A creamy, cheesy baked chicken casserole with a buttery cracker topping — like a richer cousin of Southern poppy seed chicken. Made with rotisserie chicken and simple pantry staples, it comes together fast and freezes for up to four months.
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Serving Size 8servings
Ingredients
Creamy Chicken Filling
5cupscooked rotisserie chickenshredded
4ozcream cheesesoftened (half of an 8 oz block)
1/2cupsour cream
1/2cupcottage cheese
1can10.5 oz cream of chicken soup
1tspgarlic powder
1/2tsponion powder
1 1/2tspCreole seasoningsuch as Tony Chachere's
1Tbspdried parsley
Topping
1cupshredded mozzarella cheese
30buttery round crackerscrushed (about 1 sleeve)
4Tbspbuttermelted (1/2 stick)
Chivesfor garnish
Instructions
Make the Filling
Let the cream cheese come to room temperature, then place it in a bowl and soften it slightly with a spoon.
Add the sour cream and cottage cheese to the cream cheese and mix to combine. The cottage cheese melts in like ricotta and adds creaminess.
Stir the creamy mixture into the shredded chicken, then add the cream of chicken soup. (If using homemade cream of chicken soup, thin it with a little milk first.)
Add the garlic powder, onion powder, Creole seasoning, and parsley. Mix until well combined.
Assemble & Bake
Spread the chicken mixture evenly into an 11x7 baking dish or 9-inch square pan.
Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top, then scatter the crushed crackers evenly over the cheese.
Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the crackers.
Bake at 350°F for about 35 minutes, until hot and bubbly with a golden top. Add about 10 minutes if baking from cold.
Garnish with chives and serve.
Video
Notes
Make-ahead: Assemble, cover, and freeze up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or up to 6 hours before baking. Or refrigerate assembled and bake within 1–2 days; let sit out ~30 minutes before baking.
Cottage cheese is undetectable in the finished dish — don't skip it.