This paper analyzed the effects of social protection and households’ coping methods on households’ dietary diversity (HDD) in rural Chad during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in two waves from 5396 households. The results showed that majority of the households consumed cereals and 5–7 food groups. The Poisson regression showed that among other variables, receipt of food assistance, borrowed food and credit significantly (p < .05) reduced HDD, while migration and livestock sale increased it. It was concluded that social protection did not protect rural households against nutritional deficiencies during the pandemic.