Quick + Easy Weeknight Dinners Made With Rotisserie Chicken

We've all been there: you're exhausted after a long day, but you still want to put something healthy and homemade on the dinner table. The solution? Pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and make one of these delicious, time-saving meals.

1. Rotisserie Chicken Ragu with Bacon and Peas

Rachael Ray Show

Bacon, peas and fennel add extra flavor to an easy, creamy chicken ragu that's tossed with pappardelle pasta. Watch Rach make it in the video above!

2. Chipotle Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

Rachael Ray Show

Rach uses rotisserie chicken as a shortcut in this southwestern-inspired recipe. It gets tossed into a quick cheesy chipotle sauce made with butter, onion, garlic, chipotles in adobo, honey, sour cream and Monterey Jack then layered with spicy green rice and canned black beans that are mixed with BACON.

3. Pulled Chicken Paprikash with Egg Noodles

Rachael Ray Show

Rach uses rotisserie chicken as a short-cut ingredient to pull together this quick and easy paprikash with egg noodles.

4. Easy Florentine Pasta with Pulled Chicken 

Rachael Ray Show

This recipe uses pantry staples and rotisserie chicken to cut down on time, not flavor.

5. Chicken Riggies

Rachael Ray Show

This dish is a family favorite at Rach's house. She likes to use rotisserie chicken as a shortcut.

6. Thai Crunch Salad With Homemade Peanut Dressing

Kelsey Nixon

Cooking Channel host Kelsey Nixon uses an Asian chopped salad kit as a shortcut ingredient with an easy homemade peanut sauce for this easy, quick + healthy Thai Crunch Salad. 

7. Buffalo Chicken Salad

Rachael Ray Show

An easy buffalo chicken topping—made with rotisserie chicken as a shortcut—plus a creamy, spicy Ranch-style dressing makes Rach's salad in an iceberg "bowl" crave-worthy. 

8. Chicken Tortilla Roll-Ups

Courtesy of Danielle Kartes

Food blogger, cookbook author & mom Danielle Kartes shares her recipe for crunchy baked chicken tortilla roll-ups that kids can help make, too.

9. Quick Chicken Pot Pies

Rachael Ray Show

A creamy filling made with chicken, veggies & beer gets topped with puff pastry for Rach's quick chicken pot pies.

10. Mushroom, Asparagus and Chicken Sauté with Rice Pilaf

Rachael Ray Show

Leftover poached, pulled chicken or pulled rotisserie chicken makes quick work of this weekday-friendly rollover meal.

11. King Ranch Casserole With Salsa Verde + Ranchero Cream

Rachael Ray Show

Salsa verde, ranchero cream, rotisserie chicken and torn blistered tortillas are layered together in Rach's King Ranch Casserole. 

12. Cheesy White Chicken Chili

Rachael Ray Show

Rach's easy, cheesy white chicken chili uses rotisserie chicken as a shortcut.

13. Chicken Stroganoff

Rachael Ray Show

A creamy combo of chicken + mushrooms are served over egg noodles and topped with herbs in Rach's fresh take on Chicken Stroganoff. 

14. Spiced Winter Chicken Soup

Rachael Ray Show

Ground spices and a homemade green hot sauce give chicken soup a tasty twist.

15. Enchiladas Divorciadas Skillet Pie (Divorced Enchilada Pie)

Rachael Ray Show

"Divorced" refers to half-red sauce and half-green sauce, making this a fun weeknight meal.

16. Chicken and Egg Ramen

Rachael Ray Show

Crunchy toppings, aromatic veggies, and bold chilies and ginger make Rach's chicken and egg ramen the ultimate antidote for cold, wintry weather. 

17. Rotisserie Chicken Dumplings with Egg Noodles

Rachael Ray Show

This twist on the classic comfort food uses rotisserie chicken as a shortcut. Dill and lemon give the creamy sauce a fresh, tangy flavor — and Rach sneaks in some green veg too.

18. Cast-Iron Skillet Buffalo Chicken Shepherd's Pie

Rachael Ray Show

The shepherd's pie gets a buffalo chicken filling in this mash-up twist on the comfort food classic from Rach.

