Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
I can’t think of a better, more satisfying comfort meal than this classic poppy seed chicken casserole. While it is NOT low-calorie, it’s definitely great for feeding a crowd and using up leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken.
My original intent when making this casserole was to go with my mom’s recipe that she got from a friend many years ago called Poppy Seed Chicken (please excuse the pictures. I hadn’t quite mastered my picture-taking skills back in 2010). My mom’s recipe has egg noodles baked in with the poppy seeds, chicken, soups and Ritz crackers, but I had seen recipes WITHOUT the egg noodles and wanted to give it a try.
“But you have egg noodles included in your pictures!!!”, you say.
Yes, that is true. BUT, I cooked the egg noodles separately for my husband Matt. I ate my poppy seed chicken sans the noodles, and just with fresh veggies. I wasn’t craving all those extra carbs!
Anyways, this recipe was a total hit with Matt…. he LOVED it! I think it reminded him of his mom’s old-fashioned southern cooking. I’m more of a healthy cook and don’t use a lot of butter. This recipe originally called for a whole stick of butter melted in with the crackers, but I just used half a stick. Butter is good, but a whole stick along with the already buttery Ritz crackers is overkill, in my opinion.
Enjoy! I’ve never met a single person who didn’t like this… kids included!
- 2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
- 2 cups Ritz crackers, crushed
- 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken and herb soup
- 8 oz sour cream
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- Egg noodles, optional - to serve with
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix together chicken, soup and sour cream in a large bowl. Add in Worcestershire sauce, garlic and lemon juice. In another bowl, mix together crushed crackers, poppy seeds, and melted butter and stir until butter is completely incorporated.
- Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread chicken mixture on the bottom and sprinkle with cracker mixture.
- Cover pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and baker for 15 more minutes.
- Serve over egg noodles, if desired.