Chicken liver might seem like an unorthodox ingredient to use in your cooking or something that you’d only eat in ‘the olden days’ or throw at your dog.
This is now considered an old-fashioned view! Chicken liver is actually one of the most nutritionally dense foods we have. It’s absolutely bursting with iron, folate, amino acids, vitamins A and B12, and riboflavin. One serving of this delivers your recommended daily intake.
It’s not a food you should be eating every day, once a week is considered optimal. Consuming it once a week reduces your risk of nutrient deficiency hugely, and ensuring minerals like iron are at a good level in your body does wonders for your energy levels.
Are you sold yet? If you want to try out this wonder food but have literally zero clue how to go about it, here are 24 chicken liver recipes to inspire you!
If you still can’t face it… Here are some ideas for chicken recipes.
1. Fried Chicken Liver
Let The Baking Begin is our first recipe because it’s a very simple one, and great for liver virgins. The livers are ‘dredged’, and this basically means dipping them in flour to soak up all the moisture so it doesn’t just go soggy when fried. They are seared quickly to keep the tenderness, so it’s super quick and well as easy.
2. Chicken Liver Curry
This is a creamy Indian sauce, with all the warming flavors you’d expect. No need to shy away, it’s just like an ordinary curry except you’re using liver instead. Sava’s Kitchen talks us through it step-by-step and will have you enjoying this dish in under 30 minutes.
3. Chicken Liver Pate
Pate is the most common way people would have consumed liver, and Wholesome Yum tells us how to make it ourselves. Because making it from scratch is always tastier, and not to mention healthier. If you can’t find the yellow curry spice she uses, there is the option to make your own.
4. Sauteed Chicken Livers
This is another simple liver recipe and sees you lightly frying them and serving them on top of a giant bed of sliced, fried onions. Laura Fuentes suggests simple seasoning like salt and pepper, with a dash of paprika and garlic.
5. Southern Fried Chicken Livers
If you’re a fan of southern fried chicken but perhaps want to ramp up the nutrition level of this fried comfort food, Julia’s Simply Southern offers that exact choice to you. She coats them in wet and dry dredging before frying them to crispy deliciousness.
6. Chinese Chicken Liver
Another Asian-inspired recipe, except this time from the Far East. Omnivore’s Cookbook shows us how to give our chicken liver a Chinese flavor and a crispy texture. The key to the texture is slicing it thinly, and you’ll get the classic Chinese flavors from the ginger, garlic, and sesame oil.
7. Chicken Liver, Bacon, and Mushroom
Adding in bacon is always a good idea of course, and the texture of mushrooms goes very well with liver. Munchkin Time highlights that the flavor of the liver is quite strong, and if you’re a newbie soaking it in milk first helps tone it down. The trickiest part of this recipe is the roux, but if you’re up to the challenge, go for it!
8. Chicken Liver Patties
That’s right, you can make a burger patty out of chicken liver. Try throwing them on the grill at a party and see how many of your guests ask what this delicious burger flavor is! Healthy Taste of Life points out they also work on their own with vegetables as a quick lunch.
9. Chicken Liver Pasta
Introducing liver into your diet can be done a bit more gradually than just eating a bit plate of fried liver. Skinny Spatula shares a lovely recipe for cooking it with pasta, making it a more wholesome meal that might be easier on the palette of a liver newbie.
10. Lemon Garlic Chicken Liver
As mentioned above, the natural flavor of the liver can be quite overwhelming. Food by Mars has you pairing it with lemon and garlic, flavors you are likely already used to which make it more palatable. They are also ingredients you most likely have on hand already too!
11. Air Fryer Chicken Liver
If you’ve got an air fryer, this is the recipe for you to try first. Nice crispy liver, without the adding oil. Top Air Fryer Recipes also suggests the option of wrapping them in bacon before frying… and bacon always makes things better.
