Hot Chicken Salad Casserole
Called Hot Chicken Salad because it contains many of the typical elements of a cold chicken salad, but it's baked in a casserole form. Probably one of the Original Church Lady Casserole Recipes from way back, and published in most every southern community cookbook, it still finds its way not only at church socials, but reunions, potlucks, as a funeral dish, or at any number of other gatherings.As always, ingredients do vary a bit among us Southern cooks with this dish, and some folks exclude the boiled eggs, though I think that they are fitting and taste good, so I do use them. You can also use a wide variety of toppings, including some additional shredded cheese, alone or with some soft or panko bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, or even potato chips which were the most traditional.
Some do add the toppings at the beginning of the cooking process. I personally prefer to heat the casserole through first before applying the toppings and then return it to the oven for the topping to lightly brown. Either way works fine.
Remember, the next time that you pick up a rotisserie chicken from the deli, grab two, or the next time that you roast a chicken at home, go ahead and cook two. Set the second chicken aside to cool, and then put up the meat in 2 to 3 cup portions in your freezer. That's what I do!
This is one of those mix and dump casseroles too - simple and super easy!
Cook 3 slices of bacon to crisp, then chop. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise, soup, bacon and ranch dressing mix, if using; blend well. Stir in the cheddar cheese, lemon pepper, thyme and rosemary. Add the chicken, eggs, celery, onion, green onion and almonds; mix. Pretty much looks like good ole chicken salad doesn't it?
Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt only as needed, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly and lightly browned.
Remove from oven, add topping, and bake an additional 5 minutes. You can also add additional cheese before topping with crushed crackers, potato chips or bread crumbs.

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Recipe: Hot Chicken Salad Casserole
©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 25 min | Yield: About 8 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- 3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 tablespoon loose dry ranch dressing mix, optional
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- Pinch dried thyme and rosemary, crushed
- 4 cups diced cooked chicken
- 4 eggs, boiled and chopped, optional
- 1/2 cup minced celery
- 1/3 cup finely minced onion
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- Topping (panko, crackers, potato chips - see suggestions below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Prepare bacon and chop. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise, soup, bacon and ranch dressing mix, if using; blend well. Stir in the cheddar cheese, lemon pepper, thyme and rosemary. Add the chicken, eggs, celery, onion, green onion and almonds; mix. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt only as needed, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven, add desired topping, and bake an additional 5 minutes. Can also add toppings at the beginning cooking time if desired.
Cook's Notes: One packet of dry ranch dressing mix is equal to about 3 tablespoons, so you won't need a full packet. Vary the casserole toppings by using additional shredded cheese on top, alone or with one of these toppings: 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs, dry bread crumbs, a sleeve of crushed saltines or Ritz crackers mixed with 1 to 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted, or simply slice cold butter thinly and scatter over the top; or add 1-1/2 cups of crushed plain or kettle style potato chips to the top, a ruffled style potato chips being the most traditional topping.
For Cooked Chicken: If starting with raw chicken, I usually will just poach it in water or chicken broth. Bring about 2-1/2 cups of water or chicken broth to a boil. Add the chicken breasts (or whatever pieces you are using) to the stock, bring back up to a boil, cover, reduce to low simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. If you're using the chicken in a dish that calls for chicken broth or water, reserve the broth to use in that. Once chicken has cooled enough to handle, chop or shred as needed.
Variations: Reduced fat products okay to use but be aware that they are thinner. Include some finely chopped red or green bell pepper, or chopped pimentos for color, if desired. Substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt or a combination of the two, for part of the mayonnaise. Can also substitute a cup of sour cream for the cream soup if you like. For casseroles, I like to add just a bit of fresh lemon juice tossed with the chicken to brighten the flavor. Just substitute black pepper in place of the lemon pepper; a single wedge of lemon will do it.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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Sounds positively yummy!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and it looks super good - serious comfort food.
ReplyDeleteNothing better than a good ol' Southern casserole! Yum!
ReplyDeleteLove this dish. My sister-in-law, who is a fabulous cook introduced my family to this recipe, only thing different in her recipe is that she uses water chestnuts instead of almonds.
ReplyDeleteI do like warm chicken salad and your recipe sounds very good. Blessings, Catherine
ReplyDeleteThis looks perfect!
ReplyDeleteReally....thank you for sharing this recipe!! I have never heard of "Hot Chicken Salad Casserole". That may be because in our area of the western US, the big thing everyone makes is sometimes called 'funeral potatoes' and is served with ham at most every funeral meal put together by church ladies for the grieving family.
ReplyDeleteI have a somilar recipe, but it's called something different. But this is serious comfort food, and as always, you make it look fantastic Mary.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely have the funeral potatoes down south too! :)
ReplyDeleteI have a similar casserole but uses Cream of Chicken and sour cream. DELICIOUS!
ReplyDeleteI made this last night and my husband & I both LOVED it! (I love it when I find a new recipe that my husband really likes.) I made half a recipe and we almost ate the whole thing! Will probably make the whole recipe next time so we have leftovers. :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Holly! I'm so glad y'all enjoyed this classic & thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and let me know!
DeleteMade this last night and my husband (& I) LOVED it! (I love to find new recipes that my husband really likes.) I made half the recipe last night and we almost ate the whole thing - next time I'll have to make the whole recipe so we have leftovers! :-)
ReplyDeleteHey girl! Sorry I haven't been able to be on here as much as I would like, been moving out to the country finally! Already have an idea for a garden spot!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I still saw absolutely no reason why I still can't fit some DSD into our move, none whatsoever, ha! I would have let you know how good this was the 1st time I cooked it yestersday but the next 2 times I cooked it got in the way. Yes 3 times in 1 day. We were hungry movers! This was good on the spoon, bread and my husband's preferred method while drilling our kitchen table together, atop big ole bbq chips. You saved us again! We were grateful to have it to eat (3times in a row ). Well, I feel I should tell you I miss you for some reason??!
Anyway, still pouring through here looking for our 1st official meal to cook at the new home. Gonna be your roast probably but still thinking about it??
Well sorry for the long post, felt the need to ramble on I guess, sorry. Thank you and we are definitely gonna eat this on one of our family game nights we do around here often, with the bbq chips of course! This would be great for us anytime.
Have a wonderfully great day!
Oh wow, congratulations on your move & I hope y'all have many years of happiness there! I'm honored that you found a way to bring DSD into your new home too!!
DeleteHi Mary! Thinking about making this tonight. Is your 'cooked chicken' just boiled in water or do you cook it some other way? Thanks for your help! Marie M. in GA
ReplyDeleteHi Marie! It depends. Very often it's just leftover chicken from another meal that I've saved, and often frozen, chicken I prepared specifically to put up, or even pulled from a larger deli rotisserie chicken we had for one meal with leftovers in mind. Those are often salty so take care with additional seasoning.
DeleteIf I'm starting with raw chicken however, I usually will just poach it in water or chicken broth. Bring about 2-1/2 cups of water or chicken broth to a boil. Add the chicken breasts (or whatever pieces you are using) to the stock, bring back up to a boil, cover, reduce to low simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. If you're using the chicken in a dish that calls for chicken broth or water, reserve the broth to use in that. Once chicken has cooled enough to handle, chop or shred as needed.
Thanks Mary! Now that you told me everything, I remember you stating that in another recipe. Sorry I forgot! Can't wait to try this recipe and will try to remember better in the future! Marie M. GA
ReplyDeleteOh Marie, no worries!! I've gotten to the point where I can't remember a lot of things. I tell my grandkids it's because I've been around so long that my brain has gotten full!!
Delete