Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole and Rice is one of the yummiest and easiest comfort foods you could add to the dinner rotation. You will love this simple meal made from pantry staples! This recipe is sure to become a family favorite that everyone will be asking for over and over.
Buttery, crunchy, juicy, AND delicious? In short, Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole is a winner. It doesn't get much simpler than a good ole chicken casserole dish. Talk about comfort food at it's best.
And if you are looking for other easy meal ideas for busy weeknights you have to try our Parmesan Ranch Chicken, Cheesy Hashbrown casserole and Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup.
🥫 Ingredients
With only 6 ingredients Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole is a warm and comforting dish sure to become a mealtime go-to.
- Chicken Breast
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Sour Cream
- Ritz Crackers
- Poppy Seeds
- Butter
(Scroll down to the recipe card for exact measurements and full printable instructions.)
🥣 Step by Step Instructions
Firstly we want to start with thawed chicken. If you store your chicken in the freezer pull it out at least 24 hours before wanting to use and place it in the fridge.
If your chicken breasts are thicker like mine, fillet each breast to cut down to more of a chicken cutlet thickness. This is key for cook time on your Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole. We don't want to be serving anyone raw chicken.
Then layer your chicken breasts in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish. Spread sour cream and cream of mushroom soup over the top of the chicken as evenly as you can.
Afterwards crush the crackers and spread over the whole dish. Then pour melted butter over crackers. Lastly sprinkle poppy seeds over whole dish.
Place your Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole in the oven and allow to bake at 350° F for 40 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
Remove dish from oven and serve over baked brown rice or tender pasta and enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Make it Your Own
If looking for a little extra finesse, try caramelizing up some sweet yellow onion and add that to the buttery cracker and poppy seed topping. You would be amazed what a little caramelized onion can do for the flavor profile!
You can also easily add in a layer of veggies to your Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole, like green beans, broccoli or mushrooms if desired to the dish.
🍽 How to Serve
To enjoy, serve Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole over a bed of our super simple baked brown rice. With these two recipes, dinner could not get any easier.
Put both baking dishes in the oven alongside one another and in an hour you have a delicious well rounded meal full of comforting goodness.
And in an act of self love, spoon a generous scoop of the sauce from the bottom of the casserole dish over top the whole thing. (You can thank me later.)
For sides consider a nice steamed broccoli or fresh green salad like our Citrus and Cranberry Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing to enjoy alongside your Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole.
📖 Recipe
Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 package butter crackers crushed
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Generously spray 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Slice chicken breasts in half so they are thinner for faster cooking and place them so they cover the bottom of the casserole dish.3-4 chicken breasts
- In a medium bowl combine sour cream and condensed soup.1 cup sour cream, 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- Spread cream sauce mixture evenly over chicken breasts in pan.
- Crush crackers and spread evenly over chicken and cream sauce.1 package butter crackers
- Pour melted butter across crushed crackers and chicken in the casserole dish.¾ cup butter
- Sprinkle the entire dish with poppy seeds.2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- Place pan in oven and allow to cook for 40 minutes or chicken reaches internal temperature of 165° F.
Video
Notes
- Feel free to substitute the cream of mushroom soup for your favorite condensed cream of ... variety. Cream of Chicken or Cream of Onion would work just as well.
- Enjoy the buttery crumb topping? Feel free to use as many crushed crackers as you would like. Sometimes we use up to two full sleeves of crackers depending on my mood.
- If looking for a more even dispersal of poppy seeds add them to the crushed crackers and mix together before sprinkling on top of the chicken and sauce in the casserole dish.