11 Easy Recipes with Chicken Stock (Besides Soup!)

Four whole chicken legs in a dutch oven with chicken broth after braising — The Spruce Eats / Diana Rattray

Whether you've made amazing chicken stock or have some leftovers from a recipe, you might wonder what to do with it. Chicken stock or broth can be used for all sorts of delicious dishes, not just soups and stews. From a cooking liquid for grains like rice and quinoa to a braising liquid for chicken or vegetables, it's a very useful ingredient that brings extra flavor to a recipe.

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Oven-Braised Rosemary Chicken Legs

The Spruce Eats / Diana Rattray

Braising meat means it is first browned in a skillet and then finishes cooking in liquid. Braised chicken legs make a fabulous dinner that is simple to prepare. This recipe uses chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks) slowly cooked in chicken stock and white wine, making the meat so tender that it falls off the bone. The flavors of onion, garlic, and rosemary add richness to the dish.
02 of 11

Garlic Roasted Chicken With White Wine Sauce

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Roasted chicken is one of the tastiest, most satisfying dishes you can make and is especially good when served with a white wine gravy. While you don't need a stock to roast a chicken, you do need it to make the sauce that goes with it. By partially cooking the chicken with the chicken stock, white wine, and garlic, a flavorful sauce develops that's great for drizzling over the finished dish.
03 of 11

Perfectly Poached Chicken Breasts

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Poached chicken breasts make a delicious filling for burritos and tacos, a topping for salads, or can be used in chicken salad or soups. When done properly, poaching can yield succulent, tender meat—not the dry, hard, boiled chicken you may be thinking of. Using chicken broth adds tons more flavor than plain water, and the cooking liquid can be used to make soup.
04 of 11

Hainanese Chicken Rice

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

This simple but delicious dish from Singapore combines tender poached chicken with fragrant rice. What makes Hainanese chicken rice special is the cooking liquid—the chicken is poached in chicken stock and aromatics, adding flavor to the meat. Then that extra delicious liquid is used to cook the rice, infusing everything with chickeny goodness.

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05 of 11

Shrimp Risotto

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Risotto is made by stirring hot stock into arborio rice and cooking until it's absorbed and the rice is nice and creamy. Chicken stock is ideal to use when making most risotto and brings a nice, rich flavor to the dish, which is enhanced by white wine, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. This version is topped with perfectly cooked shrimp. white wine. and garlic sauce.
06 of 11

Braised Baby Bok Choy

The Spruce Eats

Baby bok choy tastes best when it's cooked until crisp-tender. Chicken broth is the ideal liquid in which to braise the tiny greens until they are perfectly cooked. In this recipe, a little soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil give the veggies extra flavor, creating a dish the entire family will enjoy.
07 of 11

Glazed Carrots

Gentl and Hyers / Getty Images

For a simple side to go alongside any poultry recipe, glazed carrots are a great choice. This glaze is created with a sugar and chicken stock reduction and can be seasoned with your favorite herbs, such as mint, tarragon, or parsley. Make sure not to add salt until the end since the ingredients concentrate as the glaze develops; adding salt early on will make the carrots too salty in the end.
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Eggplant Ratatouille

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Use up your chicken stock while you try your hand at some classic French cuisine. Ratatouille is a traditional dish featuring eggplant, tomato, and zucchini, ideal to make at the end of summer when the vegetables are bountiful. While it's often enjoyed as a side with lamb or poultry, it can become a meal of its own when served over rice or couscous.

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09 of 11

Wild Rice Stuffing

The Spruce Eats / Laurel Randolph

Chicken broth adds lots of extra flavor to grains such as rice, and adds a delicious savory note to this wild rice stuffing. With all of the flavors of traditional stuffing, this dish swaps the bread for a blend of wild and white rice. Celery, onion, mushrooms, dried cranberries, and pecans all add delicious texture. Don't leave out the fresh sage and parsley.
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Easy Quinoa Recipe

The Spruce Eats

Quinoa is a fantastic alternative to rice and other grains. However, it needs a little help in the taste department. Using chicken stock as the cooking liquid infuses this gluten-free grain with a good dose of flavor. This recipe uses both white and red varieties and gets an extra boost from minced onion and a little butter. Serve it alongside chicken or fish for a memorable meal.
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Chicken Velouté Sauce

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

All you need to create one of the five mother sauces of classical French cuisine is chicken stock, clarified butter, and flour. Velouté (pronounced "vuh-loo-TAY") sauce really is that easy, and learning how to make it will make you look like a master chef. When finished with cream, butter, and lemon juice, this sauce becomes suprême sauce, which is considered a secondary mother sauce. It's a fabulous way to dress up any simple chicken dish.

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