Leftover Chicken Recipes are pretty popular in our home because we eat a lot of chicken! It is the number one favorite of our boys. Their favorite chicken recipe is our rosemary chicken, but they love it all. With almost 70 chicken recipes on Platter Talk, one thing is for sure. We always seem to have leftover chicken.
If you are wondering what to do with leftover chicken, you’re going to love this chicken casserole. You can make it with any kind of leftover chicken. Just some pasta, cheese, and a few other ordinary pantry ingredients.
Leftover Chicken Recipe for Crispy Shells Casserole
This easy budget meal is the second act of our French Fried Onion Ring Baked Chicken. Other types of chicken work well too. Leftover barbecued chicken, leftover fried chicken, and leftover roast chicken. Are you starting to see the trend here? This cheesy casserole is one of the best ways to use leftover chicken. Period!
Ingredients for this Chicken Casserole
(Full recipe is found below in the recipe card.)
- 1 lb of leftover chicken
- 16 oz of medium-size pasta shells
- 8 oz of shredded cheese (whatever kind that you have handy)
- 1 can of cream of chicken or mushroom soup
- 1 cup of milk
- ¼ cup of breadcrumbs
You probably won’t find this leftover chicken recipe at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Lucky for us, our boys are O.K. with that.
How to Make this Casserole Recipe using Leftover Chicken
The steps to making this quick family dinner are short and sweet. Another bonus to using good leftovers!
1. Cook and drain the pasta shells as directed. Then combine all the ingredients with the leftover chicken in a large mixing bowl.
2. Stir it all together.
3. Transfer the ingredients to a greased 9 x 13 casserole pan.
4. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes.
Our whole family loves this comfort food creation. Because it comes from chicken leftovers we are getting a twofer. Of course, this makes it even better!
If you’re looking for more leftover chicken recipes, you might like these!
- Quick Chicken Quesadillas
- Nobody can cook like Betty Crocker! This is a simple recipe for using leftover chicken.
- Mexican Lasagna
- Layered chicken enchilada casserole that disappears faster than you can say “¡Olé!“
- Chicken and Biscuits Skillet Pot Pie
- A one-pot wonder that uses leftover chicken, vegetables, and a tube of store-bought biscuits.
Follow this link for more Recipes Using Leftovers
Additional hints for making this chicken casserole
- Use whatever kind of chicken that you have leftover.
- Leftover fried chicken
- Leftover rotisserie chicken
- Leftover barbecued chicken
- Use your favorite cheese in this chicken casserole, or whatever you have on hand.
- Mozarella cheese works great for a mild and light cheese flavor.
- Cheddar cheese will add a little more savory flavor to this chicken casserole.
- Parmesan cheese will give it a bit of an Italian flare.
- If you don’t have cream of chicken soup, use any of the following:
- Cream of mushroom soup
- Cream of celery soup
FAQ
How do you store leftover chicken?
- Leftover chicken should be cooled and then sealed and wrapped in a refrigerator as soon as possible.
- Your refrigerator should be no warmer than 40° inside.
- Never allow the chicken to set at room temperature for over two hours.
How long is it good for?
- Leftover chicken should probably be tossed out after three or four days in the fridge.
- If it starts to smell or look funky, it’s time to say goodbye and get rid of it.
Can I freeze this casserole?
- You can freeze this casserole for up to six months.
- Use plastic wrap to seal and wrap it.
- Allow thawing in the fridge overnight, the day before you bake it.
If you’re looking for more leftover chicken recipes, you might light these!
Follow this link for more Recipes Using Leftovers
Have you made this Leftover Chicken recipe on Platter Talk? Leave a comment or question below; we love hearing from readers! FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see what we have cooking!
Grab our friend Stacy’s casserole cookbook, it’s one of our favorites!
Crispy Leftover Chicken and Shells Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz. chicken coarsely cubed
- 16 oz. pasta shells
- 8 oz. shredded cheese
- 1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F°
- Grease a 9 x 13 casserole pan.
- Prepare pasta as directed, drain.
- In large mixing bowl, cube leftover chicken. Add grated cheese, soup, milk, breadcrumbs and pasta.
- Stir mixture thoroughly then evenly distribute in prepared casserole dish.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Video
Notes
- Basil
- Oregano/Italian seasoning
- Thyme
kathleen hendricks says
Wow, this is extremely yummy. Hubby’s not much into casseroles but loved this as well. Thanks for sharing.
