• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
    • Privacy Policy, Disclosures & Disclaimers
    • Contact / PRs / Review Policy / Link Policy
  • Recipe Index
  • Ingredients
  • As Seen
  • Credit Crunch Munch
  • Extra Veg
  • Work With Me
Fuss Free Flavours

Fuss Free Flavours

Easy recipes you will make again | Travel | Reviews

  • Home
  • All Recipes
    • Quick & Easy
    • Recipes by Course
      • Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
      • Main Meal
      • Side Dishes
      • Drinks
      • Starters & Light Bites
      • Desserts & Puddings
      • Baking
        • Biscuits and cookies
        • Bread Recipes
        • Cake
        • Cupcakes
        • Muffins
        • Pie
      • Soup
      • Salad
      • Dips, Dressings, & Sauces
      • Easy Jam, Jelly & Preserve Recipes
    • Recipes by Cuisine
      • American
      • Chinese
      • French
      • Italian
      • Other Cuisines
      • Vegetarian Recipes
      • Vegan Recipes
  • Recipes by Main Ingredient
    • Beef
    • Poultry
    • Pork
    • Lamb
    • Game
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Beans & Lentils
    • Pasta
    • Grains & Rice
    • Fruit
    • Vegetables
    • Dairy
    • Booze
  • Travel
    • Rest of Europe
    • French
    • Rest of the world
    • Food Origins and Stories
You are here: Home / Recipes / Recipes by Cuisine / Indian / Easy Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani

Easy Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani

Published on January 30, 2019 by Helen Best-Shaw 20 Comments
Last Updated on February 18, 2022

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe
Chicken Biryani Easy

This easy chicken biryani is a quick & easy one pot ideal for mid week meals. Perfect for using up leftover roast chicken. Ready in 40 minutes. Freezes well. Gluten and dairy free.

Recipe includes instructions for Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker and detailed notes on ingredient substitutions and additions as well as WeightWatchers Points.

 top down view of leftover roast chicken biryani. Garnished with coriander leaves, slivered almonds and a slice of lemon, and presented in a brown flat bowl

Everything You Need To Know

  • Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani
  • How To Make Easy Chicken Biryani – Step by Step
  • Easy Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani Recipe Notes & Substitutions
    • Ingredient Substitutions
    • Cooking Times
  • How To Make Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani in an Instant Pot
  • Can I Freeze Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani?
  • More ideas using leftover roast chicken
  • More Rice One Pots and Rice Dishes
  • Easy Chicken Biryani (using leftover roast chicken)
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Notes

Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani

With this easy chicken biryani you can have dinner on the table in 40 minutes with only 10 minutes hands on time!  I usually make double and freeze the leftovers for another meal, or take to work as a packed lunch the next day.

I’m always keen to make the most of leftovers, and the humble Sunday roast means lovely leftovers.  Even though I usually cook for just the two of us I always buy a large 2kg+ chicken, as I thinks that they taste better, and I love the leftovers.   Similarly I always roast lots of extra vegetables and use them later in the week in soups, broths and frittatas.

This recipe for leftover roast chicken biryani is simple, tasty and adaptable: just adjust the spicing to your preference.

A traditional biryrani will have layers of rice and meat, this dish mixes everything together, and of course isn’t in any way authentic, but is no less delicious. You can make your own stock, or use good quality ready made, pot or cube.

If you make your own stock (easy, thrifty and highly recommended), then you can make the stock using the chicken carcass, to really eke out every morsel of flavour from the bird.  Once I’ve stripped my carcass I freeze it until I have a few then make a big batch of stock.

I first made this recipe (and prefer it with) basmati rice, but any long-grain rice will also work. You could also use brown rice, but you would need to adjust cooking times.

Recipe was photographed using long grain rice.

