Easy dinner recipes: 25 ways to use rotisserie chicken

Looking for an easy dinner idea? It doesn’t get much simpler than the rotisserie chicken you can find at the market. They’re perfect served on their own but also work well in many familiar dishes. Best of all? You can get dinner on the table in about an hour or less, and without a lot of stress.

I wrote an article this last week for our Saturday section in which I shared 25 ways to incorporate rotisserie chicken in simple dinner dishes. No matter your cooking level, there’s something here for everyone. These aren’t formal recipes but rough methods to walk you through the paces of some favorite and classic dishes. Here are just a few ideas:

Chicken tortilla soup: Sauté chopped onion and bell pepper until lightly golden, then add a container of fresh salsa and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add several fresh corn tortillas torn into pieces, then use an immersion blender to purée everything in the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and add chopped or shredded chicken, more diced onion and pepper. Serve with crumbled fresh cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips and diced onion and cilantro.

RECIPES: 99 easy dinner ideas in about an hour or less

consider flank steaks with fresh chimichurri sauce. The sauce -- a little garlic, red wine vinegar, oil, fresh herbs and a touch of lemon juice -- comes together in almost no time, and those steaks will grill up in minutes. - See more at: https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2012/06/dinner-tonight-grilled-flank-steaks-chimichurri-sauce.html#sthash.hTvQknwx.dpuf
Lettuce cups: Chop the chicken and toss with a little cornstarch (2 tablespoons for each whole chicken). Sauté chopped garlic and ginger over high heat until golden brown with a slightly nutty aroma. Add chopped shiitake mushrooms and chopped water chestnuts. Drizzle over soy sauce, rice vinegar and a touch of sugar, scraping any flavoring from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken and cook until the sauce is thickened. Drizzle over more soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil as desired and serve in lettuce cups topped with chopped roasted peanuts and green onion.

Barbecue chicken pizza: Sauté a sliced onion until softened and golden brown. When cool enough to handle, spread over store-bought or prepared pizza dough. Top with a mixture of half barbecue sauce and half marinara sauce, add chopped chicken, drizzle over more sauce and top with mozzarella cheese and sliced red onion. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the baked pizza before serving.

MORE RECIPES: 99 ADDITIONAL easy dinner ideas in about an hour or less

I’ve also heard from a number of readers sharing their own great ideas. Lela emailed me to share these suggestions:

“First, with the chicken still warm I make chicken sandwiches on toast with whole berry cranberry sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and a little mayonnaise.

“Second, the Chinese Chicken salad (Costco’s Far Eastern sesame dressing is perfect for it)

“Third, I make a “Denver Omelet”: scrambled eggs with chicken breast, onions, red pepper pieces, and a little baby kale for color; serve with tomato ketchup.

Check out the article for the rest of the ideas. And please comment below to share some of your own ideas with me and other readers.

For more ideas, click through our easy dinner recipes gallery and check out our Dinner Tonight page, devoted to recipes that can be made in an hour or less. Looking for a particular type of recipe? Comment below or email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com.