Rotisserie Chicken Freezer Meal Prep Tips

Mar

I really can’t believe I’ve had this blog for four years and never shared my love of rotisserie chickens with you! They’re like my meal planningsecret weapon. Seriously. It’s high time I leveled with you about thiswell-kept secret of cheap and easy freezer meal prep– once you’ve tried this, you’ll be absolutely hooked!

Of course, supermarket rotisserie chickens are no secret. I hope you’ve discovered what a terrific value they are! They’re one of those “get you in the store” deals where the store isn’t making much – if any – money off of them. Around here in central PA, the price for a rotisserie chicken is $5at pretty much any store you shop at. That’s much cheaper than you can typically get a whole raw chicken, not to mention much easier than making one yourself! I’m sure you’ve grabbed one for a quick and easy dinner before (if you haven’t, you should!), they make a terrific dinner with a simple side or veggie and a green salad. But here’s the well-kept secret – you can use a rotisserie chicken to stock your freezer with delicious and CHEAP meal starters that will make cooking dinner insanely easy!!

Now, when you’re buying a store-made rotisserie chicken, you can’t control the flavorings and fat content. You could certainly buy your own whole chickens and cookthem how you like, then follow these rotisserie chicken freezer meal prep tips for super easy meal planning!

Tip #1: Sam’s Club Rotisserie Chickens – hands down.

I have personally tried at least one rotisserie chicken from every grocery store near us – Weis, Giant, Wegman’s, and Walmart. None of them even come close to Sam’s Club’s rotisserie chicken’s in quality, quantity, or flavor. They’re all $5, but the one’s at Sam’s club are almost twice the size and much more flavorful and juicy than any of the other one’s I’ve had. Wegman’s are usually pretty tasty but MUCH smaller than the ones you get at Sam’s, for the same price. If you live near a Sam’s Club and have a membership, I highly recommend trying their chickens! (I’ve even heard that they will discount them down to next to nothing late in the evening before closing if they have any left – that’s a great time to go snag several!) Nope, this isn’t sponsored in any way by Sam’s Club, I just really like their chicken!We don’t have a Costco nearby, so I can’t personally attest to their price/quality/flavor, but I’ve heard that they are very comparable to Sam’s Club’s rotisserie chickens, too.

Tip #2: Buy multiple chickens at one time.

If you’re going to use my method of stocking the freezer with rotisserie chicken, only buying one chicken at a time isn’t going to be a very efficient use of your time. I always buy at least two chickens at a time. If you’ve got a large family, it might make sense to even buy 3 or 4 at a time.

Tip #3: Set aside what you need for dinner, and shred the rest.

Of course, it makes sense to eat chicken for dinner when you buy one and it’s fresh! It also means that you can spend an hour in the kitchen prepping your chicken for the freezer and not have to spend extra time in there cooking dinner, too. So take whatever you need to feed your family for dinner and set it aside. Then, get to work picking ALL the meat off of the bones and shredding it with your fingers into a large bowl.

Tip #4: Freeze the shredded meat in 2 cup portions to use as meal starters.

I separate my shredded chicken into 2 cup portions (white meat mixed up with dark meat) and put them in quart sized freezer bags. Depending on the size of your family, you could do larger portions if you’d like. I find that I use 2 cups of shredded chicken in most of our go-to soup recipes, but closer to 4 cups in more hearty dinners and casseroles that call for shredded chicken. That way I can either grab one or two bags depending on what I need it for. Make sure you label them with the quantity and date. Then, use the shredded chicken in soups, casseroles, chicken salad, dips and appetizers, etc! Tip: I can’t say enough good things about these bag holders! I use them ALL the time.

If this is all a new idea for you, you might be wondering what the heck you do with all that shredded chicken…oh my, there are so many possibilities!Here are some recipe ideas for you:

20ONE DISH DINNERSto Make With Leftover Rotisserie Chicken

15SOUPSto Make With Leftover Rotisserie Chicken

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13 Responses to Rotisserie Chicken Freezer Meal Prep Tips

I love using rotisserie chickens (we buy them from Costco for all of the same reasons you mentioned from Sam’s Club) for freezer meal prep! We’re at Costco all the time, so I try to pick up one every time we are. But I like your reasoning to grab at least two. You are one smart lady!
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Do you freeze your chicken stock as well?
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- Yes! You can see all the details on how I make and store my homemade stock here – http://www.unoriginalmom.com/rotisserie-chicken-crock-pot-chicken-stock/
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This is a fantastic idea!! One of those that I think after reading “I shoulda thought of that”. I only cook for myself so this is a wonderful way to portion out a whole chicken AND a way to have enough bones to make my own stock like I’ve been wantting to!!! Thank you so much for sharing and for the meal guide!!
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You can also make a create warm or cold chicken salad,with the shredded whole chicken’s… recipe below…
2 cup’s
Shredded Chicken
1/2 cup sliced mushroom’s
1/4 cup green onion
1/4 cup sliced water chestnut’s
1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese( 4 topping)
1/4 cup of almond’s( 4 topping)
a dash of spice of your choice and a tablespoon of lemon a must..just brighten’s the whole dish
mix all together, reserving the cheese & almond’s for the top, bake for 20 min’s….let cool and serve..either warm, room temp. or cold..serve over crunchy chinese noodle for a different twist…or put it on a yummy roll..or just eat all on it’s own…..easy, tasty, quick…and so so good
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I did all of this and then saw your post 😂 but I was wondering how long the chicken would keep in the freezer?
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- Great minds think alike! ;-) I usually use mine up with 3 months and it’s totally fine in our deep freezer. Though I have found a few older bags hidden in the back of the freezer and they’ve still been fine after as much as 5 or 6 months…a little freezer burned but still taste fine in a soup or casserole. Hope that helps!
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I ask my grocery store deli to pick all the meat off for me. They know how because they do it for their rotisserie chicken salad.
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- That’s great that they’ll do that for you! It’s my least favorite part of this process, haha. I know that sometimes you can find packages of picked-off rotisserie chicken at Sam’s Club too.
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Love this idea!! Once you defrost the bags of chicken you froze, how many days do they stay good for?
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- I usually use them right away as I defrost them, either in a recipe or to top a salad. I’d say they’d be best within about 24 hours of defrosting. The best option would be to divide the chicken up in small enough portions when you freeze them so you only defrost what you need at a time :-)
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How long does the chicken stock stay good for once you freeze it?
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- I think that depends on how well it’s packaged and what kind of a freezer you have. I’m no expect, but I’d guess if it’s tightly sealed in a deep freezer it could last a year? Mine never last that long, I always use up my stash within a few months before I have to make more!
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Rotisserie Chicken Freezer Meal Prep Tips - unOriginal Mom (2024)

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13 Responses to Rotisserie Chicken Freezer Meal Prep Tips

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