34 Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Recipes That Make Weeknight Dinners a Breeze

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, dairy free, gluten free

Who knew this 20-minute gem could hit the table even faster? Trade boneless, skinless chicken breast for shredded rotisserie chicken; sautéing it with veggies and the soy-Sriracha sauce will give it all the flavor it needs.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, dairy free, gluten free, nut free

Leftovers for lunch doesn’t have to be a downer. Give broccoli, asparagus, spinach and avocado a boost of protein by topping them off with shredded chicken. We’ll take extra green goddess dressing, please.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, low fat, dairy free, gluten free, nut free

Ward off the sniffles with this flavorful immunity booster. Even better, using a rotisserie chicken instead of a whole raw chicken will save you nearly an hour of waiting.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

Not only will these enchiladas use up your leftover chicken, but they’ll also clear some room in your pantry, thanks to the additions of canned corn kernels and green chiles. The hardest step of this recipe is waiting for the cheese to melt.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, gluten free

Sure, spuds are typically a side dish. But these are topped with spicy shredded chicken, celery and carrots, so they’re definitely hearty enough to be the main course. Did we mention they’ll keep in the fridge for up to five days?

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

We can picture it now: the kids playing in the yard on a warm summer night while you whip up this pie that was born to be eaten alfresco. Feel free to pop the rotisserie chicken on the grill for a few minutes if you love that charred taste.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, low carb, dairy free

The recipe calls for ground chicken or turkey but swapping in shredded chicken is totally fine. These beauties are all about the toppings anyway—most importantly, the quick-pickled cucumbers and fresh herbs.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, dairy free, nut free

Since you won’t need to cook the chicken from scratch, this cast iron skillet recipe is basically finished once your vegetables are tender and lightly browned. You can even skip the roasting altogether and sauté the peppers, garlic and onion on the stovetop instead.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, dairy free, gluten free, nut free, pescatarian

We love you, spicy shrimp. You taste downright delectable and only take five minutes to cook. So, don’t hate us for subbing in rotisserie chicken, which doesn’t need to cook at all.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, low fat, gluten free, nut free

Why should ground beef get to have all the fun? Trade jack cheese for mozzarella to take the peppers out of the Tex-Mex arena and into chicken Parm territory.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, low fat, nut free

Aka our go-to Black Friday recipe for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Luckily, you can whip this eight-ingredient crowd-pleaser up any time of year with the help of shredded chicken.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, gluten free, nut free

No tortillas here, folks—these tiny pillows of chicken, poblano peppers, black beans and corn are held together by zucchini halves and a blanket of Monterey jack.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, dairy free, gluten free

If you want to add meat to this plant-based main, just double up on the ginger-lime soy dressing. Use one batch to toss the chicken in and another to pour over the finished salad as you see fit.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

Behold, the coziest dish your cast iron skillet has ever made. Not only is this recipe positively soul warming, but it also calls for easy frozen puff pastry instead of homemade. Once it’s golden brown on top, it’s ready to devour.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, gluten free, nut free

You love creamy, cheesy risotto. But the incessant stirring that it takes to make it? Not so much. This alternative thankfully bakes in the oven in a skillet or Dutch oven instead, so you can get your arborio on without the arm workout.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, low fat, gluten free, nut free

These have backyard picnic written all over them. Better yet, the recipe calls for cubed rotisserie chicken to begin with, so they don’t require one second of cooking. The star here is the creamy, tangy dressing made with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

Can you believe your favorite appetizer and comfort food are soulmates? We definitely can. Zippy buffalo sauce is just the ingredient to liven up the mild mozzarella cheese sauce. (P.S., a drizzle of ranch dressing never hurt nobody.)

