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A much-loved leftover-friendly meal, this recipe for chicken Caruso is a great way to use up some leftover chicken. Quick to make and surprisingly nutritious, this is the perfect weeknight meal for any occasion.
Why I Think You’ll Love This Recipe
- This recipe is all about using up leftovers, especially cooked chicken or turkey from a meal the night before.
- From chicken and macaroni to pimentos and almonds, this recipe combines a whole host of different, random things from your cupboards into one dish.
Leftover Friendly Chicken Caruso
To a lot of people, the list of ingredients in this recipe might seem pretty strange but it is a great way to use up leftovers, it also has the really interesting quality of just… working.
Despite how odd many of the ingredients seem when paired, when it is all combined together, it somehow just works!
How To Make Chicken Caruso
- Prepare and cook the macaroni in chicken broth but DO NOT drain.
- Fry bacon, green pepper and onions.
- Stir in the macaroni and broth mixture and the remaining ingredients
- Heat it through, and then serve
Help! I can’t find pimentos!
I had this problem too. They are typically sold in small cans but, at times, can be super tough to find. If you find yourself getting frustrated and unable to locate any, don’t worry, you can replace them.
Regular red bell peppers would work just fine, but any kind of sweet pepper that doesn’t have too much spice in it is an acceptable substitute.
Can you use a different pasta in this recipe?
if you don’t particularly like the shape of macaroni, you can absolutely use a totally different type of pasta altogether.
Try and stick with smaller shapes, though – large pasta shapes will cover and wrap around the other ingredients, and the flavor of the dish will get lost.
More Pasta Recipes
Regardless of how you prepare the meal, the important thing is to enjoy it! This was a new one for me, I was not expecting to make something with such a varied list of ingredients that I would not have typically thought of, but I was pleasantly surprised. It really is quite good!
I hope you like it too!
Happy Cooking,
Karlynn
Chicken Caruso
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Course
- Dinner
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 6
- Calories
- 469
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup elbow macaroni or corkscrew pasta (uncooked)
- 2 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup green pepper (finely chopped)
- 1/3 cup onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cups cooked chicken or turkey (chopped)
- 2 cups old cheddar cheese (grated)
- 1/4 cup pimiento
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup peas (frozen)
- 3 tablespoons cooking sherry
Instructions
- In a saucepan bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook for 10 minutes until tender. Do not drain
- In a large skillet fry the diced bacon until crisp. Add the green pepper and the onion and cook until the onion is tender. Drain off any excess fat.
- Stir in the macaroni – broth mixture and the remaining ingredients. Heat it through, then serve.
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Darby Jo Karwat says
This recipe is so good that I couldn’t STOP myself from eating it! So delicious, thank you!
Karlynn Johnston says
I’m so glad that you liked it!
Olive Cribar says
Chicken Caruso. Is this supposed to be a side dish? I cup of pasta does not seem very much for 6 servings
Karlynn Johnston says
It is meant as something that should go a the side salad, if you look those six servings are still 500 Calories each. So if you divided into four for the average family, it is still going to be a high calorie Dish that should be paired with a salad.