A warming delicious slow-cooked chicken casserole with fall-apart meat, lovely veggies and a seasoned creamy sauce.
Most of the work is done in the slow cooker, so you can look forward to a hearty family dinner when you get home from work.
Serve it with mashed potato to soak up that delicious sauce. The king of comfort food.
Nothing says Autumn more to me than getting the slow cooker on and making a creamy casserole that’s spooned over a big pile of buttery mashed potato.
(excuse me a moment whilst I do some Homer Simpson-style drooling).
This one, with slow-cooked chicken thighs, tender baby carrots and little button mushrooms is divine.
The chicken pulls apart beautifully, the rich sauce has a very slight lip-smacking tang from the hint of lemon juice and the veggies soak up that sauce, so you’ll find yourself marvelling at how good a carrot can actually taste.
📋 What do we need?
Ingredients swaps
- I love to use chicken thighs in casseroles, as they’re more tender and stand up well to slow cooking. They also shred up beautifully. However, you can swap out the chicken thighs for chicken breast, or even bone-in chicken pieces.
- Add in extra veggies – such as baby potatoes, leeks, shallots or cubes of butternut squash.
- Add crispy bacon or pancetta at the end of cooking for am extra hit of flavour.
🔪 How to make this chicken stew
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Brown the chicken in a pan with a little oil and then transfer to the slow cooker.
- Saute onions in a little butter in the same pan you cooked the chicken, then stir in garlic.
- Add in the all purpose flour, salt, pepper, thyme and celery salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken stock (chicken broth) and lemon juice.
- Stir and bring to the boil.
- Pour into the slow cooker over the top of the chicken.
- Add mushrooms, carrots and celery to the slow cooker and stir.
- Place the lid on and cook on a low heat for 5-6 hours or a high heat for 3-4 hours.
- Once cooked, stir in the cream and serve topped with fresh parsley.
🥘 Cooking the Casserole in the oven
You can cook this chicken casserole recipe in the oven by placing the sealed chicken, sauce and veggies in a casserole dish with a lid on, and bake in the oven at 175C/350F for 45-60 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
Note: Add approx 120ml (1/2 cup) extra chicken stock to the mixture when making the sauce, as liquid evaporates more in the oven.
Also, check and stir the dish a couple of times when cooking in the oven.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
You can serve this tasty slow cooker easy chicken casserole in a bowl with:
- the Best Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans, Steamed Broccoli, or Collard Greens
Fresh Homemade Bread for dunking
Classic Jacket Potatoes or Sauteed Potatoes
Good old Roast Potatoes also work really well
or how about some boiled rice with that sauce soaking into the rice?
🍲 More fantastic Stews and Casseroles
Sausage and Bean Casserole
- Slow-Cooked Steak Diane Casserole
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole
Slow-Cooked Pork Casserole with Pancetta
The Best Beef Bourguignon
Beef and Guinness Stew
African Stew with Chicken and Peanuts
Chicken Paprikash < OK not sure this one classifies as a stew but its so delicious!
Chicken Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
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- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 8 boneless chicken thighs trimmed of fat
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 brown onions peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp celery salt
- 480 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 16-20 baby chestnut mushrooms
- 16-20 chantenay carrots
- 3 sticks celery roughly chopped
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) double (heavy) cream
- small bunch parsley chopped
Instructions
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Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat.2 tbsp vegetable oil
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Add the chicken thighs and lightly brown on both sides – this should take about 5 minutes.8 boneless chicken thighs
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Once lightly browned remove from the pan and place in the slow cooker.
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Add the butter to the pan and heat until melted.2 tbsp unsalted butter
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Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.2 brown onions
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Add in the garlic, stir, and cook for a further minute.3 cloves garlic
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Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, thyme, and celery salt. Cook for 2 minutes.3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp celery salt
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Add the stock and lemon juice. Stir and bring to the boil, then pour into the slow cooker over the top of the chicken.480 ml (2 cups) chicken stock, 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
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Add the mushrooms, carrots, and celery to the slow cooker and stir.16-20 baby chestnut mushrooms, 16-20 chantenay carrots, 3 sticks celery
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Place the lid on and cook on a low heat for 5-6 hours or a high heat for 3-4 hours.
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Once cooked shred the chicken a little with two forks then stir in the cream.60 ml (1/4 cup) double (heavy) cream
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Serve topped with fresh parsley. I love to serve this casserole with mashed potato and green beans.small bunch parsley
Notes
Make-Ahead:
You can make this dish ahead, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Heat through in a large saucepan for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat until the chicken is hot all the way through. Add a splash of cream or milk if needed to loosen it up.
Freezing:
Make the casserole, then cool, cover and freeze. Defrost thoroughly in the refrigerator. Heat through in a large saucepan for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat until the chicken is hot all the way through. You can do the same with any leftovers.
Ingredient swaps:
-
- I love to use chicken thighs in casseroles, as they’re more tender and stand up well to slow cooking. They also shred up beautifully. However you can swap out the chicken thighs for chicken breast, or even bone-in chicken pieces.
- Add in extra veggies – such as baby potatoes, leeks, shallots or cubes of butternut squash.
- Add crispy bacon or pancetta at the end of cooking for am extra hit of flavour.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe:
You can double this recipe with no change needed to the ratios.
If you would like to halve the recipe, just halve the amount of chicken and vegetables, keeping the quantities of everything else the same. The casserole needs the amount of sauce in this recipe so it doesn’t dry out.
Can I cook it in the oven instead?
Yes, you can cook in a casserole dish with a lid on, in the oven at 175C/350F for 45-60 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
Add approx 120ml (1/2 cup) extra chicken stock when making the sauce, as liquid evaporates more in the oven.
Also, check and stir the dish a couple of times when cooking in the oven.
Nutritional information is approximate -based on 4 servings WITHOUT the serving suggestions of mashed potatoes and green beans.