We love canned chicken recipes because they’re typically quick, easy, and frugal! Not having to mess with cooking and shredding chicken is such a time saver on busy days. Plus, I always have it on hand in my pantry.
Living out here on the farm is awesome! There’s just something about being able to go for a walk and not having a single car go by. Being able to go outside and pick produce from my garden in my bathrobe without anyone seeing is awfully nice too! Calling the middle of nowhere home is a good thing!
Another great thing about being out here is that we don’t go to the grocery store ALL the time! I don’t even know how much money I’d spend on groceries if I went all the time because everything is so tempting!
We do a massive stock up once a year and buy all the toothpaste, shaving cream, soap, etc. About once a month I try and hit the store and stock up on non-perishables like plastic bags, oil, peanut butter, etc. About every other week I go to buy fresh fruits and veggies, milk, bread, etc. Of course, this schedule isn’t set in stone and during crops, or other super busy times, we don’t make it to town for a long time.
My family really does live off of the food in our food storage and pantry most of the time. I also keep the freezer fairly well stocked too. Having staples like canned chicken is a lifesaver for throwing together recipes really quickly.
Today, I’m sharing a bunch of recipes with canned chicken to help you work through that food storage and hopefully make life easier for you!
What brand of canned chicken is best?
My family likes this kind, and we like Kirkland Canned Chicken Breast. {Amazon Affiliate} The most important thing to me is that they are made with chicken breast and not the other parts of meat. It’s a personal preference, but I like it best! It doesn’t matter if it’s canned chicken breast meat or chicken chunks, either will work great.
How to store canned chicken
Store canned chicken in a cool dry place. If you have a concrete floor put a barrier (carpet, cardboard, plywood, etc) between the cans and the floor. Newer concrete has moisture in it and can rust cans.
How long can canned chicken be stored?
You should always check the expiration, or best by, date on cans and use it before that date. Be sure to rotate older cans to the front of shelves and put new cans in the back to make sure you’re using the older food first.
Most commercially canned chicken will last for 3-5 years, depending on the storage conditions.
How long will open canned chicken last in the refrigerator? Be sure to store it in an airtight container, not in the tin can. It will last up to four days.
How to use canned chicken in recipes.
Canned chicken is best in casseroles, soups, sandwiches, quesadillas, or other recipes where the chicken is mixed with other ingredients.
- Rotisserie Chicken – You can use it exactly as you would use rotisserie chicken in recipes. Drain any liquid off the chicken and break the canned chicken up with a fork before using it.
- Shredded Chicken – Use canned chicken exactly as you would use prepared shredded chicken. Be sure to check out how to shred chicken with an electric mixer if you love shredding your own chicken.
Recipes Using Canned Chicken
See my notes at the bottom of this post for tips on swapping chicken for ground beef. Using canned chicken in these super easy appetizers makes them even faster to make!
Easy Sandwiches with Canned Chicken Meat
Making chicken salad sandwiches with canned chicken is so easy and a great goto idea! Here are more easy chicken sandwich and quesadilla recipes for quick lunches!
Pizza made with canned chicken breast
Everyone loves pizza! I created these chicken pizza recipes using leftover grilled chicken, which I prefer to canned chicken. But, when you’re eating out of our pantry canned chicken will work great! Feel free to get creative with the crust. Bagels, English muffins, toast, tortillas, French bread, pita bread, and flatbread are great options!
Soup recipes made with canned chicken
Soup is one of my very favorite ways to use canned chicken. It’s quick and easy and works really well in soup!
Casseroles made with canned chicken
Casseroles were created for people eating from their food storage/pantry! Most of these casseroles use staples like canned food, rice, pasta, etc. Grated cheese freezes really well which makes it a fantastic food storage item.
Pasta and Salad made with canned chicken
Pasta is one of the most common pantry ingredients because it stores so well. Make it a main dish pasta salad by adding chicken.
How to substitute chicken for beef?
You guys I have to be 100% honest here. We eat beef about 95% of the time. We raise our own beef and have it in the freezer ALL the time. We’re spoiled and I know it! I love red meat and I’m not sure I could live without it!
With that having been said, you can easily substitute chicken for beef in lots of recipes. Of course, you wouldn’t want to substitute chicken for beef in my Classic Roast Beef Recipe, and I wouldn’t even use ground chicken in my Hawaiian Burgers. I suppose you could, I just wouldn’t and don’t even have suggestions on how to make that workout.
Casseroles, soups, salads, and pasta recipes are all great places to use chicken instead of beef. When a recipe calls for cooked ground beef or cooked and shredded roast beef you can easily use canned chicken breast meat instead. Here are a few recipes that could easily be swapped over.
When switching from beef to chicken swap beef broth to chicken broth. I usually use cream of mushroom soup in beef recipes and cream of chicken in chicken recipes. That’s another easy substitution. Let me know if you have any questions about how to make the swap!
Michael Lagana says
I make chicken pot pies, 6″ pie pans, ready made pie crusts, can mixed vegetables, chicken gravy, can chicken, bake in oven.
Amy Engberson says
Thank you for sharing! You must have been inspired because I’ve been thinking about chicken pot pies lately! They’re so comforting and yummy!
Marha says
Thank you for all you do, the recipes and the farm. We owe alot to the American Farmer.
Be safe.
Martha
I will be making some of there canned chicken recipes.
Amy Engberson says
Hi Martha! I hope these canned chicken recipes will help you get to enjoy your food storage! And thank you for recognizing the importance of farmers! It’s getting scary out there and I think people are starting to not take food for granted. Most days we LOVE what we do! Stay healthy!
Sonia Kuczynski says
I never thought about canned chicken breasts and it sounds really good and convenient in times like this and practical and it lasts well in the pantry , what could be better, thanks for this tip
Amy Engberson says
Food storage is a wonderful thing. Then sometimes we all wonder what in the world to do with it! Hopefully, these will keep dinnertime full of fresh new ideas!