Creamy Chicken Casserole with mushrooms is a treasure of a recipe. It’s popularly called “Chicken Gloria” and it will win you over. This chicken bake is the perfect party dish and is a reader favorite.
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We love easy chicken casserole recipes like Chicken Tetrazzini and One-Pot Chicken and Rice. This Chicken and Mushroom Casserole does not disappoint!
Chicken Casserole Video
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Why we love this Chicken Bake
Crowd-Pleaser! Galina (my sister’s mama-in-law) is an amazing cook and this is her chicken and mushroom casserole. It is always a hit at parties and church potlucks. We make this often.
The chicken is incredibly tender – you will savor every morsel. I’ve seen sorta-somewhat similar recipes online referred to as Chicken Gloria, but I love that this one is made from scratch. It uses simple, non-canned ingredients (no cream of chicken soup needed).
Reheats Well – This chicken and mushroom casserole also re-heats really well (if you are lucky enough to have leftovers). You will likely add this recipe to your list of favorites.
Ingredients for Chicken Casserole
The ingredients for this recipe are surprisingly simple but they just work (see full printable ingredient list below):
- Chicken breast (or chicken tenders)
- Chicken broth
- Half and half*
- All-purpose flour (or use a GF substitute)
- Mushrooms
- Onion – it disappears into the sauce
- Garlic – don’t skip it
- Lemon juice – fresh is best
*What is half and half? Half and half is basically light cream. If you aren’t able to find “half and half” at your grocery store, you can substitute with equal parts of milk and heavy cream.
Can I Substitute the Mushrooms?
You can replace white mushrooms with portabello mushrooms. If you don’t like mushrooms, you can substitute with different vegetables, just pick sturdy veggies (avoid zucchini which turns mushy). Here are some great options to replace mushrooms:
- Frozen peas
- Asparagus
- Caramelized onions
- Artichoke hearts (well-drained)
How to Make Chicken Casserole
1. Sautee Chicken: Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Once the oil is hot, add chicken and saute until golden, and transfer to a 13×9 casserole baking dish.
Pro Tip: Work in batches if needed so you don’t crowd your pan. Don’t worry about cooking the chicken through; it still needs to go in the oven
2. Sautee Mushrooms: Add 3 Tbsp oil along and saute mushrooms and onions until soft and golden. Add garlic and saute another 1-2 min. Spread mixture over the chicken.
3. Make the Sauce: In a medium saucepan (or in the same pan you’ve been using), melt 3 Tbsp butter. Whisk in 3 Tbsp flour until lightly golden (1-2 min). Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp pepper, and whisk until smooth. Add 1 cup half & half and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Combine and Bake: Pour sauce over the chicken casserole. Cover with foil and bake chicken and mushroom casserole at 350˚F for 45 minutes. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Serve with
This chicken bakes in gravy so it is great served over Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Egg noodles (the same way we serve Beef Stroganoff). It’s also great paired with these fresh sides:
Common Questions
You can use trimmed chicken thighs or chicken tenders instead. If using chicken tenders, you don’t need to slice them.
Make and combine the chicken and mushrooms and refrigerate. The next day, make the sauce, assemble, and bake as directed.
Yes, you can reheat a pre-baked and chilled chicken casserole in the oven: cover with foil and bake at 325˚f for about 20 minutes or just until hot, or reheat on the stovetop over low heat just until hot, stirring occasionally.
Yes! You can freeze leftover chicken casserole. One of my readers shared her method: “It works! I took the pan out of the freezer, left it in the fridge most of the day, and reheated it in a 350* oven for about 40 minutes.”
One of our readers reported great results using a multi-cooker/ slow cooker: brown the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker using the sautee function and remove. Sautée onions and mushrooms then return chicken to the pan. Combine sauce ingredients in a pan on the stove, pour it over the chicken, and slow-cook on low for five hours.
More Casserole Recipes:
Casseroles are perfect for parties and gatherings because they are easy to make and easy to scale up. These casserole recipes always get rave reviews:
- Lasagna – arguably the “ultimate” casserole
- Stuffed Shells – so easy with a 3 cheese filling
- Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole – creamy, cheesy, delicious!
- Green Bean Casserole – elegant and made from scratch
- Sweet Potato Casserole – with crunchy pecan topping
- Baked Tilapia Casserole – topped with veggies
Chicken Casserole Recipe (Chicken Gloria)
Ingredients
Ingredients for Chicken and Mushroom Casserole:
- 2 1/2 lbs chicken breasts , (4 to 5 large), cut into 1 -inch thick strips
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt , plus more to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 cup all-purpose flour , to coat the chicken
- 6 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lb white mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
Ingredients for the Sauce:
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, for the sauce
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup half and half, or 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge both sides in flour. Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken and saute until golden. Work in batches if needed so you don't crowd your pan. Don't worry about cooking the chicken through; it still needs to go in the oven. Transfer chicken to a 13×9 casserole baking dish.
- Scrape of any debris from the skillet. Add 3 Tbsp oil along with sliced mushrooms and diced onions and saute until soft and golden. Add garlic and saute another 1-2 min. Spread mixture over the chicken.