How To Make Easy Chicken Biryani – Step by Step

A top down view of the ingredients for leftover roast chicken biryani

Step 1 – Measure out all the ingredients. I find a few moments organizing at the start of any cooking pays dividends later. I’m much less likely to leave something out, or use the wrong quantity, if it’s sitting in a small bowl in front of me. Heat your oven to 180°C / 350°F / GM4.

Making leftover roast chicken biryani. A top down view of a large white casserole dish in which is chopped, cooked onion to which spieces have been just added.

Step 2 – Heat a large casserole dish on the stove top over a medium heat, and add the oil. Chop the onion, and fry until it starts to turn translucent, stirring frequently. Crush the garlic and add it to the onion, along with the spices.

If you don’t have leftover chicken, then cut up skinless breasts or boned thighs into bite sized pieces and add them at this stage.

Making leftover roast chicken biryani. The onion, garlic and spices have been well mixed and cooked for a few minutes

Step 3 – Stir the spices in, and cook until they start to release those delicious aromas.

Making leftover roast chicken biryani step by step. Rice and leftover roast chicken have been added to the onion and spices.

Step 4 – Add the rice and leftover roast chicken, and mix well to coat the rice and chicken in the spice mixture.

Making leftover roast chicken biryani step by step.A top down view of a white casserole dish holding the biryani. Stock has been added to the rice, chicken, onions and spices.

Step 5 – Add the stock, stir, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook in the oven for 25 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the liquid. While it is cooking, put the peas and corn in a bowl and cover with boiling water to defrost them.

A top down view of a dish of leftover roast chicken biryani. Fresh spinach and peas and corn have been added

Step 6 – Drain the peas and corn and add to the pot along with the spinach and mango chutney, stir well and return to the oven to cook for a further 5 minutes.

Making leftover roast chicken biryani. A top down view of a white casserole dish to which all ingredients have been added. The biryani is ready to go in the oven and cook.

Step 7 – Squeeze in a little lemon juice and it’s ready to serve! Garnish with some fresh herbs, a wedge of lemon and some almond flakes and enjoy!

Easy Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani Recipe Notes & Substitutions

This is a very easy and forgiving dish providing you get the rice to liquid ratio right.

Ingredient Substitutions

Rice – We’ve tested this with both basmati and long grain rice (shown in the photos). It is far better with basmati rice which has that lovely fragrance. If you use long grain rice you will need to cook in the oven for about another 5 minutes.

Use Leftover Roast Turkey, Pork or Lamb – We used leftover roast chicken, you can equally well use leftover roast turkey, pork or lamb.

No Leftover Roast Meat? – If you are using fresh, raw meat then cut into chunks and fry along with the onion at the start of cooking.

Make it Vegetarian or Vegan – Leave out the meat and add a can of rinsed chickpeas or other beans and use vegetable stock.

No Mango Chutney? – Use good dollop of any other chutney; even a spoonful of apricot jam would be delicious.

Add more vegetables – This leftover roast turkey is the perfect dish for adding extra veg to. Add chopped leftover roast vegetables (potatoes, parsnip and carrots work well), stir in florets of cauliflower and broccoli 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time or substitute any leafy green for the spinach.

Garnishes – Again, use what you have, I love fresh coriander (cilantro) but any fresh herbs are delicious. Garnish with toasted flaked almonds, cashews or pine nuts for some texture and crunch.

Cooking Times

Oven cooking time will be about 25 minutes for basmati rice when you add boiling hot stock, or bring the pot to a simmer before you put it in the oven. With different types of rice or cold stock allow another 5–15 minutes. I’d check after 25 minutes and then adjust the extra cooking time.

A closeup of leftover roast chicken biryani. The vibrant yellow chicken and rice dish is in a shallow brown bowl, garnished with a slice of lemon, slivered almonds and coriander leaves. In the background is a white plate on which more curry has been served.

How To Make Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani in an Instant Pot

Absolutely, yes this dish is perfect for the Instant Pot or any other electric pressure cooker!

Use the sauté function to cook the onion, garlic and spice as above.

Add the rice and an equal volume of stock. Then stir in the turkey, and set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for three minutes.

