A warming delicious slow-cooked chicken casserole with fall-apart meat, lovely veggies and a seasoned creamy sauce.
Most of the work is done in the slow cooker, so you can look forward to a hearty family dinner when you get home from work.
Serve it with mashed potato to soak up that delicious sauce. The king of comfort food.
Nothing says Autumn more to me than getting the slow cooker on and making a creamy casserole that's spooned over a big pile of buttery mashed potato.
(excuse me a moment whilst I do some Homer Simpson-style drooling).
This one, with slow-cooked chicken thighs, tender baby carrots and little button mushrooms is divine.
The chicken pulls apart beautifully, the rich sauce has a very slight lip-smacking tang from the hint of lemon juice and the veggies soak up that sauce, so you'll find yourself marvelling at how good a carrot can actually taste.
📋 What do we need?
Ingredients swaps
- I love to use chicken thighs in casseroles, as they're more tender and stand up well to slow cooking. They also shred up beautifully. However, you can swap out the chicken thighs for chicken breast, or even bone-in chicken pieces.
- Add in extra veggies - such as baby potatoes, leeks, shallots or cubes of butternut squash.
- Add crispy bacon or pancetta at the end of cooking for am extra hit of flavour.
🔪 How to make this chicken stew
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Brown the chicken in a pan with a little oil and then transfer to the slow cooker.
- Saute onions in a little butter in the same pan you cooked the chicken, then stir in garlic.
- Add in flour, salt, pepper, thyme and celery salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken stock and lemon juice.
- Stir and bring to the boil.
- Pour into the slow cooker over the top of the chicken.
- Add mushrooms, carrots and celery to the slow cooker and stir.
- Place the lid on and cook on a low heat for 5-6 hours or a high heat for 3-4 hours.
- Once cooked, stir in the cream and serve topped with fresh parsley.
📺 Watch How To Make It
🍽️ What to serve it with
You can serve this tasty slow cooker chicken casserole with:
- the Best Mashed Potatoes
- Green Beans
- Fresh Homemade Bread for dunking
- Classic Jacket Potatoes
- Sauteed Potatoes
- Good old Roast Potatoes also work really well
🍲 More fantastic Stews and Casseroles
- Sausage and Bean Casserole
- Slow-Cooked Steak Diane Casserole
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole
- Slow-Cooked Pork Casserole with Pancetta
- The Best Beef Bourguignon
- Beef and Guinness Stew
- African Stew with Chicken and Peanuts
- Chicken Paprikash < OK not sure this one classifies as a stew but its so delicious!
Stay updated with new recipes!
Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).
Chicken Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 8 boneless chicken thighs - trimmed of fat
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 brown onions - peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 3 tbsp plain/all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp celery salt
- 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 16-20 baby chestnut mushrooms
- 16-20 chantenay carrots
- 3 sticks celery - roughly chopped
- ¼ cup (60ml) double (heavy) cream
- Small bunch parsley – chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken thighs and lightly brown on both sides – this should take about 5 minutes.
- Once lightly browned remove from the pan and place in the slow cooker.
- Add the butter to the pan and heat until melted.
- Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add in the garlic, stir, and cook for a further minute.
- Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, thyme and celery salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the stock and lemon juice. Stir and bring to the boil, then pour into the slow cooker over the top of the chicken.
- Add the mushrooms, carrots and celery to the slow cooker and stir.
- Place the lid on and cook on a low heat for 5-6 hours or a high heat for 3-4 hours.
- Once cooked shred the chicken a little with two forks then stir in the cream.
- Serve topped with fresh parsley. I love to serve this casserole with mashed potato and green beans.
Video
✎ Notes
- I love to use chicken thighs in casseroles, as they're more tender and stand up well to slow cooking. They also shred up beautifully. However you can swap out the chicken thighs for chicken breast, or even bone-in chicken pieces.
- Add in extra veggies - such as baby potatoes, leeks, shallots or cubes of butternut squash.
- Add crispy bacon or pancetta at the end of cooking for am extra hit of flavour.
Add approx 120ml (½ cup) extra chicken stock when making the sauce, as liquid evaporates more in the oven.
Also, check and stir the dish a couple of times when cooking in the oven. Nutritional information is approximate -based on 4 servings WITHOUT the serving suggestions of mashed potatoes and green beans
Nutrition
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Kate Smith says
Made this last night and it was the best chicken casserole I've made. I shall always use this recipe in future. Thanks so much!
Rachel says
First saw this on your YouTube channel. Now my favourite go-to chicken casserole recipe. Super tasty!! 🙂
Claire says
I made this, and it should have been so lovely with those ingredients, but I found the sauce too runny, even with adding more flour to thicken it. It was also very bland, which was such a shame. I wonder what could have been added to give it more flavour. The description of it , was what drew me in.
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Claire, I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy this recipe. I wonder if using a stronger stock could have helped? Was it a flavourful stock you used? Also did you season to taste?
I would usually use a cornflour slurry to thicken - if you're looking to thicken further after the sauce is already made, as adding flour to a complete sauce can result in a raw-flour flavour.
Bethany Cowen says
SO tasty! A lovely warming meal
Alison Harris says
Could I omit the flour to help reduce the carbs when on keto?
Carrie says
THIS IS THE BEST DISH!! I've made it 2x now & all my boys, and husband, loved it!!
I served it over mashed potatoes, & used the oven method - it's pure comfort food and makes me soooooo happy!!!!! Thank you for sharing this great recipe 🙂
Ann Jewkes says
Tried pork in place of chicken and added fresh spinach when adding the cream so good.Third time making this recipe its a winner for me.
Emma Bollands says
I scale this down according to the advice given to feed two and it's always delicious. I don't bother with the lemon juice and add a little corn flour at the end to slightly thicken the sauce. It has become a regular favourite in our house
Jane says
Delicious
Diana Somerton says
Perfect casserole to keep out the cold wet weather. Doubled up so I’ve got lots to freeze.