- In a medium saucepan (or in the same pan you’ve been using), melt 3 Tbsp butter. Whisk in 3 Tbsp flour until lightly golden (1-2 min).
- Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp pepper, and whisk until smooth. Add 1 cup half & half and bring to a simmer. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour sauce over the chicken and mushrooms. Cover with foil and bake at 350˚F for 45 minutes. Serve warm or hot over mashed potatoes, pasta or rice.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
This is an amazing recipe! I paired it with wide ribbon noodles and it was delicious. I will be making it again!
Your review makes me super hungry!! Thanks! 🙂
if you once make this racipe you got to make it and make it its realy exwezi very very good thank to the one who make it first
I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
I was wondering if this is good to make in slow cooker ? thanks
I haven’t tried it myself but one of my readers tried it in a 4 in 1 slow cooker and shared her results: “Earlier in the week I had posted wondering if anyone had made this dish in a 4 in 1 slow cooker. I tried it this weekend and it turned out great. Following the recipe, I browned the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker, removed the chicken and sautéed onions and mushrooms, and returned chicken to the pan. I combined all the sauce ingredients in a pan on the stove, poured it over the chicken and slow cooked for five hours. Chicken came out so tender. Per other people’s recipe suggestions I also added two heaping tablespoons of sour cream just before serving.” I hope that’s helpful!
Awesome. Made this today and will make again and again. Good thing is I can eat off this for days to come. Thanks Natasha.
Yes, I love having leftovers of this dish because it reheats so well and doesn’t have that reheated chicken taste if you know what I mean 😉
We had this tonight but we served it over spätzle to give a little different twist to it!
Katie, I’m glad you liked it 😀.
I just cooked this and it is delicious! I added some rosemary and Thyme. Those pair so well with mushrooms. Great recipe!!
Wow that sounds really good! Thank you for sharing your modifications 🙂
Omg this recipe is great and so simple! I just love it. I already made it 3 times! What I do know is adding an extra cup of whole milk to the half and half in order to thinner the sauce and also have more of it. It turned out perfectly!
Thank you very much for this precious receipe!!
That’s so great Alex! It sounds like you have a new favorite 😀
May have commented before but this is a fave with my husband. The video is very helpful too. I encourage you to try it if it new to you
Thank you so much for your awesome review! 🙂
Hi I’m going to make this today sounds yummy, thinking of adding Dijon mustard 😊.
Let me know how it tastes with dijon! I’m so curious now! 🙂
Do you need to use the cream or could I use milk and thicken with cornflour?
You will probably need more flour if using milk. I have always done it with either cream or half and half so I can’t give you exact amounts without testing but I think it could work.
Hello. Wanted to see whether you’ve tried this with boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast.
Thanks!
I haven’t but it should work just fine. It’s jut a little more work to trim thighs but I do love to use thighs when I can since I think they taste better.
I just made this with boneless , skinless thighs and trimmed off the fat , and it worked great ! I added a little sherry to the sauce as well 😊
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!! 🙂
Looks Delicious! How many calories do you think this is?
Thanks Shan! I don’t typically include calorie counts, but if you go to caloriecount.com you can plug in the ingredients and servings and figured out pretty easily that way. I hope that helps!
I made this last night, it was so good! the sauce was delicious, i added some cayenne pepper and more salt. The leftovers today were even better! Thanks Natasha! =)
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Used the sauce with leftover chicken – followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Incredible. Will use again and again,
I’m so happy you loved it! thank you for the awesome review 🙂
Looks wonderful ! Was wondering if you could do this as a make ahead as most days that is they way i have to go. My family is also not that into mushrooms. Would you have a thought for a substitute? Thanks !
Hi Michele, I think the mushrooms add great flavor but you might substitute with artichokes. You can also add some frozen sweet peas.
I have the same question. Can this be made ahead, like the day before, and regrigerated? Will the sauce separate when reheated. How to reheat?
The sauce will not separate. I think it’s best fresh but it is ok to make it a day ahead and reheat in the oven covered with foil just until hot or on the stove top over medium/low heat just until hot, stirring occasionally.
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it
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This was an amazing dish. Very easy to make. I have picky eaters, but everyone enjoyed this meal. Thank you!!
MaryJane, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review! 😁
I barely write comments on blogs, but this was amazing. I made it yesterday and the husband and I loved it. Only thing I would change next time is less butter and cream to try and make it a bit more healthier. Otherwise, it was AMAZING!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite! 😀
I rarely leave comments. I admit, I have to let you know this recipe was delicious!! Moist and full of flavor! Thank you!
Thank you for such a nice review and you are very welcome 😃.
Made this today and it was absolutely amazing. My kind of dish! The chicken was so tender and the sauce was so good over some mashed potatoes. Will definitely be making this again!
Kristina, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review! 😁.
Can I use regular butter vs. unsalted? Should I use less?
Sorry I couldn’t reply sooner. Yes, you can absolutely use salted and then just salt to taste 🙂