How to Make a Great Pasta Recipe With Leftover Chicken

If you have leftover breast, thigh, or another part of the bird, you might be wondering what to do with it. After all, you cannot make leftover poultry into a chicken cordon bleu. The perfect solution is to combine your leftover poultry with pasta and a few other ingredients and make a delicious pasta dish. This certainly makes more sense than giving it to the dog!

Leftover cooked chicken only needs to heat through since it is already cooked and further cooking will only dry it out, so you will need to add it to your recipe at the end and just warm it through. You can use any kind of pasta you like for this recipe - macaroni, penne, and spaghetti are just a few options. Cook the pasta as directed on the package and make the sauce while it cooks.

How to Make the Pasta Sauce

Use a readymade sauce or make your own with tomato sauce, fresh herbs and perhaps some vegetables. The fastest way to cook the vegetables for a sauce is to finely dice them and saute them in oil or butter. Zucchini, carrot, onion, garlic, broccoli, bell pepper and mushrooms all work well. Season the vegetables with salt, pepper and perhaps some chili powder or Tabasco sauce if you fancy a spicy kick.

Combine the sauce and the cooked vegetables, and then add the chicken and perhaps some cream cheese or sour cream and stir the mixture well. Once every component in the sauce is warm, it is done. When the pasta is cooked, drain it well and toss it with the sauce. You can serve this delicious recipe to the family and rest assured that they will love it. Serve some grated cheese on the side so they can sprinkle it over the top.

Feel free to add other meat to this dish if you want because chicken is versatile enough to combine with various other ingredients such as chopped ham, cooked bacon, or even slices of sausage.

If you have some cooked beef to use up, you can add that to the recipe as well. You might not think that chicken would go with beef but think about pizzas where these meats are often used together. The great thing about pasta recipes is that you can often use up your leftover meat and vegetables and the tasty sauce makes everything taste fresh rather than leftover.

Other Uses for Leftover Chicken

You can use the leftover meat to make omelets or add it to a stir fry. You can even make a baked chicken rice recipe by cooking some rice and transferring it to a glass dish with some cooked chicken and a sauce. Bake it until the rice is crispy around the edges and everything is hot and cooked through. Twenty minutes at 400 degrees F is usually sufficient.

This is especially nice if you grate some cheese over the top before putting the dish in the oven. Melted cheese toppings work nicely with pasta and rice dishes and you can try mozzarella, cheddar, blue cheese or anything else you like.

Leftover Rice Recipes

Rice is a major staple in most homes. Available in a many varieties from white to brown to even black you will discover this grain is a beneficial addition to many meals. It is a filling food that goes along way. Sometimes though we make a little too much and not know quite what to with it. The reality is that 3 cups of rice can be a lot even for a large family.

There is no need to be concerned with leftover rice going to waste. The fact is that there are many things you can do with leftover rice. Rice can be used in many ways with many different dishes. You can use rice with meat, vegetables, and even fruit like mangoes to create recipes that you will want to add to your meal planning routine.

• With an egg, a bag of mixed vegetables, a few mushrooms, and even some meat if you choose, you can make a quick fried rice.


• Rice can be added as a filler to burritos. With a simple can of beans, some cheese, and salsa you whip up a delicious healthy treat the whole family can enjoy.


• Try stuffed bell peppers or portabellas. You can use any number of ingredients, along with the rice to create a one dish meal. You can even stuff a chicken with rice, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions with a little salt and pepper for yet another one dish meal.


• If you are familiar with Chipotle's then you must know about their yummy lime cilantro rice. It is a very simple dish to make. All you need is some butter, lime, cilantro and salt. Use can eat this rice with many main dishes like fried or baked chicken, tacos, or enchiladas.


• Keep in mind that rice can be seasoned with many types of herbs to make a great side dish to meals you make throughout the week. Basil, thyme, and a touch of oregano added to rice makes a tasty dish to go along with just about any meal you make.


• Rice pudding is a comfort food that makes a tasty dessert on a cool autumn night. With simple ingredients like milk, sugar, and some raisins, you can create a recipe that can be handed down from generation to generation. You can even try to add other ingredients like pecans, or cranberries.


• Make a gravy and top it with rice as a side to pork chops or fried chicken. What a way to enjoy a nice southern style dinner.

There is no need to be afraid of a little extra rice. The possibilities are endless as long as you have the necessary ingredients and a bit of creativity.