Don’t settle for boring reheated leftover BBQ chicken for lunch or dinner.
These 25 leftover BBQ chicken recipes will give whatever leftovers you have from the weekend’s BBQ a new lease on life!
If you’re looking to reinvigorate leftovers from the weekend barbecue you just had, this list of leftover BBQ chicken recipes should help.
Before getting into the recipes listed below, let’s first dive into some interesting info about BBQ that you may not be familiar with.
While most people think that grilling and barbecuing are the same, they’re not, but they do use the same equipment, which is the barbecue grill.
The main difference between the two is in the manner in which the grill is used to cook meats.
When you grill, you cook the meat over your source of heat (charcoal or gas-fueled flame), while barbecuing involves enclosed heat, which means you need to close the lid on your barbecue grill to do this.
So, it’s as simple as an open lid and a closed lid, but the difference in flavor and texture can be quite significant.
When barbecuing, take note that in order to infuse lots of flavor into your meat, marinating overnight or using a mixture of spices in a dry rub is recommended.
For barbecued chicken, making sure to wrap the meat with foil during the cooking process will help prevent drying out.
Now, back to our list of recipes for leftover BBQ chicken.
Here you’ll find a few Mexican dishes, like BBQ Chicken Quesadillas and Barbecue Chicken Tacos.
If you’re looking for something comforting to make on a rainy day, #22 is worth a try.
Raring to give these recipes a go?
So, without further ado, put on your aprons and get into these dishes!
Enchiladas are usually rolled tortillas with filling inside and topped with gooey melted cheese and sauce.
This version, however, takes a different approach and gives you enchiladas that are made lasagna style!
You can call it Italian-Mexican fusion if you want.
Another Mexican favorite that uses tortillas and any leftover BBQ chicken meat you may have is quesadillas.
You can use just one type of shredded cheese here or use a combination of cheeses.
Just make sure you get the melty kind so that it fuses the top and bottom tortillas together once it’s cooked.
For something quick and simple, this recipe is the one you should try.
Just chop up your leftover chicken barbecue meat, cut up some salad veggies, mix together with your favorite salad dressing, and you’re done!
Here’s a casserole dish you can make with refrigerated leftover chicken meat.
While most casserole dishes use only vegetables and meat in them, this one uses some rice to make it a complete meal!
Barbecue chicken isn’t just for meals, it can also be added to game time and movie snacks!
This recipe teaches you how to assemble the perfect munchable treat with tortillas, leftover barbecue chicken, cheese, and beans.
This recipe is the perfect choice for when you want to pack lunches for everyone using leftover chicken BBQ from the weekend.
With just 4 ingredients, this is one of the quickest lunch box meals to make.
Baked mac and cheese is one comfort dish people love to eat at any time of the day or night.
Leftover BBQ chicken is shredded and added into this version, giving it another flavor and meaty texture that ordinary mac and cheese rarely has.
Here’s a dish that kids (and everyone in the family, too) are sure to love.
This recipe consists of shredded barbecue chicken, barbecue sauce, baked potatoes, and loads of cheese!
You can keep it mild for kids, but for adults who love a spicy kick to their meal, try to add a dash or two of hot sauce underneath the cheese before baking for a zingy surprise.
This one-pan dish is a must-try when you have lots of barbecued chicken meat to spare.
Since you re-cook the chicken meat in broth with other ingredients, the barbecue flavor becomes a lingering flavor in the background.
Now, who doesn’t love pizza?
This recipe uses store-bought crust, but you can always use your own pizza crust recipe for this if you want to.
This recipe takes your usual chicken salad sandwich and adds a barbecue element to it.
Another thing you can do is to stuff this chicken salad into lettuce cups instead of into buns for a low-carb version.
13. BBQ Spaghetti
This is a unique dish that you can make with any type of leftover barbecued meat, and BBQ chicken is one of the options cited here.
If you have less leftover BBQ chicken that’s needed for this recipe, add in leftover rotisserie chicken or any other leftover barbecued meats you have in your fridge.
Grilled cheese is already a satisfying meal in itself.
Adding shredded barbecue chicken takes it to a whole new level of yum.
