Cracker-crumb chicken casserole
65 min · 47 g protein · 382 cals / serving
The creamy chicken casserole from every potluck, still under a golden layer of buttery cracker crumbs and poppy seeds. The sauce is made from scratch with broth and finished with Greek yogurt instead of canned soup and sour cream, and broccoli tucked into the filling gives every scoop more to it.
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken breast
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 5 cups broccoli, bite-size florets
Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2, juiced lemon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Topping
- 20 butter crackers, crushed
- 2 tsp butter, melted
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
Steps
- Put the chicken breasts in a saucepan with the broth, add water just to cover if needed, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and poach 14–18 minutes, until the thickest part reads 165°F. Lift the chicken out, save 1 cup of the broth, and shred or cube the meat.
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Drop the broccoli into the remaining broth for 2 minutes, just until bright green, then drain well.
- Melt the butter for the sauce in a large skillet and soften the onion, 5 minutes (a splash of the broth stops it sticking). Whisk the flour into the cold milk until no lumps remain, then pour it into the pan with the saved broth, garlic powder and thyme. Simmer, whisking, until thick, about 3 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and let it stop bubbling, then stir in the yogurt, parmesan, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste the sauce and add a pinch more salt if it needs it. Fold in the chicken and broccoli and spread it in a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) baking dish.
- Toss the cracker crumbs with the melted butter and poppy seeds and scatter them evenly over the top. Bake 25 minutes, until the edges bubble and the crumbs are deep golden. Rest 5 minutes before serving.
Good to know
Will the yogurt curdle in the oven?
Not if it goes in off the heat. The flour in the sauce protects it, and taking the pan off the burner first keeps it smooth. Stirring it into a boiling sauce is what splits it.
Can I use a rotisserie chicken?
Yes. Use about 4 cups of breast meat and swap the saved poaching liquid for 1 cup of broth.
Make ahead?
Assemble the filling up to a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. Add the cracker topping just before baking, and give it 10 more minutes in the oven since it starts cold.
Per
- Calories
- 125
- Protein
- (50%)
- 15 g
- Fat
- (27%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (22%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 288 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2290 kcal goes into the pot and 2691 g of ingredients comes out as about 1835 g of food: 125 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.