52 Simple Leftover Chicken Recipes That Rescue a Weeknight Dinner (2024)

There's a reason why chicken is a weeknight dinner staple: It's easy to cook and is so versatile. Whenever you cook chicken, and however you choose to do it, we recommend making extra to carry you through the next few days. Keeping an arsenal of simple leftover chicken recipes in your back pocket can save many a weeknight dinner.

We rounded up dozens of soup, salad, pizza, and pot pie recipes to make winners out of your leftover chicken dinners. Whether you've spatchco*cked a whole bird or grilled breasts—or you took a shortcut with a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken—get inspired to transform your cooked chicken into comforting, fuss-free meals.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

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If you're feeling under the weather, nothing beats a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup. To tweak this recipe for a busy weeknight, skip Step 1 and use your leftover cooked chicken. Add veggies, noodles, and heat through for a homemade soup in a fraction of the time.

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Cheesy Chicken Nachos With Avocado and Radish

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Nachos scream "party," but who said they couldn't be a Tuesday night dinner? Load up tortilla chips with cheese and leftover chicken, bake for about 10 minutes until melty, and then top them off with fresh ingredients like salsa, radishes, jalapeño, and cilantro. The leftover chicken makes the nachos substantial and satiating enough to call it a full meal.

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Chicken-Pesto Flatbread Sandwiches

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Mozzarella, arugula, and pesto-tossed chicken make a sandwich filling fit for dinner. Simplify this recipe by buying pre-made pesto and flatbreads, and all that's left to do is assemble your sandwiches and serve.

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Chicken Curry in a Hurry

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Lean on leftover chicken to make a quick, flavorful curry faster than it takes to get delivery. Plain yogurt gives this dish a creamy texture and subtle tang, and fresh cilantro brightens everything up.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

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Slow cookers are the secret weapon of the over-scheduled. To use leftover chicken in this recipe, add it right before serving and let the hot broth heat it up. Packed with veggies and seasoned to perfection, this soup will satisfy your craving for Mexican food while taking only minutes of your time.

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Crispy Chicken-and-Cheddar Sandwich With Pickle Dijon

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Who among us can say no to a crispy chicken cutlet? Next time you fry some up, give your future self a gift and make extra. This recipe tucks your leftovers in a hoagie roll with sharp white Cheddar, pickle relish, Dijon, and mayonnaise for a gourmet version of a fast food classic.

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Baby Kale and Chicken Caesar

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This salad recipe is full of smart hacks, like opting for mayonnaise instead of egg yolks to keep the dressing trouble-free and upping the protein with leftover chicken. The kale absorbs the punchy anchovies, garlic, Dijon, and lemon to make each bite savory and delicious.

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Chicken and Chard Dumpling Soup

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By using leftover chicken to make this riff on classic chicken soup, you save time by skipping the poaching step. As for the pasta, this recipe works just as well with regular gnocchi as it does with keto-friendly cauliflower gnocchi. Ideal for a chilly evening, this comforting soup warms you right up.

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Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pie

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Does pot pie sound like a laborious project to you? It doesn't have to be if you use leftover chicken and store-bought pie crust. In this recipe, skip Step 1 and sub in your leftover chicken. The result is a golden-brown pie full of bubbling, creamy chicken and vegetables in well under an hour, start to finish.

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Instant Pot Chicken Pho

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There's something so healing about a big bowl of pho (pronounced fah), a Vietnamese soup that's hot, aromatic, and bright. Grab your Instant Pot to speed up the process and ignore the chicken-cooking steps, adding leftover chicken at the end. For serving, top the soup with the fresh ingredients of your choice. We love adding bean sprouts, cilantro, and serrano chilies, but the world is your oyster.

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Southwestern Chicken Soup

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This recipe takes leftover chicken on a trip to the Tex-Mex border in just 15 minutes. Accompanied by jarred salsa verde and cannellini beans, you have a hearty, flavorful soup that's satisfying enough as a meal. Get creative with your toppings: Try corn, avocado, black olives, hot sauce, or all of the above.

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Miso Chicken Noodle Soup With Kimchi

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Yes, another chicken soup recipe, but this one takes us to East Asia. It fuses Japanese misowith Koreankimchifor a richly flavorful soup that comes together in 20 minutes.Shredded chicken shares the protein load with tofu, which you can skip if you need to double down with leftovers.

