We eat a lot of chicken around here and I love it when I can cook it ahead of time in my instant pot and then use it for meals all week long. It is such a time saver during a busy week, so I thought I would share with you one week’s worth of shredded chicken meal ideas.
Chicken Noodle Soup
I really like to make chicken soup when I have leftover chicken. I especially like it when I have leftover carrots and spaghetti noodles or rice. In less than 30 minutes, I can have supper ready and on the table. It’s quick, easy, and I’m using up food in the fridge so it doesn’t go to waste.
Simply saute chopped carrots (and celery if you have it) in a little bit of butter. Add about 4 cups of chicken broth and the already cooked & shredded chicken. If you need more liquid, simply add more broth or water until it is at the consistency you enjoy. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and thyme. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add your noodles or rice. If you are using leftovers, just let it simmer long enough for the noodles or rice to warm. If you are adding uncooked noodles, you’ll need to cook it a little bit longer to let the noodles cook. We really enjoy adding frozen egg noodles when I have them on hand. Those will take longer to cook, but it’s oh, so good!
Baked Chicken Flautas
Shredded chicken is great for many Mexican dishes. Use it in oven baked flautas, enchiladas, or other Mexican casserole recipes.
For oven baked flautas, season your shredded chicken to taste with salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, chili powder, and onion powder. Cut some regular sized flour tortillas in half using a pizza cutter or use the smaller sized flour tortillas. Fill the tortilla on one end of the open tortillas with the shredded chicken and shredded cheese. Roll up the tortilla and lay in a baking dish. Continue until you have filled the dish. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and bake until browned on about 400 degrees. Have some salsa or queso dip on the side for dipping the flautas for some extra goodness.
You can find my easy homemade salsa recipe here.
We really enjoy the Green Chili Chicken Casserole from this Cook Once, Eat All Week cookbook.
We also like this White Chicken Enchilada recipe from Pioneer Woman.
Chicken Stir Fry
After working on projects all day Saturday, we had to hurry to shower and get ready for a church outdoor dinner and movie night. Of course, with all that is going on in the world these days, dinner is bring your own. I needed simple & quick to keep us from running through a drive-through.
While my rice cooked up in the InstantPot, I sauted some chopped up sweet peppers in a skillet and threw in some of the leftover shredded chicken, along with some broccoli. I added in soy sauce and ginger for seasoning and called it done!
More Shredded Chicken Meal Ideas
These weeks are also great times to use some of that chicken for quick lunches. Here are a few shredded chicken meal ideas for lunches or other quick evening meals:
- Chicken Salad
- BBQ chicken sandwiches
- Chicken Tacos
- Chicken taco salad
- Ceasar baked chicken wraps
- Chicken pot pie
- White Chicken Chili
There are, of course, an unlimited amount of meals you could come up with for using up your pre-cooked shredded chicken. I hope this helps get you to thinking of some of your family’s favorite dishes you could plan ahead and save yourself some prep time!
In His Grace,
Misty
Other recipes you may like to try
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