The diced chicken with mushroom was taken as the research object to investigate the differences in quality and protein digestion characteristics between traditional (TD) cooked and prefabricated (ST) product. The results showed that compared to TD cooked, the acceptability and flavor of sensory evaluation of ST product decreased significantly, while the taste and chewiness improved remarkably. In addition, the bound and immobilized water were found transferred to free water indicated the water holding capacity decreased and meat softened. The analysis of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) indicated that hexal, octanal and volatile substances from spices were the key substances causing flavor differences between the two methods and could be further distinguished by the electronic nose and tongue. The results of digestion in vitro showed that the protein digestibility, release rate of peptide and free amino-acid in the ST product were higher than that in the TD cooked. The contents of α-helix and β-sheet decreased with the increase of digestion time in the two methods, while the α-helix content of the ST product was lower during the first 60 min of intestinal digestion than that in TD cooked. These findings give a new insight into the associations of processing methods with meat quality.