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- Chicken
Kelli Foster
Kelli FosterSenior Contributing Food Editor
Kelli is a Senior Contributing Food Editor for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals. She lives in New Jersey.
updated Jan 23, 2024
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The Kitchn received compensation for this post, which was written and edited independently by our editorial team.
Anytime you find yourself with leftover baked chicken breasts, shredded chicken from the slow cooker, poached chicken breasts, or whole roasted chicken, consider it a very good thing. You can certainly go for a second round of last night’s dinner, but the wonderful thing about chicken is that it’s so easy to repurpose it into an entirely different meal. It doesn’t matter what cut you have handy: Boneless or bone-in breasts and thighs are all fair game, as is whatever you have left over from a rotisserie chicken. All it takes is a little inspiration.
We’re here to share ideas and dinner essentials that will help you turn your leftover chicken into a brand-new meal. Here are 30 leftover chicken recipes to try tonight.
Ways to Use Leftover Chicken
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Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos
Some chopped or shredded chicken instantly moves nachos firmly into dinner territory. This is a perfect opportunity to use up that last bit of leftover chicken, no matter how much you have!
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Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
Store-bought buttery biscuits bake over chicken and veggies in a rich, creamy sauce.
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Chicken Salad with Grapes
Whether you prefer the classic creamy version or opt for tangy or herby, you can never go wrong with chicken salad.
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Chicken and "Clunkers" Soup
This weeknight recipe starts with boxed chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken for ease and convenience.
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Chicken Sliders
For the best-ever chicken sliders, mix shredded chicken with mayo, sour cream, and scallions. Melty cheese and buttery rolls take things to the next level.
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Classic Cobb Salad
This classic Cobb salad recipe hits that sweet spot of just the right ingredients made in the easiest way possible.
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Enchiladas Suiza
Baked in creamy salsa verde sauce and topped with gooey Oaxaca cheese, these chicken enchiladas are unbelievably delicious.
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White Chicken Chili Skillet Dip
A warm dip can absolutely become dinner when you fill it with chicken and serve it with lots of veggies (and chips, too, of course).
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Dump Chicken Pot Pie
Make a cozy chicken pot pie with just 4 store-bought ingredients and one dish.
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Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Spicy Buffalo chicken plus gooey, crispy pizza is a culinary mash-up masterpiece.
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Instant Pot Congee
The Instant Pot makes delicious congee with minimal effort. Enjoy it plain, or load it up with mix-ins and garnishes for more of a one-pot meal.
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French Chicken Casserole
Layer buttery mashed potatoes over French-inspired chicken pot pie filling for the ultimate comfort food.
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French Bistro Salad with Rotisserie Chicken
A 20-minute dinner salad inspired by the roasted chicken salad at Buvette, a French bistro in NYC’s West Village.
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Chicken Enchiladas
Starting with leftover chicken means a large batch of saucy enchiladas comes together in next to no time.
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Roasted Red Pepper, Chicken and Mozzarella Sandwich
Sandwiches are a quick and easy way to repurpose leftover breasts or thighs into a nearly effortless dinner.
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Chicken Fried Rice
When you don’t quite have enough meat for it to be a meal on its own, this is a cheap and easy way to turn leftovers into dinner for the whole family.
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Cilantro-Lime Chicken Quesadillas
This is my favorite reason to hang on to leftover chicken when there’s just a few bites or the tiniest of pieces remaining. Grab a couple of tortillas and some cheese, and that tiny bit of chicken is suddenly a meal.
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Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Chicken on pizza is always a good idea — especially when alfredo or BBQ sauce are involved.
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Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
If you don’t love leftovers, a casserole is such a great solution for repurposing chicken into a totally different meal. This works well with chicken that wasn’t cooked with a marinade or sauce. Expect most casserole recipes to call for about two to three cups of cooked chicken.
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Weeknight White Chicken Chili
Whether you lean towards white chili, beef chili, or one packed with beans and lentils, there’s always a place for chicken in the pot. Since it’s already cooked, stir it into the pot in the last few minutes of cooking to prevent it from drying out.
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Costco Chicken Bakes
Leftover chicken bodes very well in the company of gooey cheese and smoky bacon bits all wrapped inside the crispy, tender bread of this copycat Costco chicken bake.
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Chicken Lentil Soup
The easiest chicken soup starts with a rotisserie bird from the grocery store or, in this case, whatever leftovers you have handy!
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Rotisserie Chicken Panzanella
Panzanella originated in Italy as a means to let stale bread rub shoulders with fresh ingredients and in turn, build a dazzling bread salad. But this flexible dish is inherently a clean-out-the-kitchen dish – in other words, you can totally add leftover chicken into the mix!
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Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Enchiladas are one of those perfect meals where you get a little bit of something delicious in every bite.
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Chicken Bog
Starting with cooked leftover chicken lets any skillet dinner come together in a fraction of the time. The example below is a cozy Southern-style meal that calls for rotisserie chicken and sausage, but you can swap it for whatever kind of chicken you have in the fridge.
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Chimichangas
Chimichangas are a quick and easy weeknight dinner treat.
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Chicken Spaghetti
Here’s our version of chicken spaghetti that requires no creamed soups but still delivers on big flavors the whole family will love.
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Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
This might be the ultimate simple-yet-satisfying dinner. Repurpose leftovers while enjoying one of those potatoes you baked during your weekend meal prep session.
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Brunswick Stew
This flavor-packed stew gets its kick from a mustard-based sauce.
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Curried Chicken Salad
A few hints of sweetness take this classic curried chicken salad into a winner that you can stuff into bread or eat as lettuce wraps.
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Filed in:
Chicken
dinner
easy
Ingredient
Recipe Roundup
