19 Dump Chicken Recipes That Are (Almost) Completely Hands-Off
When you don't have the time for a lot of chopping and prepping, make one of our chicken dump recipes for dinner. These dishes keep it simple. All you have to do is stir the ingredients together and bake, slow cook, or pressure cook. Since they're mostly hands-off, these dump chicken dinners will save you some clean-up time afterward, too.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Salsa Tortas
Dump chicken recipes are fast, but Instant Pot dump recipes with chicken are even speedier because they cook lightning-fast. These chicken tortas (a sandwich in Mexican cuisine) require barely any prep and using a pressure cooker means they'll need just 15 minutes to cook. That allows you to stack up your bolillo roll with chicken, lettuce, and queso fresco and dig in that much sooner.
King Ranch Crunch Chicken Casserole
This chicken dump casserole is layered with spicy salsa verde, chicken, and crispy tortilla chips. It's a Tex-Mex classic, and while it's unclear exactly where it got its name, it's thought to come from a large ranch in Texas called King Ranch. No matter where the name originated, it is delicious and easy to prep.
Hot and Cheesy Chicken Casserole
Any dump and bake chicken recipe with "cheesy" in the name instantly has us on board. This dish delivers, too! Fiesta nacho cheese soup, cheddar, and mozzarella unite to make this dump casserole ultra-gooey and yummy. It's not completely about the cheese though; broccoli and peas help make it a little healthier, and of course, chopped chicken bulks it up for dinner with plenty of protein.
Gyro Nachos with Tzatziki Sauce
These nachos won't quite make themselves, but you can set-and-forget the chicken thighs for a few hours thanks to your slow cooker. Just toss the chicken in alongside garlic, onion, red wine vinegar, and a few other seasonings. When this dump chicken recipe is done cooking, you can spend as much (or as little) time as you want creating a sky-high stack of nachos, or even wrapping the chicken up in pita bread.
Pressure Cooker Indian-Spiced Chicken
Add this Instant Pot chicken dump dinner to your menu this week. As you guessed from the name, it'll be ready fast thanks to your pressure cooker, but it also follows Paleo guidelines. On top of all that, cayenne pepper and curry powder bring delicious heat to every bite of this Indian-inspired chicken dinner.
Slow-Cooked Moroccan Chicken
Bring the bold flavors of North Africa to your table with this Moroccan dump chicken recipe. Tender chicken thighs take on Moroccan flavors courtesy of a curry and cinnamon spice mix. With baby carrots and dried plums tossed into your slow cooker alongside the chicken and spices, you end up with a side dish, too.
Smoky Chicken and Cheesy Potato Casserole
Hello, comfort food! This slow cooker chicken dump casserole is low on prep and ingredients (you only need six), but big on cheesy chicken and potato goodness. Start with sour cream and a can of cream of chicken soup to keep it ultra-moist, then pile on chicken, cheddar cheese, and hash brown-style potatoes for the best comfort food dinner you can make with a slow cooker.
Pressure Cooker Moo Shu Chicken
Chinese takeout is usually a quick dinner option, but believe it or not, this homemade version of moo shu chicken is even faster. It pressure cooks in just five minutes, and the only prep involves stirring together a quick sauce and mincing a few garlic cloves (assuming you're starting with pre-shredded cabbage and carrots). The rest of the ingredients-like shredded cabbage, chicken thighs, and carrots-you can just add to your pressure cooker.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Dump five ingredients in your slow cooker and dinner's done. This might be our easiest recipe of the bunch because there's no chopping, no ingredients to add at the end, and no stirring midway through. To make this chicken tortilla dump dinner so simple, we relied on chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, shredded chicken, and frozen veggies to cut out all the prep work.
Slow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew
Our spiced Indian stew comes with a long cook time (it can take up to 10 hours if you set your slow cooker on low), so it's a great chicken dump dinner to toss in your slow cooker before you head out the door in the morning. When you get home, the fragrant smells of curry, ginger, and garlic will instantly have your stomach growling for dinner. Stick with chicken thighs for this dump recipe, because they'll stay tender and moist during those long hours in the slow cooker.
White Chicken Chili
Comforting chicken chili is an even better meal when you can just put the ingredients in your slow cooker and walk away. Plus, this dump chicken recipe comes with an extra boost of protein thanks to three full cans of Great Northern beans (it comes out to a whopping 38 grams per serving!). Cozy up with a bowl and let this easy chicken chili warm you from the inside out.
Mississippi Chicken
This dump and bake chicken recipe is ideal for meal prepping. Make a batch of this juicy shredded chicken and use it for sandwiches, casseroles, and more. As one BHG home cook shared, "This recipe is so good! I loved the flavor of the pepperoncini. We ate it on slider rolls with more pepperoncini and shredded cheese. A winner!"
Chickpea and Chicken Curry Stew
Whip up this stew by dumping frozen veggies, packaged rice, and cooked chicken into a Dutch oven. Simmer the mix with a creamy spiced tomato sauce and top with fresh cilantro.
No-Peek Chicken
This dump dinner cooks all in one casserole dish. Layer in rice with soup, onion, and bell peppers. Top with chicken and bake until cooked through. One reviewer raved, "I love how hands-off cooking the chicken is in this recipe—just place and bake—and it turned out perfectly. The amount of rice was overly generous to me, so I'd experiment with decreasing that a bit the next time I make it, but mine was cooked just right after the initial 1 hr. and 15 mins."
Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
What makes this dump chicken casserole taste like a million dollars? The combination of cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream. Finish the dish with a buttery cracker topping.
Dump and Bake Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Meet the easiest version of Chicken Parmesan ever. Simply dump chicken, noodles, pasta sauce, and cheese into a dish and bake. The entire family will love this dump chicken dinner!
Chicken Cobbler Casserole
This easy chicken casserole recipe is topped with cheesy cheddar biscuits and crispy onions. The filling is made with mixed veggies, shredded chicken, and creamy canned soup.
Dump and Bake Chicken Alfredo
A squeeze of lemon is the perfect finishing touch to this dump and bake chicken recipe. As one reviewer wrote, "High return for effort. Great weeknight treat."
Indian-Inspired Butter Chicken
We're sharing two cooking methods for this dump and bake chicken recipe. Cook it low and slow or get it on the table fast thanks to a pressure cooker. We liked to serve the finished dish with warm naan bread.