Looking to cut your food budget and reduce waste? This leftover chicken pasta is easy, budget-friendly and a great way to make the most of your leftovers.
Like many people at the moment, we’re looking to save money. With the cost of living rising all of the time and so much uncertainty out there, small cuts can make a huge difference.
Food is one of our biggest expenses, which also makes the food shop a great way to save money.
We do this by meal planning, writing lists and only buying what we need. We also make the most of leftovers.
Often this means making a curry with lamb or stroganoff with beef. But the rising cost of food means that chicken is appearing on our Sunday table more and more often.
Chicken is cheaper than other meats, super versatile and often popular with kids, which makes it the ideal meal if you are looking for budget-friendly dinners.
It’s even better if you can turn any leftovers into something easy, quick and tasty like this Leftover Chicken Pasta.
Storing Leftover Chicken
If you want to cook with Leftover Chicken the first thing that you need to do is store it safely and reheat it thoroughly.
I’m certainly not an expert in food safety, so I often refer to this guidance in my own kitchen, I recommend you do the same, and store and reheat food at your own risk.
The main points are to cool chicken quickly, by removing it from the cooking tray or pan and leaving it in a cold tub or bowl. Then, cover and store in the fridge (between 1° and 5°) in a sealed container for 1-2 days. I certainly would never keep for more than 3 days without freezing.
Then, make sure you reheat your chicken so that it is absolutely piping hot.
If your Leftover Roast Chicken looks, feels or smells off, throw it away even if it’s only a day old and you’ve stored it safely. Trust your instincts.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend keeping any leftovers you might have from this Roast Chicken Pasta Recipe, as the risks of food poisoning grow every time you cool and reheat food.
Ingredients for Leftover Chicken Pasta
One of the best things about this delicious Easy Leftover Chicken Pasta Recipe is that it’s really simple, with not many ingredients. I use:
Pasta – For this recipe, I’ve used Fusilloni, which is like giant spirals. Use whatever you’ve got though. 30p Penne Pasta would be fine.
Cooking Spray – Swap for olive oil or another cooking oil if you want.
Red Onion
Garlic
Bacon
Cooked Chicken – I try to use around 400g, but use as much as you have. If it’s a lot less, you might want to also reduce other ingredients to keep the flavours balanced. I shred my cold roast chicken by pulling strips off with my fingers, you can chop into strips if you prefer.
Double Cream
Chicken Stock – You could use white wine instead for a different flavour. But seen as this is a budget-friendly meal I’ve stuck to stock.
Black Pepper – Typically I season things with salt and pepper to taste, but I find the salty flavour of bacon means that this Cooked Chicken Pasta only needs pepper.
Frozen Peas
Adding Veg to Leftover Chicken with Pasta
When I make my Pasta with Leftover Chicken Breast I keep things easy with frozen peas, which we’ve always got in, and the kids love.
However, if you wanted you could add mushrooms, which I’d stir in after the bacon, cooking for a few minutes before adding the cream.
You could also add spinach to this Recipe for Leftover Chicken Pasta. I’d add the spinach with the peas and just let it wilt for 5 minutes before serving.
How to Make Leftover Roast Chicken Pasta
This Leftover Roast Chicken Creamy Pasta is super simple.
To prepare, finely dice the onion, roughly chop the bacon to 1-2cm pieces, crush the garlic and shred the chicken.
Heat some oil, or cooking spray in a large frying pan and fry onion and garlic until soft.
Add the bacon and fry until cooked.
Stir in the cooked chicken.
Add cream, stock and a good pinch of ground black pepper. Simmer until the sauce is starting to thicken.
Prepare the pasta to package instructions while your sauce simmers.
Add peas and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
I serve my Pasta with Leftover Chicken with garlic bread and a side salad, but it’s filling on its own.
See the recipe card below for full instructions and times.
What Can You Make with Leftover Chicken?
If you don’t fancy a Creamy Leftover Chicken Pasta you could make Leftover Chicken Pasta Tomato Sauce, Fried Rice with Leftover Chicken, or leftover chicken risotto and chicken curry is always a hit!
Another option for leftover chicken includes a Leftover Chicken Pasta Bake, swapping chicken for turkey in this recipe.
For a simple lunch, roast chicken sandwiches, or a leftover chicken pasta salad are always great.
What are the Best Dishes Made from Leftovers?
There are so many meals that you can make from leftovers, not just leftover chicken pasta.
If you have leftover beef, you might want to try:
For leftover lamb, my favourites include:
And for pork leftovers, try:
Leftover Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 500 g Pasta of Choice (or enough to serve your family)
- Cooking Spray (or 1 tablespoon of cooking oil)
- ½ Red Onion (Peeled and finely Diced)
- 3 Cloves Garlic (Peeled and Crushed)
- 300 g Bacon (Roughly Chopped)
- 400 g Cooked Chicken (Shredded)
- 200 ml Double Cream
- 150 ml Chicken Stock
- Pinch Ground Black Pepper
- 200 g Frozen Peas
Instructions
- Heat cooking spray or oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes, stirring often, until soft.
- Add the bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir through the cooked chicken.
- Pour in the stock and cream, and season with a good pinch of ground black pepper.
- Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat.
- Simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- While the sauce is reducing, cook enough pasta for your family to package instructions.
- Add the peas, stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Serve with pasta.
Notes
- If you have less chicken, use what you’ve got. If it’s a lot less, reduce other ingredients to keep the flavours balanced.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
