7 Meals To Make With Leftover Chicken That You Wouldn’t Have Thought To Make

Chicken is my favorite food ever, just ask anyone who has ever had a conversation with me. Chicken is also the easiest meat to make the leftovers into meals. These are some really good meals to make with leftover chicken that I hope you enjoy!

1. Leftover Chicken Croquettes

These are kind of like hamburgers made with chicken instead of beef. They taste really good and you can make them so easily. This is one of those meals to make with leftover chicken that I think you will really like!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked, finely chopped chicken meat
• 1 1/2 cups of seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups of sauteed chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Steps:

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, bread crumbs, 2 eggs and onion, and mix well. If the mixture is too dry to form patties, mix in another lightly beaten egg. Then add parsley, salt, and pepper to taste, mix well and form into small patties.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and fry the patties in the oil until golden brown

2. Chicken Tortilla Soup

I am not a big fan of soup, but I really like this soup. It is really easy to make and it includes a lot of spices, so the chicken will taste just like you made it today. This is one of those meals to make with leftover chicken that you will love.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 2 or 3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 2 or 3 sliced carrots
• 1 large can of peeled, diced tomatoes, and juice
• 6 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cans of kidney or pinto beans
• 1 or 2 small cans of diced, mild or spicy green chilies
• 3 cups of frozen or fresh corn
• 3 cups of cooked shredded or diced chicken

Steps:

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Saute onions and celery until translucent, about five minutes or so.

2. Add garlic, cumin, oregano and chili powder and saute another minute or two.

3. Add carrots, tomatoes, broth, beans and chilies. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

4. Add corn and shredded chicken and cook another 5-10 minutes or until corn is cooked and chicken is hot.

5. Serve with strips of corn tortillas or chips, sliced green onions, cilantro, cheese and sour cream.

3. Chicken and Potato Casserole

Both the potatoes and the chicken are leftovers, so this is one of those meals to make with leftover chicken that is really using everything you have in your refrigerator. You will absolutely love this dish so much.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup of chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of milk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt
• 2 cups of diced cooked potatoes
• 2 cups of diced cooked chicken
• 1 cup of soft breadcrumbs, optional
• 2 tablespoons of butter, melted, optional
• 1 cup of shredded, cheddar cheese, optional

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.

2. Heat the butter in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes.

3. Stir the flour into the pan. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring, and cook until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add pepper and salt.

4. In the prepared baking dish, combine the cooked potatoes, chicken, and mushroom sauce mixture. If using the breadcrumb topping, toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter until well coated.

5. Top the casserole with the buttered breadcrumbs, or sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Enjoy.

4. Leftover Chicken Quesadillas

This meal involves sour cream, and I love anything with sour cream. This is one of those meals to make with leftover chicken that you can make as spicy or mild as you want, so everyone will love this meal and want to eat it again and again.

Ingredients:

• 4 8-10-inch flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup of sour cream or cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, cheese, shredded chicken, garlic powder, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly until well combined.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place one tortilla on the pan, top with half the mixture and spread out evenly, top with another tortilla. Cook for two minutes, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side for two minutes or until light golden and the cheese is melted. Repeat for second quesadilla.

3. Remove from heat and cut into 8 slices. Serve with salsa or guacamole.

5. Spicy Chicken Soba Noodles With Peanut Sauce

Eating peanut butter with chicken sounds really bad, but it actually tastes really good. This is one of those meals to make with leftover chicken that is designed to be really spicy, so don’t eat it if you don’t like spicy foods.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1/3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar or lemon juice
• 1/2 cup of hot or boiling water
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or sriracha
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 8-ounces of soba noodles
• 1 roasted or poached chicken breast
• 4 scallions
• 1/2 of an English cucumber
• 4 radishes
• 1/2 of a red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of cilantro
• 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds

Steps:

1. Combine the peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar or lemon juice, hot water, garlic, ginger, red pepper/sriracha, and sugar in a small bowl and whisk well to combine. This can also be prepared in a blender or food processor. If you need to adjust the consistency of the sauce so that it is thinner, add more hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it. Cook the soba noodles according to the package instructions, about 6 minutes. When the noodles are cooked, drain the noodles. Toss the noodles in the peanut sauce, along with the vegetables and chicken, if using.

3. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds. Serve warm or cool. If preparing as a cold salad, refrigerate and serve cold.

See Also

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6. Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I actually really like broccoli, so this is a good meal for me. I think this is one of those meals to make with leftover chicken that everyone is going to want to make for every party they go to because of how good chicken and broccoli taste together.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces of egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 4 cups of shredded chicken
• 1 12-ounce package of frozen broccoli, thawed
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of shredded provolone cheese

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the egg noodles according to the package directions to al dente. Drain and place in a greased 9×13-inch pan.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Cook chopped onions in butter until tender. Add flour and cook for about a minute, stirring frequently. Pour in the chicken broth while stirring. Once the flour is incorporated into the broth, add milk and cook until it begins to thicken, stirring frequently.

3. Spread chicken and broccoli over the noodles, pour the sauce over the top of the casserole. Mix cheese together and sprinkle over the casserole.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

7. Leftover Chicken and Egg Fried Rice

My mom makes this a lot, but we don’t use leftover chicken to make it. We should start doing that because it tastes so good. This is one of those meals to make with leftover chicken that you will fall in love with.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups of chicken
• 3 cups of pre-cooked brown rice
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 cup of frozen sweetcorn
• 1 red pepper diced
• 4 spring onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 medium eggs
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce

Steps:

1. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat for one minute.

2. Add the cooked rice, shredded chicken, frozen peas, frozen sweetcorn, red pepper and spring onions. Stir for 3-4 minutes, until everything is warmed through and the frozen vegetables is no longer frozen.

3. Add the garlic and stir for another minute.

4. Meanwhile crack the eggs into a large mug or a small jug and whisk together lightly with a fork. Make a well in the middle of the rice mixture and pour in the eggs. Cook for 30 seconds, and then mix the rice mixture and the eggs together.

5. Continue frying for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, until you start to get some nice crispy brown bits. Pour in the soy sauce and sesame oil, and fry for 1 more minute.

6. Serve scattered with a few extra spring onions. Put the bottles of soy sauce and sesame oil on the table for everyone to help themselves to extra, if needed.

These are some of my favorite chicken meals to make with leftover chicken. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them down below and I will look at them.

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