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Chicken and veggies in a creamy sauce topped with crispy potatoes. My Creamy Chicken and Potato Bake is a whole meal in one dish! Perfect cold day comfort food.
“Lovely, everyone husband, 3 kids ate the lot. Very nice indeed.”
Nicky’s Notes
This started as a “use what’s in the fridge” Sunday bake and turned into a proper family favourite. I love how simple ingredients become something special.
Cheesy-creamy chicken, a few veggies (that pass the kid-test when they’re in that dreamy sauce) and a gorgeous layer of crispy sliced potato.
It’s got Lancashire hotpot vibes, but with chicken and cream instead of lamb and gravy (and I love them both equally).
Table of Contents
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Fry the onion, garlic and carrots, then add the wine and simmer. Stir in cream, Dijon, the cheeses and seasoning. Add cooked chicken and spinach, heat through, then transfer to a baking dish and top with thinly sliced potatoes. Brush with butter and bake until golden.
Recipe Tips
- You can miss out the step of transferring to a baking dish if the frying pan you used for the filling is oven-proof. Simply layer the potatoes on top of the sauce in the frying pan.
- Don’t want to use wine? Swap it out for 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice or cider vinegar.
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
This is a meal in itself, but if you do like to add a side or two, try:
- Slices of crusty bread – for mopping up that sauce
- Garlic bread (who can resist)
- Some roasted broccoli – if you’d like to increase the veg.
Creamy Chicken and Potato Bake
Equipment
- Mandoline (optional – for slicing potatoes thinly)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped into small chunks
- 4 tbsp white wine
- 215 ml (1 cup minus 2 tbsp) double/heavy cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 100 g (1 packed cup) mature cheddar cheese grated
- 50 g (1/2 cup) Parmesan cheese grated
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- pinch dried thyme
- 375 g (13 oz) cooked chicken approx. 3 chicken breasts, shredded
- 100 g (3 1/4 packed cups) baby spinach leaves
- 350 g (3/4 lb) baby new potatoes thinly sliced (no need to peel)
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- fresh thyme to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (fan).
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, and carrots and cook on medium heat, stirring regularly until the onion softens.1 tbsp oil, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 3 medium carrots
- Add the wine, bring to the boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the cream and mustard and stir together. Heat through until almost boiling, then stir in both cheeses, along with a good pinch of salt, pepper, and dried thyme.4 tbsp white wine, 215 ml (1 cup minus 2 tbsp) double/heavy cream, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 100 g (1 packed cup) mature cheddar cheese, 50 g (1/2 cup) Parmesan cheese, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, pinch dried thyme
- Add the cooked chicken and spinach and heat through until the spinach wilts.375 g (13 oz) cooked chicken, 100 g (3 1/4 packed cups) baby spinach leaves
- Spoon the chicken mixture into a large baking dish, then layer the potatoes on top, starting from the outside and working inwards. Once covered in the potato slices, brush with the melted butter and sprinkle on a pinch of salt and pepper.350 g (3/4 lb) baby new potatoes, 1 tbsp melted butter
- Place in the oven to bake for 30-40 mins, until the potatoes are tender and golden brown.
- Top with fresh thyme before serving.fresh thyme to garnish
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was first posted in March 2018. Updated since with tips and for housekeeping reasons.
? Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, make the chicken and potato bake and bake it in the oven for just 15 minutes – until the potatoes are lightly cooked (they won’t be fully cooked). Then remove from the oven, cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day.
To reheat, take the dish out of the fridge an hour before you want to bake it (to take the chill off), then bake at 170C/325F (fan) for 20 minutes with a lid/foil on. Then turn up the oven to 200C/400F (fan), take the lid/foil off and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are browned and crisp and the dish is piping hot throughout.
Par-cooking the dish in the oven before cooling and refrigerating it helps to prevent oxidation of the potatoes (when potatoes turn brown/grey when exposed to oxygen).
Yes, make the chicken and potato bake and bake it in the oven for just 15 minutes – until the potatoes are lightly cooked (they won’t be fully cooked). Then remove from the oven, cool, cover and freeze.
Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then take the dish out of the fridge one hour before baking, to take the chill off.
Then reheat as per the ‘make-ahead’ instructions above.
If you are confident you can use a knife and chopping board and slice them on the side. Alternatively you can used a Mandolin (affiliate link) to get the perfect thickness slices. I don’t bother to peel the potatoes. If you’re using baby new potatoes like I have, then you don’t notice the skin.
Worried that buying a mandolin for this recipe might not be worth it? They come in really handy we have quite a few other recipes that use a mandolin; Lancashire Hotpot, Easy Ratatouille, Shoestring Fries or homemade Coleslaw.
🍲 More Creamy Chicken dinners
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Delicious recipe, much more flavor than I had anticipated and an excellent way to eat a lot of vegetable. I made it just as the recipe stated except I used fresh thyme, rather than dried, and removed the stalks before baking and used 10% cream. Thank you!
made this sevral times now but changed the cream for creme fraiche still tastes same but lower in calories
What can I substitute double cream with to make it lower fat
So delicious! Really enjoyed making it with my 3 year old and it tasted divine! The only thing I want sure about was the consistency after adding the chicken and spinach as it was quite dry, so I added a bit of water to make it more saucy.
Looking forward to making this but I only have frozen spinach could I use this instead, if so how ?
Thanks 😊
I recommend you leave the spinach out to defrost and drain all of the water once defrosted.
I just used frozen spinach and it worked really well!