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
I made this and it has almost no flavor… What could I be doing wrong? 🙁
This dish is normally very flavorful. I wonder if you might be under-seasoning the sauce at step 4. Also, did you season your chicken at the start?
Can’t wait to try this tonight … I’m really liking your site . Enjoy the recipes , photos , videos and looking forward to trying more recipes in the future …
Thx !
Thank you so much for your awesome feedback! 🙂
I found your recipe on Pinterest and it looks amazing. I was wondering how well it freezes?
Amanda, I haven’t tried freezing it yet but it should work just fine :).
Hi Natasha! I have a question about the sauce. I used 3 table spoons of flour like the recipe suggested, but the sauce came out very thick. I thinned it out with additional 1/2 cup of broth. I looked through the comments and it seems that nobody else had this problem. is the sauce supposed to be thick? Or maybe I didn’t stir it enough?
The chicken is in the oven now. I’ll let you know how it turned out.
Congratulations on your new baby! I wish you family all the best!
Thank you all. Did you add the same amount of chicken broth and half-and-half per the recipe?
I was just looking for Easter Dinner recipe! I want to make this for Church potluck! Maybe I will cut the pieces in half so there are more servings. 🙂 He is Risen! Praise GOD!!!
That’s definitely a great idea to have smaller bite-sized pieces when serving for a large crowd. 🙂 He IS Risen! Praise God!
I added 3/4 cup Marsala to the sauce. Gave it a really nice flavor and more juice for noodles. Also added broccoli flourettes for last 15 min oven time for vegetable. Delicious!
That all sounds wonderful! It’s awesome to know that Marsala works well and the addition of broccoli is brilliant!
Oh my! This was my first ever creamy dish i liked after having to go glutenfree and lactose free. So i adjusted it by using gf plain flour.
For the sauce i used Nuttelex, gf flour, homemade beefbroth (which gave this dish an amazing flavor), and then insted of the milk: 1/3 of each, cream, coconut milk and rice milk. (I don’t like either of those flavours on it’s own so i tried to mix them which worked a treat!
Will be cooked again!
Thank you so much for sharing your substitutions! It’s so great to know that this can be made gluten and lactose free!! You’re awesome Wendela 🙂
Wow! This was amazing. I followed the directions exactly, and it was perfect. Even my picky 7 year old loved it. I wasn’t sure I would like the lemon, but it was such a great addition. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!
I’m so happy your family loved it! That’s the best when a picky eater loves something you make, isn’t it? 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your review with me 🙂
I added some sauteed kale and spinach to get some more veggies. It turned out great. I also served it over pasta for my husband to fill him up more.
Mmm I love the idea of adding kale and spinach! thanks for sharing 🙂
I was looking for a lunch recipe to make for work tomorrow and this was came out really good! I cooked about 1lb worth of chicken and followed everything, but used flour, butter, and fat free half & half in moderation. It came out very tender and creamy 🙂 So delicious! Thanks so much for posting!
Thank you for the great review Henali and great job on improvising :).
Hello Natasha I was wondering if I have to use a real lemon for the lemon juice or can I just use the “botteld lemon juice” 🙂
Venessa, bottled lemon juice will work if real lemon is not available :).
do you tthink this would work as a freezer meal? Sounds delicious and I am trying to stalk up before baby comes:) thanks!!
Nicole, I never tried freezing it but I don’t see any reason why you can’t :).
this was amazing! Will make again, would be nice for company since you just pop in the oven…
It is just perfect for company or parties! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
AMAZING!!!!! Made it tonight and it will be a regular recipe in our household!
Tammy, thank you for the great review, your comment is music to my ears :D.
I am going to make this tonight. I forgot the half n half. Anything I can use instead?
Do you have heavy cream and milk that you can mix in equal parts to get half n half?
this recipe looks good!!But why does this still needs to go in the oven if cooking on stovetop does it all?
Tamara, there are few reasons for that. It insures that chicken gets fully cooked and tender, plus, all the flavors fuse together really well :).
If I don’t have half and half could I substitute sour cream?
I’ve tried with using sour cream and the consistency isn’t quite the same – it’s not as creamy. I’d recommend using half and half or 1/2 milk & half heavy cream. 🙂
Natasha thank you so much for your recipes and videos! Usually the night before I go through your website and prepare my menu for the next day. I love the videos because you make it look so easy. I love this recipe!!! Everyone loved it in my family. I must bring it to work potluck.
Thank you for such a sweet comment Larisa and for the great review on the recipe :).
FANTASTIC!!!This shall be made again and again!!
Thanks!!
Thank you for the great review Amy and you are welcome :D.
This was amazing! My husband said I can make it again 🙂
I love recipes where I can find most of the ingredients in my pantry
Isn’t that the best? I don’t post much fru fru here just because I appreciate the same thing 🙂