How to Reheat Rotisserie Chicken

Knowing how to reheat rotisserie chicken will make your life significantly easier the day after that big family dinner. You can make a couple of meals out of the leftover chicken, so throwing it all away would be a huge waste.

Fortunately, rotisserie chicken is fairly simple to reheat. Here are all of the ways you can do that.

The Best Way to Reheat Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie chicken isn’t a difficult dish to reheat in that there are no quote-unquote special methods for doing so. Your kitchen’s everyday appliances are all you need for the job. The only thing that is even close to an obstacle is the time it takes.

In total, there are three common ways to reheat rotisserie chicken: using an oven, an air fryer, or a microwave.

Oven

Reheating in the oven is generally considered the best way to go about it. This is because it allows you to lock all that moisture inside of the meat while also retaining the crispy skin (many people’s favorite part).

An oven also cooks food very uniformly, so you won’t end up with weirdly cold spots while some others are piping hot.

Because of this exact reason, the oven is highly useful for reheating food. Not just for rotisserie chicken alone, you can also make use of your oven to reheat other dishes. It is one of the best ways to reheat fried chicken.

You can also maintain a relatively low cooking temperature and slow cooking time with the oven. This is how the oven can cook your rotisserie chicken just right without it drying out.

The same principle also applies to other food. The low-and-slow cooking ability of the oven is highly useful for reheating mashed potatoes.

The only downside to using the oven is time: the entire reheating process can take up to 30 minutes.

Air Fryer

If you prefer your rotisserie chicken to be extra crispy, use an air fryer. Air frying won’t just restore the skin back to its prime, but the circulating hot air inside of the fryer will actually improve upon the original crispiness. There are many other advantages, too.

Firstly, compared to microwaving, not much moisture is lost. Second, it’s fairly quick (about 5 minutes) compared to re-cooking in the oven.

The sole caveat is that air fryers aren’t as common as ovens or microwaves.

When you want your food to be extra crispy, the air fryer is almost always the go-to method. In our how to reheat chicken wings article, we talked extensively about the air fryer’s ability to crispen.

Microwave

The last and least ideal method is microwaving.

Though it is quick, simple, and everyone nowadays has a microwave in their kitchen, the quality is — frankly — not all that good.

The microwave can suck the majority of the moisture from the meat, leaving the interior dry, while turning the skin soggier along the way. So, unless you have no other option, go for the air fryer or the oven instead. But the microwave isn’t always the worst technique. If you use it correctly and with the right technique, the food will still be edible.

We’ve written a few other reheating guides where the microwave was among the stars of the show. You can reheat salmon fairly effectively with the microwave. It’s even possible to reheat corn on the cob in the microwave.

Reheat Rotisserie Chicken in the Oven

1. Reheating Time & Temperature

At 350℉, This will take about 25 to 30 minutes, not including the time it takes to thaw out the chicken (which would be another 20 to 30 minutes).

2. The Process

If your chicken is frozen, allow it to thaw and reach room temperature first.

You will first need to preheat the oven to 350°F.

While the oven is heating up, place the chicken on an oven-safe plate. In order to keep the chicken moist, we recommend pouring a cup of chicken broth onto the plate.

Wrap up the entire thing in foil and place it into the oven.

Cook for about 25 minutes and check the temperature. If it hasn’t quite reached 165℉, you can put the chicken back into the oven for another quick 5-minute roasting session.

If the temperature is decent, remove the foil and roast the chicken in the oven for an extra five minutes. This should further improve the crispiness of the skin.

Once that’s done, take out the chicken and serve.

Reheat Rotisserie Chicken in an Air Fryer

1. Reheating Time & Temperature

Air frying is much quicker than roasting in the oven. It should take only 4 to 5 minutes to bring the rotisserie chicken to the proper temperature.

The cooking (or rather frying) temperature is about the same as the oven: 350°F.

2. The Process

Air fryers nowadays are largely automated, so all you really need to do is put the chicken into the cooking chamber, press a few buttons, and go do something else while the fryer does its job.

In more detail, first, set the fryer to 350°F. After that, set the cooking time for about 4 to 5 minutes depending on the size of your leftover rotisserie chicken.

Wait for the allotted time. When the fryer finishes, open it up and check the temperature and crispiness of the chicken. Heat for a few minutes more if needed.

Once it meets your approval, take the chicken out and serve.

In the Microwave

1. Reheating Time & Temperature

The biggest advantage of the microwave is that it is very speedy. The chicken will only need to spend two minutes in the microwave and then it’s ready to be served.

Once again: only microwave your rotisserie chicken if you’re very short on time or you have no other option available. No matter how hard you try, microwaving will always negatively impact the meat’s quality.

The temperature setting for the microwave should be medium (70% power.)

2. The Process

Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it come down to room temperature. Then, you’ll need to cut the chicken up into strips. This way, the microwave’s heat will be applied more evenly. Remove all of the bones.

Place the strips onto a microwave-safe plate. Cover everything up with a damp paper towel.

Put the plate into the microwave and let the meat cook for about two minutes or until the correct temperature is reached.

Remove from the microwave and serve.

Interestingly, did you know that you can reheat crab legs in the microwave doing virtually the same thing as above? Of course, there are a few minor modifications. Check out the link if you’re interested.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to reheat rotisserie chicken, you can bring it back to the dinner table for the second time!

Now, if you are interested in reading a couple more reheating guides, you can find some of our best in the list below. You won’t ever just have rotisserie chicken in your fridge alone!

• How to Reheat Steak: a cut of quality steak can make every dinner feel special. Certain cuts like tenderloin cost a lot of money to purchase and a lot of skill to cook. It would be a shame if all of that was to go to waste. You can learn all of the methods to reheat steak in this short guide.
• How to Reheat Cooked Rice: rice, aside from being filling, is an incredibly versatile food. You can take it together with just about anything — including your newly-reheated rotisserie chicken. Follow the instructions found in this article and you can rewarm your cooked rice for a second serving.
• How to Reheat Fries: as a rule, fries can go together with any kind of meat. From steak, to fish, down to chicken. Unfortunately, many people think that it’s not possible to reheat fries after they turn soft and just discard them. You can actually reheat fries (with certain caveats). Find all the details in this guide.
• How to Reheat Prime Rib Safely: prime rib is one of those foods that it’s straight up wasteful to just throw into the trash if you can’t finish in a single sitting. Instead, you can reheat and build an extra meal out of the leftovers another time. Here is how you can do so.
• How to Reheat Lasagna in an Air Fryer: while it’s still salvageable, lasagna must not be wasted. The filling pasta, the savory cheese, and the aroma and divine flavors of the sauce are all too good to throw away. One of the best ways you can reheat lasagna is with an air fryer. You can find details and instructions in this guide.