Easy chicken casserole
An easy chicken casserole recipe should be in every cook's little black book and this one will go down well with all of the family. Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes, or rice.
Each serving provides 425 kcal, 48g protein, 13g carbohydrates (of which 7.5g sugars), 19g fat (of which 5g saturates), 5g fibre and 2.4g salt.
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (around 850g/1lb 14oz)
- 1 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 rashers smoked back bacon, cut into roughly 2cm/¾in slices
- 150g/5½oz small mushrooms, halved or quartered if larger
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into roughly 1.5cm/⅝in slices
- 20/¾dz plain flour (around 2 tbsp)
- 1 tsp dried thyme or 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 500ml/18fl oz hot chicken stock (made with 1 stock cube)
- 1 medium leek, trimmed and cut into roughly 1cm/½in slices
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Season the chicken thighs all over with a little salt and lots of black pepper.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick casserole pan over a medium heat and fry the chicken for 7–8 minutes, skin-side down, or until the skin is nicely browned. Turn and cook on the other side for 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
Return the pan to the heat and add the onion, bacon and mushrooms. Fry over a medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring regularly. Add the carrots and flour and toss together well.
Sprinkle with the thyme, then pour in the stock, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition. Add the chicken pieces back to the pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover the pan with a lid.
Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Take out of the oven and stir in the leeks.
Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes, or until the chicken and leeks are tender and the sauce has thickened. Serve.
Recipe Tips
You can use boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets for this recipe if you like. Fry for 3 minutes on each side before transferring to a plate. Follow the recipe as above but cook for 35 minutes rather than 45 minutes before adding the leek.
What's the difference between stew and casserole?
Casseroles are cooked in the oven and stews are cooked on the hob, but there's often not much difference in the ingredients.
What goes with a chicken casserole?
Casseroles are lovely by themselves or with crusty bread, but if you want something more substantial mashed, boiled or baked potatoes are a good option.
My casserole is watery, how do I thicken it?
The long gentle cook should have thickened the sauce sufficiently, but you can thicken it further by simmering on the hob until the volume of liquid has reduced. Alternatively, mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 1 tbsp cold water to make a slurry, stir into the casserole and cook for a few minutes until thickened.
Can you freeze a chicken casserole?
Yes, you can cool the chicken casserole completely and then transfer to a freezer-safe, air-tight plastic box (in portions, if needed). Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the casserole in the fridge overnight, then gently re-heat on the stove until piping hot.