I love a good casserole, don’t you? You know what I love more? When I get to eat a good casserole, especially when I’m not the one who prepared it!
A few years ago my husband (bless his heart) tried his hand at making a casserole. You would have to know him to understand how thoughtful it was of him to do this. Let’s just put it this way, cooking and baking is not something which comes naturally to him. Eating what I bake and cook is entirely a different story.
You know its not a good sign when someone presents a dish saying “I’m not going to tell you what is in here because you will think it’s gross and won’t eat it”. He had good reason to be skeptical of my potential reaction because the “wet” part of the casserole is made with mayonnaise and a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. Right now some of you are saying “gross, nasty, yuck..”, its okay because I had similar thoughts running through my head. I would like to encourage you by saying, “Please do not knock it until you try it”. Not only did I eat, I loved it!! And ad an added bonus, MY KIDS LOVED IT!!
The reason I love this casserole so much is because its simplicity. Chicken, onions, celery, rice, and almonds together is very lovely as you can imagine. Adding condensed soup and mayonnaise together is a surprisingly nice combination. The vinegar and acid in the mayonnaise cuts into the saltiness of the condensed soup ultimately giving the casserole a very nice balanced flavor. And the “wet” ingredients are just enough to bind the rest of the ingredients together. I top it off with Stove-Top because it adds a great crunch savory crust making this dish.. “MMmmm MMMmm good”.
Since then this casserole has become a family favorite and is often requested for potlucks. From our house to yours, enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice (approx. 1.5 cups of uncooked rice)
2 tablespoons butter
1 med onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 pound chicken breast, cubed into bite sized pieces
1 1/4 cup mayonnaise * what I do is use the same amount as the soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
Salt and Pepper
1 box (5oz) of Stove Top stuffing mix
3 tablespoons melted butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium size saute/frying pan toast almonds for approximately 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Remove almonds from pan into large bowl. Add 2 TB of butter to frying pan and saute chicken pieces until no longer pink. Remove chicken and add to the bowl with almonds. Saute onions and celery for 3 minutes and add to the chicken/almond mixture. Add rice, condensed cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, and a little salt and pepper (to taste) to the bowl and mix everything until well combined. Add mixture to a greased casserole dish (dish size can be anything from medium to 9×13). Microwave 3 TB. of butter until melted. Open the bag of Stove Top Stuffing and add melted butter to it. Fold the bag at the seam and shake the mixture for half a minute. Sprinkle the stuffing mixture on top of the casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Enjoy!
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Yes, this casserole freezes very well but I don’t know about cooking times since I usually cheat by re-heating partially in the microwave and then finishing it off in the oven.
This sounds great. I was wondering if it would freeze well. I love to have frozen casseroles for busy nights. Any idea?
I love casseroles! I’m always looking for a new recipe and this one looks great. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
Any ideas for a substitution for the can of cream of chicken soup. Its a little hard to come by here in Spain.
I tried this. The first one went pear shaped! Left it in the oven too long and burnt it! Second attempt went down a treat with the whole family. So well in fact I made it again for the folks!
Inspiration! I haven’t had a good casserole in a while! One thing that I don’t like is that I can’t stop my stomach from growling… Your photos are making me super hungry!
Looks delicious! A friend made a similar one which is a favorite, can’t wait to try this. Your photos are always so beautiful.
I love a good casserole, and it’s gotta have some kind of creamy soup in it, right? I bet this is delicious, and how sweet of your husband to make it for you!
A good comforting casserole is always a welcomed dish. And as the late humorist Erma Bombeck said “The best way to clean your casserole baking dish is to make dinner for your neighbor in it…it will be returned looking better than it looked before you cooked in it—the burned on spots will magically disappear”
Thank for sharing your family’s favorite.
No judgment here — there’s something about casseroles that’s so homey and they’re like crack to kids. I have one I make with two kinds of Campbell’s soup, ground beef, cheese, celery, onions and noodles, but I don’t have the cojones to post it.
This looks luscious.
Ooh, I’m bookmarking this! We don’t eat a lot of casseroles, but this one sure looks yummy!
Lauren,
You could make your own herbed GF bread crumbs/croutons or crushed potato chips!
I love delivering this casserole to friends who are sick or going through a rough time. It’s so good and always received warmly. It goes a long ways and the leftovers are just as good as day one.
Best Regards,
that’s it – i’m coming over.
The kids and I just polished off another delicious plate. It’s almost as good as when I make it 🙂
-DH
Yum… Reminds me of something my hubby would make. Thanks for sharing one of your family favorites with all of us!
i love good casseroles..especially to cook them as they ar ea one-pot meal! 🙂
What a sweet husband to make you dinner:) I’m a sucker for a good casserole. I guess growing up in the midwest will do that to you:)
To be honest, theoretically I would totally knock this dish, but the fact is that I know I would love it just as much as your family does. It’s not the classiest or most graceful dinner, but that’s what casseroles are for. One of these days, when I make a ‘family'(for my friends) dinner, I will be trying this out. Thanks for sharing a little bit of your family life.
i can’t remember the last time i had a good casserole. now i’m inspired! gorgeous photos!
This looks so warm and comforting. I’m wishing I had a bowl of your casserole in front of me (even thought it is 7:45am in Tokyo right now!) With the chilly weather that is now here, dishes like these are very necessary. My mom used to make a creamy casserole similar to this one with chicken, rice, almonds and broccoli when I was younger and my sister and I loved it so much. Glad your kids seem to have similar taste buds!
My favourite casserole would have to be my mom’s broccoli rice cheese casserole – they’re so simple & great meals! This one looks wonderful! Do you know what is in a Stove Top stuffing mix? I’m gluten free, so that mix would be out of the question =D.