Here’s another pizza recipe that you’re sure to love making with your leftover barbecue chicken.
Instead of the usual pizza dough, tortillas are used here.
You can even make this into a fun activity for the kids, with each one making their own tortilla pizza using shredded chicken and other ingredients you lay out for this.
This recipe gets you to use two leftovers and turn them into one fabulous dish.
If you’re making mashed potatoes, reserve the skins, so you have the perfect vessel for your shredded barbecue chicken.
This is one of those leftover BBQ chicken recipes you can make for lunch, dinner, snacks, and even for game day!
While the empanadas in this recipe are baked, you can also deep fry these if you want.
Another dish where you just cut ingredients up and mix them together is this one that combines chopped greens with other vegetables in a tasty summer salad.
The twist in this is the addition of tortilla chips for crunch and lots of herbs for added freshness.
Yes, you read that right–leftover BBQ chicken can be used for more than just sandwiches!
This soup recipe is a great one to try on a rainy day or on those days when comfort food is what you need.
Want to make something totally different with your leftover barbecued chicken meat?
This rice paper spring roll recipe marries an Asian dish with American barbecue flavors to create a tasty and eye-opening appetizer.
21. Butter Chicken
Love Indian food?
Here’s a recipe for spicy and savory Indian butter chicken that makes use of any leftover barbecued chicken you have in your fridge.
Pair this with naan bread or basmati rice for a totally epic dinner, and nobody needs to know that it’s made with leftovers!
Here’s a fun snack to make for your kids on a weekend.
It’s also a great treat to bring to a potluck, to serve as an appetizer during a get-together, and a fabulous snack to munch on while watching movies.
For a spicier twist, sprinkle some chopped jalapeno with the shredded chicken before rolling up and baking.
Another Asian dish that you can make with shredded leftover chicken barbecue is this noodle salad.
You can even use this salad in Vietnamese spring rolls, similar to the one I added to the list above.
24. Brunswick Stew
This dish uses leftover BBQ chicken as just one of two “leftover” meat ingredients added to it.
Also added to this meaty and rich stew is leftover pulled pork, along with a slew of vegetables and lima beans.
Let’s add one more casserole dish to the list with this versatile recipe that uses any type of leftover chicken, yes, including barbecued chicken.
Not only is this dish economical to make, with only 5 ingredients needed, but it’s also yummy, satisfying, and totally tweakable to your taste!
The bottom line
While it may be rare for you to have BBQ chicken leftover from your last barbecue, this list of leftover BBQ chicken recipes will come in handy when you do.
And if you only have rotisserie chicken or other leftover chicken meat in your fridge, you can always turn those into BBQ chicken easily.
All you have to do is to bathe it in your favorite barbecue sauce, pop it into your air fryer or oven on broil, and reheat it for 5 minutes.
Now you have instant BBQ chicken that you can use for any of the recipes listed above!
Best Leftover BBQ Chicken Recipe Collection
These 25 best leftover BBQ chicken recipes will give whatever leftovers you have from the weekend’s BBQ a new lease on life!
Ingredients
- BBQ Chicken Enchiladas
- BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
- Barbecue Chicken Salad
- Leftover BBQ Chicken & Rice Casserole
- BBQ Chicken Nachos
- Baked Cheesy Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
- BBQ Chicken Macaroni & Cheese
- BBQ Chicken Stuffed Baked Potatoes
- Barbecue Chicken & Penne Skillet
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Honey Barbecue Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Barbecue Chicken Tacos
- BBQ Spaghetti
- Grilled Cheese BBQ Chicken Sandwich
- BBQ Chicken Tortilla Pizza
- BBQ Chicken Potato Skins
- BBQ Chicken Empanadas
- Chicken Chopped Salad
- BBQ Chicken Soup With Black Beans
- Barbecue Chicken Spring Rolls
- Butter Chicken
- BBQ Chicken Rollups
- Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad
- Brunswick Stew
- Chicken & Shells Casserole
Instructions
- Have a look at our list of Leftover BBQ Chicken Recipes.
- Choose the dish you want to recreate.
- Start cooking your newly found recipe.
- Share your insights on our Facebook page!