This Ritz hen casserole recipe turns my favourite snacking crackers into essentially the most scrumptious, crunchy, buttery casserole topping. The creamy filling is filled with juicy shredded hen, bacon, and cheese, and it’s sizzling from the oven in below an hour. Ideally suited for weeknights!
At any time when I want to make use of up leftover hen, I make a casserole. Recipes like this Ritz cracker hen casserole, my tacky hen and broccoli casserole, and Tex-Mex King Ranch hen casserole have it coated!
Of us, as we speak’s recipe is a consolation meals dwelling run. This Ritz hen casserole is reassuring for therefore many causes, however primarily, 1) it’s wealthy, creamy, tacky, and filled with juicy hen and bacon, and, 2) it wants a handful of substances I already had within the pantry. No journeys to the shop = consolation, in case you ask me. I additionally had some inexperienced beans within the crisper drawer, too, so I steamed these whereas this hen casserole baked up all bubbly beneath a layer of buttery Ritz crackers. Dinner was prepared in 40 minutes, and we scraped our plates CLEAN.
Causes to Love This Ritz Cracker Hen Casserole
- 10 minutes to prep. This recipe makes use of a simple, no-cook sauce that will get tossed with hen, layered below crispy Ritz crackers, and baked. It takes all of 10 minutes to arrange and you permit the remaining to your oven.
- Crunchy cracker topping. I borrowed the basic Ritz cracker crumb topping from my tacky potatoes to make this hen casserole. One in every of my greatest concepts but!
- Additional flavorful. This Ritz hen casserole has loads of creamy texture and scrumptious taste because of substances like cream of mushroom soup, bitter cream, salty bacon, and tender hen. I throw in a couple of handfuls of shredded cheese, too. It jogs my memory a number of my creamy crack hen recipe, which is all the time an excellent factor.
- Good for weeknights. Any recipe that takes lower than an hour has my weeknight stamp of approval. This hen and Ritz cracker casserole is foolproof, even in case you’re simply beginning out within the kitchen. You’re going to like it.
Recipe Components
You possibly can rely the substances for this casserole on lower than two palms. It’s very fridge and pantry-friendly, and I’ve included some notes right here to get you off on the proper foot. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card after the publish for the printable recipe with the total substances record and directions.
- Bacon – Any kind of bacon works, whether or not it’s streaky, again bacon, turkey bacon, smoked, and many others. You’ll prepare dinner the bacon in a skillet or utilizing your required technique. You too can substitute cooked and diced ham or pancetta.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup – Canned condensed mushroom soup, or you should use home made. Cream of hen soup additionally works on this recipe.
- Parsley – I take advantage of dried parsley. When you’re utilizing recent herbs, you’ll want about 1 tablespoon of recent herbs per 1 teaspoon dried.
- Bitter Cream – This may be full-fat or low-fat bitter cream. Plain or Greek yogurt makes an excellent substitute.
- Hen – Cooked and shredded. Leftover rotisserie hen works nice right here, or you should use any cooked hen you have got available. Or, you possibly can rapidly boil hen and shred it.
- Shredded Cheese – I take advantage of cheddar, however any melty cheese goes properly on this recipe. Strive Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack (in case you prefer it spicy), Gouda, Mozzarella, Gruyere, or a mixture of shredded cheese. Grate the cheese recent from the block in order that it melts easily.
- Ritz Crackers – Crushed up for the topping, plus a couple of complete crackers for garnish. Be at liberty to make use of name-brand or store-brand. When you don’t have Ritz crackers, you possibly can nonetheless make this hen casserole with one other topping, see beneath.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted.
What Can I Use As a substitute of Ritz Crackers?
It won’t technically be a Ritz hen casserole, however this recipe nonetheless seems scrumptious with one other crunchy topping. Good choices are panko crumbs, crushed cheese crackers, cornflakes, crushed potato chips, or a favourite stuffing combine, just like the cornbread stuffing I take advantage of to prime my hen stuffing casserole.
