6 Winning Meals Our Editors Make With Rotisserie Chicken
Table Of Content
Source: Bon Appétit
Category: Food
Originally Published: 2025-12-05
Curated: 2025-12-05 16:19
Yes, our editors love to cook, but sometimes we need to get dinner on the table ASAP. In these moments, we look to kitchen helpers, humble ingredients that can quickly form the base of full-on delicious meals. Each month, we’ll be giving you fuss-free recipe ideas to call upon any day of the week. This month, it’s all about rotisserie chicken.
Packed with protein and beaming with flavor, store-bought rotisserie chicken lends a helping hand at meal time, forming the base of 10-minute dinners and uncomplicated work lunches. From a halal cart chicken salad to work-from-home tacos, here are all the ways our editors make fuss-free meals out of this weekday savior.
A big batch of chicken stock
I am caught in a self-perpetuating cycle: I’ll make stock from a freezer bag filled with saved chicken bones and veggie scraps dumped into my pressure cooker. And with that stock, I make a pot of chili, Japanese curry rice, or a chicken soup, something that makes a big batch that’ll last a few meals. Using a rotisserie from my grocery store’s deli section not only saves a bunch of time, but also adds rich, robust flavor (plus I might get to snack on a drumstick while breaking down the rest of the bird). —Ryan Harrington, research director
Halal cart chicken salad
More often than not, Sunday night rolls around and impending doom starts to seep in. I have not washed the sauce stains out of my clothes, have not dusted my apartment even though my allergies are fighting back tirelessly, and most certainly have not meal prepped. When my boyfriend and I are in this frenzied panic, we often proclaim, “tissy chicken run?” The fancy grocery store near us has a remarkable deal for half a bird that we’ll shred and store in pint containers for various meals throughout the week. Our recent favorite has been former BA staffer Zaynab Issa’s Halal Cart Chicken Salad. Reminiscent of the street food we know and love, chicken gets tossed in warm oil of bloomed coriander, oregano, cumin, and turmeric. This gets a hit of lemon juice and garlic before it’s shingled onto your biggest platter with accompaniments: crunchy iceberg, bursting cherry tomatoes, punchy red onion, and pita chip croutons. A drizzle of that infamous white sauce, and that’s all she wrote. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
Can’t be bothered to cook chicken with coleslaw
My mom used to grab a rotisserie chicken from our local Winn-Dixie back in Miami whenever the day got away from her, or whatever was supposed to be for dinner didn’t thaw in time. My siblings and I were always pleasantly surprised, and we’d immediately start fighting for the juiciest pieces. Nowadays, I often pick one up when I go grocery shopping because it feels like the“get out of jail free” card of dinners. Even though I’m technically buying plenty of protein, once I’ve put all the groceries away, the last thing I want to do is cook (and then clean). So I break down the chicken, make a quick coleslaw with red onions and yogurt, and add cooked rice or potatoes (which I always have in the fridge). It’s the easiest way to save dinner—and honestly, it still gives me that same little thrill I had as a kid when my mom walked through the door with that warm bag. —Cristina Correa, social media manager
Work-from-home tacos
My recent favorite work-from-home lunch has been juicy chicken tacos made from rotisserie chicken. They’re made with the cassava flour tortillas I have stocked in my fridge from the San Diego-based brand Coyotas. The brand uses four simple ingredients—organic cassava flour, organic coconut oil, water, and salt—to make gluten-free tortillas that behave more like flour tortillas than corn. I like to spread some mashed avocado with a squeeze of lime and salt on the tortilla, top it with shredded chicken, and dot each taco with a few drops of hot sauce or slices of jalapeño for a fiery kick. —Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
One-pot chicken and rice
My local supermarket sells rotisserie chickens with meat that is so flavorful and tender, I can only assume sorcery is at work in their kitchens. It often forms the base of my “I have barely 30 minutes to assemble before I collapse”-dinners. A good one lately: one-pot chicken and rice. I fill a saucepan with rice and water, bring it to a boil with a sliced onion or a few smashed cloves of garlic, and simmer until just tender. While that’s going, I pull the rotisserie chicken meat from the bones (which I stash for stock). Uncover the rice, scatter over some chicken and whatever greens I have hanging around (frozen peas count!), as well as drizzle in the rotisserie drippings from the container. Pop the lid back on, kill the heat, steam for another 10 minutes. Fluff, devour. —Rebecca Firkser, test kitchen editor
Vietnamese-inspired chicken wraps
To me, rotisserie chicken is one of the best grocery store cheats out there. Sometimes I mix up chicken salad for a sandwich, I gently cook the meat with hot spices for makeshift tacos, or use it to make the filling for pot pie. My very favorite preparation, though—maybe because it’s one of the quickest—is Vietnamese-inspired chicken wraps. I shred the chicken and dress it with an ad hoc Nước Chấm: rice vinegar, fish sauce, lime, garlic, and chile. Wrap that up with any variety of greens, herbs, and vegetables I have in the fridge. If I have peanuts, I chop some up and throw them on top. Sometimes rice noodles make an appearance! It’s simple, fast, and a great clean-out-the-fridge pantry meal. —Mallary Santucci, senior culinary producer
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