Kid friendly rotisserie chicken recipes are a big help when trying to get a healthy family dinner on the table. A few smart shortcuts (like purchasing a precooked rotisserie chicken on the way home) can take the legwork out of prepping the evening meal.
Are Rotisserie Chickens Healthy to Eat?
Rotisserie chickens are an incredibly convenient fast food option for a busy family. They are generally budget friendly and an incredibly versatile ingredient you can use in a variety of ways.
But let's face it, when something is convenient and budget friendly at the same time, it starts to look a little suspicious. We have to ask ourselves whether Rotisserie chickens are actually healthy for us or should we just make our own at home.
Obviously, the DIY homemade option is going to beat a store bought version every time. You are in control of what you use in the cooking process and that's a big deal these days.
When it comes to store bought Rotisserie Chicken, there are a few things you will need to look out before:
- The Quality and Freshness- If the chicken looks or smells a little funky, leave it be.
- Choose Free Range - I know this is often a little more expensive (a couple dollars at most), but animal welfare is a huge part of why we eat Clean. Choosing a healthy, free to roam chook also means that it had less additives in its diet which results in a healthier end product meat.
- The Added Ingredients - Many supermarkets will inject flavors and fat into the chicken to improve on taste so have a little chat with the deli staff and see what's been added to the chicken before you take it home. Read the ingredients list and if you're not happy, don't stress. Making your own Rotisserie chicken at home isn't too hard.
DIY Vertical Rotisserie
Benchtop Rotisserie Chicken
These little babies are brilliant! Make your own Rotisserie Chickens on a Sunday Evening for a whole week of chicken meals.
Oven Baked Rotisserie Chicken
This Rotisserie Chicken Stand means you can cook a rotisserie style chicken in your own oven at home. The stand allows the heat and air to move around and crisp the entire roast chicken. Fat drips into the tray which you can then use to make a delicious chicken gravy.
No Fuss Old School Roast Chicken
Roasting a chicken in the oven just feels so crazily wholesome. It's a roast, it's lunch the next day, it's a soup after the meats all gone. Oven roast a chicken the way Grandma did. This is how you do it!
Things To Eat With Rotisserie Chicken
Salad: Add a salad to your rotisserie chicken. It's Summery, light feel good kid friendly food
Roast Vegetables: Roast colorful vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. Colourful and bright, this is Clean eating comfort food!
Broccoli: This sticky broccoli goes with a simple roast chicken so well. Yum :)
Mashed Potatoes: Roast chicken was made for these mashed potatoes with leeks.
Crusty Bread: Grab a loaf of crusty bread and slice it into thick pieces. The warm rotisserie chicken makes a pretty satisfying and super fast meal
10 Kid Friendly Recipes With Rotisserie Chicken
Enchiladas
This is a dinner that takes a few minutes to prep but guaranteed to please the entire family. Try these OMG delicious Chicken Enchiladas using shredded chicken pieces.
Homemade Pizza
For a Quick pizza, use wholewheat pita pockets or make a batch of this super easy TWO ingredient Pizza dough. Top with Shredded Chicken, Pizza Sauce, Your Choice of Veggies and cheese. BBQ Chicken Pizza
Fried Rice
My kids love this meal and I get to use up my leftovers all in one dish. Heat up a large pan, add chicken, veggies and cooked rice. Once heated through, make a little hole in the centre and add two beaten eggs. Allow to cook for a bit (you want it to look a little like an omelette in the middle) then break up and stir through your rice mix. Serve with a side of Tamari or Soy sauce. Try my Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice recipe here.
Noodles
Quesadillas
Heat up the fry pan with a little olive oil, add a quesadilla and choose your fillings, Try some of these fillings:
- Chicken and Avocado Quesadilla
- Chicken; cheese and spinach
- Chicken, hummus and Coleslaw
- Chicken, tomato and cheese
Soup
Give this Cream of Chicken Soup or Nacho Soups Recipe a go.
Loaded Potatoes
Oven Bake or boil potatoes and load with chicken, enchilada sauce, veggies and cheese or try this stuffed sweet potato recipe here from Delish.
Prep noodles according to instructions. Heat a pan and add chicken, veggies and sauce. Stir through noodles and serve. Related Recipe: Chicken Thai Noodles
Salad
Raid your fridge for ingredients to make a deluxe Chicken Salad. Ingredient ideas: lettuce, hard boiled egg, boiled potato, bacon bits, tomato, celery, carrots, black olives, feta, cucumber, red onion.
Chicken Stir fry
Heat up a large pan, add olive oil and chicken pieces, veggies & mushrooms. Once cooked stir through a quick Teriyaki Sauce.
Quick Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon crushed ginger
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Mix all ingredients together. Pour over stirfry and fry for around a minute.
Pasta
Cook your pasta according to instructions. In a separate pot, heat up some olive oil, chopped onion. Once softened add shredded cooked chicken pieces, bottle of Organic pasta sauce, black olives, sliced red peppers and salt and pepper. Cook for a 8 - 10 minutes for flavors to combine and stir through your cooked pasta.
