Party Chicken Casserole

This retro chicken casserole is built in layers like a savory cake: crabmeat on the bottom, herb stuffing in the middle, and chicken breasts on top, all blanketed in undiluted cream of mushroom soup and baked low and slow until the chicken is tender and the edges are bubbling.

It’s the kind of dish that was a dinner party staple in the 1960s and 70s, and for good reason. You assemble it in 20 minutes, slide it in the oven, and walk away for an hour and a half. The mushroom soup melts down during baking into a rich, creamy gravy that soaks into the stuffing and keeps the chicken moist.

The crabmeat on the bottom is a luxurious surprise. Most guests expect stuffing under their chicken, not seafood. As it bakes, the crab releases its sweet, briny juices into the stuffing layer above it.

Kitchen Tips

• Use canned lump crabmeat and pick through it carefully for shell fragments. One crunchy bit ruins the whole experience.
• Bone and skin the chicken breasts so they cook evenly and aren’t rubbery. Skin-on breasts don’t brown well under a layer of soup.
• Don’t dilute the mushroom soup. Straight from the can, it bakes down into a thick, clingy sauce. Adding water makes it thin and watery.
• The casserole is done when the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) and the soup is bubbling around the edges.

Variations

• Use shrimp instead of crabmeat for a more budget-friendly seafood layer.
• Add a layer of steamed broccoli florets between the stuffing and chicken for vegetables.
• Swap cream of mushroom for cream of celery soup for a slightly different flavor profile.