as lots of chicken breast. The beauty of the ingredients list is that you won’t find any foods on it that you’re not allowed to have on Paleo, which means the end result is also Paleo friendly. Most of the time fruit gets put on the back burner and meat and vegetables get the most attention, so it’s nice to see pears make an appearance in an actual dish. You’ll also be getting healthy fats from the walnuts, and a bit of sweet from the pineapple juice.
Photo: Paleo Fondue
6. Green Chicken Tandoori
If chicken tandoori is one of your favorites, you’ll want to try this green chicken tandoori for a new taste sensation, one that may become your new favorite. Plenty of Indian spices and seasonings are used, so this has a very authentic taste to it. One interesting ingredient is cashew butter, which will give the dipping sauce a nice nutty and creamy taste and texture. This is a very meat-centric dish, so you’ll want to be sure to balance it out by cooking up a vegetable, or having a salad with it.
7. Creamy Pumpkin Chicken Casserole
Casseroles are great because you can feed a larger crowd with just one dish, and they generally go over well with the masses. This pumpkin chicken casserole is great to bake up whenever the weather is a little chilly out, during the fall and winter months. Organic pumpkin is used, and you’ll also want to go with organic chicken, and the use of organic coconut milk means there isn’t any dairy in this. You can feel free to serve this to your non-Paleo friends and they probably won’t even know that it’s a specialty food.
8. Chicken Gumbo
Chicken gumbo is something that you can make using only Paleo ingredients, and this recipe includes chicken, okra, celery, garlic, paprika, cumin, chorizo, and plenty of tomatoes to produce a gumbo you won’t soon forget. If you’ve never made gumbo before, this is a good recipe to get started on, because it keeps things simple while still capturing all of the flavor that you’d expect from this classic dish. This is also a very balanced dish, with plenty of chicken and vegetables, you should feel satisfied long after the meal. They’ve gotten rid of the flour and other ingredients in gumbo that would set you back.
9. Fall Flavor Stir Fry
Stir fries are a great dish to cook up while you’re on Paleo because it’s easy to throw in some meat and vegetables and keep things simple. Here they’re focusing on fall flavors, so they are using vegetables that are in season during the fall, like squash and peppers, and adding in a bunch of chicken breast. There is also some honey used, so this will have a sweetness to it that most stir fries don’t have, and they’re using dried cranberries, so there will be a tartness and chewiness that you don’t typically find in a stir fry.
10. Grain-free Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken enchiladas sure are tasty, but they’re made with flour tortillas, and those a no-go on Paleo. Here they’ve managed to get rid of the grain by using wraps that are made with tapioca flour instead of all-purpose flour. The filling that goes inside is all Paleo approved, with lots of chicken which they say you can use leftover chicken if you want, but you might want to add some more vegetables to it to balance it out. You may also want to opt out of the cheese if you’ve found that you are unable to handle it.
Photo: Home in Disarray
11. Thai Chicken Curry
You aren’t relegated to only eating caveman style dishes on Paleo, you can take a world tour right from your kitchen and make foods from all over the globe. Here they’ve made a lovely Thai chicken curry that you can make red, green, or yellow depending on which curry paste you choose. The ingredients are all Paleo, and the end result is akin to the kind of curry you’d be served abroad. Adding avocado on top is a great way to add extra nutrition and flavor, with potassium and fiber being the biggest contributors to your overall healthy lifestyle.
12. Bacon-Wrapped Barbecue Chicken
One thing you’ll quickly discover about Paleo is that bacon is still on the menu. You’ll find it used in everything from pancakes to cookies, and everything in between. Here they’ve decided to wrap a chicken breast in bacon and grill it up. The beauty of this recipe is how easy it is to make, and the only other thing you need besides the chicken and the bacon is some barbecue sauce. Once you have these cooked up you can put them on anything. Slice them and put them on a salad, or just use it as a main dish next to a veggie.
