How To Make Sure Your Grocery Store Rotisserie Chicken Is Up To Par

Rotisserie chickens from your local grocery store are both convenient and (more often than not) quite delicious. Buying a rotisserie chicken is an easy way to incorporate protein into your dinner without having to do too much work. But, you want to make sure that you buy a fresh one — and there are some tips to keep in mind to make sure that you pick out the best chicken.

One of the most important tips? Knowing what time the rotisserie chickens are made so you know when to show up at the store and get it at its freshest. Every grocery store is different and will have a different timeline for the chickens. If you shop at Whole Foods, you may want to show up around 11 a.m. or noon — they typically start cooking the chickens shortly after they open in the morning, so that's when the first batch will become available. However, most grocery stores continue cooking the chickens throughout the day, so there are other key times that you can show up.

Considering that it varies so much from store to store, there's really only one solution: Ask one of the workers at your go-to grocery store. They'll be able to tell you the cooking schedule for the chickens so that you know exactly what time to buy a super-fresh chicken.

Once you have your hands on a fresh rotisserie chicken, all that's left to do is figure out what you want to do with that delicious meat — the possibilities are nearly endless. For example, maybe you whip up some chicken tacos. This dish allows the flavor of the perfectly cooked chicken to be front and center and also brings in some other delicious ingredients, such as fresh salsa or homemade queso. Similarly, relying on rotisserie chicken makes putting together a plate of chicken nachos a breeze. 

Or, you could put together a chicken rice bowl with a generous helping of shredded rotisserie chicken pieces, rice, veggies, and perhaps a spicy aioli. You can also use the rotisserie chicken for a chicken pasta dish, such as our creamy chicken Alfredo pasta. Another idea: How about making a homemade barbecue chicken pizza?

After you make the first dish, you may find yourself with leftover rotisserie chicken. Some ideas to use up the rest of that chicken include making a buffalo chicken dip or chicken chilaquiles.