Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole [Video]

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole is incredibly delicious, made with lots of mushrooms and tender chicken thighs. This casserole will make a perfect family dinner that everyone will love.

We like making easy and delicious casseroles, because they are tasty, can feed a larger crowd, and usually make enough leftovers. Occasionally,  we even prepare a few ahead of time and freeze them to have dinner readily available for crazy weeknights.

We often make this Cheesy Crack Chicken Casserole, White Pizza Casserole, and obviously Mac and Cheese Casserole.

Creamy Chicken Casserole with Mushrooms

Recipes with chicken and mushrooms are among our favorites, and this one is a great combination of both. This Creamy Chicken Casserole with mushrooms is very easy to make in the oven and ready in 30 minutes. With little time and effort, you will have quick and delicious comfort food to serve for the whole family during busy weeknights. 

This dish is also called “Chicken Gloria” and is super creamy, flavorful, and can feed a larger crowd. For this recipe, we used thighs, because they give a richer and more profound flavor.

However, chicken breasts work perfectly fine as well. You can also make it ahead and save it for later. It will taste even better as the flavors will sit together. The chicken in the creamy sauce is perfect to serve over egg noodles, pasta, or rice. 

Why you will love this chicken bake

• Ultimate comfort food – First, this is one of the best one-pot chicken recipes out there. It is always a big hit whenever I make it. Tender and juicy meat is perfectly cooked in a rich and creamy white sauce and fresh mushrooms! Also, it is budget-friendly and uses simple pantry and non-canned ingredients. 
• Great make-ahead meal – This is also a great meal to make up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. Then, simply reheat and enjoy with your family. That would make for a perfect weeknight meal! 
• Crowd-pleaser – Because it is so easy and quick to assemble, you can make a larger batch and feed a larger crowd at parties or church potlucks. 

Ingredients list:

• Chicken: I love using thighs as they are super juicy and tender. However, you can use breasts, rotisserie chicken, or drumsticks. 
• Olive oil
• Fresh Mushrooms: I go with baby Bella mushrooms or white mushrooms as they are available pretty much all year round at our local grocery store. Other great options would be shiitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, or oyster mushrooms. 
• Sweet onion
• Fresh garlic
• Seasoning: Such as thyme, paprika, dried parsley, salt, and black pepper. 
• Unsalted butter
• All-purpose flour
• Chicken broth
• Heavy cream
• Parmesan cheese

How to make the best Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole?

• First, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken thighs to the hot oil. Then, cook on both sides till golden.
• Remove the thighs from the pan and set them aside on a plate, cover with foil. Later you will transfer the meat to the casserole baking dish.
• Add the onion and garlic, cook for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and dried herbs to the pan and cook for five minutes, or until softened.
• Spread mixture on the bottom of the casserole dish.
• Next, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan, add the flour and whisk it until lightly golden (1-2 minutes) and fully combined.
• Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Add 1 cup cream, whisk until smooth and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in Parmesan cheese until fully melted.
• Pour sauce over the mushroom mixture into the baking dish. Add chicken on top, skin side up. Then, cover with foil.
• After that, transfer the dish into the oven, and bake the casserole for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees F.
• Before you remove it from the oven, discard the foil cover and broil for a few minutes, until the chicken is golden-brown.
• Just before serving, you can sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley.

Variations:

• Other veggies: Feel free to substitute the mushrooms with other veggies. Some great alternatives would be frozen peas, asparagus, broccoli, artichoke hearts, green beans, or corn. 
• Meat: Swap the thighs with tenders. Also, you can make it with turkey meat. 
• Cream Sauce: To save time, you could simply use cream of mushroom soup. Also, to make it even creamier, add 2 tablespoons of sour cream or cream cheese. 
• Cheese: Swap the parmesan cheese with mozzarella cheese or cheddar. 
• Seasonings: Use your favorite seasoning here. Onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, or ranch seasoning. 

Crockpot Chicken and mushroom:

Alternatively, try making this easy recipe in the crockpot. Here are the steps:

1. Brown the meat in the bottom of the crockpot. 
2. In a large skillet, over medium heat, sautee the veggies. Then, add them on top of the poultry to the slow cooker. 
3. Next, make the sauce in a pan on the stove and pour over the chicken. 
4. Slow cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. 

Can you make this dish ahead of time?

Make the Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole ahead, then cool, cover, and refrigerate for a day. When ready to eat, reheat it in the oven (covered) at 350F for approximately 20-25 minutes.

How to serve Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole?

This dish can be served as is. Additionally, it goes well with mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, rice, noodles, zucchini noodles, or just with bread.

How to freeze this casserole?

• To freeze, transfer the mixture to a buttered 9-by-13-inch freezer-to-oven baking dish.
• Next, cover tightly with aluminum foil and wrap in plastic wrap.
• Then, freeze it for up to 3 months.
• Bake, frozen, and covered with foil, at 350°F, for 1 hour. Or, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven.

More delicious casserole recipes:

Recipe Tips:

• We used chicken thighs instead of breasts. This gives the casserole extra richness and flavor. Also, the thighs are far more tender than the breasts.
• I love making my own chicken stock. Alternatively, use a store-bought version, but go with quality broth. I go with Organic low-sodium broth.
• In addition, I added Parmesan cheese to this dish, to have a richer and creamier sauce.
• For extra flavor, feel free to add some white wine.