Add Southern pecans to chicken in a creamy sour cream based sauce and you have a perfect weeknight casserole or weekend brunch. A cheesy pecan crumble on the top and bottom gives this chicken casserole some crunch and flavor. No canned soup here, just an easy egg based sauce that can be prepped in only 15 minutes. Let the oven do all the work.
Make a Chicken Casserole with Pecans for Dinner Tonight
This easy chicken pecan casserole is perfect for a weeknight dinner when you just don’t want to have to think about what to cook. The nutty, toasty pecan crust adds both texture and flavor to the creamy casserole. In the South, we like to add pecans to everything even casseroles and who can pass by a crumble, normally seen topping sweet blackberries, it’s fabulous on a savory casserole.
While this uses eggs, only four, they just hold everything together, I would not consider this to be an egg based casserole like with an overnight breakfast casserole. So if you have egg haters, this would be a great casserole to serve for breakfast or brunch. It’s much lighter than a hamburger potato casserole and would be great with Mimosas!
The chicken casserole cooks in 30 minutes but only takes a few minutes to prepare and requires minimal cleanup time. All of the ingredients are things you probably have in your refrigerator, and pantry. These simple staple ingredients all come together to make something incredible – the oven really transforms them into a special meal.
It doesn’t have a homemade mushroom soup base, but a lighter sour cream and mayonnaise base.
The casserole is filling all by itself, but even the best casseroles are made better with a side dish. Roasted asparagus or a mixed fruit salad would be two great choices to compliment the flavors and of course some buttermilk biscuits. Finish off your dinner with peach cobbler or if peaches aren’t in season, a slice of hummingbird cake for the perfect Southern meal.
How should I cook the chicken for the casserole?
There are a couple of ways to go about making the chicken for this casserole. Of course, the simplest way to get cooked chicken for this recipe is to buy a rotisserie chicken from the store and pick all the meat off of it. They aren’t terribly expensive, and on a truly busy night, the convenience is absolutely worth any extra cost.
You can also roast boneless skinless chicken breasts, it only takes 30 minutes and is super simple. Cook a bunch at a time and freeze it to have on hand, I always have a few vacuum sealed packs in the freezer for weeknight dinners.
Chicken Pecan Casserole Recipe Ingredients
- Cooked chicken: Tender chunks of chicken are the main protein in this dish you can use rotisserie or roast your own chicken breasts.
- Cheddar Cheese: Brings a rich, cheesy goodness to both the crust and the filling. You can also use Monterey, Pepper Jack, or Colby cheese.
- Pecans: These buttery and crunchy nuts give the crust both flavor and texture, you could substitute with walnuts.
- Sour Cream: Creates a creamy and tangy base for the filling. Greek yogurt is an excellent substitute for sour cream in this recipe.
- Mayonnaise: Adds tang and creamy smoothness to the filling. Mixed with sour cream, it’s the perfect base for a casserole.
- Pantry staples: butter, eggs, flour, chicken broth, paprika, onions, dried dill, hot sauce.
Directions for an Easy Chicken Casserole Recipe
Step 1: Prepare the pecan crust.
Combine flour, seasoning, cheese and pecans and add melted butter. Press most of it into the bottom of your casserole dish and reserve some for the topping. Bake it for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Make the filling.
Whisk together the eggs, sour cream, mayo and chicken broth. Add some onion, cheese seasonings and cooked chicken and pour it over the baked crust.
Step 3: Bake the casserole.
Sprinkle the reserved crumble over the top and bake.
As it bakes, it thickens so that you can easily cut in into squares for easy serving. Don’t over bake this casserole or it can get dry. Take it out with just a little moisture on the knife when tested.
Can I make this ahead of time?
This recipe is not one that can be assembled ahead of time. You can bake the crust ahead of time but wait to add the filling until prior to baking. Otherwise, the crumble will absorb into the casserole.
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Creamy Chicken Casserole with Pecan Crumble
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup butter melted
For the Filling:
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ green onion finely chopped
- ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded
- ¼ teaspoon dill seed dry
- ¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 4 cups chicken 2 breasts, cooked and chopped
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and paprika. Mix in 2 cups of shredded cheese and pecans and pour melted butter over the mixture. Combine with a fork. Set aside ½ cup for the topping and press the rest into the bottom of a baking dish and bake for 10 minutes until lightly brown.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, and chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Add onion, ½ cup cheese, dill, hot sauce and chicken and mix together. Pour over the baked crust.
- Sprinkle reserved crust over the mixture and make for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- You can use rotisserie chicken or roast your own chicken breasts, you will need about 2 chicken breasts to get 4 cups of shredded chicken.
- Don’t over cook this or it will be dry, take it out as soon as a knife comes out clean or with just a little liquid on it. It will continue to cook after it comes out of the oven.
Nutrition
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Jennifer Jones says
I halved this yummy and easy to prepare casserole and baked in an 8 x 8 glass dish. I normally do not eat a lot of casseroles but this recipe sort of appealed to me. So glad I tried it. Since it’s just hubby and myself ( we’re retired) we had it for dinner tonight with green salad. I plan to serve the leftovers tomorrow at lunch with a fresh salsa. Tasty and easy to prepare. Thanks Barbara!
Barbara Curry says
I’m so glad you tried it and that you found something new to try for dinner! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Trisha Doyle says
Question? It looks from the pic light the recipe has celery in it. The picture above shows green onion. The written recipe contains neither. Can you please advise?
Barbara Curry says
The dish does contain onions. You can use any type, I prefer a milder flavor so went with green onions.