FridgeToTable

What to Make With Rotisserie Chicken: 3 Fast Weeknight Dinners

A rotisserie chicken is already dinner if you put it on the table, and it is three more dinners if you pull it apart. The meat is cooked, so these cards are about heating, not cooking through. One is a 12-minute quesadilla, one is a soup, and one is chicken salad you don't have to bake. This is the emergency tub a lot of parents already buy. Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.

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Quick picks: 3 dinners with rotisserie chicken in 30 minutes or less

Fastest option: a 12-minute dinner

12 min

Rotisserie chicken quesadillas

Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Shredded rotisserie chicken and cheese in a tortilla, browned in a dry skillet.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rotisserie chicken
  • 4 flour tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Shred the rotisserie chicken. You should not need to cook it.
  2. Lay cheese and chicken on half of each tortilla and fold.
  3. Toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until the tortilla is spotted and the cheese melts.
  4. Cut them into wedges. The filling is already safe to eat. You are only melting cheese.

Keeps: Best as soon as the cheese sets. The filling keeps 3 days for tomorrow's quesadilla.

One-pan option

Rotisserie chicken quesadillas is already one skillet. There is no second pan to wash.

The other dinners

25 min

Rotisserie chicken soup

Total time, start to plate · One pot · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

The carcass and the picked meat make a fast soup with onion and noodles.

Ingredients

  • 1 rotisserie chicken
  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup egg noodles

Steps

  1. Put the bones, onion, carrots, and water in a pot. Simmer 15 minutes. This is a quick stock, not an all-day one.
  2. Pull the bones out. Leave the meat you already shredded aside.
  3. Add the noodles and cook until tender.
  4. Stir the rotisserie chicken meat in at the end so it heats and doesn't turn to dust.
  5. Salt the broth. Store-bought birds are seasoned, so taste before you pour the salt.

Keeps: Fridge for 3 days. The noodles drink the broth, so keep them separate if you can.

15 min

Rotisserie chicken salad

Total time, start to plate · One bowl · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Cold shredded chicken with something creamy, lemon, and a crunch if you have celery.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rotisserie chicken
  • 3 tbsp yogurt or mayonnaise
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Shred or chop the rotisserie chicken. Cold meat is easier to cut.
  2. Stir in the yogurt or mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, and salt.
  3. Taste. Add more lemon if it tastes like only mayonnaise.
  4. Eat it on bread, a tortilla, or over leftover rice. No heat required.

Keeps: Fridge for 2 days. It does not freeze.

Make it with leftovers

The chicken is the leftover. Strip the carcass while it is still a little warm and the meat comes off clean. Save the bones for the soup pot if you have 20 minutes. Don't recook the meat until it shreds into dry strings. Warm it.

More dinners from leftovers

Pantry staples you'll need

  • Salt
  • Oil
  • Tortillas
  • Onion
  • Lemon
  • Yogurt or mayonnaise

No tortillas: the salad is the card that doesn't need them. No chicken left on the bird: this page is done. Move to eggs and rice or the nothing-in-the-fridge guide.

When there is nothing in the fridge

Picky-eater and healthy tweaks

Plain shredded meat, a tortilla, and cheese is the quesadilla, and it is the least surprising dinner here. Leave the onion out of the salad. The soup can be noodles and chicken with the vegetables picked around.

You already skipped the breading. Use the salad with yogurt instead of a cup of mayonnaise, and add celery or apple if you have it. The skin is the rich part. Eat it or don't.

More dinners in under 30 minutes

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Related dinners

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Questions

What can I make with rotisserie chicken in 20 minutes?

Rotisserie chicken quesadillas takes 12 minutes, start to plate. Shredded rotisserie chicken and cheese in a tortilla, browned in a dry skillet.

What's the easiest dinner with rotisserie chicken?

Rotisserie chicken quesadillas is the low-fuss one: one skillet, 12 minutes. Shredded rotisserie chicken and cheese in a tortilla, browned in a dry skillet.

Can I make this with leftover or cooked rotisserie chicken?

The chicken is the leftover. Strip the carcass while it is still a little warm and the meat comes off clean. Save the bones for the soup pot if you have 20 minutes. Don't recook the meat until it shreds into dry strings. Warm it.

What else can I add to rotisserie chicken for a full meal?

The cards already use rotisserie chicken, flour tortillas, shredded cheese. A piece of fruit or a handful of frozen vegetables is enough if you want more on the plate. Don't make a second shopping trip.

Is rotisserie chicken a healthy dinner?

You already skipped the breading. Use the salad with yogurt instead of a cup of mayonnaise, and add celery or apple if you have it. The skin is the rich part. Eat it or don't.

How do I make rotisserie chicken kid-friendly?

Plain shredded meat, a tortilla, and cheese is the quesadilla, and it is the least surprising dinner here. Leave the onion out of the salad. The soup can be noodles and chicken with the vegetables picked around.

Can I make rotisserie chicken in one pan or a sheet pan?

Rotisserie chicken quesadillas uses one skillet and takes 12 minutes. Shredded rotisserie chicken and cheese in a tortilla, browned in a dry skillet.

What if I don't have the second ingredient?

No tortillas: the salad is the card that doesn't need them. No chicken left on the bird: this page is done. Move to eggs and rice or the nothing-in-the-fridge guide.