Casserole Recipes with Chicken
Looking for a new family favorite casserole dish? These quick, easy, and oh so delicious chicken casserole recipes are hearty, comforting, and incredibly satisfying.
I understand that after a long day at work or running your kids to and from sports, the last thing you want to do is dive into dinner.
Enter the life saving casserole! The great thing about a casserole recipe is that it takes the work out of the kitchen by keeping the entire meal in one pan. Serve them with a side dish recipe or not, get ready for your family to clear their plate!
Easy Chicken Casserole for Dinner
To get started, let’s talk about our absolutely best chicken casseroles that work every time.
Easily the hero of weeknights, these old-school comforting classics give you the creamiest, easiest, and most perfectly filling family dinner.
If you can only pick one, we recommend the CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE below. It consistently gets high marks from visitors.
Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipes
The one thing I love about Mexican casserole recipes is how easy they are to alter. Add toppings, extra delicious ingredients, or even switch the chicken to beef; Mexican casseroles are in a class of their own.
Here are three of our favorite dinners with Mexican-inspired flavors.
SIDES
- Refried Beans
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- goes great with corn
- Guac and Tortilla Chips
TOPPINGS
- Sour Cream
- Olives
- Tomatoes
- Pico
VARIATIONS
- Change protein type from chicken to ground beef
- Add drained black beans to the casserole
Classics always win
Chicken Casseroles with Rice
Rice and chicken together is a classic way to enjoy the basics.
- No Peek Chicken and Rice
- Classic Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
not just a pasta dish
Chicken Casseroles with Noodles
Noodles are also a fantastic filler for a chicken casserole dish. Here are our favorite variations!
- Dump and Baked Chicken Alfredo
- Chicken Tetrazzini with cream cheese*** SO GOOD
- Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Spaghetti
Serve any of these dishes with roasted veggies for a full meal.
Slow Cooker Chicken Casseroles
There may be some debate on what is actually considered a casserole dish. Casseroles and their definition vary widely but almost everyone agrees it consists of a baking dish and often layered food.
Lasagnas, baked broccoli cheese, and pretty much anything with a tater tot as a base is a casserole. (I’m looking at you breakfast)
While these chicken recipes below may not exactly fit the definition of a casserole recipe, they are crockpot variations of their famous oven-baked cousin and might be the perfect choice for you tonight.
How to cook chicken for a chicken casserole?
It really depends on the casserole. In some recipes, like chicken and rice (shown above), you do not cook the chicken before adding to the dish.
In others, where you add the chicken to the dish, the recipe typically allows you to add cooked chicken in any way.
You can pressure cook, poach, or even slow cook basic chicken breasts for those recipes. Personally, I try to plan ahead and slow cook chicken as I find its the most tender.
- Pressure Cook Chicken – I always cut my chicken breasts in large pieces first. Add 2 cups chicken broth, defrosted chicken breasts to pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook on HIGH for 10 minutes and slow release for 5 minutes. Remove chicken with tongs and then shred for recipe.
For more flavor in the chicken, you can also grill or bake chicken .
Lastly, if you are short on time, purchase a Rotisserie chicken from the store already premade or simply cut and quick fry chicken pieces on the stove until they reach a safe temperature of 165 degrees.
Side Dishes for Chicken Casseroles
Easy Sides to pair with casseroles
With all those hearty delicious choices, you may find you do not need a side. However, depending on the crowd or the hunger level, you may want to add one.
Here are a few great side dishes that go well with most casseroles. Another suggestion is to go through our favorite vegetable side dish recipes and pair a recipe with the ingredients you have in your home.
And don’t forget, you can also save all of our recipes on our Pinterest page!
Editor Note
- If you enjoyed this page and want some more amazing recipes, we are gearing up for Spring!
- Make sure to visit our newly published Easter Side Dish Recipes to start your holiday menu planning.