Dan from Platter Talk says
Kathleen, Thanks for the great feedback!
Daniela says
you have an metric conversion chart that who disappears only if i join whit my e mail , i joined once , twice
i dindn’t the close button … it is annoying…
Dan from Platter Talk says
Daniela, we will email you the link to download it. Sorry for the problem with it.
Joyce Pereira says
Is it suppose to be 1/4 cup breadcrumbs or 1 cup?
Dan from Platter Talk says
Hi Joyce. It should be 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs. Thanks for bringing this typo to our attention!
Leigh ann says
I am making this right now…with my leftover rotissire chicken I used cheddar cheese because I love cheddar..30 minutes away from something really good. Thanks for this recipe
Dan from Platter Talk says
Leigh, I think you will agree, this is the perfect use for leftover rotisserie chicken; hope you enjoyed!
Amanda Draper says
Just made this hopefully my family will love it we also had some leftover broccoli that I added in.
Dan from Platter Talk says
Sounds like a great addition to this leftover chicken recipe!
Maria says
This must be a silly question as no one else asked it, but the cream of chicken soup–is it the condensed or ready to serve kind?
Dan from Platter Talk says
Maria, You’ll want to use condensed cream of chicken soup for this easy leftover chicken recipe. Thanks for the question!
Veena Azmanov says
Such a great way to use up leftover chicken. We love casseroles in our home, especially in winter. This sounds like something I wanna try. Saving for later
Marisa Franca says
What a great way to use chicken! Everyone loves pasta so stick some chicken with it and add some cheese and you’ve got a delicious meal everyone ties into. I’ll be saving this recipe.
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
Such a yummy way to repurpose leftovers! This could be good for thanksgiving turkey too!
Lauren Vavala says
This is a great idea for leftovers! Such a family friendly meal too – anything I can get my kids to eat without any whining is perfect!
Mahy Elamin says
Wow, this is a really great idea for my children. A simple and easy list of ingredients is what I love. Now I know how to use leftover chicken. This recipe looks super easy and full of ingredients my family loves. Looking forward to trying soon. Thank you for a great idea!
Claudia Lamascolo says
I love using shells in a casserole, the kids love them too, This is one the whole family will love what a great all in one meal!
Jennifer A Stewart says
I usually use my leftover chicken for chicken and rice but I am going to switch up with this next time!
Madi says
This sounds like the perfect comfort food! I can’t wait to make this for dinner!
Michaela Kenkel says
Repurposing leftovers is always a great idea!! Fried chicken in anything has GOT to be good!
Angela says
Oh how I am loving this one! Food waste is such a pet peeve of mine and I LOVE how you’ve used these leftovers! Plus… fried chicken is delicious!
Kathy says
What a great way to use leftover fried chicken. We always buy too much of it and end up wasting it. Thanks to this recipe that won’t happen again. I know my family would love this dish!
debi at Life Currents says
This is such a fabulous way to use up leftovers. I love a big casserole that gives us lots of meals. I think I’ll add frozen green peas when I make this.
Dan from Platter Talk says
Thanks, Debi. We never knew how many people face this dilemma (leftover chicken), until we put this leftover chicken recipe together. We hope you try it soon!
michele says
We don’t ever have leftover fried chicken (yes, we overindulge, but its fried chicken, but we do however have a LOT of leftover roast chicken… what a great way to use it up in such a comfort food that we’ll all LOVE!
Dan from Platter Talk says
Take my word for it, this leftover chicken works well for either version!
Diana says
What a wonderful idea! I never know what to do with leftover chicken, so I just throw it in pasta. Pinning to try later!
Dan from Platter Talk says
Thanks so much, Diana. Our boys really enjoyed this one!
Allison - Celebrating Sweets says
I love finding new ways to use up leftovers. Sounds great!
Dan from Platter Talk says
Our kids loved this, as did their dads – win/win!
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
It’s all about the comfort foods. You’re right that good food can be affordable. Looks good.
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
This looks super tasty. I don’t usually like shells but I can’t wait to try them like this because my hubby loves them. Thanks for sharing.
Jeff the Chef says
What a fantastic way to reinvent a leftover! For a home chef, those kinds of recipes are must-haves. Nicely done.
Jeff @ Make It Like a Man! says
I love these kinds of dinners! These soerts of recipies need to be in every home cook’s arsenal.