Tips on how to Make Ritz Hen Casserole
I like that this recipe is tremendous fast to prep. I can whip collectively a fast salad, a facet of fries, or roast veggies within the air fryer whereas the casserole bakes within the oven. Dinner is on the desk in below an hour (my aim on most weeknights), and everybody licks their plates clear. The steps are fast and easy. Bear in mind to scroll for serving recommendations!
- Cook dinner the bacon. First, prepare dinner up a batch of crispy bacon on the stovetop or air fryer. Crumble it up afterward.
- Mix the substances. In the meantime, add the cream of mushroom soup, bitter cream, and parsley to a big bowl. Stir within the bacon, shredded hen, and shredded cheese, together with salt and pepper to style.
- Fill the pan. Add the hen casserole filling into an oiled 9” baking dish.
- Make the topping. Subsequent, calmly toast the Ritz cracker crumbs in a skillet with melted butter to make the topping. Unfold the cracker crumbs evenly over the hen filling.
- Bake. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes till it’s sizzling and bubbly. Afterward, let the casserole relaxation for 10 minutes to arrange a bit for serving, and dig in!
Simple Variations
This Ritz hen casserole is wealthy and creamy but gentle, which makes it nice for households (particularly children). Together with a beneficiant seasoning of salt and pepper, nonetheless, there are a couple of simple methods to vary up the substances and amp up the flavour on this hen casserole. Listed here are some I’d recommend:
- Swap hen for turkey. I really love making this Ritz cracker casserole with shredded leftover turkey within the days after a vacation, like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- Herbs. Along with dried parsley, you possibly can season the casserole with dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, or a mix like Herbes de Provence.
- Spices. Add in candy or smoked paprika, garlic powder, or onion powder.
- Seasoning blends. Add slightly Italian seasoning or hen seasoning for further taste. When you like spice, strive my Jamaican jerk seasoning for slightly one thing totally different.
- Add-ins. Swap common bacon for smoked bacon to present the casserole a extra distinctive taste. You can additionally substitute spicy Italian sausage or chorizo.
- Veggies. Add pre-cooked greens like broccoli, carrots, celery, or onion. Strive a frozen vegetable medley for some hen pot pie vibes.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer leftover hen casserole hermetic within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
- Reheat. I wish to reheat this casserole within the oven, both complete or in parts, to crisp up the topping once more. Use an oven-proof dish and canopy the casserole with foil earlier than warming it at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes.
- Freeze. You possibly can freeze the cooled casserole for as much as 3 months. Thaw it within the fridge earlier than you reheat it.
Extra Hen Casserole Recipes
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Cook dinner the bacon. Warmth a splash of oil in a big skillet. Add bacon slices and prepare dinner till crispy. Take away the bacon and place it on paper towels. Crumble the bacon and put aside.
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Combine the casserole substances. In a big bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, parsley, and bitter cream. Stir within the cooked shredded hen, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Season to style with salt and pepper.
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Prep. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and gently coat a 9-inch baking dish with some olive oil.
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Fill the pan. Add the ready hen combination to the ready baking dish.
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Make the topping. Soften the butter in a saucepan over medium warmth. Add within the cracker crumbs and stir to mix. Take away from warmth and unfold the cracker topping over the casserole.
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Bake. Bake the casserole for 25 minutes.
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Serve. Take away it from the oven and funky the hen casserole for 10 minutes earlier than serving.
- Soup choices. You need to use cream of mushrooms or cream of hen soup for this recipe.
- Cheese decisions. As a substitute of cheddar cheese, substitute any kind of cheese you’d want.
- Bacon. I like to recommend plain bacon or a smoked model. The smoked bacon offers a singular taste to the dish.
Serving: 1.25cups | Energy: 561kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 27g | Fats: 42g | Saturated Fats: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 6g | Monounsaturated Fats: 13g | Trans Fats: 1g | Ldl cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 878mg | Potassium: 353mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 725IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 2mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might differ in response to the substances and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