Let the pressure release naturally for eighteen minutes with the keep warm setting.

Add in the defrosted peas and corn, with the spinach and mango chutney, stir, replace the lid and leave on warm for 5 minutes.

Can I Freeze Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani?

Absolutely. I pack into plastic takeout trays and freeze then microwave from frozen. Remember to freeze as soon as the dish has cooled.

More ideas using leftover roast chicken

Try my leftover roast chicken frittata or my healthy Coronation chicken.

More Rice One Pots and Rice Dishes

  • Spanish chicken
  • Greek chicken
  • Moroccan chicken
  • Nandos rice
  • Spicy rice
  • Mushroom rice
  • Pilau rice (Pressure Cooker Pilau rice)
  • Leftover turkey biryani
  • Leftover lamb biryani
  • Other easy rice recipes 
Tried this recipe?If you try this recipe please tag #FussFreeFlavours on Instagram or Twitter. It is amazing for me when for me when you make one of my recipes and I really do love to see them. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thanks for reading Fuss Free Flavours!
A closeup of leftover roast turkey biryani. The vibrant yellow turkey and rice dish is in a shallow brown bowl, garnished with a slice of lemon, slivered almonds and coriander leaves. In the background is a white plate on which more curry has been served.
Print Recipe
BookmarkSaved!
4.94 from 16 votes

Easy Chicken Biryani (using leftover roast chicken)

This leftover roast chicken biryani is a quick, quick easy and delicious one pot meal for all the family  which uses up leftover roast chicken. Dinner on the table in 40 minutes with about 10 minutes hands on time. Make double and freeze leftovers for another day – or take to work as a packed lunch.
Recipe includes instructions for Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker as well as detailed notes on ingredient substitutions and additions as well as WeightWatchers Points.
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Helen Best-Shaw
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time40 mins
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs vegetable oil
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 clove garlic (crushed)
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp paprika (or mild chilli)
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 300 g leftover roast chicken (cut into chunks)
  • 300 g basmati rice
  • ½ cup frozen sweet corn
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • 550 ml chicken stock
  • 2 tbs mango chutney
  • 1 handful baby spinach leaves
  • lemon slices
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Conventional Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / GM4. Gather your ingredients.
  • Pour the oil into a flame proof casserole dish and fry the onion for a few minutes over a low heat.
    1 tbs vegetable oil, 1 clove garlic, 1 onion
  • Add the crushed garlic and spices and cook for a further few minutes until the onion is soft. Stir well to release the aroma of the spices. Remove from the heat.
    1 clove garlic, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp garam masala, ½ tsp paprika, 4 cardamom pods
  • Stir in the chicken and rice into the onions and spices.
    300 g leftover roast chicken, 300 g basmati rice
  • Pour the stock over. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the stock. While the dish cooks in the oven, pour some boiling water over the peas and corn in a bowl to defrost them.
    ½ cup frozen sweet corn, 550 ml chicken stock, ½ cup frozen peas
  • Drain the peas and corn. Stir through the rice with the mango chutney and spinach. And add a little water if the rice is slightly chalky to bite. Adjust the seaoning if necessary. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
    2 tbs mango chutney, 1 handful baby spinach leaves, salt and pepper to taste
  • Garnish with lemon slices. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon.
    lemon slices

Instant Pot / Electric Pressure Cooker Instructions

  • Use the sauté function to cook the onion, garlic and spice as above
    1 tbs vegetable oil, 1 clove garlic, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp garam masala, 4 cardamom pods, ½ tsp paprika
  • Add the rice and an equal volume of stock stir in the chicken, and set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for three minutes.
    300 g leftover roast chicken, 550 ml chicken stock, 300 g basmati rice
  • Let the pressure release naturally for eighteen minutes with the keep warm setting.
  • Add in the defrosted peas and corn, with the spinach and mango chutney, stir, replace the lid and leave on warm for 5 minutes.
    ½ cup frozen peas, 2 tbs mango chutney, 1 handful baby spinach leaves, ½ cup frozen sweet corn

