Last Updated May 26th, 2022 at 11:31 pm by Lisa

Keep shredded, sliced, cubed, or finely diced chicken ready to go so you can whip out easy chicken dinner recipes in a rush saving time and money.

No more stressing out about last-minute weeknight dinners while the entire family is hungry!

Oven-baked roast chicken is so easy to do at home with almost no prep work and elevates all your recipes into deliciousness…

How To Make Diced Chicken

1. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Place breasts (split breasts bone-in) and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees, and bake small breasts for 45 minutes and larger ones for 50-55 minutes. Make sure to check the internal temperature with a good meat thermometer, it is cooked at 160 degrees.
3. Let the pieces rest until cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones (save those for stock), and cut into a large dice for recipes.

Types of Chicken At The Grocery Store

When you go to the store, there are several choices of packaged poultry:

• raw whole (cut into pieces)
• boneless skinless thighs
• boneless thighs skin on
• bone-in breasts (also labeled split breasts)
• boneless skinless breasts (boneless breasts)

I do prefer the bone-in/split breasts for these reasons:

• They are a great value price-wise per pound.
• The bones and skin keep the meat moist and full of flavor.
• I often wait until they are on sale, and buy in bulk. In my area in Southern California, $.99/pound is a great bargain!

Note: boneless breasts tend to cook faster as they don’t have bones, so check them at the 30-minute mark.

PRO TIP: When you buy and cook chicken at home, a 2 lb package of in weight will net 1.26 pounds of cooked diced meat once you remove the bones, skin, and after roasting.

PRO TIP: Be careful in handling any raw meat, especially raw chicken. Put your seasoning in small cups, and it is not necessary to rinse it in your sink. You actually increase the chance of cross-contamination!

Remove The Chicken Bones

Save the bones, skin, and fat from this baked chicken breast recipe! That is one of my longest-known kitchen secrets. Handed down to me through all the great cooks in my family.

The best way to make Homemade Stock is from saving all the bones, skin, and fat in zip-top bags in the freezer. Save your rotisserie bones and make this easy recipe for the bone broth at home.

In my opinion, it is a waste to use a whole Chicken for stock. They are very expensive, and after I tested them, found no benefit to using up a whole bird.

Creative Ways To Cook & Flavor Chicken

With just a few simple ingredients, you can add amazing flavor and create so many recipe ideas. You can place the raw meat in an airtight container with the seasoning and let it marinate for a few hours in the fridge until you are ready to make it. Whether you use an oven and roast it the way I love it or use your pressure cooker, a slow cooker, instant pot, fire grill, or saute in on the stovetop. You can add all kinds of flavor to your recipe.

Italian: Put it in with Italian seasoning, olive oil, and crushed whole garlic cloves in a sealed container in the fridge, then roast in the oven on a sheet pan. You can even use Italian dressing for a delicious marinade.

Mexican: For an easy dinner, one of my favorite things is to make chicken tacos. Saute cubed meat in a cast iron pan with a package of taco seasoning, some orange and or lime juice, onion powder, cumin powder, and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Stir with a wooden spoon over medium-high heat, and then heat up the tortillas. Serve with warm tortillas, black beans, and taco toppings like cheese, green onions, Mexican pickled red onion, and sour cream.

Indian: garam masala, cardamom, coriander, a pinch of brown sugar and cayenne pepper, and garlic powder with a drizzle of vegetable oil.

Buffalo: place pieces in with buffalo hot sauce then bake in a dish..

French Tarragon: toss in olive oil, dijon mustard, fresh tarragon, and a sprinkle of herbs de Provence.

Asian Honey Garlic: place uncooked meat in a zip-top bag with honey, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, chili powder, and fresh garlic. Bake, dice, and serve over white or brown rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Diced Chicken Recipes

You never have too many chicken dinner ideas for busy weeknights! Here are a few of my favorite leftover chicken recipe ideas, hope they become some of your family favorites.

Once you have some tucked in the freezer, there are so many different ways to use it up in meal planning for delicious dinners the whole family will love.

Cobb Salad became famous in Hollywood at the Original Brown Derby restaurant, it is served with a Special French Dressing akaCobb Salad Dressing and is loaded with delicious toppings like tomato, diced chicken, crumbled bacon, avocado, and chopped eggs. The classic flavors from simple ingredients make this the Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. It is comfort food in a bowl and a great way to use up leftover chicken. Roasting the meat and a squeeze of lemon (my secret ingredient) add amazing flavor to this classic homemade soup!

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup is a simple recipe and a hearty dinner. Loaded with juicy tender chicken, vegetables, and gnocchi which are soft puffy “Italian dumplings”. Chicken Enchiladas are a comforting casserole layered in a baking dish with corn tortillas, Mexican Oaxaca cheese, black olives, shredded chicken, and fire-roasted salsa verde for added depth of flavor from south of the border.

More Chicken Recipes

Learn how to make your own Homemade Chicken Stock, also known as bone broth. It is the perfect way to use leftover bones from your cubed chicken. Whip up this Buffalo Chicken Appetizer made with tortilla chips, buffalo wing sauce, blue cheese, and crisp celery. It comes together in 20 minutes with just simple 6 ingredients. It takes a nod to hot wings, and is so easy!

Grill Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken, and pineapple, and add some coconut lime rice into pineapple bowls. A gorgeous way to entertain for luaus, graduation celebrations, pool parties, or summer cookouts. Easy pretzel-coated Honey Mustard Chicken can be on the table for your family in under an hour, with four simple store-bought ingredients and a 10-minutes to put together this chicken dinner.