AIP Chicken Recipes
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15 AIP Chicken Recipes for Busy Weeknights

Written by Sara Nelson on June 25, 2021

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If you're following the autoimmune protocol, these easy chicken recipes are great to have on hand for busy weeknight meals. From one-pot entrées to quick salads and pasta, there's something that everyone will enjoy!

Chicken on its own can sometimes be relatively boring, so it's important we spice it up (literally) to keep meals interesting and exciting, with nightshade-free spices, of course! Following AIP can feel complicated, and like some of your favorite foods are off-limits, but that doesn't mean that meals need to be bland or flavorless! Plus, with these recipes at your fingertips, you will nourish your body yet won’t have time to spend hours cooking in the kitchen.

You'll find recipes ranging from chicken tenders and salads to pasta and casseroles! Plus, there are even recipes included if you're eating a low-carb, keto, or GAPS diet.

These 15 easy recipes are fantastic to have in your back pocket. If you follow AIP and love to incorporate chicken into your cooking, these dishes are sure to be a hit!

1. Chicken Fiesta Bowls

Chicken Bowl

Perfectly seasoned chicken thighs served in a bowl and topped with a Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce?! Yes, please!

This high-protein dinner meal is flavorful, easy to make, and will keep you full and focused. The recipe stores well in the refrigerator after preparing, so if you are looking for an AIP meal prep dish, try this one!

Top each serving with your favorite garnishes, like chopped romaine, fresh cilantro, avocado, or lime slices.

Per serving: 385 calories, 14g fat, 11g carbs, 51g protein

Get the full recipe from Hurried Health Nut.

 

2. Cheesy Chicken Zoodles

This pressure cooker chicken and zoodles recipe is a great way to get some veggies into your life with minimal effort. After all, it doesn't require much more than throwing everything in the pressure cooker and letting it do its thing!

The cheesy flavor is created with a combination of nutritional yeast and beef gelatin. The resulting dish tastes surprisingly cheesy, and that flavor pairs perfectly with the zucchini noodles and chicken thighs.

If you have a pressure cooker, this is one of the best autoimmune paleo chicken recipes that is wonderful for cooking in it.

Per serving: 381 calories, 16g fat, 17g carbs, 45g protein

Get the full recipe from The Castaway Kitchen.


3. Crispy AIP Buffalo Chicken Tenders

Buffalo Chicken Tenders


These Buffalo Chicken Tenders are perfect for a night in with the family or to serve at a party for your guests. The kids, especially, will love them!

The tenders are Whole30 and are served with homemade Creamy Buffalo Sauce, which features hot sauce, mayonnaise, and coconut aminos.

The dish can be made in about 30 minutes and tastes great after storing in the refrigerator to eat the following day as leftovers.

Per serving: 400 calories, 24g fat, 10g carbs, 34g protein

Get the full recipe from Grass Fed Salsa.


4. AIP Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Alfredo recipe

If you're following the autoimmune protocol, this recipe for homemade chicken alfredo is a must-try!

The sauce features a base of flavors, including garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and, instead of heavy cream, coconut cream is used. If you haven’t tried nutritional yeast before, this is the perfect recipe to incorporate this fun ingredient into! Instead of parmesan cheese, nutritional yeast is used and it provides a perfectly cheesy flavor to take this dish to the next level.

There are only 10 grams of net carbs per serving, which also makes this an excellent option for those who follow a lower carbohydrate diet.


Per serving: 508 calories, 36g fat, 13g carbs, 26g protein

Get the full recipe from Healing Autoimmune.

5. AIP Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken

This orange chicken recipe uses chicken breast, is cooked on the stovetop in just one pan, and is made with an AIP-friendly set of ingredients. It’s a great way to prepare chicken breasts, and it only takes 30 minutes to make.

The best part about it? You can't tell it's made with paleo-compliant ingredients. It tastes just like the orange chicken you'd order in a restaurant!

And, if you don't like orange chicken, you can follow the blog post for instructions on how to substitute in a Lemon Honey Marmalade sauce.

Per serving: 311 calories, 10g fat, 31g carbs, 24g protein

Get the full recipe from Bon AIPpetit.

6. Chicken Stroganoff

This stroganoff made with chicken is a great recipe to have on hand for busy weeknights. It features chicken breast, and the final dish is delicious and won't leave you feeling heavy like a cream-based stroganoff can sometimes do.

The key ingredient to the sauce is the coconut aminos, which replaces soy sauce or tamari as an alternative to make this AIP friendly, but still yields a resulting stroganoff like you grew up eating.

Made without dairy and entirely soy-free, this is a perfect warming dish for those times you're craving comfort food.

Per serving: 302 calories, 10.1g fat, 9.3g carbs, 28.1g protein

Get the full recipe from Unbound Wellness.


7. Paleo Chicken Salad with Strawberry Dressing

This paleo chicken salad includes a tart strawberry mustard dressing that pairs perfectly with the chicken breast and salad greens.

The salad is light and refreshing but still filling and satisfying due to the protein that the chicken breast provides.

The dressing being homemade is a crucial facet of the dish as most store-bought and commercially-made dressings include ingredients that are not compliant with an autoimmune diet.

Per serving: 400 calories, 26g fat, 16g carbs, 29g protein

Get the full recipe from PALEO Flourish.

8. Easy AIP Chicken Stir Fry

Easy Chicken Stir Fry


This stir fry is a classic dish that only has five ingredients, and it comes together in about 20 minutes!

