Probably considered "the" southern chicken casserole for ages, this casserole has birthed multiple variations and remains a popular and beloved dish on the party, church supper and potluck circuits.
Southern Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
This Southern Chicken Casserole is another one of those basic casseroles that has been around for years. Indeed, a fabulous recipe, perfectly delicious all on its own in this bare bones version, but also a great blank slate to build on, making it the foundation for many of our southern chicken casseroles.
You can vary it with a wide range of ingredients by adding in cooked white, brown or wild rice, cooked raw vegetables, or even frozen or well drained canned vegetables. For extra flavor, add in a little sauteed onion and celery. For crunch, include chopped water chestnuts, sliced almonds, or finely chopped pecans.
You can also switch out toppings for buttered plain or seasoned bread crumbs, panko, fried onion, or even shredded cheeses. You are limited really only by your culinary imagination.
While this casserole most often uses cut up or shredded chicken these days, originally it was made with poached bone-in chicken, bones removed, but leaving the chicken in whole pieces, making it an appropriate company casserole. Leftover turkey makes a fine substitute too.
Please don't scoff at the use of cream of soups here y'all - it is indeed traditional for this yummy casserole. Period. It's certainly okay to use reduced sodium or lower fat cream soups and sour cream of course, and you can absolutely substitute your own homemade sauce also. You know I love my cream soups, and in my little ole humble opinion, if it's good enough to be served in its original form as a regular dish in the buffet room of Blue Willow Inn Restaurant, a popular and well-loved Georgia restaurant, well then, it's sure good enough for my table too.
Here's how to make it.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together one can of cream of chicken soup, one can of cream of mushroom soup, and a cup of sour cream; set aside. Sub in lower fat and lower sodium products if you like.
Stir in a cup of chicken broth. I used Better than Bouillon chicken base with water this time because I didn't want to open a new carton of broth. Love that stuff - look for it at your local grocer for the best pricing.
Add any additional seasonings you like here - freshly cracked black pepper, thyme, rosemary, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne - whatever you like. You shouldn't need any salt at all in this recipe, though if you're using low sodium soups and broth, you may want to add a little. If making the wild rice variation with a packaged product, be mindful of sodium there as well. Taste the sauce and adjust here as needed.
You can use either whole cooked and deboned or boneless chicken breasts, mixed chicken, or any already cooked, shredded chicken (including dark meat) that you've put away in the freezer. I almost always have some pre-cooked, shredded chicken in the freezer ready, so that's what I used this time.
Place chicken into the bottom of the buttered casserole dish.
Pour the soup mixture on top of the chicken.
In a separate bowl, crumble 1-1/2 sleeves of saltines (which is what I used here) or a buttery cracker like Ritz, and mix in the poppy seeds if you're using them. Some folks prefer to mix the poppy seeds in with the chicken and I've seen some recipes using a lot of poppy seeds, but I think 1/2 tablespoon is about right. Use what you like.
Mix together and add a stick of melted butter. You can certainly reduce that also if you prefer.
Mix and spread on top of the casserole.
Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 35 to 40 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and cracker topping has browned. Remove and let rest 5 minutes before serving. Can be served as is, or spooned over cooked rice or noodles.
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