What to Do With Leftover Chicken: Creamy 20-Minute Chicken Pasta

A picked-over roast chicken or a half a rotisserie bird is the leftover people feel guiltiest about binning — it’s good meat, and it’s already cooked. The best answer to what to do with leftover chicken is to fold it into something creamy and fast, where it only needs warming through, not cooking again.

This 20-minute pasta is built for exactly that. Because the chicken is already done, the only real cooking is a quick garlic-cream sauce, so the whole thing comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta. It’s rich, it feels like a proper dinner, and it stretches two cups of leftovers across three plates.

Like most use-it-up meals, it bends to your fridge: a handful of wilting spinach, the last of a bag of frozen peas, or a heel of parmesan all disappear happily into the sauce.

How long is leftover chicken safe?

Refrigerate cooked chicken within two hours, keep it properly chilled, and use it within three to four days. The chicken in this pasta only needs warming, but it still needs to reach 74°C / 165°F throughout. If you do not know how long it has been stored, or it has an unusual smell or slimy surface, do not try to rescue it.

No cream? Use what is open

Cream cheese, crème fraîche, or a splash of milk thickened with extra parmesan all work. Greek yoghurt can split over direct heat, so take the pan off the stove before stirring it in. Frozen peas need no defrosting, and UK coriander or US cilantro can replace parsley if that is the herb you need to use first.