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. (If you don’t have a favorite source for rotisserie chicken, you can also follow our guide on how to boil a chicken.) 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
