Do you ever struggle to figure out what to do with all that Costco rotisserie chicken you bought? Let’s talk about four recipes that make easy work for your bird. Using up a whole chicken to make four recipes does take planning, but the best part is if you only want to make one recipe from your leftover chicky, throw the remaining chicken and bones in a pot with some cold water and just make some stock.
Chicken Burrito Bowl
The first recipe is my go-to when I bring home my freshly cooked chicken. It’s so simple and can be made with whatever burrito bowl ingredients you have, but never forget the fresh herbs. Shred up one of your chicken thighs and leg meat, then spruce it up by shredding it in a quick tinga recipe. Tinga is one of those delicious shredded chicken recipes that you just don’t find at a lot of hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants made with chipotle chilis and tomatoes. It’s the reason I always have a can of chipotles ready in my pantry. Pair the tinga with some minute cilantro lime rice, thawed frozen corn, and black beans from a can, then drizzle the whole bowl with sour cream. Have fun with this.
Check out this recipe here: Chicken Burrito Bowl
Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
Let’s chat about pasta salad. If you add chicken to it, it’s like a nice little lunch! In my early days of pesto making, I used to make this recipe all the time. They love pasta and pasta salad, so it was easy to turn them into this basil sauce. I wanted to design this recipe after a Caprese salad with all those herby notes. Pasta salad is all about adding fun little mix-ins you can stab with your fork, so adding one of the chicken breasts just made sense. Chicken pesto salad/pesto pasta salad… easy.
Check out this recipe here: Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
Chicken Caesar Salad Lettuce Wrap
This is a go-to recipe ANYTIME you have leftover chicken. Lettuce wraps can seem a bit intimidating at first, but cutting the root off and running your lettuce head under water will help separate the layers leaving an easier shell to peel off the head for wrapping. Make this quick Caesar dressing next time you make a Caesar salad. It’s eggless, it’s parmesan-y, and it’s delicious. Layer this wrap with a few of your favorite croutons, extra parmesan, sliced tomato, and one of the chicken breasts from your rotisserie. Easy!
Check out this recipe here: Chicken Caesar Salad Lettuce Wrap
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Last, you gotta preserve that delicious chicken flavor in a pot with some cold water and vegetable scraps. The easiest shortcut to making a delicious soup is always in the broth. Store-bought broths are okay, but some get pretty expensive. Take the shortcut of freezing or boiling your chicken bones to upgrade the flavor of any store-bought stock. I used leftover vegetable scraps I had created while prepping for the chicken noodle soup which is the easiest route. Making minestrone? Save your scraps. Don’t throw away your onion peels, keep your carrot peels, and save your herb stems. It’s basically like concentrating chicken flavor in your chicken broth. So much better.
Check out this recipe here: Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup