40+ Rotisserie Chicken Meals

Cook chicken at home or pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store. Either way, use these 46 healthy recipes rotisserie chicken to stretch your chicken over multiple meals and save money!

Do you ever walk by the rotisserie chickens at the grocery store and think to yourself how easy it would be to just pick one of those up and have dinner DONE for the night?

Yeah, me too. But what if that single rotisserie chicken made MORE than just dinner tonight?

What if it also made dinner tomorrow night?

And better yet – what if it made dinner the night after THAT too?

I’m all about some simple busy weeknight dinner recipes beyond sandwiches and pasta! Leftovers from a whole roasted chicken are a lifesaver.

COOK CHICKEN AT HOME OVER BUYING CHICKEN ROTISSERIE

I’m going to explain how you can stretch that one rotisserie chicken into several meals in just a moment. First, I want to encourage you to make your own chicken rotisserie instead.

Yes, it requires just a smidgen more work, but it’s SO worth it for four main reasons:

1. YOU GET MORE MEAT

The average rotisserie chicken weighs just 2 – 2.5 lbs. Compare that to the average whole raw chicken that weighs 5-6 pounds. Just buying a whole chicken raw, versus a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, means you’re getting twice as much meat.

2. YOU GET MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

According to this article, homemade rotisserie chickens cost an average of $1/lb less than a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. At some stores, the difference was nearly $3 per pound!

3. YOU CONTROL THE INGREDIENTS

You might not have noticed that rotisserie chickens have an ingredient label. You’d think they wouldn’t need one but think again!

Here’s the list of ingredients from a Costco rotisserie chicken:

Whole chicken, water, seasoning [salt, sodium phosphate, modified food starch (potato, tapioca) and potato dextrin, carrageenan, sugar, dextrose, spice extractives].Whole chicken, water, seasoning [salt, sodium phosphate, modified food starch (potato, tapioca) and potato dextrin, carrageenan, sugar, dextrose, spice extractives].

Of these ingredients, 3 are listed on my top 5 ingredients to avoid in food. Quite a bit more than just chicken, right?

Psst…speaking of toxins, did you know that many salts contain MICROPLASTICS? It’s a sneaky toxin that may be in your everyday salt, and thus your everyday food (um, gross). I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because their salt is FREE of microplastics, and it tastes delicious! PLUS, you can get your own FREE 8 oz penny bag of salt on this page! (Just pay shipping)

4. YOU CONTROL THE QUALITY OF THE CHICKEN

If you’re concerned about chickens without antibiotics or GMOs or seek pasture-raised chickens, you won’t find them in the rotisserie section at the store.

HOW TO COOK A WHOLE CHICKEN

I’ve told you WHY you should make your own rotisserie chicken. Now let’s talk about HOW you can pull it off. You have 5 main options:

1. COOK A WHOLE CHICKEN IN A SLOW COOKER

Slow Cooker Chicken is by far the easiest way to cook a whole chicken. Cook it while you’re at work and come home to a cooked chicken.

I have this 6 quart slow cooker and can get two birds in at the same time. Doesn’t the idea of having dinner done for over a week sound good to you? Yeah, me too.

2. ROAST A WHOLE CHICKEN IN THE OVEN

It’s hard to beat the crispy skin of a traditional oven-roasted chicken, but I admit that it’s more time-consuming than the slow cooker method. Still, of all the methods, this one is my favorite.

3. SPATCHCOCK A WHOLE CHICKEN

When you spatchcock a chicken before you cook it, you cut the cooking time down to less than an hour. You get crispy skin too, so this is a good compromise if you’re short on time and can’t pull off the traditional oven-roasted chicken.

4. MAKE A WHOLE CHICKEN IN THE INSTANT POT

A whole chicken in the Instant Pot is extremely delicious. It comes out tender like a roasted chicken in the oven (sans the crispy skin). It’s easy to cook, and you’re all set up for Instant Pot Chicken Stock broth when dinner is done.

