What to do with leftover grilled chicken breasts?

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  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    eat them?

    I don't understand.

    just put it in a tupper wear and eat it the next day why do you need to "do" something with it?

    Well, just more recipes really. I like plain chicken but it gets boring!

    You dont' cook it with seasoning on it when you grill it?

    I guess that's my question/disconnect- I never grill just PLAIN chicken- I put something on it - then that's how I eat it- I hate plain chicken- it needs salt and pepper- or lemon pepper- grill/cooked whatever- and I eat that plain.

    Yes...but do you ever have leftovers?
    Do you eat the leftovers "plain" or in a recipe?

    no i eat them the way I cooked them originally- veggies on the side... same way I made them and at them the first time.
    I cook dinner- lots of it.
    Then split it ALL immediately after I'm done- with my scale into individual containers- then add the veggies on top.
    So all the meals are exactly the same- I don't do anything different with the "left overs"

    I mean if I want something specific with my chicken- that's how I make it the first time.
    (not being snarky actually just confused)

    LOL. I understand where you are coming from.


    A lot of people though get bored eating it the same way over and over (insert lame joke here :)).....hmm. Let's say that I cooked 3lbs of lemon chicken and I have 2lbs of leftovers (would never happen in this house lol) and after 2 days I get tired of just eating it plain with veggie sides....what else could I do with it?


    Cut it up and put in on a salad, chop it and make chicken salad for dip or sandwich.

    You get it?

    If you had that many, just freeze what you didn't eat in the next couple days. I cook a big package of them (5-6lbs) once a week and use them all week on salads for my wife and I for lunch.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Ok I made a chicken salad... to be original, lol.

    I cooked them plain, so I can use it in any kind of dishes later. I think tomorrow it will be with spaghetti squash, tomato sauce and mozzarella... but I like the ideas here!
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    I have a bunch. Can't really be shredded... Short of salads and wraps, and eating it plain, any suggestion?

    Do you have a food processor??? Grilled chicken makes the best chicken salad.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I would look at it this way. Plain chicken breasts are still pretty boring with no seasoning at all on them. While you can throw them in a salad, or into a tomato sauce like you said and serve over pasta or spaghetti squash, even if I were making chicken salad as my first meal or chicken and pasta as my first meal, I would season the chicken breasts. By cooking them plain, you are really dependent on the "sauce" for the leftovers to add some flavor, if you try to go back and season them later I don't think it will work as well if they are already cooked.

    So while I am a big fan of cooking a bunch of stuff ahead and using it for other meals, I still try to season them with either basic/versatile seasonings (seasoning salt, garlic, pepper is pretty basic) or I cook them with more spices but with meals already in mind. And I do a lot of mine in the crockpot, cook on low for 4-5 hours.

    For example:
    Salsa Chicken - chicken breasts, jar of salsa (red or green) or can of rotel, cumin, chili powder, etc. That can be shredded for enchiladas, tacos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, or get throw into tortilla soup or chili (red or white depending on what salsa you start with).

    Italian Chicken - same basic formula: chicken breasts with diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar, oregano, basil - serve over pasta

    Buffalo Chicken - chicken breasts with Frank's Hot Sauce, dry ranch dressing mix and butter, serve in sandwiches/wraps or on top of pizza or salad

    This week I tried a new one from Pinterest which included half a bottle of italian dressing, a packet of dry ranch powder mixed with water, and some minced garlic. I froze it and haven't actually figured out what I'm going to do with that but when I was shredding it up it tasted awesome!

    But if you already have plain chicken you could also do stir fry, or throw it into an indian sauce (tikka masala) or a thai curry with some frozen vegetables and that would be really good too.

    Now I'm hungry!
  • MichelleMinus100
    MichelleMinus100 Posts: 101
    Like others, I chop up my cooked chicken breast, measure out 60 gram zip bags and store them in the freezer. Easy to defrost in the microwave and toss on my daily salad for a protein boost.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    Re-heated grilled breasts can get a bit dry, so I like to re-heat with a moist cooking technique. Soups and casseroles. Here's a nice greek chicken, rice and lemon soup. Recipe calls for raw chicken, but its easily adaptable for cooked chicken.

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cat-cora/avgolemono-chicken-soup-with-egg-lemon-sauce-recipe.html

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