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These recipes make weekday meals a snap
By
Updated on 04/6/21
Fact checked by
Elizabeth Brownfield
Fact checked byElizabeth Brownfield
Elizabeth Brownfield is a writer, editor, and researcher who specializes in food, travel, home, and lifestyle content. She's worked on the staffs of Domino, Martha Stewart, Metropolitan Home, and Every Day with Rachael Ray magazines, and was Senior Digital Editor at Food Network.
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Casseroles make weekday dinners easy because they are whole meals in one baked dish. Combining chicken and ingredients like vegetables, cheese, and egg noodles or pasta, they have something for everyone.
Some recipes below are casseroles made with condensed soups and others are made with homemade sauces.Manyof these dishes are a snap to prepare, making them excellent options for busy weeknights. To save time, most of these chicken casserole recipes use cooked chicken, whether leftoversor store-bought rotisserie chicken or chicken strips.
Most casseroles can be wrapped and refrigerated overnight, and many can be frozen for 2 or 3 months. When you make a family favorite, consider fixing two of them to keep one in the freezer and bake when needed.
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Watch Now: Dorito Chicken Casserole
01 of 20
Chicken a la King Casserole With Noodles
Chicken a la King is chicken in a cream sauce, often with mushrooms, frequently served over pasta. This casserole takes the dish to another level by addingpimientos, celery, and cheddar cheese and baking it all together under a layer of buttery breadcrumbs.
See Also39 Easter co*cktail Recipes We've Been Waiting All Year To MakeRecipe for Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese – Like Mother, Like DaughterEasy Shepherd's Pie Recipe - Comfort Food Perfection!Butternut Squash Quinoa Casserole RecipeYou need 55 minutes for this great recipe to come to life. Serve with a simple salad and fresh bread.
02 of 20
Classic King Ranch Chicken Casserole
This Tex-Mex king ranch chicken casserole uses corn tortillas as you'd use lasagna noodles and creates layers with cheese and creamy, spicy chicken. You just need 12 minutes to prep and 50 in the oven for this delightful bake.
Use any kind of chicken meat, from breast to thighs, or leftover rotisserie chicken. Serve with a cactus salad if you can find nopales (use cubed jicama if you can't) to bring some crunch and tanginess to your creamy main.
03 of 20
Creamy Chicken and Spinach Casserole
Combining spinach, cream, Parmesan cheese, and cooked chicken, this one-dish chicken and spinach casserole is sure to satisfy, especially since it's topped with crispy breadcrumbs.Make ahead and put in the fridge for up to a day, then top with breadcrumbs and bake.
The dish is ready in just 45 minutes, and it goes with any starch that you'd like, from pasta to rice (or combine rice and veggies with this beautiful rice salad on the side). If you're pressed for time, make creamy sandwiches by placing a serving of the casserole in a toasted baguette or ciabatta.
04 of 20
Ritzy Chicken Casserole
The Ritz crackers crushed and drizzled with butter on the top and bottom of the dish make this chicken casserole a fan favorite.
The creamy filling made of cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chicken broth is studded with pieces of cooked chicken, making for a rich and savory treat.Use leftover chicken, or buy a rotisserie chicken. You need 45 minutes, and patience, because the crakers' aroma is just unbelievable!
Serve with a fruity salad to offset the saltiness of the bake, like this apple salad with pecans and raisins.
Continue to 5 of 20 below.
05 of 20
Chicken and Dressing Casserole
This chicken and dressing casserole is perfect for when you have leftovers from a big holiday meal or a weekend gathering. It combines cooked chicken and stuffing into a cheesy, delicious bake.
You need two bowls, one baking dish, and 45 minutes to serve this easy and tasty recipe. Combine liquids and add cooked chicken. Add butter to stuffing mix and combine with chicken. Bake. That. Is. All.
Serve with a refreshing kale salad and crunchy breadsticks.
06 of 20
Homemade Chicken and Biscuits
Chicken and biscuits is a traditional Southern dish that's perfect for a family dinner. The chicken is cooked in a tasty broth and then covered in a rich creamy sauce with peas. This stew is then topped with dollops of biscuit dough.
Although the recipe calls for cooking the chicken and making the biscuits from scratch, it's still surprisingly easy to prepare. The whole dish comes together in 1 hour and 15 minutes. You can, of course, use pre-cooked chicken and prepared biscuit dough if you are in a pinch.
07 of 20
Simple Chicken and Rice Casserole
With just 5 ingredients, this chicken and rice casserole is fast to put together: onion soup mix, rice, chicken, water, and canned cream of mushroom soup. Mix everything and bake covered for 1 hour.
And while you do, make some vegetable sides like this pungent broccoli rabe or a flavorful Indian cauliflower dish.
08 of 20
Doritos Chicken Casserole
Doritos and creamy chicken come together in 50 minutes in this filling and tasty bake. It also incorporates sour cream and cheese – sounds like a layered dip!
Grab leftovers from Game Day, or use that bag of Doritos left unopened from a party. Leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or store-bought chicken strips work very well in this dish. There are no set rules: add chopped jalapeños, make a cilantro-based dressing to add on top after baking, or pan fry some bacon and top the casserole with it for a little extra decadence.
Serve with a refreshing green papaya salad.
Continue to 9 of 20 below.
See AlsoBest Stuffed Peppers Recipe09 of 20
Chicken and Stuffing Bake
This chicken and stuffing casserole brings a little bit of Thanksgiving to the weekday dinner table. Stuffing mix is combined with chicken, celery, onion, garlic, and cream of chicken soup, making for a true comfort food dish. After sauteing the aromatics, all of the ingredients are layered in a casserole dish and baked until bubbling and golden on top.
