30 leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken dinner ideas your family will love.
Do you have some leftover chicken in your fridge? Did you just buy a rotisserie chicken and can’t decide what to do with it? Need a recipe to use up all of that leftover chicken? Well, fear not. You have come to the right place! I am sharing our family’s favorite ways to use up chicken that is already cooked. Whether you cooked it yourself or you bought a rotisserie chicken and need dinner ideas, this post is full of easy, quick, family-friendly, delicious chicken recipes that work well using pre-cooked chicken.
How long can you keep cooked chicken in the fridge?
You can safely store leftover chicken in the fridge for 3-4 days before you need to throw it away. If you don’t think you’ll be able to eat the leftover chicken in that amount of time, put it in a freezer bag and store it in the freezer. Cooked, frozen chicken will last for up to four months in the freezer.
Now let’s get to the list. Here are all the best recipes for pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken!
1. Chicken Tacos
Mix salsa, cumin and chili powder with shredded chicken to taste. Serve in soft or hard taco shells with all the fixings. We love to use the small street taco tortillas. They are so soft and yummy!
2. BBQ Chicken Pizza
Make your favorite pizza crust, spread with barbecue sauce, shredded chicken, red onions and any other toppings you like. (I like bacon and pineapple). Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake until dough is cooked through and cheese is bubbly and browned. This is a great recipe if you want to follow one.
3. Hot Broiled Sandwiches
I make a variety of hot sandwiches. Basically I put sauce, meat, veggies and cheese on yummy bread and broil everything until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. Try this easy homemade artisan bread recipe… it makes any basic sandwich taste gourmet! This Cheesy Chicken Sandwich with Garlic Aioli is a ten minute meal!
4. Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
This was a family favorite growing up. It’s so creamy and comforting! My favorite recipe is HERE.
5. Chicken Manicotti
2 TBSP butter
1/4 cup onions, chopped
6 mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (don’t leave this out…it makes the recipe!)
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese (or substitute small curd cottage cheese)
1 1/2 cup grated mozarella cheese
1 TBSP chopped parsley
14 manicotti shells
1/4 cup water
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
Saute onion and mushroom in butter. Stir in the chicken, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, blend ricotta, half the mozarella cheese and parsley. Add cooled chicken mixture and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the uncooked manicotti shells. Spread half the spaghetti sauce in a 9×13 pan. Arrange filled manicotti over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle on remaining cheese. Pour the water around the edges of the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until noodles are tender.
6. Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
I don’t really follow a recipe, but HERE is one that is basically how I make it.
7. Four Ingredient Pasta Dinner
So quick and delicious! Recipe HERE.
8. Chicken Vegetable Soup
2 cooked chicken breasts
1 bag frozen 7 blend vegetables (corn, green beans, celery, potato, onion, carrot, lima beans)
2 cans diced tomatoes
bouillon or chicken stock
salt, pepper, spices to taste
Add everything to a big stock pot and heat through. Use enough stock or bouillon to make the soup the right liquid-to-solid ratio. Season with bay leaf, parsley, garlic, onion, or red pepper flakes to taste.
9. BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Shred cooked chicken, add barbecue sauce and serve on soft rolls. Such a quick dinner when the chicken is already cooked and tender!
10. White Chicken Chili
There are a lot of similar recipes out there, but THIS is my favorite version.
11. Chicken Noodle Soup
Onions, carrots, celery, noodles, broth, chicken. If you saved the stock from cooking your chicken, this is the meal I would save it for. The homemade stock makes it taste like you’ve had your soup simmering away all day.
12. Thai Chicken Fettuccine
I originally found this recipe in a food magazine at my mom’s house. It had such an intriguing combination of ingredients that I had to give it a try. We loved it, and I bet you will too!
12 oz. fettuccine noodles
1 cup salsa
1/4 peanut butter
2 TBSP orange juice
2 TBSP honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 chicken breasts
1 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Cook fettuccine noodles according to package directions. Sauté red pepper in a little oil. Mix all sauce ingredients together and microwave to heat through. Combine noodles, peppers, chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot.
13. Oriental Dinner Salad
Chicken, mandarin oranges, green onions, water chestnuts (if you like them), chow mien noodles, slivered almonds, and red bell peppers on a bed of lettuce served with Kraft’s Asian Toasted Sesame dressing. Make this easy toast to serve on the side.
14. Crispy Chicken Wraps
It’s like warm chicken salad wrapped in a crunchy tortilla. Recipe found HERE.
15. White Chicken Pizza
Top your favorite homemade crust with Alfredo sauce, chicken, green onions and lots of mozzarella cheese. Or make the sauce from scratch and add tomatoes and spinach. THIS recipe looks fabulous.
16. Zesty Chicken and Pasta
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 cups broccoli
1 small onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 TBSP parsley
1 8 oz. package fettuccine
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Boil pasta. Sauté vegetables in 1/4 cup dressing until tender. Toss with cooked pasta and remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with cheese.
17. Southwestern Egg Rolls
Instead of using wonton wrappers, all your favorite southwest ingredients are wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried. I prefer to bake them in the oven…still crispy and delicious without all the extra calories. Recipe HERE.
