Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole has been a family favorite for years. The original recipe comes from the Dinner Doctor, a great cookbook by Anne Byrn. We enjoy the flavors, but if you’ve read my previous posts like Chicken Divan , you know that I really do not like processed foods, among them canned cream soup. Instead, I decided to recreate Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole using healthier ingredients. With a little tweaking, my whole family enjoyed this success!
Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole Recipe…
Like many recipes, there is a little prep work required for Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole. Here, cook the chicken and the rice ahead of time. For the chicken, I used batch cooking and poached enough chicken for the casserole and my lunch this week. The rice piece was more tricky, as the original recipe calls for an Uncle Ben’s mix. Nothing against Uncle Ben, but I was working toward a non-processed recipe. I cooked my favorite basmati rice in chicken broth (left over from cooking the chicken) and added a few seasonings and to recreate flavors very similar to a boxed mix of rice. I was pleased with the outcome!
The next task was to recreate the “canned cream of chicken soup.” As I’ve done this in the past, I knew that a roux and bechamel were the way to go! (Don’t let those terms scare you! Both are super easy and you probably already know how to make both.) The roux was a mere tablespoon of butter with a tablespoon of flour. I cooked this a couple of minutes to get rid of the raw flour flavor. Next, I whisked in 1 1/2 c. of milk, dried onion, and a few other seasonings and cooked until thickened. (I used 1% milk, but any would be fine.) From here, I added the rest of the original ingredients like sour cream and poppy seeds.
Finally, I added my favorite part…the buttery layer of crispy crackers and BUTTER! (I know, not so healthy, but it MAKES the casserole!) Plus, I received a certain amount of satisfaction taking my day’s frustrations out on those poor crackers! 🙂
Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole serves at least 8, and paired with a green salad or other veggie, this makes a great, hearty meal. Please don’t let the number of steps scare you away from trying this recipe. I actually cooked the chicken and rice the day before I made the rest of the casserole to save time. Leftovers make for a quick meal, too.
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Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole
Notes
The chicken and rice can be precooked and stored in the refrigerator overnight to make prepping the casserole on a weeknight easier.
Ingredients
- 4 c. cooked, shredded chicken (can save broth to cook rice)
Rice
- 1 c. dry basmati rice
- 1 3/4 c. chicken broth (purchased or saved from cooking chicken)
- 1 chicken boullion cube
- 1 t. dried parsley
- 1/4 t. garlic powder
- 1/4 t. onion powder
- 1/4 t. black pepper
Casserole
- 1 T. butter
- 1 T. flour
- 1 1/2 c. milk
- 1 t. dried minced onion
- 1 t. Kosher salt
- 1/4 t. black pepper
- 1/4 t. celery seed
- 1 T. poppy seeds
- 1 c. light sour cream
- 6 T. melted butter
- 36 buttery crackers (like Ritz), crushed
Instructions
- Grease a 7x11 baking dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375° F.
Rice
- Bring chicken broth to a boil and add rice and boullion cube. Cook until rice is tender, 15-20 minutes. Stir in parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.
- Spread in the bottom of greased 7x11 dish and set aside.
Casserole
- In a large skillet, melt 1 T. butter. Whisk in 1 T. flour and cook 2-3 minutes until bubbly. Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 c. milk, making sure to whisk away all lumps. Add dried onion, salt, pepper, and celery seed and cook until milk mixture is thick and bubbly.
- Remove from heat and whisk in half the sour cream. When completely combined, whisk in the remaining sour cream, poppy seeds, and 4 c. chicken. Stir well.
- Spread chicken mixture over rice in baking dish.
- In a bowl or 1 quart baggie, combine 6 T. melted butter and crushed crackers. Mix well and spread over chicken mixture.
- Bake casserole for 25-30 minutes until casserole is bubbling and crackers are lightly browned. (Internal temperature should be 165° F)
