15 Old-School Chicken Dishes You Probably Ate At Your Grandparents' House

Nothing says comfort like an old-school chicken dish. Think a bubbling casserole, a saucy pan dish served over rice, or a simple baked chicken breast with a crispy coating. Before global flavors and fast-casual dining took over, these dishes were staples on dinner tables and at potlucks and church picnics. Today, you're more likely to find vintage recipes for them rather than see them on restaurant menus or at family get-togethers. But maybe it's time to bring some of these retro chicken dishes back.

Vintage chicken dishes aren't just comforting, they can also be easy to make, budget-friendly, and great for feeding a crowd. Granted, there are some that require a bit of elbow grease, but that can be part of the fun if you enjoy cooking. And, while some recipes may feel slightly old-fashioned, there's nothing to say you can't put your own contemporary spin on the dishes. If you're looking to bring back memories of cozy meals you tucked into at your grandparents' house, these are 15 old-school chicken dishes that still hold up today.

When General Foods released Shake 'N Bake back in 1965, it wasn't exactly recreating the wheel. But what it did do was introduce elements of convenience and fun into the already familiar concept of coating chicken in breadcrumbs and seasonings. If you grew up with this handy pantry item, you probably have fond memories of dumping the seasoning mix into a plastic bag, adding chicken pieces, and shaking vigorously until the chicken was thoroughly coated. And, you have to admit, that crispy baked chicken that came out of the oven was pretty tasty.

Shake 'N Bake is still around today under the Kraft Heinz family, and there are plenty of fun flavors to choose from. You can go classic with the Original Chicken, or shake things up (pun totally intended) with the Crunchy Pretzel, Crispy Buffalo, or Ranch & Herb flavors. Of course, you can also try your hand at making your own Shake 'N Bake-style breading at home. All you need is some breadcrumbs, your preferred mix of seasonings, and a plastic bag.

The name may lead you to believe that chicken tetrazzini was invented in Italy, but it's actually among several "Italian" foods that aren't Italian at all. Legend has it the dish was created in either San Francisco or New York City in the early 1900s and named in honor of an Italian opera singer Luisa Tetrazzini. It's a baked pasta dish that typically includes shredded or diced chicken or turkey and spaghetti in a cream sauce. The creamy pasta is topped with bread crumbs, then baked in the oven until bubbling and golden.

It's easy to see why chicken tetrazzini really took off. First, it's a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey meat. It's also pretty easy to put together and adapt depending on the ingredients you have on hand. Some people add mushrooms, onions, fresh herbs, white wine, and different cheeses to the cream sauce. Others swap the poultry out for seafood. You can also use canned soup for the sauce and throw in some frozen vegetables for extra nutrition and pops of color.

Rich, savory, and sporting a vibrant red hue, chicken cacciatore is a comforting stew that consists of chicken and vegetables simmered in a wine-infused tomato sauce. Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian, and many believe that the dish evolved from meals that hunters in Italy would make with game meat and whatever herbs and veggies they came across on their hunts. The original versions may not have contained tomatoes, but today that's an integral part of the sauce.

Chicken cacciatore is meant to be a rustic dish, so many people use a mix of bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks with the skin still on. The chicken is seared and browned, and veggies and aromatics like garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms are sautéed until softened. Red wine and crushed tomatoes are added to the vegetables to create the sauce. Some people also add chicken broth, olives, and anchovies for more flavor. Then the chicken goes in and everything simmers until the meat is cooked through and the flavors meld together. It's often served with crusty bread on the side.

If you grew up in Texas, chances are you're familiar with King Ranch casserole, also known as King Ranch chicken. Recipes for the dish vary from family to family, but it typically features shredded chicken and tortillas or corn chips layered in a casserole dish with cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and shredded cheese. Some people also add Ro-Tel canned tomatoes and green chiles. The casserole is baked until the cheese is gooey and the inside is piping hot.

The origins of King Ranch casserole are a bit of a mystery. We know that the dish originated in Texas probably around the mid-20th century and that it was named after the famous King Ranch. However, the ranch does not lay claim to creating the dish. Some speculate that it was inspired by Mexican dishes like chilaquiles and enchiladas, but made with ingredients that were easy to find north of the border. Regardless of how it was born, it became a Tex-Mex favorite that's still popular at potlucks and family dinner tables today.

Coq au vin is a classic French dish that dates back centuries. It was traditionally a peasant dish made with older roosters ("coq" in French), which often have very tough meat. Wine was the secret to tenderizing the chewy meat, along with cooking the bird down low and slow. Over the centuries, the dish has evolved to include chicken instead of rooster, as well as a variety of indulgent ingredients. The dish has always been well-known in France, but a certain American cook caused the dish to explode in popularity overseas.