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Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

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Cut your prep time in half by making this Southwest-inspired recipe with leftover cooked chicken instead of fresh. This version gets its name from a jar of mild salsa verde used as a base for the green enchilada sauce, which also tastes great on that side of white rice.

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

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If you have 3 cups of leftover cooked chicken and need to feed a crowd, this recipe's for you. With a flavor and texture reminiscent of fettuccini alfredo, a handful of fresh herbs—namely basil, parsley, and chives—and a squeeze of lemon juice give this family-friendly dish a fresher, brighter taste.

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Grilled Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas

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No, the chicken's not grilled, but the quesadillas are. This recipe calls for leftover cooked chicken, baby spinach leaves, and plenty of Monterey Jack sandwiched in a folded tortilla. These quesadillas cook right on the grates but also taste great from a baking sheet out of the oven.

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Creamy Chicken and Corn Pot Pie

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This recipe knows you're in a hurry, so it's already incorporated all the shortcuts, starting with leftover cooked chicken. It also calls for a couple of cans of corn chowder as well as frozen peas and corn. A sheet of thawed puff pastry literally tops it all off to give you a dreamy, creamy pot pie in only 40 minutes.

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Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

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Creamy mushrooms, shredded chicken, and buttery egg noodles make a comfort-food trifecta. This recipe proves that simple, quick, and easy can be satisfying and delicious. Change it up by swapping noodles for any other pasta or your favorite grain.

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Summer Tacos With Scallion-Peanut Relish

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For the perfect summer dish, you want minimal cooking, fresh vegetables, and plenty of flavors—and this recipe qualifies on all counts. These tacos are stuffed with leftover cooked chicken in an Asian-inspired dressing, a quick-pickled carrot-radish slaw, and a topping of peanuts, mint, and scallions.

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Eggplant and Chicken Caponata Pizza

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Whether it's the eggplant or the caponata that's putting you off, stick with us here! Caponata is a relish-like dish from Sicily made of eggplant, olives, onions, and herbs. In this recipe, caponata serves as a pizza topping comprised of leftover cooked chicken, sautéed ribbons of eggplant, red bell pepper slices, and briny capers. Try it, you'll like it!

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Quick and Easy Chicken Pot Pie

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You usually don't see "quick and easy" associated with "chicken pot pie," but this recipe is the exception. Despite no pie-crust-dough-rolling, no chicken-cooking, and no veggie-chopping, this dish looks and tastes like the creamy, comforting, golden brown dish you know and love and is ready in just 30 minutes.

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Grilled Pizza With Chicken and Peach

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Ever grill a pizza? You don't have to own a pizza oven to cook one outside. This recipe explains how to grill fresh pizza dough and peaches right on the grates. After a pre-bake (pre-grill?), set the crust on a baking sheet, slather it with a ricotta spread, top with leftover chicken, grilled peach slices, onion, and mozzarella, and then grill for another 8 to 10 minutes.

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Zesty Corn Soup With Chicken

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This recipe transforms the flavors of Mexican street corn into a hearty, comforting soup. Using rotisserie chicken and frozen corn, it whips up in just 20 minutes with time left over to make your own fresh guacamole. Just add tortilla chips.

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Chicken Stir-Fry

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Leftover chicken, stir-fry, and bagged cabbage or cole slaw mix translate to easy, easy, easy! Add water chestnuts, a teriyaki sauce, and a chopped peanut topping, and you have an Asian-inspired dish with a ton of nutrients, flavor, and texture in just 15 minutes.

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Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

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This recipe may just make you institute more than one taco night per week. This "green" version starts with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which you can replace with leftover cooked chicken, saving you time, effort, and a couple of steps. Add a jar of salsa verde, cotija cheese, and the usual taco accompaniments for a quick, family-friendly meal.

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Mole-Spiced Black Bean and Quinoa Bowl

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The addition of leftover cooked chicken to this vegetarian recipe turns it into a quick, easy, protein-packed meal. Don't let "mole" in the title make you think you'll spend all day in the kitchen: It's from a jar. There's also roasted cauliflower, baby arugula, and cotija cheese to give this bowl a fresh spin.