13. Paleo Double Down
This is the Paleo answer to the Double Down sandwich released by the world’s largest fried chicken chain. Their version had two deep fried crispy coated chicken breasts as the “bread” of a sandwich. Not exactly the healthiest thing to consume, considering what sort of oil they fry in, and the grains in the breading they use. Here they’ve gotten rid of the breading, but still have the double chicken as the outside of the sandwich. On the inside there’s bacon, lettuce, tomato, and an awesome Paleo approved chipotle mayo you just have to try.
14. Fire Roasted Red Pepper Poppers
The poppers are fire roasted to give them that taste that only comes from the grill. They have a wedge of red pepper and a piece of chicken wrapped up in bacon and then grilled up to perfection. The awesome thing about this dish is the many ways you can use it. Pair it with a Paleo barbecue sauce for dipping and it becomes an appetizer fit for any game day. Put enough of them on your plate and you can make a meal out of it. Whip it up between meals and it becomes a snack to hold you over until your next meal.
15. Sweet Garlic Chicken
Here’s how to make a sweet garlic chicken that you’ll probably end up having at least once a week once you try it. It gets its sweetness from honey, an all natural source of sweet, and it gets its garlic flavor from, you guessed it, garlic. There’s also crushed red pepper to give it a bit of a kick, so it’s sweet, spicy, and garlicky. This pairs well with just about any vegetable you want to eat with it. Always be sure to eat your vegetables with your meat, as Paleo is a very balanced diet between veggies, meat, and then healthy fats and a bit of fruit each day.
Photo: Wellness Mama
16. Caribbean Jerk Chicken
Here’s a way for you to make jerk chicken, while keeping it within the guidelines of the Paleo diet. In fact, even a traditional recipe is Paleo approved, as it only uses ingredients that are Paleo friendly. This recipe is especially good because of its choice of foods used, and the way it doesn’t cheat by using Caribbean jerk seasoning packet, but has you make it from scratch using a variety of seasonings. They even provide their suggested sides to go with this, and you can follow their recommendation or add your own veggies to this for a complete Paleo meal.
17. Moroccan Chicken
It’s usually Moroccan lamb that gets the accolades, but you’ll definitely want to try this Moroccan chicken recipe. It has plenty going on, and still manages to be Paleo. They’re using organic ingredients wherever possible, which is a smart thing to do since you cut out the pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics that are used on conventional foods. You’ll want to find a good source of organic free-range chicken when you start Paleo, and find a place that sells it at a fair price as well. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the different spices and seasonings used in this to give it a Moroccan flavor.
18. Sesame Chicken Kebabs
Keeping things simple is a staple for the Paleo philosophy, and these sesame chicken kebabs do just that, bringing you a wholesome dish without a lot of ingredients or complicated instructions. The use of organic chicken is a great idea, and Paleo purists will want to take out the ricotta cheese, since dairy isn’t allowed on Paleo. The other ingredients all check out, and these kebabs can be eaten alongside a vegetable dish to round things out. Always strive for a 50/50 balance between meat and vegetables at all your main meals.
19. BBQ Bacon Apple Chicken
You can make plenty of great meals in the slow cooker when doing Paleo, and this is just one example. It results in a batch of perfectly cooked chicken infused with the taste of bacon, apples, and barbecue sauce. Since you’re using the Crock Pot for this, you basically put the ingredients in and turn it on. Paleolithic man may have cooked in a fashion similar to this, allowing his meal to cook in a pot with a low flame for several hours. This recipe is great because instead of store bought BBQ sauce they’ve gotten creative and made their own.
20. Chicken Pot Pie
You can eat traditional foods like chicken pot pie on Paleo, you just have to make your own crust so that you don’t have to use one of the commercial kind that contains flour. This pot pie uses almond flour in the crust, keeping it grain free. The rest of the pie is filled with chicken and vegetables, like a classic pot pie, with peas, carrots, and green beans, plus parsnip, turnip, and celery. Coconut milk gives it that creaminess you get when you eat a traditional pot pie, but without using dairy.
Photo: The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife
21. Raspberry Glazed Chicken
This is a great chicken recipe to use whenever you need a protein portion to pair with a veggie portion. It gives a chicken breast a nice raspberry glaze, without using corn syrup or other refined sugars. The glaze is made mostly with raspberry jam and honey, and you can make your own raspberry jam to keep this strictly Paleo and have quality control over the ingredients. She has this being served up with broccoli, a great side item for Paleo, and one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat.
