These canned chicken recipes are a delicious way to take advantage of a super convenient ingredient.
Ever looked at a can of chicken and wondered what you could make with it? Already have some in your pantry, but uncertain how to make a tasty meal with it? These recipes will help you make truly delicious meals with simple canned chicken as a base.
There’s something here for just about every taste and culinary preference, and many of these meals are so simple you can make them as a last-minute delicious dinner.
1. Crispy Chicken Fritters by South Your Mouth
These chicken fritters are about as simple as it gets with just 5 ingredients, but they come together into a delicious meal or a heart snack to keep around the house. Pair with your favorite dipping sauce for a taste sensation your whole family
Better yet, if you’re looking for a recipe that makes a tasty meal with minimal ingredients, a strapped budget, or a raided grocery store out of basics, these fritters get the job done.
2. Weight Watchers White Chicken Chili
Comforting filling and healthy meals can be difficult to find. Worse, they’re often difficult to make and not as good as you expect.
This Weight Watchers-approved White Chicken Chili is an exception to the rule. Flavorful, packed with nutrition, and the option to add more veggies, this is a great addition to any family menu. Plus, making the chili with canned chicken cuts down on cooking and prep time, making it a great chili for weeknights.
3. Easy Canned Chicken Enchiladas
Enchiladas are a flavorful, budget-friendly, and often easy meal for any day of the week. Making them with canned chicken means less cooking time, more time with your family, and less cleanup. This simple recipe is easy to throw together, easy to add to, and makes delicious enchiladas.
4. Quick and Easy Ranch Chicken Pasta
Feeding a lot of picky eaters? Ranch flavors are a classic, a big hit with kids, and make it that much easier to feed a large crowd too.
This canned chicken pasta dish is simple, easy to throw together for an affordable lunch or dinner, and can be made healthier with the addition of a wide range of fresh vegetables. Maybe the best thing about Ranch Chicken Pasta is how easy it is to customize!
5. Dill Pickle Canned Chicken Salad
This cool summer salad is perfect for those nights where it’s just too hot to work over a stove, when you’re looking for a fast and easy low-carb option, or for anyone looking for a delicious keto-friendly salad to add to their rotation.
Choose your favorite canned chicken brand and your favorite pickles, or even mix and match the veggies to get a little variety. Just watch the carbs in those veggies if you’re wanting to keep this salad keto.
6. Weight Watchers Derby City Chicken Salad
Want a diet-friendly version of the classic chicken salad? This Weight Watchers-approved recipe from Drizzle Me Skinny is a fantastic option, great for lunches on the go, or even summer dinners. It’s packed full of important nutrients, easy to make, stores well, and provides plenty of protein for fueling muscle growth and preventing an afternoon crash.
7. Buffalo Chicken Salad
While this recipe calls for rotisserie chicken shredded and seasoned, canned chicken works almost just as well and makes the whole recipe more affordable and easier to make out of your pantry. The combination of mayo, buffalo sauce, and ranch does mean that this recipe can be a little heavy on the calories, but it’s a great option for summer cheat days or a flavorful treat.
8. Chipotle and Lime Chicken Burgers
Burgers are one of those meals that it can be hard to replace on a diet, and can leave you and your family craving something a little heartier.
Thankfully Drizzle Me Skinny’s Chipotle Lime chicken burgers are just what the doctor ordered! Busting with flavor and with the rich meaty texture you expect from a great burger, these grill up nicely, can be cooked on a stove, and go together fast.
The original recipe does call for ground chicken, but you can substitute canned easily enough. Just consider adding an egg to your patties to help bind the mixture together.
9. Jalapeno Popper Keto Chicken Salad
This salad normally calls for a cooked chicken breast, but since the author poaches their chicken for this recipe, canned chicken is a fast and simple substitution. Bursting with summer flavors, this is a more savory take on a chicken salad, and less work than stuffing jalapeno poppers by hand.
If you love a little heat in your meals, this chicken salad recipe is the one for you!
10. Easy Chicken Flautas
Want a delicious chicken dinner that you can throw together in as little as 10 minutes? These canned chicken flautas are the perfect option.
Pre-cooked canned chicken eliminates most of the prep time on these flautas, and the recipe makes it simple to increase the amount of food as much as you need to feed your whole family or even a crowd of guests.
11. Granny’s Chicken and Rice Casserole
Chicken and rice casserole is one of those classics that is comforting, filling, and delicious in its simplicity. As a money saver recipe, it doesn’t get much better. Since the recipe calls for shredded chicken, canned chicken is a perfect option. You’ll need a couple of cans to make the recipe as written, but it’s easy to scale up or down depending on how much food you want to make.
12. Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole
Chicken Tetrazzini is a delicious comfort food option, and this is another recipe where canned chicken works just as well as fresh. Just remember that for the full batch of this casserole you’ll want to get a couple of cans of chicken.
This creamy cheesy casserole is also a great way to use up leftover roast chicken and turkey!
13. 5 Minute Low-Carb Lemon Chicken Salad
Tired of chicken salads that rely on mayo for bulk and flavor? This quick and easy chicken salad uses olive oil and a healthier and carb-free source of fat, combined with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and parmesan cheese for a delicious and Italian-inspired meal.
Feel free to spice this recipe up with the fresh herb of your choice for even more flavor!
14. Easy Chicken Cakes
Love chicken patties but wish you had more control over the ingredient list? These kid-approved chicken cakes can take the place of all of your favorite chicken patties in recipes and even as a whole meal by themselves. A couple of cans of chicken make a fantastic substitute for shredded rotisserie chicken, while the addition of lemon zest helps these patties feel and taste lighter and brings out the flavor of chicken, cheese, and just a touch of dill.
15. Mexican Chicken Casserole
While this recipe calls for chopped chicken, canned chicken works just as well and cuts down on the already minimal cooking time. Cream of chicken soup helps boost the chicken flavor and also provides the basic sauce for the rest of the dish.
If you want fast, easy, flavorful casseroles, this recipe is a fantastic option!
16. Cheesy Chicken Nuggets
Looking for something easy, quick, delicious, and 100% kid approved? These cheesy chicken nuggets capture a lot of what’s best about chicken nuggets, which have an added cheesy twist that both holds them together and boosts the flavor.
17. Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Not every chicken recipe needs to be a full meal on its own. This simple-to-make buffalo chicken dip is the perfect side for a get together with friends and family, a simple pot-luck dish, or a watch party. Super Bowl approved, and sure to please!
18. Southwest Hot Chicken Dip
Cheese dip lovers are sure to jump for joy with this delicious recipe, loaded with black beans for added protein, and topped with red pepper and avocado for a nutritious boost. Perfect for entertaining, or even as a side dish for dinner, the best part of this dip is how quickly it comes together!
19. Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole
If you want a quick, simple, and comforting casserole that still brings a good amount of veggies and nutrition to the table, chicken broccoli and rice casserole is a great option. The cheese and crunchy topping help make this recipe a winner, and since it can be made with canned chicken, frozen broccoli and other time-saving ingredients, it’s a quick one too!
20. 3 Ingredient Chicken Salad
If you’re looking for the ultimate in a simple and easy-to-create chicken salad, this recipe is a good way to go. Made with just canned chicken, boiled eggs, and mayo, this recipe can be eaten on its own, or as a base for more customized dishes.
21. Chicken Crescent Bake
These chicken crescents are a delicious and easy meal originally designed for leftover chicken. However, you can skip the leftovers and make this bake with canned chicken instead. Cream cheese, onion, and mozzarella give you a fantastic flavor base to build on.
22. Chicken Noodle Casserole
Chicken noodle soup might be the first thing you reach for when you’re sick, but this casserole is the next best thing and twice as comforting. Easy to make out of your pantry and freezer, it’s simple to keep the ingredients for this recipe around, and it throws together quick as can be for a last-minute meal.
23. Canned Chicken and Biscuit Casserole
Don’t want to go to the effort of making a chicken pot pie, but want the flavors and textures from an easier recipe? This canned chicken and biscuit casserole can be made with frozen veg, canned biscuits, and canned cream of chicken soup. Want a different flavor? Try swapping out cream of chicken for cream of mushroom or cream of bacon soup instead!
24. BBQ Chicken Tostadas
Originally calling for shredded chicken, this 4-ingredient meal can be made with canned chicken just as easily. Just drain the chicken and season it lightly, and you’re ready to prepare this simple and delicious dinner. Plus, this meal scales easily for however many mouths you need to feed.
25. Canned Chicken Quesadillas
Chicken quesadillas are a class, and they are even easier when you use canned chicken to speed up the prep. Perfect as a main dish, an appetizer, or a snack depending on the size of your quesadilla, you even have your choice of cooking methods to make this delicious meal.
26. Crack Chicken Pinwheels
These delicious pinwheels come together fast, are simple and delicious, and work as a meal, a snack, an appetizer, or even a good meal for game days and potlucks. This recipe asks for rotisserie chicken, but you can make it even faster and easier with canned chicken. Just remember to give it a little extra seasoning!
27. Canned Chicken Caesar Wraps
Made with a pre-chopped salad mix, canned chicken, and spinach wraps, these chicken Caesar wraps are some of the best and easiest wraps you can make with canned chicken. A bit of parmesan helps to boost the flavor of this dish, and Caesar salad dressing provides the seasoning.
