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Shortcut Creamy Chicken Casserole

Use pre-cooked deli chicken to make a delicious, fast casserole for a crowd.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Author Debi Simons

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2-3 shallots, finely chopped, optional
  • 1 24-oz. pkg. mushrooms, white or crimini, washed, wiped clean, and sliced
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 3-4 cups heavy cream Yes, that much cream. But you bought it at Costco, right?
  • 4 heaping tablespoons chicken stock base, pref. "Better than Bouillon"
  • 1 42-ounce pkg. pre-cooked deli chicken
  • 1 pound pasta, pref. whole wheat, short and sturdy, such as fusilli or bow-tie

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in large skillet, saute shallot, if using, until softened, then add mushrooms and cook until softened and liquid has evaporated.

  2. Sprinkle flour over the mushroom mixture and stir until all flour is incorporated. Stir in wine and bring to a simmer, then add cream and chicken base and simmer further until thickened. You should probably just go ahead and use the 4 cups, but if you want to you can start out with 3 here and then add the fourth cup below if you think the casserole needs more sauce. Note: Food always needs more sauce. Taste the sauce to see if you need to add more chicken base. Some freshly-ground pepper won't come amiss, but you can do as you please on that.

  3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente. Drain and spread out in two 9x13 pans. If you're serving this in some sort of buffet line and are using chafing dishes, use the half-size disposable foil pans available through many outlets, notably Costco.

  4. Shred chicken into bite-size pieces, discarding any tendons or skin that you see, and spread equally over the pasta.

  5. Pour the sauce/mushroom mixture equally over your two pans. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 3500 until thoroughly heated through and bubbling at edges, probably 30 minutes. Baking time is very dependent on how cold/hot the individual ingredients were.

Recipe Notes

Since I was flying rather fast and low when I originally made this, I didn't add any extra frills. But some chopped herbs would be nice, notably thyme, parsley, and/or chives. You could mix them into the sauce or sprinkle them on top for added class.

While most casseroles of this type are topped with some sort of cheese, I didn't add that when I made this the first time as I felt it was savory enough without it. However, a good grating of Parmesan over the top wouldn't come amiss. I added that ingredient when I reheated the leftovers.