5 of My Favorite Ways to Cook With Aldi’s Popular Red Bag Chicken

On my weekly shopping runs to Aldi, I’m always on the lookout for one item. Technically it’s named Kirkwood Breaded Chicken Breast Fillets, but any Aldi fanatic will know it as Red Bag Chicken, or simply RBC.

Red Bag Chicken is pretty much what you’d expect from the name: frozen, pre-cooked chicken fillets in a red bag. The chicken is lightly breaded and seasoned with a combination of sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, barley flour, and chicken broth.

The chicken has developed a cult following (it even has a Facebook group of devotees with over 22,000 members) for a few reasons:

• It’s delicious. Tender, crispy, not-too-greasy and perfectly seasoned, it’s something parents and kids love (and would doesn’t love that).
• It’s easy. Because it’s pre-cooked, all you really need to do is heat it up in the oven or in the air fryer.
• It’s versatile. While you don’t need to get fancy, there are endless ways to use Red Bag Chicken. With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite ways to use Red Bag Chicken.

One of RBC’s most popular uses is to recreate a certain fast food fried chicken sandwich. Of course you don’t need to go for a strictly accurate recreation. Two of my favorite combinations include putting the chicken on a toasted Aldi brioche bun with:

• Lettuce + pickles + mayo
• Sharp cheddar + over-medium fried egg + a generous dash of Frank’s RedHot

I used to love it when my mom would get premade Chicken Cordon Bleu patties from Gordon Food Service. The rich combination of breaded chicken fillets, ham, Swiss cheese, and Dijon always felt so comforting. And now I can easily recreate it with RBC, either plated or in sandwich form.  Here’s how:

• Use the same Aldi brioche buns and add a smear of Dijon and maybe a little mayo.
• Stack the chicken, sliced ham, and Swiss cheese on a sheet pan and bake just until the cheese is melted.
• Layer the chicken, sliced ham, and Swiss cheese on the brioche buns and enjoy!

Another family favorite is chicken parmesan. Red Bag Chicken makes the dish easy to assemble, and wonderfully flexible:

• Start with al dente spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, maybe even some of The Sporkful’s cascatelli.
• Layer on a jar of Aldi’s Priano marinara or tomato basil sauce and a few chicken fillets.
• Cover with cheese, then bake in the oven until lightly browned.

I love doing a build-your-own salad night, where we assemble big bowls of mixed greens then let every family member craft their own dinner. When we can, we like to incorporate some sort of protein to elevate the salads to entrée-level, and sliced RBC fillets always wins over the crowd.

The possibilities are endless, but one of my favorite concoctions blends mixed greens, chopped bacon, hard boiled eggs, sliced carrots, diced bell peppers, long slices of Red Bag Chicken fillets, and a poppyseed dressing.

Given my work as a food and travel writer with a focus on breakfast, a brunch favorite like chicken and waffles is often in rotation. I’ll make golden, crispy Belgian-style waffles in the waffle maker, pair them with RBC chicken fillets, and serve with my ideal combo of real maple syrup and Frank’s RedHot.