Notes

This is a very forgiving dish providing you get the rice to liquid ratio right.
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
Rice – We’ve tested this with both basmati and long grain rice (shown in the photos). It is far better with basmati rice which has that lovely fragrance.     If you use long grain rice you will need to cook in the oven for about another 5 minutes.
Use Leftover Roast Turkey, Pork or Lamb – We used leftover roast chicken, you can equally well use leftover roast turkey, pork or lamb.
No Leftover Roast Meat? – If you are using fresh, raw meat then cut into chunks and fry along with the onion at the start of cooking.
Make it Vegetarian or Vegan – leave out the meat and add a can of rinsed chickpeas or other beans and use vegetable stock.
No Mango Chutney? Add any other chutney, or even a dollop of apricot jam.
Add more vegetables – This leftover roast turkey is the perfect dish for adding extra veg to.  Add chopped leftover roast vegetables (potatoes, parsnip and carrots work well), stir in florets of cauliflower and broccoli 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time or substitute any leafy green for the spinach.
Garnishes – Again use what you have, I love fresh coriander (cilantro) but and fresh herbs are delicious.   Garnish with toasted flaked almonds, cashews or pine nuts for some texture and crunch.
COOKING TIME
Oven cooking time will be about 25 minutes for basmati rice when you add boiling hot stock, or bring the pot to a simmer before you put it in the oven.  With different types of rice or cold stock allow another 5-15 minutes.   I’d check after 25 minutes and then adjust the extra cooking time.
NUTRITION
This recipe has 14 Weight Watchers SmartPoints per serving.
LEFTOVERS
Leftovers can be frozen and then zapped in the microwave to reheat.
 
• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.
Nutrition Facts
Easy Chicken Biryani (using leftover roast chicken)
Amount Per Serving (4 servings)
Calories 484 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 28mg9%
Sodium 1106mg48%
Potassium 593mg17%
Carbohydrates 83g28%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 22g44%
Vitamin A 985IU20%
Vitamin C 13.8mg17%
Calcium 59mg6%
Iron 2.8mg16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Main
Cuisine: British, Indian
Keyword: Chicken biryani, leftover chicken biryani
Delicious Recipes Emailed To You!Get easy, tasty recipes for FREE when you subscribe! Click to Subscribe Now!!

Related Posts

  • Close up of leftover chicken curry
    Leftover Chicken Curry
  • A close up of leftover roast chicken frittata, with a slice cut out and placed on top.
    How to Make Leftover Roast Chicken Frittata
  • Leftover roast turkey biryani. A close up of the dish arranged in a brown flat bowl, garnished with coriander, almond slivers and a half slice of lemon.
    Leftover Roast Turkey Biryani Recipe
  • A close up of a bowl of yellow leftover lamb biryani with green spinach and parsley.
    Leftover Lamb Biryani Recipe

Filed Under: Easy Rice Recipes, Indian, Main Meal, Poultry, Quick & Easy, Recipes Ingredients: Chicken, Curry, Rice

Previous Post: « Instant Pot Seville Orange Marmalade (Electric Pressure Cooker)
Next Post: Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce »

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Tawnie Kroll

    5 stars
    I love the step by step photos, thank you for sharing this yummy recipe!

    Reply
  2. Valentina

    5 stars
    We always seem to have leftover chicken. This recipe looks SO tasty, and I love all of the different cooking options.

    Reply
  3. Ginny

    5 stars
    There are so many great flavors in your recipes. I just love your inventiveness!

    Reply
  4. Sonia

    5 stars
    I Love biryani and this looks and sounds super delicious and easy!

    Reply
  5. Lisa Huff

    5 stars
    Wow so many great flavors with the turmeric, garam masala, paprika, cardamom… I bet it makes your house smell amazing!

