Chicken Casserole With Stove Top Stuffing Recipe

This Chicken Casserole with Stove Top Stuffing will be your next go-to quick meal! It’s the ultimate one-dish dinner that the whole family will love.

This fast and easy 5-ingredient meal only takes 35 minutes from start to finish. There’s practically no prep needed, but you will still achieve a rich savory flavor.

Chicken casserole goes well with any number of side dishes, but it’s also good all on its own! It’s the perfect potluck meal, quick family dinner, or holiday dish.

All About The Chicken Casserole with Stove Top Stuffing Ingredients

Chicken

The best cut of meat for this easy chicken casserole recipe is chicken breast. It’s full of juicy, white meat which can easily be cut into bite-sized pieces.

You can use rotisserie chicken instead if you want to save time and add extra flavor. This way, you can make the dish with shredded chicken instead of cubed.

Although chicken breast is a common ingredient, it can be tricky to cook. Because of its low fat content, it tends to overcook.

This low fat content also makes chicken breast a healthier alternative to other meats. This is why chicken breast is usually more expensive than other cuts of chicken.

Stuffing

The savory stuffing used in this recipe is Stove Top Stuffing–a classic! This pre-made boxed stuffing mix was created by General Foods in 1972.

The mix contains dried bread, vegetables, and spices, and only requires a few minutes to cook. It’s the perfect quick side dish for Thanksgiving dinners and goes with practically any meat you can think of.

Stove Top Stuffing comes in quite a few different flavors, such as San Francisco Sourdough, and Cornbread stuffing. You can use whatever flavor of Stove Top stuffing you prefer for this recipe, but Chicken flavor is a classic.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Although canned cream of mushroom soup was designed to be eaten alone, it’s much more popular as an ingredient! Like other cream soups, it’s commonly used in casseroles, pastas, and sauces.

Cream of mushroom soup is condensed, so it comes out of the can quite thick and usually requires water. It’s made with cream and/or milk, chicken broth, and pieces of onion and mushroom.

It’s always good to have a can or two of cream of mushroom soup on hand! It is a hearty warming meal on its own or the perfect binding ingredient in a quick casserole.

Sour Cream

Although the name is somewhat off-putting, sour cream is the ultimate condiment and recipe ingredient. You can use sour cream in dips, on tacos, in pastas and sauces, and even in desserts!

Sour cream is made by adding bacteria to regular cream. This thickens the liquid and adds that distinctive tart flavor.

Sometimes store-bought sour cream will have some separation. If you notice this, simply pour off the excess liquid on top or stir it in.

Homemade sour cream is easy to make if you find yourself in a pinch. Just whip heavy cream together with lemon juice and add some milk to thin it out.

Method

1. Preheat the Oven
   

   Heat the oven to 400°F.
   

2. Grease the Casserole Dish
   

   Grease your casserole dish with butter, or spray it with cooking spray. This will prevent your casserole from sticking to the bottom.
   

3. Cube the Chicken Breasts
   

   Pat the chicken breasts dry. Cut the breasts into 1 inch cubes.

   Season the chicken with pepper and salt to taste. Add the cubed chicken to the bottom of the casserole dish.

4. Mix Sour Cream and Soup
   

   Empty the can of condensed soup into a medium mixing bowl. Add sour cream and whisk together until smooth and well combined.
   

5. Make Stuffing
   

   Add the dry stuffing mix to a separate medium bowl. Slowly add 1.5 cups of hot water until the dry mix is evenly moist.

   Don’t add too much water, or else the mix won’t get crispy when it bakes!
   

6. Assemble Casserole
   

   Pour the mushroom soup and sour cream mixture into the casserole dish on top of the cubed chicken. Ensure that the mixture is evenly distributed with the chicken.

   Add the stuffing mixture on top in an even layer.
   

7. Bake
   

   Place the casserole dish in the oven. Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes.

   The chicken should be cooked through and the stuffing layer crispy before you remove the dish from the oven.

   After you remove the casserole from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes. This will allow the chicken to reabsorb the juices and let the sauce thicken up.
   

Delicious Variations For This Chicken Casserole with Stove Top Stuffing Recipe

Different Soup Flavors

Mushroom soup is a popular choice for this recipe since it tends to go well with chicken. But if you don’t like mushrooms, there are a variety of other soup flavors you can choose from.