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Classic Chicken Soup

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A universal cure-all, this dish makes it feel like home no matter where you are. Don't let this recipe's hour-plus prep time deter you from using it when you're in a hurry. With leftover cooked chicken and ready-made broth, you can cut down on well over half that time and still sit down to a comforting classic.

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Chicken Adobo

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This iconic Filipino dish takes chicken and rice to the sweet-and-sour side. To skip Step 1 and save about 15 minutes, replace the boneless, skinless chicken thighs with whatever chicken you've already cooked. It joins pineapple and orange juice to make this dish fresh, fruity, and a new favorite.

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Chicken Tortilla Crunch Salad

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This sassy summer salad recipe is loaded with shortcuts, but there's room to add a few more for an extra-zippy prep. Use your leftover cooked chicken instead of grilling chicken thighs, and then use ready-made fajita seasoning and a bag of coleslaw blend instead of cabbage. Dinner's ready!

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Sun-Dried Tomato Romesco Chicken

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This recipe delivers big flavor in a short time, thanks to store-bought shortcuts like sun-dried tomatoes and roasted bell peppers. Substitute leftover chicken for fresh cutlets, and you save even more time without sacrificing a bit of deliciousness.

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Charred Broccolini With Tahini Caesar And Crispy Chickpeas

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Before you check this recipe to find out how much leftover chicken you need, let us save you the trouble: It'll take whatever you have. This meatless dish is already loaded with protein and flavor, but the addition of cooked chicken pairs perfectly with its creamy, savory, tahini-based Caesar dressing.

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Chicken Pot Pie Empanadas

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Don't worry, they just look complicated and time-consuming. These empanadas are filled with leftover cooked chicken, a peas-and-carrots mix (from frozen), and a sauce reminiscent of that pot pie you know and love. The dough is simply two ready-made 9 inch pie crusts, making this recipe easy as pie.

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Chicken Satay Lettuce Wraps

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Craving something fresh, light, and easy? This recipe is at your service, and replacing the ingredients list's boneless, skinless chicken thighs with leftover chicken makes it even easier. A peanut butter-and-coconut milk-based dressing brings everything together for a low-carb, Thai-inspired treat.

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Blistered Tomatillo Salsa and Roasted Chicken Thighs Tacos

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Got cooked chicken? Replace fresh chicken thighs with leftovers to go with this taco's onion, cheese, and jalapeños. To save more time, use your favorite jarred green salsa to spoon atop warmed corn tortillas for a light alternative to standard beef tacos.

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Chicken Paprikash Soup

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A chicken noodle soup with a Hungarian accent, this easy recipe takes only 30 minutes. Extra-wide egg noodles, cooked chicken, red bell peppers, and onions swim in a tomato-y, paprika-laden chicken broth. Top with sour cream for a tangy, rich finish.

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Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken With Biscuits

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If your chicken's already cooked, leave your slow cooker in the appliance garage for this recipe. Just sauté the carrots, celery, and onions on the stove; add seasonings, white wine, and broth; and then add the chicken with peas and cream to simmer for 10 minutes, just to heat through. Serve with store-bought or homemade biscuits for a meal worthy of a Midwestern grandmother.

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Chicken and Dill Souvlaki

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Cooked chicken, cucumbers, and thinly sliced sweet onion star in this Greek-inspired rendition of a taco. Instead of salsa, dollop some creamy Greek yogurt and, instead of tortillas, this recipe uses flatbreads. The result is a refreshing crispness for a light, easy meal.

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Herby Chicken Salad Tartines

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We could've called this an open-face chicken salad sandwich, but doesn't "tartine" sound so much fancier? Well, this chicken salad is fancy because it also features almonds, tarragon, chives, and a mayo-based dressing with cider vinegar, honey, and celery seeds. It sits on toasted sourdough slices and is topped with radish slices for a decorative crunch.

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Chicken Posole

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Wondering what a posole is? Also known as pozole, it's a Mexican soup or stew with cooked hominy—processed field-grade corn kernels—in the broth. Shortcuts of cooked chicken, ready-made chicken broth, canned diced tomatoes, and a can of hominy bring this comforting dish to the table in 30 minutes.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

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Despite this recipe's title, if you have leftover cooked chicken, you can skip the slow cooker and sit down to this Indian-style classic in 30 minutes. Just simmer the masala ingredients, including your leftover chicken, on the stove while the white rice is cooking. Just before serving, add heavy cream to the masala, and then spoon it on hot white rice and top with cucumber relish.

