Chicken’s Versatility = A Variety of Fun Chicken Trends in 2024
When you purchase chicken at the store, you’ve bought yourself a nutritious and delicious, limitless culinary slate. That’s because chicken is one of the world’s most versatile proteins. After all, chicken is a foundational centerpiece in nearly every cuisine and can be prepared roasted, broiled, grilled or poached, and garnished with many seasonings, toppings and sauces.
And while we’ll always have a special place in our hearts for classic dishes like fried chicken and chicken noodle soup, it’s also fun to embrace new takes on favorite recipes. So, as we close out 2023 and head into 2024, keep this trending chicken forecast on your inner chef radar.
The winners of chicken dinners: “Marry Me Chicken” and white chicken chili topped NYT Cooking’s “Most Popular Recipes of 2023” list – along with 13 other beloved chicken-based recipes.
Classic chicken dips unite: Ever since Taylor Swift’s “ketchup and seemingly ranch” chicken snapshot went viral on Instagram this September, condiment brands, Wal-Mart and even the Empire State Building jumped on board the trending combo.
Heaping on the heat: Cooking chicken with BBQ sauce will always be a go-to, but top flavors are currently a mixture of honey, butter and spice, like adding hot honey and extra butter to Buffalo sauce.
Pile on those pickles, please! Complementing chicken recipes with pickles, such as marinating or brining chicken in pickle juice, along with pickle-flavored dips, will likely become even more popular in 2024.
Interest in convenient, handheld eats: Chicken nuggets, wings and sandwiches are household staples, and now chicken lollipops are the latest rage. And don’t toss out that excess chicken – consider using the leftover meat in a salad or sandwich.
Completely clearing the wing: Speaking of not wasting chicken, popular social videos are demonstrating how to clear the bone when eating wings.
Wings with international flair: Food by Design, a culinary consultancy, noted that Korean fried chicken is becoming increasingly popular, while global wings are on the National Restaurant Association’s annual What’s Hot Culinary Forecast as consumers seek international flavors in comforting, recognizable and shareable forms.
Shopping for environmental impact: Along with an increased consumer interest in regenerative agriculture comes a growing shift toward nutritious food choices that benefit the environment, like chicken.
Sustainability is no trend to the U.S. chicken industry, though. In fact, despite expanding production 21% from 2010 to 2020, we notably lowered our environmental footprint in 5 key sustainability measurement areas! Explore the U.S. Broiler Chicken Industry Sustainability Report to learn more, and don’t forget to enjoy trying the latest protein-packed food fads!