12. Peri Peri Chicken Livers
The Daley Plate takes the tasty Peri Peri sauce and uses it with chicken liver instead of chicken meat. This is a nice saucy recipe, which soaks up well with bread. The sauce has a nice amount of tang and spice, with Worcestershire sauce as one of the ingredients in addition to the Peri Peri.
13. Bacon Wrapped Chicken Livers
Low Carb Hoser doesn’t see the need for carbs when you can wrap food in bacon. He takes chunks of the liver and wraps each one in bacon, so they kind of look like jalapeno poppers. The bite-sized delights are perfect as a party appetizer and as an added bonus are keto-friendly.
14. Chicken Liver in White Wine Sauce
Low Carb Spark has you simmering the liver in a deliciously light white wine sauce. If that hasn’t persuaded you, then how about the caramelized onions that accompany it? It’s also low-carb, and ready in under 30 minutes!
15. Chicken Liver Tacos
Offally Good Cooking shows us how to make probably the most nutritionally dense tacos you’ve ever eaten. It’s basically exactly how you’d make tacos, but you’re using chicken liver instead of chicken, breast, beef, fish, or shrimp. The recipe comes with a delicious pico de gallo recipe, because what taco is complete without a salsa garnish?
16. Chicken Liver and Mushroom Stew
Liver stews really well, Krumpli knows that and as a result created this tasty chicken liver and mushroom stew. Using really cute button mushrooms, this meal looks great and tastes great too. The flavors are reminiscent of a ragu, and it tastes great served over mashed potato.
17. Chicken Liver Adobo
Who doesn’t love that rich flavor of adobo? Taste Philippines enlightens us on how to use this quintessential Filipino cuisine with chicken liver. It is prepared in a traditional Filipino way, and uses simple ingredients so no matter where in the world you live, you should be able to re-create this dish.
18. Asian Style Honey Soy Chicken Liver
That salty-sweet flavor comes through so beautifully in this recipe from Cooked and Loved, using the perfect balance of honey and soy. The scallions and red chili give a big pop of color to the finished dish, which should be served with rice. Don’t skimp on the sprinkling of sesame seeds, they add a nice crunch and burst of flavor.
19. Fried Chicken Liver and Onion Rings
Instead of just fried onions and liver, Let The Baking Begin uses onion rings to make it a bit more exciting. The livers are of course dredged before frying, and she shares the secret that the liver should only be seasoned after cooking or else the seasoning dries out the liver in the pan.
20. Chicken Liver Kabobs
Another one to try out on the barbeque at a party and see how many takers you get! Sanderson Farms is adamant this recipe is a winner. The flavors are simple but delicious, lemon, dry Greek seasoning, and olive oil are all you need.
21. Higadillos Salteados
Loosely translated, Spanish chicken livers. Bacon, garlic, onion, paprika, and sherry are the main ingredients in this recipe from The Star. The salty and smoky flavors work well with the natural taste of the liver, and the sherry makes for a delicious sauce.
22. Grilled Chicken Liver
Homemade Mommy shows us how to grill chicken liver on skewers with a tasty lemon butter sauce. She describes her creation as a ‘light’ way to eat liver, citing that the stews and frying options often produce a meal that’s too heavy for the summer months. They are grilled in olive oil, salt, pepper, and soy sauce, and then the lemon butter sauce is added on top.
23. Garlic Paprika Liver
Garlic and paprika is a pretty common combination, and with great reason because it’s absolutely delicious! It can also be used as a base, and you can add in more flavors once you’re more confident in the kitchen. Kaluhi’s Kitchen gives some great tips, like how to remove the liver membrane and blood vessels on top for a more tender end result.
24. Chicken Liver Stuffing
If you can make stuffing with sausage, why not liver? Serious Eats has created this stuffing recipe which sees the liver meld into the rest of the ingredients because it’s been pureed into a pulp, giving the entire dish that signature liver flavor. It has a creamy custardy center, but a nice and crispy topping, just like every stuffing should have!
