6 quick and healthy boiled chicken recipes to use after making chicken stock. In winter, I often have a boiled chicken on my kitchen counter waiting to be used, I stock up my freezer with homemade chicken stock and use the boiled chicken to make some delicious healthy dinners.
Jump to:
- Why you should make your own chicken stock
- How to choose a chicken to boil
- How long should a chicken boil?
- Using chicken stock
- Recipes using homemade chicken stock
- Boiled Chicken Recipes for dinner
- Italian chicken soup minestrone
- Boiled Chicken with couscous andbaked ratatouille
- Caesar saladmade with Homemade Mayonnaise
- Chicken wraps a healthy school lunch
- Savory Crepes Spring Roll Style
- The cosychicken and mushroom pie
Why you should make your own chicken stock
If you add homemade chicken stock to your recipes instead of cube stock, you will be surprised at the amazing improvement of your final dish.
Besides the improved flavor, a homemade stock has a creamy consistency you cannot get with a cube stock.
The bones and the cartilage release collagen-rich molecules making the stock creamy and smooth as gelatine.
I make my chicken stock with a whole chicken and add 1 carrot, 1 celery stick, 1 onion, a bouquet garni (herbs wrapped in leeks leave), 1 tablespoon of coarse salt, and 6 peppercorns.
I cook it in a Pressure cooker and it only takes 30 minutes.
You can find the detailed recipe here: homemade chicken stock
How to choose a chicken to boil
You may think all chickens are equal, but they are not. Especially if you want to boil it.
Here is what you need to look for:
Old chicken
The most important thing about boiled chicken is the age of the chicken.
If you boil a young chicken the cartilage will break and the meat will come apart from the bone. If you want to boil a chicken it is best if the chicken is old.
Free-range chicken
I always buy free-range chicken, the difference in the taste is immense.
Free-range means that the chicken has been grown outdoor and not piled in cages with no chance of movement.
I can compare with the chickens I eat at my sister, the Vet. The meat is full of flavor, nice and firm.
They are even better than the free-range I buy at the supermarket.
Although I do have chickens, I will never eat my chickens, even when they get old and stop laying eggs.
They are a great company, they love been around me.
How long should a chicken boil?
Usually, when I make the stock I boil a whole chicken as I like to use the meat to make some healthy dinners. However, you can only use the carcass without meat.
When I go visit my son Liam at university I make a small amount of chicken stock for him, so I just boil 2 chicken legs or few wings.
A whole chicken should boil for at least 2 hours at low heat.
However, I usually boil my chicken in the pressure cooker as it takes only 35 minutes.
I make stock so frequently that I couldn't possibly boil chickens for hours that often. I had to find a shortcut.
Plus with the pressure cooker, the stock has much more flavor.
The steam is trapped inside the pan at high pressure and absorbs all the flavors which will remain in the broth.
Using chicken stock
Once the stock is done I let it cool down, filter the fat, store it in containers and freeze.
I always keep at least 4 containers of homemade chicken stock in my freezer ready to use.
If you want to know what else I keep in my freezer you can read the article: Once a month freezer meal prep
For more details on how to boil a chicken to make the stock, you can read my recipe homemade chicken stock.
Recipes using homemade chicken stock
Here are some of the recipes where homemade chicken stock is a fundamental component for achieving the best possible results:
- Paella
- Risotto
- Baked rice pilaf
- Rice Timbale
- Roasted Pumpkin soup
- Whatever vegetable soup
Boiled Chicken Recipes for dinner
Once the freezer is stocked up with chicken broth, I have a whole boiled chicken to use.
However, while a light meal made of boiled chicken would be “recommended”, plain boiled chicken recipes can be very boring and dull.
So I looked at ways to improve its flavor and taste and come up with these 6 recipes to revive a boiled chicken into delicious and healthy recipes.
- The healthiest Italian chicken soup minestrone
- Easy boiled chicken with couscous and baked ratatouille
- Caesar salad for a quick lunch
- Chicken wraps a healthy school lunch
- Baked Savory Crepes Spring Roll Style
- The luscious chickenand mushroom pie
Italian chicken soup minestrone
This chicken minestrone is such rich and full-filling meal it is hard to believe it is a healthy and low-fat dinner.
It is a complete meal with plenty of seasonal vegetables, beans, and boiled chicken in a rich and healthy homemade chicken stock.
The combination of homemade chicken stock and beans add to the minestrone a rich texture without the addition of heavy cream or fat.
It is a low calories dinner full of fibers and vitamins, very filling and full of flavor.
The proteins from the chicken and the beans will keep the hunger at bay for the night.
For the boys I add some pastina or Ditalini, to full fill their pasta daily dose (they are half Italian after all).
But I always cook it separate. To find out why check the detailed recipe on the link below.
That is their favorite dinner when they are not feeling well or are tired from a busy day.
All they want is something light, comforting, and quick to eat so they can go to bed without delay.
