29 Recipes That Turn a Rotisserie Chicken Into Dinner
Pick up a rotisserie chicken and dinner is easy. But we don’t just mean cutting up that bird to eat unadorned. These rotisserie chicken recipes help you transform cooked chicken into a wide variety of flavorful meals without much prep. Shredded chicken can add protein and heft to soups, salads, pasta bakes, and more, and there are lots of ideas below for using up the last bits of a store-bought rotisserie chicken—or a whole bird, which probably means you want to pick up two in the first place. Scroll down for weeknight dinner ideas and low-fuss dinner party inspiration. And when you’re ready, head over to our collection of ideal sides for a chicken dinner to round things out.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton2/29Braised Rotisserie Chicken With Bacon, Tomatoes, and Kale
If you have a store-bought, pre-cooked whole chicken in your fridge, revive it with this easy, kale-packed braise. Active time for this recipe is just 10 minutes, and total time is half an hour.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton3/29Chicken Pot Parmentier
Here's a way to turn rotisserie chicken into comfort food that's worthy of a dinner party. Tarragon perfumes the filling, which hides under a cloud of creamy mashed potatoes.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson4/29Arroz Caldo
Speaking of comfort food, you can have this fortifying Filipino rice porridge on the table fast if you sub in store-bought chicken stock and use a shredded rotisserie chicken to cut out the poaching step that comes first. Don't skip the garnishes of crispy fried garlic, hardboiled eggs, sesame oil, and lime or kalamansi.
Photo by Angie Mosier5/29Chicken Salad With Mango Chutney and Pistachios
If you think chicken salad is boring, you haven’t had good chicken salad. This one from I Am From Here flavors the cooked rotisserie chicken with cumin, jalapeño, Major Grey's chutney, grainy mustard, mint, and basil. Serve it with crackers or pile onto a sandwich or salad.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell6/29Lentil and Chicken Soup With Sweet Potatoes and Escarole
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell8/29Warm Chicken Salad With Asparagus and Creamy Dill Dressing
Chopped dill, green asparagus, mint, and peppery watercress or baby arugula make this spring dinner feel fresh and bright. To quickly revive dry, cold rotisserie chicken, place slices of it in a steamer basket along with the spring vegetables for a warm salad—it's a whole new take on the one-pot meal.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton9/29Grain Bowls With Chicken, Spiced Chickpeas, and Avocado
Store-bought rotisserie chicken (or leftover roasted chicken) brings you one step closer to this nourishing grain bowl dinner. This recipe works equally well with cooked quinoa, farro, barley, or brown rice.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton11/29Lemony Chicken Soup With Farro, White Beans, and Kale
In this hearty soup, takeout rotisserie chicken meets one of our favorite pantry staples: cannellini beans. Add kale, chopped dill, and a squeeze of lemon and you've got a meal you'll want to make over and over.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell12/29Chicken Salad With Apricots, Celery, and Blue Cheese
This summer-season chicken salad is a dance between sweet, creamy, and acidic flavors and tender, crunchy, and juicy ingredients. Make it in early summer when apricots are peaking and choose a fairly nonassertive blue cheese that won’t overwhelm the mix. The prep time for this easy dinner is just 25 minutes, so it's perfect for busy weeknights.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks.14/29BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizzas with Smoked Mozzarella
Photo by Aubrie Pick15/29Super-Simple Overnight Porridge
Take leftover rice and soak it overnight in vegetable or chicken broth to get a headstart on this comforting Vietnamese rice porridge. Then you'll simmer it with fragrant ginger and scallions, and top with shredded rotisserie chicken, chili crisp, fresh herbs, and whatever else you like.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi17/29Chicken-Cranberry Hash
Store-bought rotisserie chicken and frozen hash browns get crispy and sage-seasoned in this quick and easy hash, which tastes like Thanksgiving leftovers in the best way possible.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Anna Stockwell18/29Bibb Lettuce, Chicken, and Cherry Salad With Creamy Horseradish Dressing
Creamy, crunchy, sweet, and spicy: It's the salad you want to eat for dinner tonight. Toss juicy cherries into this salad, along with rotisserie chicken and a creamy horseradish salad dressing. All you need on the side is a baguette.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich20/29Any Way Niçoise
As main dish salads go, this might be the ultimate. Switch up this endlessly riffable salad to suit your preferences, but try to always include a mix of cooked and raw vegetables for the best textures. Pick your protein: pre-cooked chicken, oil-packed tuna, salmon, white beans, or chickpeas all work well. The dressing is simple but delicious: olive oil, fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, pepper, and salt.
Photo by Brian W. Ferry22/29Skillet Chicken Pot Pie With Butternut Squash
Rotisserie chicken and store-bought puff pastry make quick work of this comforting kale- and squash-stuffed pot pie. Not sure which puff pastry to buy? We've got recommendations.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Emily Eisen, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou24/29Chicken Cobb Salad
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone25/29Epi's 50-Ingredient Super Bowl Nachos
Don't be scared—you really don't need all 50 ingredients to use this nacho recipe. Choose one of the variations—may we suggest the spicy Buffalo chicken?—and go from there. Don't sleep on the potato skin-inspired version, either, loaded with cheddar, Monterey Jack, bacon, potatoes, paprika, and sliced chives.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Monica Pierini28/2910-Minute Chicken Flatbreads With Hummus and Yogurt
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton29/29"Nextover" Chicken Tacos With Quick Refried Beans
We've included this dish on our list of go-to rotisserie chicken recipes because you can use leftovers from chicken you've cooked yourself or start with a store-bought bird. Warming the meat in tangy tomatillo salsa and topping it with bright cabbage slaw brings it back to life. A can of black beans, seasoned with garlic and smashed until creamy, rounds out the meal.