Cream of celery soup is a popular option due to its neutral flavor. If you want more flavor, try cream of broccoli or cream of chicken soup.

If you’d like your casserole to be a bit cheesy, try using a creamy cheddar broccoli soup. This soup will provide the same consistency, but so much more flavor!

Tip: If you want an extra creamy casserole, use two cans of soup instead of one!

Add Cheese

Speaking of cheese! If you’re a cheddar lover, why not make this a cheesy chicken casserole?

Finish off your casserole with 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to get an irresistible melted topping. If you want it extra gooey, use mozzarella instead of cheddar!

And if you want a stronger cheese flavor, try adding grated parmesan right to the soup and sour cream mixture. This will give the whole casserole a super cheesy taste!

Make Homemade Stuffing

This recipe uses Stove Top Stuffing because it’s easy, quick, and tastes great! But this recipe would also be amazing with leftover stuffing from a holiday dinner.

Making your own homemade stuffing from scratch is easier than you might think! Simply mix cubed pieces of bread with minced onion, celery, salt, and poultry seasoning!

The best stuffing is made with stale bread. Stale bread soaks up moisture and flavors easier, and helps give your stuffing that irresistible crispiness!

Try Different Meats

If you want to cut the cooking time in half, use rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breast. Simply cut the rotisserie chicken into cubes and bake the casserole for 15 minutes instead of 25 minutes.

Chicken is the meat of choice for this recipe because it’s easy, juicy, and a hit with kids and adults alike. But if you want to change this recipe, use turkey (leftover chicken or turkey from holiday meals is delicious!).

Pork chops also go well with the creamy mushroom sauce. Similar to chicken breasts, boneless pork chops tend to dry out quickly so avoid overcooking them.

What to Serve With Chicken Casserole With Stove Top Stuffing

This chicken stuffing casserole is a delicious meal on its own. But it can be even better with some side dishes.

What would really complete this meal is the addition of a starch and vegetables. In my opinion, the best starch to complement this creamy chicken dish is plain steamed rice.

The rice will absorb the delicious sauce and help stretch this dish to feed a family. A side of roasted herb potatoes would also help make this dish more filling, and add extra flavor!

Since this dish is so saucy, you could also serve it with a side of fresh buns or buttermilk biscuits. There’s nothing better than freshly baked bread to sop up a delicious savory sauce!

If you’re looking for more options, check my list of side dishes for chicken casserole.

How to Store and Freeze Chicken Casserole with Stove Top Stuffing

After you’ve baked this delicious casserole, it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Make sure you wrap leftovers tightly with saran wrap or transfer them to an airtight container.

Typically casserole recipes make the perfect freezer meal. Busy families can prepare a casserole ahead of time and store it in the freezer for around 2-3 months.

Unfortunately, creamy casseroles don’t hold up very well in the freezer. Ingredients like cheese, sour cream, and heavy cream tend to separate and change texture once frozen.

The crispy stuffing topping also does not hold up well in the freezer. It starts to sink into the creamy sauce and gets mushy.

If you do want to freeze this chicken and stuffing casserole, keep the stuffing topping off until it’s ready to bake. Just add the stuffing to a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze it separately!

This is one of those casseroles that ultimately tastes best when eaten fresh. Since it only takes 45 minutes to make, just keep the ingredients separate until you’re ready to make it!

Chicken breast can be frozen for up to 9 months. Meanwhile, unopened Stove Top stuffing mix and condensed canned soup can last in the pantry for several years.

Try more Casserole Recipes

• Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole Recipe (Without Soup)
• Paula Deen Chicken stuffing casserole

Reheating Chicken Casserole with Stove Top Stuffing

If you refrigerated your casserole right in the baking dish, just pop the dish into the oven to reheat.

If you stored your casserole in an airtight container, transfer it into a greased casserole pan before reheating.

Bake the casserole at 325°F for 15 minutes to reheat. If the casserole is frozen, you may need to increase the time to 30 minutes.

Use a cooking thermometer to ensure that the center of the casserole is properly reheated. Poultry like cooked chicken and turkey should always reach an internal temperature of 165 ºF.