Can anybody say “crowd-pleaser”? That’s exactly what this recipe is. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like this Poppyseed Chicken; there is a reason that there are about 900 variations floating around the internet. This is down-home, no-fuss comfort food.

IMG_1886I am officially in casserole-mode over here. With only a month left til my little bun is born, I just want to freeze everything I make recently in preparation for The Event. I’m so nervous about having 2 kids. I kind of feel like a wuss because Charlotte is such an easy toddler, relatively speaking. (I’m talking relative to the ones that have off the chart decibel levels and take off running whenever you take their leash off let go of their hand, or who are fond of streaking in public.) What if I were having a second baby and already had a hooligan child? Yes, some people have it much worse.

IMG_1877At least I can rest assured that I will have plenty of frozen casseroles to help me with the transition. Just a freezerfull of casserole helps the medicine go dooooown….or something like that.

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole


Source: this one’s all over the internet, but my sister Laura gave me the recipe.

Serves 6-8

Note: This is a fancy-fied version. You can leave out all the spices if you want. I just like to jazz it up a bit. Or season it to your taste. Don’t not make this because you are missing the garlic or something. Leave it out or replace it with something else. This recipe is pretty forgiving. Also, since most kids love this stuff, it might be a good idea to throw in some veggies if you have a hard time getting your kiddos to eat healthy. I’m thinking peas or broccoli.

2 10-oz. cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups light sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (This doesn’t make it spicy, it just adds great flavor.)
5 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed

2 stacks Ritz crackers (about 2 cups crushed)
1 1/2 tablespoons poppyseed
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter

1 lb egg noodles (or any pasta, really), cooked according to package directions

In a large bowl combine the first 10 ingredients (soup through chicken). Spread this mixture into a 9×13 inch dish. Set aside.

In a food processor, blend the 2 stacks of Ritz crackers with the poppyseeds until they are fine crumbs. (You can do this the old fashioned way too, of course. But don’t bang on the crackers while they are still in the plastic or one of the ends might explode on you, resulting in crackers crumbs all over your kitchen…transfer to a ziplock first. We can thank my sister Laura for this valuable information.) Once the crackers are crumbs and you have added the poppyseeds, add the melted butter and pulse in the food processor until thoroughly combined. (Or mix it up in a bowl.)

Sprinkle the cracker mixture evenly over the chicken and sauce. Bake at 350Ëš for about 35 minutes, until bubbly and the top starts to brown. I turned my broiler on for the last minute or so because I like my casseroles extra crunchy on top. (Just make sure you keep an eye on it!)

Serve over hot egg noodles.

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Comments

  1. Hi Karen,
    Your blog is my number one to go for always delicious no fail recipes.
    Do you have a cookbook?
    Thanks,
    Lisa

    1. Lisa you are the SWEETEST!! Thank you so much for taking the time to write me this note, you seriously made my day 🥰 I do not have a cookbook. Maybe someday I’ll get there!! Thanks for your support!

  2. I just made this, with some alterations. I used half cream of mushroom, half cream of chicken soup. I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. I added a bag of frozen peas, a drained can of green beans, and a chopped head of broccoli. I only used one stick of butter in the topping. And I used quinoa instead of noodles.

    Delicious!! I loved it, Caitlin loved it, and two children (ages 8 & 10) cleaned their plates. I’ll definitely make this again.

    Oh, and I doubled the recipe so neither of us would need to cook this week. I’m glad it’s good, because there’s a ton of leftovers!

  3. If you are going to freeze it, do you add the Ritz topping or wait until ready to bake? Just don’t want the best part to get soggy.

    1. Hey Emily! I would just freeze it and then bake when you want it. I think the topping will be fine. Enjoy!

  4. So, I loved this on the first day, but I loved it even more the second and third days, when it was cool and rainy and I wanted to heat up some warm lunch. The poppy seeds are so good. I left out like half the spices and even used random crackers instead of Ritz and made my own cream of chicken soup – yeah, you can’t mess this one up. Really, really good.

  5. It’s funny, you must have tweaked it, because that’s not the (exact) recipe I use. Although, I don’t think anything in the recipe I gave you is exact, other than the main items.
    Yours is much more healthy! My topping is 3 stacks of Ritz, 3 sticks butter, 3 T poppyseeds. (And you layer half on bottom, the other half on top the chicken.) I should try it your way. Although, why, when I can have death by poppyseed chicken? Hmmmmmm…

    1. Oh yeah, I should put that I adapted your recipe. This is literally all I have written down in my recipe book under Laura’s Poppyseed Chicken: “8-10 chicken breasts, pint sour cream, 2 cans soup, 3 sticks butter, 3 stacks Ritz, 3 T poppyseed. Cook chicken and shred, combine s. cream and soup in bowl.” Haha. Very descriptive. I forgot that you put half the crackers on the bottom. I should try that again, it was good.

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