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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
I hope you are inspired to try this chicken casserole for yourself! P.S. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to our YouTube Cooking Channel.
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
Your advertiser is for bed bugs!! Not very appetising!
Now that is weird! If you ever see that advertiser again, please click the “report this ad” link at the bottom right corner of the ad and it will get removed. Thank you so much for your help!! 🙂
You cannot go wrong with this recipe .. Absolutely delicious .. Even my mom who doesn’t like anything other than Indian loved it ..
Thank you so much for the amazing review!! 🙂
Just made it last night. OMG!!!! It is so so good. The chicken was super delicious, moist and just melted in our mouths. Thank you Natashinka for this wonderful recipe. Can’t wait to check out other recipes you have on your website.
Awesome!!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the awesome review 🙂
Hey Natasha! We love, love, LOVE this dish! Thanks so much for sharing! It’s one of our go to recipes during the fall and winter.
Kassi, thank you for such a wonderful review on this dish 😁. Looks like you found a new favorite!
The recipe looks good, and I can’t wait to try it. My husband and I do not like mushrooms (or artichokes as one reviewer posted), do you think peas, or possibly fresh spinach work? Also, because we do love wine in recipes, do you think it would be better to replace the broth with the wine, or go half wine and half broth?
Hi Pam, I haven’t tried it with white wine but some of my readers have reported great results with white wine. One of my readers wrote: “White wine goes very well in this recipe as well as a generous among of grated gruyere cheese. However I do suggest that you use heavy whipping cream only if you are adding wine. Otherwise the sauce may curdle.” There were several others that said they added a splash of white wine with great results. You might try frozen sweet peas 🙂
Looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
I only have boneless skinless chicken thighs on hand, how many pounds do you think would equal 4-5 chicken breasts? Also do you think there’s enough sauce in here to add rice
To the dish or would I have to
Double? Thanks 🙂
Hi Linsey, do you intend to add cooked rice? I haven’ tried doing that. I think it might be safer to cook rice on the side and serve it over rice. I did have a reader report good results adding ardent cooked pasta though, so it might work to add rice as well. You can use 2 to 3 lbs of chicken thighs.
I make this but make it into a casserole. I follow the recipe , except I add 8oz of cooked pasta, add stock to the sauce and top with bread crumbs and Parmesan.my husband loves casseroles!
Oooh yum!! I’ll print your comment and try that myself! How much stock do you add? Also, are you baking the same amount of time?
Hi there! Made this recipe tonight but added red peppers to it! Excited to see how it turns out!
I would love to hear how it turned out with red peppers 😁.
Hi Natasha! Can I make this the night before? Fry everything, cover with the sauce and than just refridgerate it and the next day bake it?
Hi Luba, the way I make this ahead of time is to make and combine the chicken and mushrooms and refrigerate. The next day I make the sauce and bake.
Hi!
I really would love to try this recipe, but I only have boneless skinless chicken thighs OK hand right now. Do you think it will still turn out? Would I have to reduce the cooking time or add more time?
Thanks 🙂
Samantha, it would work great with boneless skinless chicken thighs without altering the recipe. Let me know how it turns out 😁.
made it with thighs and also GF turned out great!!!
That’s awesome! I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
Hi,
This recipe is great. I tweaked it a bit by leaving out the onions & adding sweet potato. Flavour was amazing & i will defiantly be making this again.
Thanks
Wow we love sweet potato! At what point did you incorporate sweet potatoes and how much did you add?
I peeled one whole large sweet potato and cut into approx 10 pieces. I added this to the casserole dish with the chicken and mushroom & poured the sauce over the whole lot. The sweet potato cooked perfectly in 45mins. I did however make extra sauce.
Wow that just sounds so yummy. Way to make it a meal!! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
My question is – why does everyone use lemon in cassarole and does the finished product have a lemon taste?
Hi Shirley, it doesn’t have a lemon taste but the lemon adds an important layer of flavor to the dish which I think is a little bland without it.
Hi Natasha. I tried this recipe tonight. My family isn’t a big fan of onions so I reduced them significantly. I’m guessing that is why it fell short on flavor. The next time I make this I was thinking of adding some white wine. Do you think that will work? If so, how much should I use and when would I incorporate it?
Hi Karen, by the time the dish is done, the onion is so well hidden in the dish, that even those who dislike onion normally don’t complain 🙂 Also, I haven’t tried it with white wine but some of my readers have reported great results with white wine. One of my readers wrote: “White wine goes very well in this recipe as well as a generous among of grated gruyere cheese. However I do suggest that you use heavy whipping cream only if you are adding wine. Otherwise the sauce may curdle.” There were several others that said they added a splash of white wine with great results.
Hello! I’m new to cooking and really want to try this recipe as it contains all my favourite ingredients. Could you please advise how I would need to adjust the quantities if I was making this for just 3 people, please? From that I’ll do the conversion in to UK measurements 😛 Thank you very much!
Hi Jenny, I think it would be difficult to cut this recipe down by more than half for it to cook properly in a casserole dish. I would cut everything in half and freeze any leftovers.
Good idea! Thank you very much 🙂
When you half the recipe does that include the sauce or would full sauce be too much? Thank you.
Hi Julie, if you half the recipe and use half the size of casserole dish, make sure you half the entire recipe including the sauce or your dish will overflow. If you’re planning to use the same sized large dish and use the extra sauce for gravy, use the full sauce amount.
Thank you for getting back to me. Going to try this tomorrow. xx
Thank you for this recipe!! I want to try it but Intead of tenders can I use chicken breast and if so how long should I cook it for?
Hi Angela, you can definitely use chicken breast and keep the cooking time the same 🙂
This looks great. I’m going to try this. I have a question in th vidio ..where did you get the lemon squeezer I love it.
Melanie, We got our citrus squeezer on Amazon.
Your recipe looks easy and I’ll try it this weekend!!!!
I loved when you said to share it at church cause that was actually the reason I was looking for a yummy recipe, to share with my sisters and brothers from church!!!
Thank you so much and many blessings from our Lord!!!
Thank you Jenny, let me know how it turns out 😀.
Can I use canned mushrooms for this?
Tamara, I recommend using fresh mushrooms for the best flavor but if you only have canned mushrooms available, they would work as well.
Hi Natasha,
I completely forgot to add the flour into the butter for the sauce. It’s in the oven right now. How bad is it going to turn out?
HI Jordan, it will be a thin sauce but I think it will still taste good! 🙂
I’m making this for the first time tonight, it looks and sounds delicious! Can’t wait to dig into it:)
I hope you love it and that it becomes a new favorite for you as it is for us 🙂
I pinned this a while ago and was stuck what to make last night. Looking through my pins i decided to try this. My only regret was I did not make this sooner. This was so delicious and now will be a family favorite. Thankyou so much for sharing.
Tia, thank you for such a nice review and you are welcome 😀.