19. Rotisserie Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing

Rachael Ray Show

With this recipe, you can quickly make a big salad that will feed the whole family at home at a fraction of the cost. And with hard-boiled eggs, chicken and lots of veggies, it packs a big nutritional punch.

Tip: Hard-boiled eggs are a great item to always have on hand. Boil up a big batch on the weekend, then eat for quick breakfasts or use in other recipes.

20. Chicken and Snap Pea Soup with Leeks

Rachael Ray Show

This hearty and delicious chicken noodle soup can be thrown together in a snap, perfect for a last-minute weeknight dinner.

21. Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup

Rachael Ray Show

Kelsey Nixon's healthy chicken soup features protein-rich quinoa and pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, so it's easy and good for you. Additional layers of flavor are brought in via lemon zest and canned fire-roasted tomatoes.

Tip: To save time, look for pre-cooked quinoa in the grocery store.

22. Chicken Verde Nachos

Rachael Ray Show

Who says you can't have nachos for dinner? These nachos feature protein-rich rotisserie chicken, beans and a homemade poblano sauce, so they're no slouch when it comes to nutritional value.

Tip: Make the poblano sauce ahead so that you can assemble the nachos quickly at dinnertime.

23. Brussels Sprout Chicken Caesar Salad

Rachael Ray Show

Want your family to eat their veggies? Just shave some brussels sprouts to create the base for this delicious and nutritious chicken Caesar salad recipe from "Biggest Loser" trainer Bob Harper. Greek yogurt gives the dressing its tang, and is a healthier alternative to mayo.

Tip: The recipe calls for chicken breast, which keeps it low calorie, but if you want to use the dark meat of your rotisserie chicken, that's totally okay, it will just raise the calories a bit.

24. Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

Rachael Ray Show

These super easy rotisserie chicken enchiladas are served with a delish green tomatillo salsa.

25. Summer Rolls

Rachael Ray Show

These little rice paper rolls are filled with plump shrimp, rotisserie chicken, cucumbers and rice noodles. They are meant to be a side, but we won't tell if you want to make this the entrée.

26. Rotisserie Chicken Alfredo

Rachael Ray Show

This meal can be made in just five minutes! Chef Stuart O'Keeffe tosses rotisserie chicken and fast-cooking capellini pasta with a quick Alfredo sauce for a delicious and easy weeknight dinner.

27. Italian-Style Rotisserie-Chicken Noodle Soup with Green Beans

Rachael Ray Show

Rachael's homestyle Italian chicken noodle soup features loads of good-for-you ingredients like herbs, vegetables and nutrient-rich stock.

28. Buffalo Chicken Potato Casserole

Rachael Ray Show

This mouth-watering casserole is layered with rotisserie chicken, potatoes, buffalo bechamel sauce and cheese. Yum!

29. Rotisserie Chicken Cold Noodles

Rachael Ray Show

This is a delicious and quick weeknight dinner option. Start with a shredded grocery store rotisserie chicken, then cook some spaghetti noodles to al dente and allow to cool. Toss with a delicious and easy homemade Asian-inspired dressing, peanuts, red onion, scallions, basil and lettuce.

30. Chipotle Chicken Nacho Casserole

Rachael Ray Show

Rachael "tiles" her chips, smoky chipotle rotisserie chicken and cheese so that the ingredients are well distributed, then heats and tops with salsa, jalapeños and sour cream. 

31. Chicken Pot Pie in a Pocket

Rachael Ray Show

Rach put a delicious pot pie IN a flaky pie crust pocket. What?! She even shares shortcuts, like using store-bought pie crust and rotisserie chicken meat.

32. Blue Cheese Biscuit Waffles with Buffalo Chicken

Rachael Ray Show

This buffalo chicken recipe is made with simple biscuit batter, blue cheese and sour cream, then topped with buffalo-flavored pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.

33. Chicken Pot Pie with Apples and Leeks

Rachael Ray Show

This isn't your average chicken pot pie. Rach changes it up by adding apples and leeks, and you can save yourself a whole bunch of time by using rotisserie chicken.