22. Chicken and Peppers Italiano
Chicken and peppers is the name of this recipe, and it calls for plenty of both. It’s made Italian style, with plenty of seasonings like oregano, basil, parsley, and garlic powder. If you can you’ll want to use fresh organic oregano, basil, and parsley, and keeping your own herb garden is a great idea while on Paleo. It’s a way to mimic the sort of herbs they would have had access to back in the day. There is also zucchini, onions, and tomato in this so your vegetable quota is met for this meal.
23. General Tso Chicken Meatballs
You may miss American-style Chinese food, as it’s one cuisine that you won’t be able to have delivered anymore. But with the right modifications and substitutions, you can re-create some of your favorites at home. This recipe brings you the addictive flavor stylings of General Tso and his famous chicken. But you won’t find any MSG here, and you don’t have to worry about the breading around the chicken as these meatballs use coconut flour to get the job done. Cover them in a sauce that uses arrowroot flour and real orange zest and juice to make this taste just right.
24. Pizza-Stuffed Chicken
There’s possibly no better way to stuff a chicken than to stuff it with pizza. Here they’ve managed to capture classic pizza flavor without using any cheese or other unauthorized Paleo foods. There’s turkey pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes, and marinara sauce on the inside, and the chicken is coated in crushed up pork rinds, They’ve really gone all out to make this a chicken dish you won’t soon forget, and that is sure to satisfy everyone in the family. If they start whining that you’re making chicken again, you just have to show them this pizza chicken and they’ll stop.
25. Slow Cooker Orange Honey Chicken Thighs
Drop the required ingredients into the slow cooker and most of your work is done for this recipe. This is one of those set and forget style dishes that come in handy when you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, and want to be able to get other things done while your food cooks. The use of raw honey and an orange gives it the advertised orange honey flavor, and you can feel free to use chicken thighs while on Paleo. Some diets only want you to eat chicken breast, but on Paleo the whole bird is up for grabs.
Photo: Things My Belly Likes
26. Chicken & Avocado Twice Baked Sweet Potato
This is a great Paleo meal that cooks up awesome and meets all of your needs in a self-contained dish. The sweet potato is your vegetable serving, and matches up well with the chicken, while the avocado simply adds healthy fats, potassium, and additional fiber to the mix. The steps involve baking the potato until it is cooked through, then adding the chicken and avocado, and then putting it back in to brown it up. It’s a way to serve up a perfectly portioned meal any time you need one.
27. Paleo Chicken Nuggets with BBQ Sauce
Make the kid inside you happy, or your own kids happy with these Paleo chicken nuggets that are even served with BBQ sauce. The coating is a mix of almond flour and shredded coconut, so you won’t have to worry about any unauthorized flours being used which adds grain to conventional chicken nuggets. You also won’t have to worry about the sort of ingredients they put in things like McNuggets or any other commercially produced chicken nuggets. They even provide the barbecue sauce recipe so you have something for dipping.
28. Peachy Pecan Chicken Salad
This is a Paleo chicken salad recipe that you can whip up in just 20 minutes from start to finish, making it a great lunch go-to when you’re short on time but still want to fill up on something healthy. Paleo is all about eating until you feel satisfied, not overly stuffed but definitely full. You don’t want to eat a light lunch, you want to make sure you eat enough to fuel you through to dinner. This chicken salad is a great way to do that with equal parts chicken and veggies, with fruits and nuts added as well.
29. Chicken Marsala
One of the ingredients that’s called for in traditional chicken marsala is all-purpose flour, so right from the start you’re adding grains to it. This recipe makes a classic tasting chicken marsala without using any ingredients that violate the Paleo code of eating. It uses Marsala wine, but the alcohol from the wine will cook off, leaving you the flavor you want. There’s also plenty of mushrooms, which is a staple ingredient, and the chicken gets its coating from almond flour to avoid the grains.
