10 Ways to Use Rotisserie Chicken

By Catherine Newman 

I love supermarket rotisserie chickens because they’re inexpensive and they’re tasty – and because they lend themselves to such a lovely range of meals, without the fuss of first prepping and cooking the chicken. (Plus, nobody will know that you peeled off and ate the entire bronzed chicken skin while you were cooking. Chef’s prerogative!)

(Serving size and carb counts will depend on individual preparations, but I'm indicating what the source of carbs is below)

• Lettuce Wraps (The carrot will add up to 3 grams of carbs per serving)

Butter or Boston lettuce leaves + shredded chicken + slivered carrots and/or cucumbers + basil and/or mint + a simple peanut dressing made by whisking together 2 tablespoons peanut butter (try to get the no-sugar ones), 1 tablespoon balsamic or rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon cayenne, and enough warm water by the spoonful to make it creamy and drizzle-able

• Chicken Caesar (The chickpeas will add up to 15 grams of carbs per serving; feel free to omit them)

Cut-up Romaine lettuce + shredded chicken + grated parmesan + Caesar dressing + chickpea croutons (below). Adam’s Brown shared his Caesar dressing recipe, one he’s modified from The Keto Diet book: In a blender or food processor, whiz together 1 cup olive oil, ½ cup mayonnaise (use full-fat; look for Best Foods or Hellmann's; otherwise, check that there are 0 grams of sugar per serving), one small tin of anchovy fillets, 6 tablespoons lemon juice, 2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 4 cloves of garlic (or 2 teaspoons garlic powder) and a grind of black pepper until creamy and smooth. This makes enough to dress 10 large plates of salad.

• Green Noodles with Chicken (The red pepper will add up to 3 grams of carbs, the zucchini noodles around 6 grams)

Sautéed zucchini noodles + pesto + shredded chicken + red bell pepper + toasted pine nuts + grated parmesan cheese

• Ginger-Miso Chicken Salad (The miso will add 2 grams of carbs, the almonds or peanuts up to 2 or 3 grams)

Cut-up Romaine lettuce + shredded chicken + sliced celery and/or cucumbers + toasted sliced almonds or roasted peanuts + miso-ginger dressing made by whisking together ¼ cup white miso + ¼ cup rice vinegar + 2 teaspoons finely minced ginger + 1 teaspoon soy sauce + 1/3 cup vegetable oil + 1 tablespoon warm water

• Chicken Burrito Bowl (The beans will add up to 10 grams of carbs, the avocado up to 3 or 4 grams)

Shredded chicken + black or pinto beans + shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese + sour cream + salsa + diced avocado

• Buffalo Chicken Salad (The blue cheese dressing might add a gram or two of carbs)

Cut-up Romaine lettuce and/or mixed greens + shredded chicken + sliced celery + blue cheese dressing + a few shakes of Frank’s Red Hot or Louisiana hot sauce

• Mexican Chicken Soup (The tomato will add up to 5 grams of carbs, the avocado up to 3 or 4 grams)

Chicken broth + shredded chicken + canned tomatoes + sautéed onion and garlic + oregano and chili powder + lime juice + avocado + sour cream

• Cobb Salad (The tomato will add up to 4 grams of carbs, the avocado up to 3 or 4 grams)

Cut-up Romaine lettuce + shredded chicken + hard-boiled eggs + cooked bacon + diced avocado + chopped tomatoes + crumbled blue cheese + vinaigrette dressing

• Chicken Quesadizza (detailed recipe here) (The tortilla will add up to 3 grams of carbs, the broccoli 3 grams, the salsa 1 gram)

Low-carb tortilla + grated Monterey Jack cheese + salsa + shredded chicken + leftover roasted broccoli

• Vietnamese Chicken Salad (The carrots will add up to 3 grams of carbs, the Sriracha or hot sauce up to 1 gram)

Slivered napa cabbage + shredded chicken + grated carrots + chopped mint and/or cilantro + lime vinaigrette made with 3 tablespoons lime juice + 3 tablespoons fish sauce + 3 tablespoons vegetable oil + 1 clove minced garlic + Sriracha or other hot sauce to taste

About Catherine

Catherine loves to write about food and feeding people. In addition to her recipe and parenting blog Ben & Birdy (which has about 15,000 weekly readers), she edits the ChopChop series of mission-driven cooking magazines. This kids’ cooking magazine won the James Beard Publication of the Year award in 2013 – the first non-profit ever to win it – and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award. Last year they started the WIC version of the magazine for families enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and are currently developing Seasoned, their senior version, commissioned by the AARP. They distribute over a million magazines annually, through paid subscriptions, doctor’s offices, schools, and hospitals. Their mission started with obesity as its explicit focus – and has shifted, over the years, to a more holistic one, with health and happiness at its core. That’s the same vibe Catherine brings to the diaTribe column.

[Photo Credit: Catherine Newman]