18. BBQ Chicken Dinner Salad
A perfect dinner when you want something refreshing. We eat this often in the summer. Recipe HERE.
19. Chicken Salad Sandwiches
You can make it however you want, but I love recipes with pecans and some kind of fruit in them. THIS recipe looks amazing. With the chicken pre-cooked, this would be such a fast dinner to throw together. Cut up a melon, whip up the sandwich filling, pack some drinks and voila! Perfect for a summer picnic!
20. Southwest Chicken and Rice Bake
2 cups water
2 cups rice
3 chicken breasts, cooked, cubed or shredded
1 small onion, diced
1 cup thick salsa
1 package taco seasoning (or substitute garlic powder, chili powder, salt and cumin to taste)
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
Cook rice in water until tender (20 minutes). Meanwhile, sauté onion until tender. Add chicken, salsa, taco seasoning and beans. Stir together with cooked rice. Place in baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly and everything is heated through. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
21. Tortellini With Summer Vegetables
Cheesy tortellini mixed with chicken, zucchini, and tomatoes tossed with olive oil and parmesan cheese. Simple and delicious, and a perfect way to use your garden vegetables. Recipe HERE.
22. Stuffing Chicken Bake
Stuffing, vegetables, chicken and a creamy sauce. A simple casserole. Recipe HERE.
23. Chicken Bowtie Salad
This makes a huge batch of pasta salad perfect for taking to a baby shower or potluck barbecue. It gets devoured! Recipe HERE.
24. Chicken In Potato Baskets
4 1/2 cups shredded hash browns
6 TBSP butter
salt and pepper to taste
Filling:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups milk
3 cups cubed chicken
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Combine potatoes and butter. Press into six greased 10 oz. custard cups. Sauté onion in butter. Add flour, bouillon, Worcestershire and basil. Stir in the milk. Boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Add chicken and peas. Spoon into prepared crusts. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until crust is golden brown.
25. Chicken Bacon Ranch French Bread Pizza
1 loaf French bread
leftover rotisserie chicken
4-6 slices cooked, crumbled bacon
1 bunch green onions, chopped
ranch dressing
mozzarella cheese
Cut the French bread in half length wise. Spread each side of the bread with Ranch dressing. Then add cheese, chicken, bacon and green onions. Broil until cheese is melted and bread gets golden brown around the edges.
26. Bombs
Bread dough stuffed with meat, cheese and vegetables. One of our family favorites. Recipe HERE.
27. Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
Zesty spices are mixed into a creamy, cheesy sauce. Serve over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes. Recipe HERE.
28. Chicken Crescents
1 8 oz brick cream cheese
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cans crescent rolls
seasonings to taste (try garlic powder, sage and rosemary)
Mix chicken and seasoning into softened cream cheese. Unroll crescent dough and add a spoonful of filling to large end of triangle. Roll dough around filling and bake according to crescent roll packaging.
29. Spinach Chicken Linguini
diced chicken
16 oz. linguini
1 cup chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung out
1/3 cup milk
2 TBSP cream cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Boil noodles. Bring broth to a boil. Add onion and garlic. Cook 5 minutes. Add milk, cream cheese, salt/pepper. Add spinach. Toss with noodles and chicken. Sprinkle with cheeses and serve immediately.
30. Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken
Buy a jar of prepared alfredo sauce or make your own (recipe HERE). Add chicken and serve over fettuccine noodles with veggies on the side. So simple!
Chicken Dinner Ideas Video
Hopefully this list will help you find ways to use up leftover chicken or give you ideas of how you could use a rotisserie chicken.
Comments & Reviews
thank you for these!! I like to bake chicken ahead of time but then can't think of anything to do with it! this is an amazing reference!!
thanks again!
Cheryl
Thanks so much for this list. I pinned it so that I can find it again. I love to cook chicken ahead of time, and this will help me come up with ideas of how to use it.
Melissa
redflycreations(dot)com
I cook my chicken that way too! I'm excited to try some of these new recipes! Thanks!
Yummy! We've been using pre-cooked chicken in a lot of recipes lately too. I usually buy a large rotisserie chicken & shred it up – I can get 2-3 meals out of it!
Check out Martha's Chicken Tetrazzini – delicious!
I just received a Sous Vide. It is great for pre-cooking chicken and other foods.
Great suggestions! For the Thai Chicken Fettucine, do you cube or shred the chicken, or just leave whole? Thanks!
Cubed or shredded would both be good!
Hi Jennifer,
your recipes look very yummy and would like to try some, but I need to make sure of what I need…
when in recipe 5 you mention “spaghetti sauce” do you mean tomato sauce?
In recipe 12 also you mention “sauce” but you don’t specify what kind of sauce…do you mean tomato sauce as well?
and in recipe 20, when you mention “thick sauce” what do you refer to?
Thank you for sharing these delicacy with the world!
By spaghetti sauce I mean flavored tomato based sauce. Prego, Del Monte and Ragu are a few brands that make spaghetti sauce.
Thank you for such for such a concise and easy list of recipes. I am sure I will try most if not all of these recipes. Thanks so much!