Creamy Chicken Casserole - VJ Cooks (2024)

An incredibly tasty and versatile creamy chicken casserole made from onions, carrots, celery, chicken breast and peas cooked in a creamy sauce. Serve with mashed potato, or, top with puff pastry and bake as a pie.

Here it is! The recipe for my new Creamy Chicken Casserole. A comforting and filling meal made from affordable, everyday ingredients. This is a generous-sized casserole which can be served two different ways if you like. I served half of mine with mashed potato for dinner one night. Then put the remainder in a pie dish, added some puff pastry and baked it for dinner the following night. Too easy!

Ingredient notes:

• Chicken: I used chicken breast in this recipe. Breasts are more affordable than thighs and although they can dry out in some recipes, that's not an issue here as they cook in the creamy sauce.
• Vegetables: At the base of this recipe is the Golden Trio as it is referred to in French cooking; onion, carrot and celery.
• Stock: I used liquid, store bought stock for convenience. Feel free to use homemade stock, or stock cubes and boiling water.

Note: Scroll to the recipe card for the ingredients, quantities and the full method.

Step by step instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake. Heat a large cast-iron casserole dish to a medium heat. Pour in the oil, then add the onion, carrot and celery. Sauté for five minutes until the onion starts to soften.

Stir in the crushed garlic, then make a gap in the centre and add the butter. Once it starts to bubble, sprinkle over the flour, and stir to combine. Cook for two minutes.

Pour in half of the chicken stock and deglaze the base of the dish with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the chicken stock, then add the diced chicken breasts.

Place the lid on top and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
Remove the dish from the oven and add the peas and cream. Mix the cornflour with 3 tablespoons of cold water, then add to the dish and stir everything together.

Cook for another 15 minutes in the oven, uncovered, until the casserole starts to thicken up. Season well to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on top of mashed potato and garnish with parsley.

Top tip: This tasty chicken casserole can also be served as a pot pie. I like to use the leftovers for this part.

Simply add the cooled casserole to a pie dish. Place a piece of puff pastry on top and brush with an egg wash. Bake at 190°C for 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Either make one large pie as above, or, individual pot pies pies.

Recipe FAQs:

Storage:

Store any leftover chicken casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until piping hot.

This casserole can also be frozen. Check out the handy tips in the FAQ section above.

Top tips:

The best thing about this meal is its versatility. The casserole can be served with a side of mashed potato, baked potatoes, steamed rice or freshly cooked pasta. Or, follow the instructions above to make a pot pie. Pot pies are generally not as thick as a regular pie and therefore don't have the extra pastry on the bottom.

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Creamy Chicken Casserole

Yield: Serves 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

A versatile chicken casserole made from onions, carrots, celery, peas and chicken breast cooked in a creamy sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 750ml chicken stock
• 1kg boneless chicken breast, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 cup cream
• 3 Tbsp cornflour

To serve

• Mashed potato
• Italian parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
2. Heat a large cast-iron casserole dish to a medium heat. Pour in the oil, then add the onion, carrot and celery. Sauté for five minutes until the onion starts to soften.
3. Stir in the crushed garlic, then make a gap in the centre and add the butter. Once it starts to bubble, sprinkle over the flour, and stir to combine. Cook for two minutes.
4. Pour in half of the chicken stock and deglaze the base of the dish with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the chicken stock, then add the diced chicken breasts.
5. Place the lid on top and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
6. Remove the dish from the oven and add the peas and cream. Mix the cornflour with 3 tablespoons of cold water, then add to the dish and stir everything together.
7. Cook for another 15 minutes in the oven uncovered until the casserole starts to thicken up. Season well to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Serve on top of mashed potato and garnish with parsley.

Notes

• In addition to serving this casserole with mashed potato, you can also make a chicken pot pie by placing half of the mixture in a pie dish and topping it with a sheet of puff pastry.
• I used store-bought chicken stock. Feel free to use homemade or replace with stock cubes and boiling water.
• This casserole freezes really well. Simply allow the dish to cool to room tempearture. Place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost in the fridge overnight then re-heat on the stove top or in the microwave until piping hot.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 430Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 366mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 44g

Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.

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Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya