These recipes will help you figure out what to do with leftover breaded chicken cutlets. They’re not just the remains of a great meal from the night before!
Let me show you how I turn leftovers into one of my family favorite chicken recipes—a dish Ive been making for over 30 years! With this simple trick, you can create delicious dinners this week that your whole family will love.
One of my best kept secrets for getting dinner on the table for my family after a long day at work is to double my recipe for Italian Chicken Cutlets and use the extras to make another cheap, tasty dinner.
Whether I choose to use the leftovers in a salad for lunch the next day or make my Chicken Cutlet Parmigiana Sandwich, I know I’m in for a meal thats bursting with flavor, satisfying crunch, and the comforting taste of home.
It’s easy and quick to make chicken tenders for dinner, but it can be hard to deal with the leftovers. Don’t throw away or let those leftover chicken tenders sit in the fridge for too long. Instead, get creative and make new meals with them.
Here are 15 creative ideas for using up leftover chicken tenders:
Turn Them Into Sliders or Sandwiches
Chicken tenders are a perfect protein for sliders and sandwiches. Try using them in chicken Parmesan sliders, buffalo chicken sliders with blue cheese, or a chicken tender club sandwich. Sliced or chopped tenders can be combined with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and condiments between buns, rolls, or bread slices.
Use Them as Pizza Toppings
Forget pepperoni – use chopped or sliced chicken tenders as fun pizza toppings. They pair well with classic pizza toppings like mushrooms, onions, peppers, and olives. You can also top pizzas with bbq chicken tenders, buffalo chicken tenders, or chicken tenders tossed with pesto.
Add Them to Salads
Chicken tenders make salads more filling and satisfying. Dice or slice them up to top salads like a chicken Caesar salad, southwestern chicken salad, or Asian chicken noodle salad. You can also crumble leftover chicken tenders to use in chicken salad recipes.
Stuff Them Into Quesadillas
Quesadillas are a breeze to make for a quick meal. Simply sprinkle shredded cheese onto a tortilla, top with chopped chicken tenders, and fold in half. Cook in a skillet until the cheese melts. Serve with salsa, guacamole or sour cream.
Use as Fajita Filling
Saute sliced chicken tenders with bell peppers and onions to create easy chicken fajitas. Wrap in warm tortillas and top with cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo or guacamole.
Toss with Pasta
Pasta and chicken tenders are a classic pairing Dice the tenders and simmer in your favorite pasta sauce, or add sliced tenders to pasta tossed with olive oil or pesto Garnish with Parmesan for extra flavor.
Make Chicken Tender Wraps
Chicken tenders are naturally well-suited for wraps. Wraps made like burritos with rice, beans, salsa, and cheese are one option. For a lighter option, try lettuce wraps with avocado and ranch dressing. The possibilities are endless!.
Add to Soup
Adding diced chicken tenders to chicken noodle soup makes it taste better. You can also use them in chicken tortilla soup, chicken and dumpling soup, chicken and rice soup, or chicken pot pie soup.
Transform Into Tacos
Have you had enough of ground beef tacos? Try chicken tenders, chopped or crumbled, for a tasty change. Shred lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, and Mexican cheese on top.
Stir-Fry Over Rice
Slice chicken tenders and stir-fry with frozen veggies and teriyaki or sweet and sour sauce. Serve over a bed of white or brown rice for a well-balanced meal.
Make Chicken Fried Rice
Dice chicken tenders and toss them with cooked rice, vegetables like carrots peas and onions, and soy sauce. Quick chicken fried rice ready in a flash!
Bake Chicken Tender Mini Pot Pies
Chicken pot pie in single-serve form? Yes please! Add diced chicken tenders to individual ramekins or small pie dishes with veggies, gravy and biscuit dough. Bake until the dough is cooked through and golden.
Simmer in Soup
Add extra protein and flavor to soups by simmering diced chicken tenders in chicken noodle soup, chicken tortilla soup, chicken and dumpling soup, or other broth-based soups.
Mix Up Your Salad
Chopped or sliced chicken tenders make excellent mix-ins for green salads, grain bowls, chicken Caesar salads, and more. The tenders add hearty protein and contrasting texture.
Stuff in Quesadillas
Jazz up your quesadillas by adding sliced or chopped chicken tenders along with cheese between tortillas before cooking in a skillet until crispy. Serve with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.
With a little creativity, you can transform leftover chicken tenders into all kinds of delicious new dishes. No more bland reheated tenders – put those leftovers to good use in sandwiches, pizzas, salads, tacos, stir-fries, and more!
Why You’ll Love This Collection of Recipes
Fresh Ideas: Experience creative flavor combinations that breathe new life into your favorite leftovers.
Variety: This book has recipes for everything from salads to sandwiches, so you can change up your usual chicken dinner recipe.
Quick and Easy: Enjoy simple, straightforward recipes that deliver big on flavor without lengthy preparation.
Budget-Friendly: Stretch your food budget while still creating impressive, restaurant-quality dishes.
Easy Crispy Chicken Sandwich
What to do with LEFTOVER CHICKEN, next time! #rotisserie #chicken #leftover
FAQ
How good are leftover chicken tenders good for?
Cooked chicken can stay in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, and 1 week for sausage/lunch meat. Store in labeled, airtight containers within 2 hours of cooking or 1 hour if temps are 90°F plus. Avoid food poisoning by checking for gray-green color, slimy appearance and foul, acidic odor.
What to do with leftover cooked chicken pieces?
Fresh ideas for leftover chickenChicken & tzatziki wraps. Chicken, bacon & watercress baguettes. Easy coronation chicken. Mexican chicken & black bean wraps. Caesar pitta. Herby chicken & butter bean soup. Spiced black bean & chicken soup with kale. Chicken & sweetcorn soup.
How to repurpose leftover breaded chicken?
15 Best Leftover Fried Chicken Recipes You Have to TryChicken & Dumpling Casserole. Photo Credit: thecountrycook. net. Chicken Waldorf Salad Bites. Fried Chicken Salad. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. Chicken Gnocchi Soup. Peanut Noodles With Chicken. Popeyes Chicken Sandwich. Fried Chicken Over Rice.
What to do with dry chicken tenders?
Rescue dry chicken with plenty of sauce These contain the moisture the meat is missing, so a quality sauce or gravy will cover a lot of your woes. In particular, a sauce that’s more sweet and bright will go well, because overcooking meat tends to bring out the salty flavors — sugar and acid help tone down that quality.