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
Have you tried freezing this recipe? If so what stage would you freeze? Before or after baking?
Rebecca, I haven’t tried freezing it but one of my readers, Nancy writes: “…I make a big recipe & freeze in portions for 2. If freezing, make sure you use Half & Half or whole milk or else it separates when reheating.”
I hope that helps.
Made this today 😊It was great, along with some ziti pasta😂YUM😍
That’s great to hear Midgie! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Have you ever tried making it ahead.
Would you separate out the sauce from chicken & refrigerate overnight till ready to cook?? Or just put the whole thing together than refrigerate.
Hi Cheora, 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. I hope that helps! 🙂
We ABSOLUTELY LOVE this dish! (And many others) We’ve made it quite a few times and it is so good! The video is AWESOME and so helpful! I love her technique on cooking it. I learn something every time I watch one of her videos! Thank you Natasha!
You’re welcome Teresa! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review! 🙂
I have made this 3 times now and each time it’s been such a hit I have to send the recipe to all the appreciative eaters! I do carmelize my onions and mushrooms as I feel it adds depth of flavour. I also use chicken thighs , just a personal preference. What a keeper this recipe is. You won’t be disappointed! 5 stars from me.
I’m happy to hear that Susan! What a wonderful review! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Did you pre cook the thighs? Or just let them cook in the oven?
WHAT chicken broth? Can it can like from Cambells?
It should say either chicken broth or chicken stock on the container. Any brand will work, canned or from a carton. I hope you love the recipe!
my son’s girl friend is allergic to fresh onion and garlic. Do you think I could use dried onion and if so how much ??
Char, in general you can use 1 Tbsp of dry ground onion in place of a medium onion. Use ground garlic instead of fresh. Let me know how it turns out 😬
Thanks for your quick reply ! I have never heard of someone being allergic to fresh onion and garlic ! I am trying to cook for them because I want her to feel welcome in our home and love the meals I cook .
I had some mushroom noodles. OMG this recipe n those noodles!!!! The best I have ever had.
WOW! I’m happy to hear that Linda! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review! 😀
@natashakitchen Do you think this would still turn out ok if I used a shredded rotisserie chicken as a short cut? I don’t have time for the whole process tonight and wondered if it would work? 🙂
Hi Kristy, I haven’t tried it that way but one of my readers, Peggy, left a super helpful review about just that! “I made your chicken and mushroom casserole and used a rotisserie chicken. When I sauteed the mushrooms, onions and garlic I added extra flour to compensate for the flour from the chicken. I did steps 2 to 4 and then added the chicken I had cut into smaller pieces. I added some parsley at the end before serving it over rice. It was delicious.”
Thank you for the reply!! I didn’t see that review, lol! I’m definitely going to try it that way then! 🙂 Such a delicious recipe!
Hello Natasha
Love this dish I made it before it is very good, but I was wondering if I can add heavy weeping cream instead of half and half ?
Out of half and half at the moment
Thanks!
Hi Val, yes, you can use 1/2 milk and 1/2 heavy cream to create your own half and half 🙂
This is easy to make and great to eat. Make it two or three times each month.
Sounds like you have a favorite Pat! I’m happy to hear how much you like the casserole!
This is one of the RARE recipes I have found on pinterest that my entire family loves and we have in our regular meal plan every week. It never gets old! Thanks so much for sharing, it was totally perfect as is – no need to alter it whatsoever 🙂
That’s wonderful Amanda! I’m happy to hear your family enjoys the recipe as much as mine does! 😀
Nice recipe, made a couple of alterations to the dish and sauce, layered green asparagus on top, and 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard and half a cup of parmasan to the sauce just for a little extra kick 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it Jeff! Thanks for sharing your review! 😀
You note how many peices of chicken to use, but about how many pounds would that convert to?
Hi Alexa, I updated the post to specify, but it is about 2 1/2 lbs 🙂
This is such a delicious recipe! I try to decrease butter and dairy so I made the sauce without the butter and used lite Coconut milk to make the sauce. Thank you for such a lovely and delicious recipe! I also put it over lightly sauteed kale to increase my greens. So yummy!
Thank you for the wonderful review and you are welcome!
Hi! I’ve tried it tonight and it was delicious! My family was so excited when I got it out of the oven as it smelled great. I’ll be doing this again since it is absolutely delicious and creamy plus it got rave reviews from the fam 😀
AWESOME! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! 😀
I pinned this quite awhile ago, and made it for the first time tonight. It is delicious! I can’t believe how tender the chicken is.
I blog about recipes I try, mainly for friends, and provide a link back rather than retyping it, even if I made any changes, so I’ll be sure to include a link here.
Thank you so much Merri! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe!
My family LOVES this recipe!! Tonight I served it on mashed potatoes and again, everyone cleaned up their plates!! Thank you for such yummy recipes made from fresh ingredients!!
You’re welcome Leigh Ann!! I’m happy to hear your family enjoys it as much as mine does! 🙂
Natasha,
If I am making this for a large group say 40 people should I just double the recipe? Will this be enough? Thanks!
Hi Alena, it depends on what else you’re serving but I think doubling it should work for that size of a crowd 🙂
Totally gonna make this for Friday dinner! Think I’ll spred some mozzarella cheese on top as well, can never get to much cheese, right? Thankyou for the recepie, It’s on my Pinterestboard!
From Lotta in Sweden
It’s SOOOO GOOD! Let me know what you think Lotta! 🙂