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Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad With Avocado

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No grill? No problem. Instead of grilling chicken for this recipe, use your leftover cooked chicken, and instead of grilling corn on the cob, boil it on the stove or cook it from frozen. That's the only cooking you'll need to do, which makes this Southwestern-style salad a delightful summer entrée.

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Cool and Crunchy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

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Doesn't a fresh, delicious, healthy chicken dish sound refreshing for a weekday dinner? If there's leftover chicken, you don't even need to fire up the grill. Just cook the rice vermicelli noodles according to the package, mix the Vietnamese-inspired sauce, chop (or buy) some matchstick veggies, and let everyone wrap their own.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

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Instead of cooking chicken for this hearty Tex-Mex soup in a slow cooker, use your leftover cooked chicken and save some electricity. Simmer the soup ingredients on the stove instead, and it'll be ready to serve—alongside warm tortillas or crusty bread for dipping—in under 30 minutes.

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One-Pot Curry Chicken Thighs and Cilantro Rice

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With a few simple tweaks, you can swap out the boneless, skinless chicken thighs with leftover cooked chicken. Just skip Step 1, cook the cilantro-coconut rice as directed, add chicken, and then drizzle with peanut sauce.

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Orange Chicken Stir-Fry With Rice Noodles

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In the time it takes to pick up four orders of this Chinese takeout favorite, you can make it at home, and with leftover chicken on hand, it comes together even faster. This recipe uses orange marmalade for the dish's characteristic flavor, and pairs the classic chicken-and-veggie dish with rice noodles.

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Creamy Veggie Chicken Noodle Soup

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Transform fresh vegetables into comfort via this dreamy chicken soup recipe. Skip the chicken-cooking part in Step 1 and use your cooked leftover chicken instead. You end up with a lemon-fresh, creamy broth chockful of green beans, carrots, and small pasta that screams for a crusty baguette for dipping.

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Rotisserie Chicken Chili

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Here's a recipe the whole family can get behind. You'll love the recipe shortcuts—cooked chicken, as well as canned pinto beans and green chilies—and everyone else will appreciate a fun dinner that's on the table in just 40 minutes.

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Zesty Chicken Salad

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Everyone needs a go-to chicken salad recipe, so here's our contribution to helping you find yours. Whether you cook chicken for it (as the recipe instructs), or use leftover cooked chicken (and skip Step 1), its mayo-based dressing gets its "zest" from the addition of pickles, shallots, lemon juice, and tarragon.

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Ginger Chicken Soup With Vegetables

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Combine the cold-fighting power of chicken soup with the health benefits of ginger, and you have this curative soup you'll feel good about serving. Joining the shredded rotisserie chicken are no less than six veggies: onions, turnips, parsnips, celery, peas, and carrots. Serve with biscuits as recommended.

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Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie

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This recipe has all the comfort credentials of a traditional chicken pot pie but requires just 30 minutes hands-on. The filling has the obligatory veggies—carrots, onions, celery, and peas—but it's the top crust that's a novel (and easier) spin. It calls on a sheet of puff pastry that's cut into squares and laid atop the filling, brushed with an egg mixture, and then baked to golden brown flakiness.

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Butternut Squash and Chicken Pozole

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This Mexican-inspired soup has autumn comfort written all over it. Butternut squash, kale, and a can of hominy—a corn derivative with a chewy texture—mingle with chicken for a rich stew-like dish from south of the border. Serve with Greek yogurt for creaminess and tortilla chips for crunch.

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Zesty Chicken Enchiladas

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Shredded rotisserie chicken takes a step back in this recipe to allow its homemade enchilada sauce to shine. Its zingy flavor comes from fresh tomatillos cooked down with onion, poblano pepper, garlic, and cumin, and then pureed with cream. Once you taste it poured over corn tortillas rolled and filled with chicken, and then topped with cheese, you may never settle for jarred enchilada sauce again!

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Mango Chicken Curry

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This 30-minute curry dish takes you on a non-stop trip to the tropics. It's the mango that does it: It's mashed, pureed, and then melded with curry spices and creamy coconut milk for a savory-sweet sauce. Skip the cook-the-chicken step by subbing it with leftover cooked chicken, and this dish is ready even sooner.

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