40+ Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Recipes

Rotisserie Chicken – the secret to easy dinners!

Rotisserie chickens from the grocery store or Costco are a total lifesaver on busy nights. Sure, you can make a homemade rotisserie chicken or air fryer rotisserie chicken from scratch, but sometimes the convenience of grabbing one already cooked is worth it.

The ones at Costco are so huge that our family of four gets a full chicken dinner plus a second meal from the leftovers — sometimes even enough for chicken salad or a salad topped with Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing or Creamy Balsamic Dressing. If I’m at the regular grocery store, I’ll often grab two smaller chickens instead, just to stock up on dinners or meal-prep some school lunches.

For that first “chicken dinner” night, I like to keep it classic with Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Corn Pudding, or slather the chicken in barbecue sauce alongside Easy Baked Beans. Either way, Balsamic Roasted Vegetables never disappoint. But as soon as that meal’s done, I’m already thinking about what to make with the leftovers!

How to Store Leftover Rotisserie Chicken

After you’ve enjoyed that chicken dinner, or even right when you get home from the store, you’ll want to pull the meat off the bone and store it so your leftover rotisserie chicken recipes come together fast. Transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge within two hours of bringing it home from the store or taking it out of the oven. Based on the USDA guidelines, you can stroe it refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days.

If you won’t use it within that time, you’ll want to freeze it. Portion it out into one- or two-cup portions in freezer storage bags. Squeeze out the air, flatten then, and label wirth the date. Frozen chicken keeps for up to 4 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before using.

You can even use the carcass to make chicken stock. Toss the bones and skin into a large pot with an onion, a carrot, a couple of celery stalks, and enough water to cover, then simmer for a few hours. This can also be refrigerated for several days, or frozen in portions.

And you don’t just have to use rotisserie chicken. These recipes can be made with any leftover chicken, like:

• Oven-roasted chicken or slow cooker roast chicken
• Grilled chicken breasts
• Instant pot chicken breasts
• Crockpot shredded chicken

Really, you could even use your leftover roast turkey from Thanksgiving or a crockpot turkey breast, too!

Is rotisserie chicken gluten free?

Generally, rotisserie chicken is gluten free. You can avoid all concerns by roasting the chicken yourself so that you know what you put into the seasonings. However, the ones from Costco are typically gluten free (do be sure to confirm this at your local Costco).

I have gotten them from several different grocery stores and all have been gluten free, but check the labels to be sure that there are no gluten ingredients added in the seasonings they use.