5. ROTISSERIE A WHOLE CHICKEN

We used to have this rotisserie attachment for our grill in California, and we LOVED having homemade rotisserie chicken. If you have the attachment and aren’t in a rush, definitely try this method. You can also “set it and forget it” with this rotisserie gadget if you have the slush funds.

SAVING CHICKEN FOR LEFTOVER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN RECIPES

So, now you know WHY you should cook your own chicken and HOW to cook your own chicken. Let’s talk about getting the most chicken you can for leftover rotisserie chicken recipes!

One of the easiest ways to save money is to treat meat like a part of the meal, and not make it the main star of the meal at all. That means we’re NOT sticking that freshly roasted chicken on the table and telling the family to knock themselves out.

Oh no.

Instead, you’re going to pick off all the meat from the chicken, and when you do, you’ll end up with about 6 cups worth of shredded rotisserie chicken. Most recipes will use about 2 cups of shredded chicken each, but some use as little as 1 cup. Depending on what you make, you can get anywhere from 3 to 6 different meals out of that meat. And that doesn’t even include making Homemade Chicken Stock with the bones!

My go-to for recipes using leftover chicken is tacos, but even the greatest taco fan needs a break now and then, right?

46 ROTISSERIE CHICKEN RECIPES

I’ve put together a list of 46 easy rotisserie chicken recipes. That way you can stretch that single chicken as far as you possibly can and stretch your grocery dollars along with it!

Also, shredded chicken freezes wonderfully, so if one rotisserie chicken makes more meat than you can use in one meal plan, don’t let that get in the way of saving some money!

(By the way, if you’re more of a step-by-step person for stretching meals, check out how to stretch chicken into multiple meals, and 7 meals to make with one pork loin! I go more in-depth on stretching meat and making the most of your meals in Grocery Budget Bootcamp, too. Be sure to check it out if you really want to make the most of your budget!)

Now, if you want to make some of the following recipes, but don’t have a whole chicken to cook, that’s okay! Use the cuts you have and shred the chicken to stretch it further. Make Sheet Pan Chicken Breast, Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs, Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts, or Instant Pot Frozen Chicken.

RECIPES ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

Try these recipes rotisserie chicken stars in the next time you cook a whole chicken!

Pasta Dishes

• Creamy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
• Savory Pasta with Onions, Bacon, and Greens
• Pasta Primavera
• Greek Pasta Salad

Casseroles

• Spinach and Chicken Enchiladas
• Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole
• Easy Creamy Squash Pasta Bake
• Baked Ziti
• Chicken Pot Pie (the BEST comfort food recipe!)
• Mexican Chicken Quinoa Casserole

Main Dishes

• Kung Pao Chicken
• 30 Minute Cashew Chicken
• Simple Autumn Rice Pilaf
• Faux Risotto
• Shrimp, Sausage, and Chicken Creole
• Stuffed Peppers
• Vegetable Fried Rice
• Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Weeknight Dinner Veggie Stir Fry
• Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Fun Foods

• Mediterranean Grilled Cheese
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza
• Homemade Hot Pockets
• One Pan Buffalo Chicken Potatoes
• California Chicken Wraps
• BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Pizza
• Bacon Chicken Caesar Wraps
• Pizza Bagels (BBQ sauce and shredded chicken are great pizza toppings!)

Soups, Stews & Chili’s

• Garlic & Kale White Bean Soup
• White Chicken Chili
• Chinese Vegetable Soup
• Mexican Corn and Potato Chowder
• Tortilla Soup
• Hearty Minestrone Soup
• Turmeric Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Coconut
• Slow Cooker Thai Pineapple Curry
• Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Salads

• Easy Chicken Salad Recipe
• Caesar Salad
• Kale Salad with Blueberries, Walnuts, & Feta
• Asian Mason Jar Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
• Kale Caesar Salad
• Southwestern Salad
• Chicken Bacon & Avocado Salad
• Kale Salad with Strawberries, Pecans, & Blue Cheese
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Cranberry Apple Spinach Salad

Do you need more saving tips? We talk about this in-depth in my course Grocery Budget Bootcamp (enrollment is currently closed, but you can join my FREE 5-day Crush Inflation Challenge and start saving money on groceries tomorrow!)

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN FAQS