A good night's sleep is assured for everyone!
📋 Italian Chicken Soup Minestrone
A bowl of homemade chicken soup can warm up any cold winter evening. If you have frozen chicken stock, you can prepare it in no time.
Check out this recipe
Boiled Chicken with couscous andbaked ratatouille
If I want to make something easy and tasty, I serve the boiled chicken with baked ratatouille and couscous.
This baked ratatouille can enhance the most boring food, even a plain boiled chicken.
It is not the usual ratatouille where summer vegetables are stir-fried, here the vegetables are slowly caramelized in the oven.
In this baked ratatouille, the vegetables are caramelized in the oven for 2 hours.
In the end, tomato sauce is added and it is put back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
The vegetables I use are:
- onions
- zucchini
- eggplants
- peppers
As it last in the fridge for few days and every day its flavor gets better, I usually make a huge amount and either freeze it or use it during the week.
No one gets tired of eating it.
It is creamy, rich, and has a delicious flavor of the caramelized vegetables.
I often serve it with black rice, such a delicious, low fat, healthy vegan meal.
📋 Italian Ratatouille Recipe Baked
This is an Italian version of the French ratatouille, quicker and healthier to make than a traditional one and you are not compromising in taste and creaminess. All vegetables are baked in the oven at once. It is a great option for vegans and vegetarians.
Check out this recipe
To make the couscous I season 1 cup of couscous with extra virgin olive oil. Add 1 cup of boiling water and a cube of chicken stock.
I sometimes top the couscous with pistachios which I roast in a hot pan over the stove and lemon zest.
Caesar saladmade with Homemade Mayonnaise
A chicken Caesar salad is a quick and yummy option and easily made, Even better tasting if the salad is seasoned with homemade mayonnaise.
- Cut the chicken breasts into slices, and season with salt, pepper and olive oil.
- Wash the lettuce, and cut the leaves for the salad
- Cut the chicken into strips and add to the salad
- Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and salt in a large cup. Add to the salad and mix
- Sprinkle the Parmesan on top
To make it even more interesting you can serve the Caesar salad wrap, or even better on a homemade wrap, as I do below.
📋 Chicken Caesar salad
Chicken Caesar Salad made with homemade mayo a perfect lunch for a busy day #yourguardianchef #salad #chicken #lunch
Check out this recipe
Chicken wraps a healthy school lunch
A homemade wrap can make any salad the most appealing lunch for children as well as adults.
This homemade wrap has no fat, it is nice and warm and it is quickly done!
You can wrap the chicken Caesar salad I made above, or a healthier salad seasoned with Greek yogurt or Kefir.
In this healthy chicken wrap recipe, I mix together the red cabbage, the carrot the apple, and the boiled chicken and wrap it in a homemade wrap.
📋 Healthy Chicken Salad Wrap
I make these healthy chicken wraps when I have a boring boiled chicken I need to use. I serve it with a healthy salad mix, flavored with some grated Parmesan, and wrapped in these freshly homemade wraps: a bland boiled chicken turned into one of our favorite healthy dinners.
Check out this recipe
Savory Crepes Spring Roll Style
In my fridge, there is always a cabbage!
I don't know about you, but when I buy a cabbage it lasts forever.
As soon as I shred a quarter of cabbage it triples in size so I always have to come up with new ideas on how to use it.
My sister Gilda had the idea to make savory crepes and stuff them with stir-fried cabbage and boiled chicken.
Instead of making a rich bechamel sauce (as we would do in Italy) she just added some soy sauce and put the savory crepes in the oven. The result was surprisingly good.
Everybody loved them as they resembled Chinese Spring Rolls cooked in the oven.
Savory Crepes Spring Roll Style
Make a meal out of nothing usingsavory crepes to make baked spring rolls. I am using cabbage, carrots and some leftover chicken.
Check out this recipe
The cosychicken and mushroom pie
Even if this chicken pie will not be as “healthy” as the other recipes in this list, it is a complete meal that will satisfy all palates, children as well as adults.
So delicious it can be served at dinner parties.
It will require more preparation time than the other 3 recipes but is worth the effort.
The filling is made with boiled chicken, carrots, peas, leaks, and mushrooms, all combined with béchamel sauce.
What makes this pie very special is the addition of lemon zest in the filling.
It adds a fresh citrus contrast to break the richness of the bechamel sauce.
📋Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie With Mushrooms
This double crust chicken pot pie can be made with leftover or boiled chicken or turkey. Mixed with plenty of vegetables all combined with a creamy bechamel sauce. Find out how to make a crunchy crust, never soggy so the pie can be removed from the mold and served on fancy dinnerware.
Check out this recipe
I hope you find some inspiration in any of those recipes. If you decide to make one, you can find more details following their links.
If you are making any of these boiled chicken recipes for dinner, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if youFOLLOW MEonFacebook,YouTube,PinterestandInstagramor sign up to mynewsletter.
