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    Home > Dinner

    How to make 3 meals from 1 chicken

    Published: Apr 11, 2020 · Modified: May 14, 2020 by Nicky Corbishley

    Minimizing food waste is more important than ever right now, but we don't have to make stingy boring meals to make food go further. This is how I make a large chicken into 3 meals for a family of four.
    3 image collage show recipes to make from 1 chicken

    First and foremost, we need a large chicken. The bigger the better! Go for the best quality you can afford so you get the most meat and flavour for your money.

    Click on the titles of each recipe (or any of the underlined recipes) to get the full instructions on how to make it.

    For the first meal, we're going to roast that chicken:

    1. Roast Chicken with Rich Gravy 

    Ideally you want to serve that roast chicken with lots of sides so that a couple of slices of chicken will be enough to satisfy everyone.

    What can you serve it with:

    • Crispiest Roast Potatoes
    • Creamy Mashed Potatoes
    • Simple Butter Pepper Carrots
    • Garlic and Parmesan Green Beans
    • Perfect Yorkshire Puddings (don't save those Yorkshire just for Roast beef!)
    • Cauliflower Cheese - my easy version
    • Sprout Gratin

    We're also going to use the roasting juices at the bottom of the roasting tin to make delicious meaty gravy.

    roast chicken on a board with roast potatoes

     

    2. Chicken Fried Rice

    Next we're going to remove all of the shreds of chicken we can and split them into two portions. Be sure to turn the chicken over and pull it apart to find the maximum amount of chicken.

    Save the chicken carcass too - this is important for the third meal. You can wrap and freeze the carcass until you're ready to use it.

    Wrap and freeze one of the portions of chicken, and wrap and refrigerate the second portion ready for Chicken fried rice the following day. If you're not going to make the fried rice the next day, then wrap and freeze this portion of chicken too. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

    Chicken Fried Rice on a white plate with chopsticks

    3. Chicken and Vegetable soup 

    This is my favourite comforting soup. It uses shreds of chicken as well as the chicken carcass and it's got a lovely rich flavour.

    We boil up the carcass first to get the most delicious stock. If you wanted to make the stock ahead of time and freeze it (without making the soup at this point), here's a recipe on how to make stock.

    We're going to add a couple of stock cubes to the stock when we make soup as this will make it stretch further. We boil the vegetables in the strained stock until tender, then we add in seasoning and those defrosted chicken shreds and heat them through until piping hot.

    Close up of a bowl of chicken and vegetable soup

    This is my ritual.

    Roast dinner --> chicken fried rice --> chicken soup.

    However it's not the only thing you can do with that homemade chicken stock or those leftover shreds of cooked chicken.

    What else can I make with homemade chicken stock?

    • Meaty gravy – this is great for recipes that need gravy, but don't have anything in the way of meat juices to make the gravy - such as Toad in the Hole or Poutine.
    • Creamy Chicken and Mushroom one pan casserole
    • Chicken and Bacon Mac N Cheese
    • White Chilli Chicken Con Carne
    • One pot Garlic Chicken Pasta with Kale

     

    Beef gravy in white jug
    Homemade Gravy
    Bowl of creamy chicken and mushroom casserole with mashed potatoes, sprouts and green beans.
    Chicken and Mushroom Casserole
    Square image of a spoonful of chicken and bacon mac and cheese being scooped out of pan. Cheese is stretching.
    Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese
    White chilli chicken in a bowl with rice, cheese, jalapenos and spring onions
    White Chilli Chicken
    Garlic Chicken pasta with Kale - a tasty one-pot dish ready in 25 minutes.
    Garlic Chicken Pasta

    What else can I do with leftover chicken?

    • Tuscan Chicken Soup
    • Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
    • Creamy Chicken and Potato Bake
    • Roast Chicken & Creamy Garlic Mushroom Burger
    • Chicken ala King

     

    Tuscan Style Chicken Soup - a hearty soup with veggies and beans to warm up your belly!
    Tuscan Chicken Soup
    square image of chicken alfredo pasta bake with a scoop removed
    Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
    This Creamy Chicken and Potato Bake with extra veggies is a whole meal in one dish! Kind of like a creamy chicken, carrot and spinach casserole, topped with potato gratin!
    Creamy Chicken and Potato Bake
    Roast Chicken on Homemade brioche with creamy garlic mushroom sauce, crispy bacon and spinach. The best sandwich. Ever.
    Chicken Garlic Mushroom Burger
    Chicken a la King - leftover chicken cooked with mushroom and onion in a creamy sauce
    Chicken ala King

    What's your favourite recipe using leftover chicken?

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    Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

     

    Hi I’m Nicky

    I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

    Read More

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    1. Sue says

      April 12, 2020 at 7:40 am

      I am enjoying your eclipse easy and delicious

      Reply
    2. Walter says

      April 11, 2020 at 1:05 pm

      Excellent strategy Nicky and all very straight forward. Have a safe and happy weekend

      Reply

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    Hi I’m Nicky

    I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

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