Today I thought I’d do something a little different for this week’s meal plan. Normally I pretty much always have on hand in my freezer, chicken breast that I’ve brought home from the grocery and cooked up in my crockpot, then chopped or shredded and put in the freezer in meal size portions, so that it’s ready during the week for meals.
Sometimes though when life is extra busy, or I haven’t been able to make it to the grocery for whatever reason, I like to keep premium canned (cooked) white meat chicken on hand in my pantry, that I can use in a pinch. In the right recipes, your family probably won’t even notice the difference.
Since most canned chicken comes in around 12 ounces a can, I would roughly substitute 1 can (DRAINED) for every 2 small (6 to 8 ounce) cooked chicken breasts, but depending on the recipe, you can either, eyeball it, weigh it, or measure it in measuring cups.
Most of these recipes are very forgiving when it comes to the exact amount of chicken.
Baked Chicken and Spinach Egg Rolls
Chicken, Black Bean & Salsa Soup
A couple of tips on using canned chicken as a substitute: don’t use if a can is dented or bulging, just to be on the safe side. Also, always drain the liquid out of the canned chicken before using it in your recipe, so you won’t throw off the liquid balance. Finally, if you’d like to cut down on some of the sodium that can be in it, you can rinse it and drain it again (sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t), and also look for a quality product, not the bargain basement brand!
I know that for the most part, freshly cooked chicken tastes better, but in real life, it’s not always an option, and these recipes will convince you of the versatility and convenience of substituting canned chicken in a pinch!
Click on the links below for breakfast and lunch inspiration: 
Have a great week!