It’s a dairy-free chicken dish that uses chicken thighs that are cubed and cooked in a wok. If you don't have a wok, you can use a large pan.

The chicken is cooked and served with vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and green onions, and the entire dish is brought together with stir fry sauce that includes only AIP-friendly ingredients.

Per serving: 294 calories, 9g fat, 13g carbs, 37g protein

Get the full recipe from Hurried Health Nut.

9. Paleo Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast

This bacon-wrapped chicken breast is one of our favorite AIP chicken breast recipes! It’s made with ingredients like ripe pear and homemade pesto.

This recipe has a solid balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates and would be perfect for serving at dinner parties where you want to impress those you'll be cooking for.

The variety of flavors comes together so perfectly that your guests will be so surprised that this recipe is dairy-free and paleo.

Per serving: 378 calories, 32g fat, 15g carbs, 12g protein

Get the full recipe from The Castaway Kitchen.

10. Bacon Chicken Ranch Casserole

The ingredients in this Bacon Chicken Ranch Casserole are easy to find and are all gluten-free, dairy-free, and Whole30 compliant.

The spaghetti squash adds a delicious and familiar texture without any added grains or the carb content that traditional casseroles typically contain.

You'll start with preparing the spaghetti squash, then cooking chicken breasts and bacon using your desired method (stovetop or oven would likely be best). Then, you'll move on to assembling everything in a casserole dish, baking, and then serving!

A truly flavorful, nutrient-dense, and high-protein dish that will have everyone coming back for seconds!

Per serving: 625 calories, 57g fat, 10g carbs, 19g protein

Get the full recipe from Grass Fed Salsa.

11. AIP One-Pan Maple Chicken

This AIP One-Pan Maple Chicken recipe can be made with either chicken breast or chicken thighs. There are several options for substituting ingredients in or out, so if you don't have an ingredient on hand, you should still be able to make and enjoy this dish!

Our favorite part is the option to double (or even triple!) the ingredients to make the homemade Maple Glaze for a perfectly sweetened and savory final dish.

Per serving: 318 calories, 18g fat, 22g carbs, 17g protein

Get the full recipe from Healing Autoimmune.

12. Grilled Chicken and Cucumber Dill Salad

This bright, flavorful, and protein-packed cucumber salad bursts with flavors from the fresh herbs to the zesty garlic chicken and has a cool, crunchy texture from the cucumbers.

The various textures make this dish very satisfying to eat, and it would make for a great dish-to-pass option at an outdoor summer party.

The AIP chicken rub used before grilling the chicken is the game-changing factor in bringing every facet of the salad together. It is made without nightshades and is safe for the autoimmune protocol.

So long as you cook the chicken while preparing the other ingredients, you'll have this dish prepared and served in just 30 minutes!

Per serving: 460 calories, 29g fat, 11g carbs, 38g protein

Get the full recipe from Bon AIPpetit.


13. Paleo Mongolian Chicken

The Mongolian Chicken dish is an easy-to-make and flavorful meal that is paleo and Whole30-friendly and can be adapted to other diets.

The marinade for the chicken breast has the perfect blend of flavor: sweet and salty from the coconut sugar, coconut aminos, and fresh ginger.

Serve alongside or atop cauliflower rice for a flavorful and satiating dish!

Per serving: 363 calories, 18.1g fat, 12.1g carbs, 36.5g protein

Get the full recipe from Unbound Wellness.

14. Spicy Honey Lime Chicken Thighs

This AIP chicken thighs recipe features the most mouthwatering sauce that is bursting with sweet, spicy, and citrus flavors.

The spice mixture used in the sauce is made without nightshades or other ingredients that may be inflammatory and caramelizes perfectly on these easy-to-cook boneless and skinless chicken thighs.

This entrée takes only 30 minutes to make and serve, and, in addition to being AIP, it's also GAPS diet-compliant, low-carb, and keto-friendly.

Per serving: 382 calories, 30g fat, 2g carbs, 25g protein

Get the full recipe from Eat Beautiful.

 

15. Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

These AIP pulled chicken sandwiches are made in a slow cooker and are a perfect complement to your favorite paleo side dish.

The chicken is cooked "low and slow" to yield delectably tender meat that can easily be pulled apart with forks. The sauce combines honey, broth, vinegar, nomato sauce (a sauce that tastes like tomato sauce, without any added tomato ingredients), and seasonings to create the perfect tangy-sweet flavor.

Serve the chicken in a lettuce wrap for an ideal AIP sandwich recipe!

Per serving: 562 calories, 30g fat, 43g carbs, 39g protein

Get the full recipe from A Clean Plate.

All in all, whether you’re just starting to experiment with an autoimmune protocol diet or are looking for a way to put new and tasty spins on old favorites, this post has got you covered. Our collection of AIP chicken recipes is varied enough that there should be something here for everyone.

If you want to find out more about the benefits of following an autoimmune protocol diet, check out our blog article detailing the AIP diet with an included sample menu.

Which recipe from the list do you plan to try first?

 

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✍️ ABOUT THE AUTHOR 📚

Sara Nelson

Sara Nelson

Sara Nelson is the food blogger behind realbalanced.com, a site dedicated to sharing low-carb, keto, paleo, and primal recipes. Since 2017, Sara has shared delicious, nutritious, and allergy-friendly recipes with her thousands of blog readers and social media followers. Sara lives in Milwaukee, WI with her husband, Ryan, and their Boston Terrier, Rowsdower.