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, dairy free, nut free

Wanna shave 45 minutes off this recipe? You know what to do. You can skip the marinade altogether and just double up on the lemon-mustard dressing, or you can briefly shake the shredded chicken in a bag with the marinade before heating it up on the stove.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

Aren’t they adorable? They’re even cuter when you realize how much time you’re going to save by using rotisserie chicken (30 minutes to an hour, to be exact). The marinade is pretty crucial, so be sure to still coat the shredded meat in it.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, dairy free, nut free

Shredding Brussels sprouts is way simpler than it sounds, but it doesn’t get easier than buying pre-shredded sprouts and a rotisserie chicken in the same grocery trip.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, gluten free, nut free

Even if you start with the plainest precooked chicken on Earth, the bold, puréed chipotle marinade will bring it back to life. Brace yourself for a punch of heat and smokiness, thanks to chipotle peppers in adobo, fire-roasted tomatoes and cumin.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

We present to you the easiest game day appetizer of all time. You don’t need to cook anything, they’re a heck of a lot less messy than buffalo wings and the leftovers make for a great lunch the next day.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, dairy free, gluten free, nut free

Any dinner that’s topped with crispy tortilla chips is our kind of entrée. But don’t worry, there are plenty of veggies and healthy ingredients to dig into, too, like black beans, corn, red onions, carrots, peas and poblano peppers.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

Admit it: You’re here for the dressing, homemade croutons and allllll the Parmesan cheese. The protein-rich chicken’s main job is really to turn this side into a meal. Might we suggest making two (or three) batches of dressing to use on any salad you please?

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, nut free

Chewy pillows of potato pasta > boring noodles. This mind-blowingly simple recipe proves that chicken soup can be crave-worthy, rather than just a go-to every time you’re sick.

• Time Commitment: 7 hours 10 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, low fat, dairy free, gluten free, nut free

Rotisserie chicken transforms this recipe from a seven-hour project to a 30-minute conquest. We’re partial to serving the chicken on soft brioche buns with shredded lettuce and sliced tomato, but feel free to plate it over rice instead (or you know, eat it straight from the pot).

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, low carb, dairy free, gluten free

Chicken salad with grapes, walnuts and gloppy mayonnaise dressing is beyond antiquated. With buttery avocado in the mix, this updated rendition is just as creamy as the original, only loaded with healthy fats and light on the mayo.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

Mix Taco Tuesday up with these uber-simple handhelds. Since they’re minis, you’ll still have plenty of stomach space leftover for guac, queso, grilled corn and whatever else is on your menu.

• Time Commitment: 7 hours 5 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, high protein, low fat, nut free

Adjusting this recipe is simple. Start by placing all the veggies, wild rice, seasonings and broth in the CrockPot. Once the rice is tender, add your shredded chicken, salt, pepper and heavy cream. Once it’s all heated through, it’s time to stir in your herbs and devour.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

You’re seven ingredients away from this satisfying app. Double up on the cheat ingredients by using both rotisserie chicken *and* store-bought buffalo sauce, or make your own from scratch with butter, your favorite hot sauce and seasonings of your choice.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, dairy free, nut free

Almost as simple to make as the microwave noodles you lived on in college, but a million times more flavorful (and Insta-worthy). The noodles are cooked in a mixture of chicken broth, beef broth and soy sauce so they’re salty and flavorful from the start.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, nut free

A sprinkle of chopped cilantro, thin-sliced radishes and toasted pepitas can make any dish look like you spent all day making it. No one would ever guess they only took you 40 minutes from start to finish.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: Under 500 calories, nut free

Listen, we have zero complaints about oven-baked tortillas stuffed with shredded cheddar and jarred salsa. But this sheet-pan quesadilla would be way more filling with shredded chicken in the mix. Pass the sour cream, please.

• Time Commitment: 6 hours 5 minutes
• Why We Love It: High protein, dairy free, nut free

Put down the phone and step away from the takeout menu: You can tackle this staple yourself. For a rotisserie chicken shortcut, just simmer the onion, garlic and ginger on the stove in the three-ingredient teriyaki sauce, then add the shredded meat to the mix and stir until combined.