I’m not one to waste food and that’s how I came up with this recipe.
Recipe Origin
Each weekend I make a fresh loaf of sourdough bread, a dessert/snack, and some form of breakfast for the week to come. This helps me feel a little more prepared and gives me more control of what my family is consuming.
Well a couple weeks ago we ended up eating one or two slices from our sourdough loaf, leaving the rest to go stale. I’m not one to waste food and will quickly incorporate it into a new meal or at minimum will feed it to our chickens. But a whole loaf? Oh yeah, the hens weren’t getting it all. So I rummaged the freezer and fridge to find other bits of food that needed used and found just the right ingredients for chicken pot pie and stuffing! And the Chicken & Stuffing Casserole was born. If this dish doesn’t make you feel cozy and loved, I don’t know what will.
Chicken & Stuffing Casserole Recipe Card
Full Recipe Instructions
Cheat Codes
This recipe can be simplified a bit by using a can of cream of chicken instead of making the “base”-but have you checked the ingredients on that canned sludge? Yeah. Just make your own.
You can also use precooked or store bought rotisserie chicken if you have it- you’ll just need 4-5lbs to fill the dish and a box of chicken stock to replace the stock made from cooking the chicken later in the recipe.
Prepare chicken and stock
To get started, cook the chicken. I like to use my crockpot pressure cooker (InsantPot) for this recipe because it will cook the chicken and make the chicken stock needed for the base and stuffing. Add the chicken legs (with skin) to cooker along with 3-3.5 cups of water and 2 T tablespoons of salt. Cook 25-30 minutes to ensure the flavor and nutrients cook into the water and the chicken is very tender. Once done, set chicken aside to cool.
Prepare the stuffing
While the chicken is cooking, I prepare my stuffing ingredients. Finely dice the onion and celery and add to a medium stock pot with 1 cup of butter and 2 teaspoons of salt. Once chicken is done, add 2 cups of chicken stock to the pan as well. Over medium heat, allow mixture to simmer 10-15 minutes, until the celery and onions are tender. While the stock mixture is simmering, slice bread into 1” x 2” pieces and season with sage and poultry seasoning. Add seasoned bread to a large bow, pour stock mixture over top of it and stir until well combined.
Make the base
Add 1 cup of chicken stock, 6 tablespoons of butter, 1 cup cream, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and 2 teaspoons of salt to a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Lower to low-medium heat. Ladle 1/3 cup of the hot mixture into a small bowl and add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk until no clumps remain. Pour cornstarch mixture back into the saucepan and stir until base has thickened to a gravy like consistency. Remove from heat.
Assemble!
Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F while assembling casserole.
Pour base into 9×13 casserole dish. Pull chicken apart into bite size pieces and spread over base. Top with frozen vegetables. Swirl ingredients into base to combine slightly. Pour extra 1/2 cup stock over base, chicken, and vegetables. Place stuffing on top of base in large scoops. Using a large spatula or your hands, spread and press stuffing over the base, covering it entirely. Bake 35-40 minutes, until stuffing is golden brown and crispy. Allow to rest and cool a bit before serving.
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-Kristen
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