Julia Child was famous for making French cooking accessible to home cooks in America, and one of her all-time favorite chicken dishes was coq au vin. On an episode of her cooking show "The French Chef," Child called it "one of the most delicious chicken dishes you'll ever put in your mouth." Child's version of the dish included pieces of chicken simmered in a rich sauce featuring bacon lardons, butter, cognac, red wine, chicken stock, tomato paste, and fresh herbs. She served it with parsley potatoes and green peas.

It may seem outdated today, but back in the 1970s, chicken cordon bleu was considered the height of sophistication. It requires a bit of effort to make, as you have to pound chicken breasts thin, layer on some ham and Swiss cheese, roll it up, bread the chicken, then bake the whole thing in the oven or fry it. The payoff is pretty sweet though. You get crispiness on the outside, saltiness from the ham, and gooey cheese that melds beautifully with the meaty chicken.

Contrary to popular belief, chicken cordon bleu wasn't created in France, but rather in Switzerland. There are a few different origin stories, but one of the most popular is that a restaurant cook in Brig found herself with too many diners and not enough food. Thinking quickly, she made a schnitzel and stuffed it with ham and cheese. The owner was so grateful that he gave her a blue ribbon (cordon bleu) to reward her for her ingenuity. She declined it but named the dish after the award.

Chicken supreme may not appear on restaurant menus as often as it once did, but if any vintage chicken dish is primed for a comeback, we reckon it's this one. The dish features chicken breast seared until brown and crispy, then cooked with bacon and mushrooms in a white wine cream sauce. This rich, velvety dish is hearty enough to stand on its own but also pairs beautifully with potatoes, rice, noodles, or crusty bread. Plus, you can make it in one pan.

The name of this classic French dish could refer to a cut of chicken called "suprême de volaille," which is a boneless, skin-on chicken breast. Then again, it could be named after suprême sauce, which is a variation of velouté, one of the five French mother sauces. Velouté is made by adding roux (a butter and flour mixture) to chicken stock. Add heavy cream to that and you have suprême sauce. In many modern takes on chicken supreme, the roux is left out, which makes for faster cooking.

Throughout the middle of the 20th century, it wasn't uncommon to see pineapple appear in a wide range of dishes, from vintage desserts like ambrosia salad and upside-down cakes to savory dishes like Hawaiian meatballs. Prior to that, pineapples were considered luxury items because of how hard they were to transport long distances without spoiling. When James Dole started canning pineapples in the early 1900s, the fruit became more accessible. Then came the tiki craze, which led to a plethora of Polynesian and Asian-inspired dishes popping up. Pineapple chicken fit right into the era.

Pineapple chicken isn't so much a single, clearly defined recipe as it is a loose category of dishes that combine savory chicken with sweet, tangy pineapple. Versions vary widely. Some are baked casseroles with bell peppers and a sticky sauce, while others take cues from stir-fries or sweet-and-sour Chinese-American dishes. What they all have in common is that classic mid-century flavor pairing of fruit and meat often rounded out with soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger.

Chicken divan might not look like anything fancy by today's standards, but back in the 1950s, it was something hosts would present at dinner parties to impress guests. It made its debut sometime around the 1930s at the swanky Divan Parisien Restaurant in New York City's Chatham Hotel and quickly made big waves in the fashionable food scene. It wasn't long before copycat versions of this chicken and broccoli casserole with a creamy sauce and cheesy topping began popping up.

You can find multiple variations of chicken divan today, but most include at least two key components: shredded or diced chicken and broccoli. From there, you can go the easy route and use canned cream of chicken soup for the sauce or whip up a from-scratch version with ingredients like chicken broth, cream or milk, and white wine. Parmesan cheese and cheddar are common add-ins, and some people opt to top the casserole with crumbled crackers or breadcrumbs. The whole thing goes in the oven until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbling.

The 1950s gave us some seriously quirky foods, some of which probably aren't going to make it into regular dinner rotation anytime soon. Think tomato aspic, Spam fritters, and tuna on waffles. However, one popular dish from the decade that we can see making a comeback is chicken a la king. What's not to like about chicken and mushrooms in a luscious cream sauce that's been spiked with sherry or brandy? You can serve it with toast points, pile it on noodles, or spoon it over rice.

