One thing I love about smoking a bunch of whole chickens on the weekends is the huge pile of leftover smoked chicken we have to use in our weekday meals.
Here are over a dozen of our favorite leftover smoked chicken recipes that I am sure you will love!
Using Leftover Smoked Chicken for Dips and Appetizers
Let’s start with some small bite dishes! You can make these up in a flash and your guests will love them. Who knew that serving leftovers would make you so popular!
Mediterranean Chicken Bites: Chicken with yogurt, feta, olives and oregano in a crunchy easy bake shell.
BBQ Chicken Cups: Chicken with cheese, caramelized onions and bbq sauce in a baked crescent roll cup.
Smoked Chicken Ole Shredded leftover chicken baked with salsa, black beans and Mexican cheese.
Chicken Nachos: This recipe works great with leftover chicken or leftover pulled pork. Either way, it is a fun way to feed a crowd!
Using the Chicken Leftovers for Pasta Dishes
A great way to turn leftovers into a full meal! Chicken and pasta is a classic combination and the number of sauces you can use to make the dish your own is limitless. Serve any of these dishes with a side salad and a slice of garlic bread for a winner of a dinner 🙂
Tossing the leftovers with the hot pasta and sauce will quickly warm them through.
Grilled Chicken Pasta with Cream Sauce: A great way to use leftover grilled chicken breasts!
Smoked Chicken Manicotti with Spinach Artichoke Dip: This just might be the perfect way to use that pile of smoked chicken that is sitting in your refrigerator!
Cajun Chicken Pasta: Creamy, easy and delicious with a little bit of a kick!
Chicken Soups and Broth from Leftovers
Warm yourself up from the inside! You can use the leftover meat to add some bulk and protein to a soup or use the stock as a secret ingredient in your sauces. This is a great way to really stretch your budget by using up all of the leftovers in your fridge.
Grilled Mexican Soup: You can chop grilled chicken breasts into small chunks and add them to this delicious soup for an easy weeknight meal.
Smoked Chicken Broth: This is a great way to use the bones and any leftover scraps from your smoked chicken. This broth will serve as an amazing base for soups or chili and can take cream sauces to a whole new level of amazing.
Sandwiches, Wraps and Pizza
If you haven’t found a recipe you love yet then give one of these a try!
Grilled Santa Fe Pizza: You will want to put some extra chicken breasts on the grill next weekend just to make sure you have some leftover to use on this amazing pizza.
Creamy Smoked Chicken Salad: Serve this on toasted garlic cheese bread and you will be a Super Hero!
Chicken Caesar Pitas: This is a Super Cheat if you use a pre-made Caesar Salad kit!
Buffalo Chicken Wraps Smoked chicken, hot sauce, broccoli slaw and blue cheese!