Feel free to add a vegetable to make a complete meal, or serve with a fresh salad on the side.
10 of 20
Chicken Bog
Chicken bog is a dish from South Carolina that traditionally is made to serve a crowd. This recipe is easy to scale up or down for just a few people or a party. The mixture of tender chicken, smoked sausage, white rice, and flavorful chicken broth is a crowd-pleaser.
Toss in a few veggies to make it a complete meal or serve with coleslaw or salad.
11 of 20
Chicken Tamale Pie
All of the flavors and textures of a chicken tamale are baked into this easy casserole. A mixture of onion, shredded cooked chicken, black beans, salsa, and taco seasoning is topped with a homemade cornbread batter studded with corn, cheddar, and cilantro. The tamale pie is baked until golden brown and served with sour cream and avocado.
For quicker preparation, you can use a boxed cornbread mix and rotisserie chicken. Feel free to add chopped bell peppers for a complete meal.
12 of 20
Chicken Rice Divan Bake
Chicken Divan is a combination of chicken, broccoli, and Mornay sauce (bechamel with Gruyere or cheddar cheese). For our bake, we chose rice to make a rich casserole but stuck closely to the original set of chicken ingredients.
Replace broccoli with cauliflower, or add other vegetables of your liking for a heartier dish. Use microwavable, ready-to-use rice to cut down your cooking time. Double the cheese if you'd like a bounty of bubbling goodness.
Try our halloumi and green bean salad on the side for a complete meal.
Continue to 13 of 20 below.
13 of 20
Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole
This all-time favorite pasta dish has been transformed into a chicken tetrazzini casseroleand made quicker and easier for a weeknight meal. While cooking pasta, you make chicken in a sherry-mushroom white sauce, top the pasta with it, and add Parmesan. Bake until hot and bubbly!
Very few steps are required and the wait is only 20 minutes of oven time. Use the final 5 minutes of waiting time to make this carrot salad and dinner is served!
14 of 20
Chicken and Macaroni Bake
This recipe's smoked gouda cheese and heavy cream turn what could be a typical macaroni and cheese with chicken into a rich, thick, and uniquely flavored casserole. With the addition of peas and carrots, this chicken and macaroni bake is a one-dish meal the whole family will love (use vegetables like broccoli florets or cauliflower instead depending on your family's preferences).
A simple white sauce binds the rest of the ingredients, and although we use macaroni, try any short pasta like shells or butterflies. Prep and cook in 50 minutes. Serve with a pear and greens salad.
15 of 20
Chicken Pasta Casserole With Cheese and Bacon
Everything is better with bacon, and casseroles are no exception. The smoky taste is just the right accent for this mixture of noodles, chicken, American and cheddar cheeses, and peas all topped with buttery breadcrumbs.
The dish takes 45 minutes in the oven while you toss a salad. Make this fennel avocado salad for a tangy and flavorful counterpart to your chicken pasta casserole.
16 of 20
Easy Chicken and Penne Casserole
Combining pasta, cooked chicken, mixed frozen vegetables, and condensed soup makes this chicken and penne casserole a cinch to put together. Its sauce gains richness from sour cream and Parmesan cheese. After just 15 minutes of prep and 45 minutes in the oven, you can serve a filling dinner that everyone will love.
Use any short pasta that you have at hand, and add fresh herbs to the mix if you have them. Try full-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for a lighter version. Make the dish your own by exchanging the mixed frozen veggies for another green like a bag of stir-fry veggies or riced broccoli or cauliflower for extra fiber.
Serve with a side of grilled asparagus.
Continue to 17 of 20 below.
17 of 20
Macaroni and Chicken Casserole
This macaroni and chicken casserole is chock-full of textures and flavors, featuring cooked chicken, macaroni, onions, olives, cheddar cheese, sour cream, mushrooms, green bell pepper, andbreadcrumbs. This is an all-in-one, one-hour-in-the-oven, weeknight bake.
Add more or skip any of the vegetables according to your preferences, and play with other olive dishes to pair with your casserole, like this Moroccan olive tapenade, which you can generously spread on a baguette and serve with your creamy casserole.
18 of 20
Easy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Perfect for a busy weeknight, this chicken and broccoli casserole has justeight ingredients (most of which you probably have in your kitchen) andtakes just a half-hour to make.Conveniently mix in just one bowl!
Serve with a side of steamed rice or some bucatini with marinara sauce. Top either with a handful of arugula drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
19 of 20
Chicken, Cheese, and Penne Pasta Bake
The creole seasoning and artichoke hearts are what give this chicken, cheese, and penne pasta casserole a lot of character. When they are combined with the pasta, chicken, mushrooms, and cheese, the resulting casserole has a great creamy texture and a bite thanks to the vegetables.
Add celery or asparagus for extra crunch, and don't forget the sweet addition of paprika on top before baking. After 20 minutes of prep, you just need to bake this dish for 35 more minutes before sitting down to a true feast.
Serve with this easy summer slaw recipe.
20 of 20
Southern Chicken Casserole
Although time-consuming, this southern chicken casserole is worth every minute in the kitchen. Slowly cook a whole chicken in a tasty broth and then place the shredded meat over green beans and corn. Eggy breadcrumbs top the dish for a stuffing-like finish.
Use rotisserie chicken instead if you don't have the time and make the sauce in store-bought chicken stock. Use the same oven to make these roasted chateau potatoes that you can serve along with a fresh salad of mixed greens and sesame vinaigrette.
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