    Reply
  6. Kelly Watson

    5 stars
    I absolutely love Biryani, always so tasty and moreish. Great idea to use up your leftover chicken from a roast.

    Reply
  7. Wendy M

    5 stars
    I love the flavours of a biryani. Nothing too hot or overpowering, and very very tasty. I could easy eat this any day of the week.

    Reply
  8. Dan

    5 stars
    Nice to have an easy to make recipe that results in a thoroughly tasty dish. You can’t knock a decent biryani.

    Reply
  9. Erin

    5 stars
    I love finding recipes that use leftovers like this. I hate waste. I often make a rice dish and throw the meat in, so this is ideal and sounds so delicious.

    Reply
  10. Natalie M

    5 stars
    This is an ideal recipe for using my Instant Pot. I’m more than certain my kids would love it.

    Reply
  11. Lynne

    4 stars
    I’m not very good with hot and spicy food but this sounds more tasty than spicy. I will have to give it a go.

    Reply
  12. Susan Robinson

    5 stars
    I do like a quick and easy supper that the whole family can eat. Such a good recipe, definitely book marking this one.

    Reply
  13. Amber

    5 stars
    Nice to see an easy recipe for Biryani. I have a lovely book of curries, but the recipe in there has always scared me. It looked complicated. This looks ideal and sounds yummy.

    Reply
  14. Brenda

    5 stars
    Looks delicious, Helen. I love rice dishes and this has all the added flavours.

    Reply
    • Beth

      I made this. I liked the ease and the taste but there is not enough fluid and i ended up taking it out of the oven, adding more liquid and seasoning and cooking it on the stove top for another ten minutes and allowing it to steam for ten minutes. Even then it was still a bit grainy but i enjoyed it. My indian cook book suggests 450ml stock for 175g basmati and simmered for 12 mins before putting in the oven, covered for 25.

      Reply
      • Helen

        Hi Beth, Sorry you needed to add more liquid and cook for longer, I’ve tested this numerous times ad it always works for me. The cooking time will be longer if the liquid is added cool rather than hot, and of course if you add it very hot and it boils, you then need to add extra to make up for any that evaporates. You also need a pot with a well fitting lid.

        Reply
  15. Frank

    I’m going to make this recipe in my I P but confused about gram conversions and ml conversions so that rice and liquid are equal because if not may be forgiving thx

    Reply
    • Helen Best-Shaw

      you want equal volume of rice and liquid for the instant pot version.

      Reply
  16. SammieMay

    5 stars
    This was fantastic! It was a big batch for two and it was crushing that I couldn’t eat all the leftovers. It was that good! I made it in the instapot as instructed, but I will double the spices next time. This will be a regular at our house!

    Reply
    • Helen Best-Shaw

      I am so pleased you liked it, one of our favourites here.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

About Me

Headshot of Helen Best-Shaw, Food Blogger at Fuss Free Flavours I'm Helen, full time freelance food writer, photographer and blogger. On this site you will find my fuss-free recipes, travel and reviews. Learn more here
Twitter Logo, bluw circle with a white bird Facebook logo, blue square with a white F inside You Tube Logo, a red box with the words You Tube on the inside Pinterest Logo, a red circle with white P on the inside Instagram Logo, a rainbow box with a square and circle inside of it Flipboard Logo - Red square with a white F on the inside

Press/As Seen On

Image-1

Subscribe

Footer

Latest Posts

Easy Coddled Eggs

Easy Coddled Eggs

Best Easy Fudge Recipes

Best Easy Fudge Recipes

Easy Parsnip & Apple Soup

Easy Parsnip & Apple Soup

Easy Slow Cooker Fudge

Easy Slow Cooker Fudge

Easy Coffee Fudge

Easy Coffee Fudge

Pea & Mint Soup

Pea & Mint Soup

Privacy Policy, Disclosures & Disclaimers

Copyright © 2022 Helen Best-Shaw / Fuss Free Flavours - Easy Recipes You Will Make Again