Million Dollar Chicken Casserole With Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

Is there anything better than a casserole with a golden, buttery, crumbly crust? Nope! And that’s what makes this million dollar chicken casserole recipe so perfect! A fully from-scratch recipe that uses Ritz crackers to make a salty, buttery crust on top of a flavorful thick and creamy filling made with homemade cream of chicken soup. You can make this recipe without opening any cans and you won’t believe how easy it is.

 

No Cans Needed for this Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole

We all know how easy dinners are when you pour in a can of ‘cream of’ soup. But if you think the canned stuff is good, you won’t believe how much better homemade casseroles are when you take the extra few minutes to make them from scratch.

It’s actually simple to do, and once you start, you’ll never want to go back to the soup aisle. I promise you that! Million dollar chicken casserole with Ritz crackers uses rotisserie chicken (or you can make your own and shred it), along with a filling made from butter, chicken stock, sour cream, cream cheese and even cottage cheese. Of course, it gets all golden brown and crispy in the oven for the absolute ultimate comfort food.

This is so amazing, some say it’s worth a million bucks. I’ll let you decide, how can it be bad with cream cheese and Ritz crackers! Since it is so creamy, I like to serve it with a strawberry spinach salad, it’s a nice contrast of flavors and textures.

Homemade cream of chicken soup only contains butter, flour, chicken stock, milk, and seasonings. That’s it! And it only takes about 5 minutes to make. Yes, only 5 minutes! Get more details on how to make cream of chicken soup.

Ingredients You Need

• Whole milk – The extra fat in whole milk will make your sauce creamy. You can use skim or low-fat, but it won’t be quite as creamy.
• Shredded cooked chicken – ​You’ll need about 4 cups, or 2 large chicken breasts. Rotisserie or leftover chicken are perfect for this recipe.
• Crushed Ritz crackers –  You’ll love the taste of this buttery Ritz cracker topping. You’ll need 1 sleeve or about 1 ½ cups. You could use panko instead or crushed potato chips.

Check the recipe card below for the entire list.

How To Make the Easiest Million-Dollar Chicken Casserole Recipe

Step 1: Make cream of chicken soup.

Grab a microwaveable bowl and measure out the milk and stock. Heat the mixture in the microwave for about a minute. 

Meanwhile, grab a saucepan and melt the butter on the stovetop. Add the flour to the melted butter and whisk for about 2 minutes. It will start to look lumpy and brown, but that’s ok. You’re making a roux which will help to thicken your soup and give it a rich flavor. 

Next, gradually add the warmed milk and chicken stock, whisking constantly until it starts to make a gravy. It will start to thicken, but it won’t get as thick as a can of soup. That’s alright, because it will thicken more in the oven.

Add the seasonings and cook just a bit longer, then set it aside for now.

You can make a double batch and save half of it to use for another chicken based casserole.

Step 2: Make your creamy cheese filling.

Now, you can pour the entire mixture into your prepared casserole dish. 

Step 4: Make your topping and bake.

Bake for 30 minutes until it is bubbly around the edges and the cracker topping is golden brown.

Once you try million dollar chicken casserole made without canned soup, it’s hard to go back. The homemade cream of chicken sauce gives it a richer flavor and a creaminess that just can’t be matched.

If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.