Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
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With just 4 ingredients, you can use up leftover cooked chicken in this cheesy, comforting Chicken and Stuffing Casserole. Be sure to prep two and freeze one for later using our freezing instructions.
P.S. We also have a Turkey Stuffing Casserole you’ll want to try with leftovers from the holidays.
5 Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Only 4 main ingredients! (Although we give the option to make the stuffing and gravy or cream soup from scratch if you want.)
- Comforting, cheesy, and satisfying recipe. (Our Turkey Stuffing Casserole is too!)
- Kids and adults enjoy it, making it a great fall potluck meal idea.
- Great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken, stuffing, and gravy or cream of chicken soup.
- Easy to make ahead and freeze (so be sure to double it!).
Ingredients
You’ll only need four basic components for the casserole. Hooray!
Ingredient Notes:
- Pre-cooked chicken: We found that using raw chopped chicken does get fully cooked, but it leaves behind water and a film that just isn’t very appetizing. Use rotisserie chicken as a shortcut or you could also use chicken from our Roasted Chicken and Vegetables recipe or from Instant Pot Whole Chicken.
- Leftover Homemade Gravy or Cream of Chicken Soup: If using a canned soup, I always spend a little extra money to get an organic version, preferably in a box or BPA-free can. You can also certainly make Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup, too!
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese: I always use sharp cheddar, but use whatever kind of cheddar you like.
- Prepared Stuffing: Either make Homemade Stuffing or prepare store-bought stuffing. The bummer is that the boxed stuff is often filled with processed ingredients, preservatives, and additives. To avoid those, spend a little more and purchase organic (and preferably whole wheat) stuffing in the health food section.
Tip: Try Turkey Instead
This casserole is a great way to use up leftover turkey, gravy, and stuffing from the holidays, too.
How to Make This Chicken Casserole
You can probably memorize this recipe, to be honest. It only requires three steps.
Prep the Oven & Dish
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8×8-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
Layer the Casserole
Layer 1: Add the cooked chicken. (Chopped rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut.)
Layer 2: Spread out the cream of chicken soup or gravy.
Layer 3: Sprinkle on the shredded cheddar cheese.
Layer 4: Top with the prepared stuffing.
Bake
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until heated through and golden brown on top. Serve hot.
How to Freeze Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
One of the perks of this recipe is that it’s super easy to prepare an extra one ahead and freeze it. If you freeze before baking, it will taste like a fresh meal later. Just follow these instructions…
Freeze For Later:
Grease an 8×8 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Follow Step 2 in the recipe, putting the casserole together. Do not bake. Cover tightly with a few layers of plastic wrap or foil (or an air-tight lid) and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen:
Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 350°F. Set the casserole on the counter while the oven preheats. Bake according to Step 3 in the recipe.
FAQs
Yes. Some vegetables that would be good in this casserole are finely chopped broccoli florets (no need to pre-cook if chopped finely), sautéed diced onions, celery, carrots, or mushrooms, and frozen peas (no need to pre-cook).
Yes, this is a great dish to prep ahead of time. Put the casserole together but do not bake it. Tightly wrap with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 1-2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You’ll need to replace two ingredients to make this chicken casserole gluten-free. 1) Buy store-bought gluten-free stuffing in the health food section. Or, you can make our homemade stuffing recipe using gluten-free bread instead. 2) Buy gluten-free cream of chicken soup at the store or make our homemade cream of chicken soup using gluten-free flour instead.
Because there is dairy in the stuffing, soup/gravy, and cheese, this will be challenging. However, you’re welcome to omit the cheese and try to find dairy-free versions of stuffing and soup/gravy at the store, though.
Yes! It will help to thaw and then rewarm the leftovers in the oven, so the topping doesn’t get too mushy.
More Chicken Casseroles to Try
If you like this casserole, you’re sure to love some of these other favorite chicken casseroles:
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Chicken Fajita Casserole
- Chicken Spaghetti
- Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake
What to Serve with This Chicken Casserole
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
With just four ingredients, you can use up leftover cooked chicken in this cheesy, comforting casserole. Be sure to prep two and freeze one for later using our freezing instructions.
Ingredients
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups diced, cooked chicken (see Cooking Notes)
- 1 1/4 cups (or one 10.5 ounce can) Cream of Chicken Soup OR Leftover Chicken Gravy
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 – 3 1/2 cups Homemade Stuffing OR 1 (6 ounce) box store-bought stuffing, prepared according to package directions
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8×8-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Layer the casserole dish evenly with the chicken, cream of chicken soup or gravy, shredded cheese, and prepared stuffing. (Freezing instructions being here.)
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until heated through and golden brown on top. Serve hot.
Freeze For Later:
Follow Steps 1 and 2. Cover tightly with a few layers of plastic wrap or foil (or an air-tight lid) and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen:
Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 350°F. Set the casserole on the counter while the oven preheats. Follow Step 3.
Notes/Tips
- How to Prep Chicken for This Casserole: You have a few options to prepare cooked chicken for this recipe:
- Shred Rotisserie Chicken – Buy a rotisserie chicken at the store and shred the meat. This should yield about 4 cups or enough to make two casseroles (freeze one for later!).
- Bake: Season 2-3 chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper. Bake on a rimmed sheet pan at 400°F for about 20-30 minutes (until no longer pink inside or register 165°F internally). Let rest on wooden cutting board for 5-10 minutes and then shred or dice the chicken.
- Instant Pot: Add 2-3 well-seasoned chicken breasts and 1 cup chicken broth to the Instant Pot. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes with a quick release. Let rest on wooden cutting board for 5-10 minutes and then shred or dice the chicken.
- Slow Cooker: Season 2-3 chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 1/2 – 3 hours (until no longer pink inside or register 165°F internally)–no longer and NOT on high. Let rest on wooden cutting board for 5-10 minutes and then shred or dice the chicken.
- Word of Caution: I do not recommend using canned or store-bought frozen cooked chicken. The taste and texture is much better using the recommendations above!
- Where We Get Our Chicken: We get our meat from ButcherBox. The chicken is organic and curated from small, trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef–and have used it for years ourselves. Read my full review here.
- Recipe Update: On 11/2/22, we retested, took new photos of, and sized down this recipe to make it faster and more convenient to make. We are now using pre-cooked rather than raw chicken.
- Gluten-Free Version: Use gluten-free stuffing and gluten-free canned cream soup.
- Can I Make a Dairy-Free Version? Because there is dairy in the stuffing, soup/gravy, and cheese, this will be challenging. However, you’re welcome to omit the cheese and try to find DF versions of stuffing and soup/gravy at the store, though.
Can I mix all of the ingredients, including the stuffing, together before baking?
Hi Sally. We haven’t tested mixing the ingredients, so if you do, let us know how it turns out. While I think mixing the chicken, cheese, and gravy would be fine, if the stuffing isn’t on top by itself, it might end up a little soggy.
Really good and easy. Only revision I made was mixed about half a can of cream of celery to the can of cream of chicken. Was a big hit with the family!
Hi Paul! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and let others know of your additional ingredient. So glad the family loved it!