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Top 87 European Chicken Dishes

Last updated on May 16, 2026
01

Poulet rôti (French roast chicken)

4.3 ·

Poulet rôti is a classic French dish that translates to "roast chicken." The preparation involves seasoning a whole chicken with herbs, garlic, and butter before roasting it to perfection. The result is a flavorful, golden-brown chicken with a crispy skin and juicy, tender meat. This dish is often served with roasted vegetables and potatoes, making it a comforting and satisfying meal. Poulet rôti is a staple in French cuisine, showcasing simple yet exquisite flavors, and very popular Sunday dish.

02

Tsitsila tabaka (Chicken tabaka)

4.3 ·

Chicken tabaka is a popular Georgian dish consisting of a chicken that is fried in a special way in a traditional pan called tapa. One should flatten the chicken on a pan by pressing it down with a weight. When it is properly prepared, the chicken should be crispy on the outside, while retaining its tenderness and moistness on the inside. The dish is often consumed with tkemali plum sauce on the side.

03

Chicken Tikka Masala

4.3 ·

Chicken tikka masala is a British dish influeneced by Indian cuisine, consisting of marinated, tandoor-cooked chicken pieces that are served in a spiced tomato-cream sauce. The origins are still debated – some claim that it was invented in Glasgow in the 1970s by a Pakistani chef Ali Ahmed Aslam who added his tomato-cream soup into chicken tikka in order to please a customer, and others claim that the dish is simply a variation on Indian butter chicken or chicken tikka that's adapted to suit the British tastes. Nowadays, chicken tikka masala is even considered the country's national dish, and Foreign Secretary Robin Cook proclaimed chicken tikka masala a symbol of modern multicultural Britain in 2001.

04

Frango assado com piri piri

4.3 ·

Frango assado com piri piri, which is often simply referred to as frango assado (roasted chicken), is a Portuguese dish with vague origins. It is usually made with a whole butterflied chicken that can be marinated in a combination of olive oil, seasonings, and crushed piri-piri peppers. After it is roasted or grilled, the chicken is served with a piri-piri sauce—a mixture of dry or fresh chili peppers and oil, along with other optional ingredients. Portuguese frango assado is closely connected to an African dish that is known as piri-piri (peri-peri) chicken, and it is still not clear where this Portuguese version originated. The most common theory claims that the dish appeared in the 1970s when many Portuguese expats returned home from overseas colonies such as Angola and Mozambique. With them, they brought regional ingredients, including the chili peppers that are used in the piri-piri sauce. Most emigrants resettled in Algarve, the region which is often cited as the place where the dish originated. The dish is a staple in Algarve, but it is also found in other Portuguese regions. Fries or rice and a tomato salad are usually served on the side.

05

Kotleta po Kyivsky (Chicken Kyiv)

4.3 ·

Chicken Kyiv consists of a boned, flattened chicken breast that is rolled around chilled herb butter, breaded, and then fried. Although the dish is very popular, no one knows where it came from or how it got its name, and there are numerous contradicting theories attributing its invention to Ukrainian, Russian, and French chefs. It was at the height of its popularity in the 1970s, but quickly fell out of favor in the late 1980s with the rise of nouvelle cuisine. Interestingly, in Soviet hotels’ tourist brochures, guests were warned of the dangers of splattering themselves with hot butter.

Best restaurants
06

Kokoras krasatos

4.3 ·

Kόkoras krasάtos is a Greek variation on the famous French coq au vin. This Greek dish is made with rooster, Greek red wine, onions, garlic, Greek olive oil, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, bay leaves, tomatoes, and Florina peppers or Florina pepper paste. The rooster is boiled in a delicious red wine sauce until the meat becomes extremely tender and aromatic. In the summer, the sauce is light, while in the winter it's usually much thicker. Traditionally, the dish is served with hollow, spaghetti-like pasta and grated Kefalotyri cheese. It's typically prepared for Sunday lunch or special occasions such as Christmas. It's recommended to pair kόkoras krasάtos with a glass of the same wine in which the rooster was cooked.

Best restaurants
07

Pollo al ajillo

4.2 ·

This simple Spanish dish known as pollo al ajillo consists of chicken pieces drenched in garlic sauce. The sauce is usually made with white wine, stock, garlic, and herbs such as bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary. It can be consumed as the main course or as a tapa. It is recommended to serve pollo al ajillo with vegetables or mushrooms on the side.

08

Paprikás csirke (Chicken paprikash)

4.2 ·

Hungarian chicken paprikás originated as a rustic stew that was cooked in a large cauldron over an open fire. It is traditionally prepared with chicken thighs and legs that are braised alongside onions and cooked in a thick, paprika-flavored broth. Although it is similar to the classic pörkölt stew, paprikás is characterized by the addition of sour cream and occasionally flour, which are always added last to create a smooth, creamy sauce. Paprikás is a common restaurant dish as well as a hearty home-cooked meal that is traditionally served complemented by galuska or csipetke dumplings, pasta, boiled potatoes, or polenta.

09

Backhendl

4.2 ·

The Viennese version of fried-chicken initially appeared in the 18th century and was especially esteemed during the Biedermeier period. The dish consists of a whole chicken, preferably smaller in size, which is generously rubbed with spices and lemon juice. It is then cut into pieces that are dipped in egg wash, coated in flour, and then in breadcrumbs before they are fried until golden and crispy. Backhendl was originally prepared with a whole, deboned chicken, and the dish was traditionally served alongside fried offal, usually chicken liver and heart. Nowadays, it rarely appears in its original form and is traditionally accompanied by lemon wedges, fried parsley leaves, lettuce, and potato salad.

10

Kotopoulo me patates sto fourno (Roasted chicken and potatoes)

4.2 ·

Kotopoulo me patates sto fourno is a traditional dish consisting of roasted chicken and oven-baked potatoes. The dish is usually made with a combination of chicken, potatoes, lemon, oregano, salt, pepper, paprika, olive oil, butter, and garlic. The potatoes are cut into wedges, drizzled with lemon juice, sprinkled with salt and oregano, and arranged in a baking dish. The chicken is cut into pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with paprika before it's placed in the baking dish with the potatoes. Everything is drizzled with olive oil and dabbed with butter, and the dish is then baked in the oven. Garlic cloves are tossed into the baking dish near the end of cooking so they don't burn, and water is added to the dish occasionally. Once the chicken is fully cooked and the potaotes have softened, kotopoulo me patates sto fourno is ready to be enjoyed. The dish is especially popular as a weekend lunch or dinner.

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About this ranking

TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 87 European Chicken Dishes” list until May 16, 2026, 3,453 ratings were recorded, of which 2,548 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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