Cheap and easy canned chicken recipes that will satisfy on a tight grocery budget.
I never thought I would use canned chicken in my life…and then the cost of groceries just kept going up, up, and up. And I kept hearing about others stockpiling cans of chicken.
So, I got curious.
Through trial and error, I created a handful of canned chicken recipes that I'm most proud of (and my husband enjoys eating).
Each of these recipes works because of the secret I learned: canned chicken recipes need to be ones where chicken is not the hero of the meal – it’s included, but is not the main draw.
Let me show you what I mean.
Canned Chicken Recipes
Quickly put together dinner tonight (without having to defrost meat) with these delicious canned chicken recipes.
1. BBQ Canned Chicken Sweet Potatoes
The only thing I wish about this recipe/ Was that I knew about it in my 20s. It’s easy to whip it, and it’s oh-so-satisfying.
Two thumbs up from both myself AND my husband.
Ingredients:
- 2 cans of chicken (1 can per potato)
- 2 sweet potatoes (1 sweet potato per person)
- 3 tbsps. BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup cheese of choice
- 2 tbsps. red onion, chopped
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Wash the sweet potato, and poke a few holes into it with a fork.
- Microwave the sweet potato until it’s tender on the inside (this will depend on the size of your sweet potato – my microwave has a Potato setting and I usually run it through that, twice).
- Open the canned chicken and drain it.
- Mix it together with 1.5 tbsps. of BBQ sauce of choice.
- Cut the sweet potato in half one way, then the other. Mash the insides so that it’s flattened like a plate.
- Add the BBQ chicken and the cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is nice and bubbly and slightly brown, around 8-10 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, and add the chopped red onions on top.
- Devour.
Serves: 2
2. Chicken and Black Bean Taquitos with a Cheesy Tex-Mex Dip
Hands down, you’re looking at my favorite dish on this list.
My husband and I could not get enough of these – we had them for two dinners.
That homemade cheesy sauce. Mwah! It’s amazing.
Ingredients:
- 1-2 canned chicken
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 package of flour tortillas
- Vegetable oil
- 1 package of Hungry Jack Hashbrown Potatoes
- Garlic Powder
- ½ cup of cheese (your choice)
- ½ cup Milk
- 1 tbsp. Flour
- ¼ cup Herdez Salsa Verde Mild
Instructions:
- Make sauce. Mix in ½ cup milk with 1 tbsp flour, and stir until it thickens. Add in ¼ cup Salsa Verde Mild sauce. Stir in ½ cup cheese until it’s an ooey, gooey delightful mess. Set aside.
- Make hashbrowns according to directions. Add in garlic powder to taste (we used ½ tbsp.).
- Open, drain, and rinse black beans. Open and drain the chicken.
- Cook the chicken and black beans together with the hashbrowns.
- Fill each tortilla taco with some of the mixture (not too much, like I did – you want to keep these skinny).
- Heat a pan to medium heat with vegetable oil in it. Fry the taquitos until crispy.
- Serve warm with warm Cheesy Tex-Mex Dip on the side.
Serves: 4
3. Cajun Chicken Alfredo Bake
Did you come here looking for easy canned chicken casserole recipes?
This is it!
I just love the flavor in this one, and it’s very filling.
Ingredients:
- 1 12 oz. package of egg noodles
- 1 14.5 oz. can of alfredo sauce
- 1/2 – 3/4 tbsp. of Cajun or seasoning salt
- 2 cans of chicken
- 1 package of frozen stir-fried vegetables
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Cook the pasta according to directions, and drain.
- Cook the stir fry vegetables with 1 tbsp. of butter in a pan over medium heat. Cook through. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the juices.
- Add 1 tbsp. of seasoning salt or Cajun seasoning to the can of Alfredo sauce. Mix together. Taste, and see if you want to add another ¼ tbsp. or not.
- Mix together the pasta, cooked vegetables, and alfredo sauce. Drain the two cans of chicken, and mix them in.
- Cook at 375° F until bubbly and heated through, or about 10-15 minutes.
Serves: 4-6
4. Chicken BBQ and Mashed Potato Mounds (with Veggies)
I’ll be the first to admit – I used to avoid canned chicken.
Canned tuna? That’s fine.
But canned chicken? Well, the idea just seemed…off to me.
Well, THIS was the first meal that I tried using canned chicken (from Dollar Tree – check out some of my other Dollar Tree meals). And it was so good, that I decided to create more recipes around the cheap ingredient.
I'm glad I did!
Ingredients:
- 2 cans of chicken
- 4 tbsps. BBQ sauce
- 1 boxed instant mashed potatoes
- 1 1/3 cup milk
- 1 bag of buttered carrots
Instructions:
Cook the mashed potatoes according to package directions. Keep warm.
Open and drain the chicken. Add 1 tbsp. of some sort of fat to a pan, and heat the chicken completely through. Add in 4 tbsps. of barbecue sauce and make sure it’s all coated. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the buttered carrots, according to the package.
Serve by putting a mound of mashed potatoes on the plate, then topping with your chicken BBQ portion, plus half the buttered carrots.
Serves: 2
5. Chicken Pasta Salad with Red Pepper Tomato Soup
I remember when Suddenly Salad coming out when I was a tween. Which is so funny, because when I got pregnant with my little guy?
I started to crave it. Even though I hadn’t eaten it in decades!
That’s the inspiration behind this dish.
Hint: you don’t need to buy Suddenly Salad if that’s not your thing – canned chicken can be added to most pasta salads for a cheap protein boost.
Ingredients:
- 1 box Suddenly Salad Pasta Ranch & Bacon
- 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 can of chicken
- 1 box of Pacific Organic Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Instructions:
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Add in the mayonnaise when it cools down.
- Add in 1 can of drained chicken.
- Warm up the soup, enough for each person to get 1 cup.
Serves: 3
It's convenient to be able to pull a protein source straight from the pantry. Without having to defrost meat ahead of time – and perhaps being able to skip the store altogether – I've shown you a bunch of canned chicken recipes you can put on the table this week. Think of all the money you'll save!
Amanda L Grossman
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