It's hard to pin down exactly where chicken a la king was created because there are multiple origin stories. However, we do know it was invented sometime in the late 1800s, probably at a restaurant where it was named after a guest (or guests) with the last name King or Keene. Early recipes featured chicken, mushrooms, and pimentos in a creamy white sauce. When the dish really took off in the 1950s, people began adding ingredients like peas, carrots, and bell peppers. 

Chicken Marbella may sound like it comes from Spain or Italy, but it was actually created in New York City at a gourmet takeaway food shop called The Silver Palate. Friends Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso opened the spot in 1977, and one of the first dishes on the menu was this sweet and savory chicken dish. The dish earned the shop legions of fans, and the owners later shared the recipe for it in their 1982 publication, "Silver Palate Cookbook." The interesting mix of ingredients was a hit with home cooks, many of whom were opening up more to international flavors.

The original recipe for Chicken Marbella features quartered chicken pieces marinated in a mixture of olive oil, red wine vinegar, prunes, green olives, capers (with some juice), bay leaves, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. After resting overnight, all of that goes into a roasting pan and gets doused with white wine and sprinkled with brown sugar. It's baked until the chicken is browned, crispy, and aromatic. The final touch is a handful of chopped parsley on top.

When Swedish air freight worker Ove Jacobsson threw together a last-minute dish for guests at a dinner party one night in 1976, he surely never dreamed that it would become as legendary as it did. That's because the dish was cobbled together out of a mish-mash of ingredients that he happened to have on hand including grilled chicken, bananas, whipped cream, Heinz chili sauce, Italian spice mix, bacon, and peanuts. Everything was thrown in a casserole dish and baked in the oven. Surprisingly, the dinner guests absolutely loved it.

One of the guests at that fateful dinner party was the editor of a food magazine, and he encouraged Jacobsson to submit the recipe for publication. The Flygande Jakob (aka flying Jacob) was also a hit with readers and soon it was making appearances on dinner tables and at parties across Sweden. It was wildly popular in the 1980s and still hits right with some people today. It may sound bizarre, but many say the dish offers a great balance of sweet, smoky, spicy, and savory flavors.

Hailing from Hungary, chicken paprikash is a rich stew that features tender pieces of bone-in chicken swimming in a bright red sauce that gets its color and flavor from paprika. It's called paprikás csirke in Hungary and it dates back centuries. It started out as a peasant dish that could easily be made in one pot, and now it's a beloved favorite that many consider the ultimate comfort food. 

Every family puts their own touches on chicken paprikash, but it usually starts with browning chicken in a Dutch oven or pot, then taking it out and cooking onions, garlic, and sometimes tomatoes in the leftover oil and juices. The next step is to add generous lashings of paprika. Many recipes call for Hungarian paprika, but you can use a mixture of regular paprika and smoked paprika, as well as the hot variety if you want to amp up the spice level. The chicken goes back into the pot with stock to simmer for a while before sour cream is added. Chicken paprikish is often served with traditional Hungarian dumplings called nokedli.

For many Brits, coronation chicken is a comforting classic that brings back memories of picnics, parties, and packed lunches. The dish was created to honor the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953. Le Cordon Bleu London culinary school was tasked with creating a meal for hundreds of foreign representatives who had traveled for the coronation. The result was a cold chicken salad called Poulet Reine Elizabeth. It featured chicken poached in water and wine, then tossed in a mixture of mayo, curry powder, onion, red wine, apricot purée, lemon juice, and whipped cream. It was served with a cold rice salad.

Today, coronation chicken is often used as a sandwich filling, and it typically features shredded chicken tossed in a creamy curry mayo that sometimes contains sweet elements like raisins. Some grocery stores in the U.K. sell pre-made coronation chicken in plastic containers for easy sandwich prep at home, and you might find coronation chicken sandwiches in some delis and shops, although many say it's not as common as it used to be.

It's easy to see why poppy seed chicken has stuck around for generations. It's creamy, comforting, and comes together with just a handful of ingredients. This Southern favorite typically starts with shredded chicken in a rich mixture of sour cream and cream of chicken soup. That's poured into a casserole dish and topped with crushed buttery crackers (usually Ritz) and a sprinkling of poppy seeds for just a hint of nuttiness. The casserole is popped into the oven and baked until piping hot.

The origins of the poppy seed chicken are a bit murky, but it likely gained popularity in the 1960s, when canned soup casseroles and shortcut cooking were in vogue. Many people remember their grandmothers making it or have a version tucked into an old family recipe box. In some places, it's still a go-to comfort food at Southern-style potlucks and parties. Some versions add cheese for extra richness. You can also swap in Greek yogurt or rotisserie chicken to modernize it a bit.