Hot and Crunchy Chicken Salad Casserole
This recipe for Hot Crunchy Chicken Salad Casserole is what happens when plain old chicken salad meets it’s hot cousin! This is one of our favorite dishes in my house. There are no exotic ingredients and there is no limit to what you can add.
Chicken
It would be practically impossible to make this chicken casserole without chicken. Can you substitute a different protein? Sure! Tuna would probably be my first thought but you can let your imagination run wild.
Chicken breasts are always what I use. Why? My husband doesn’t like chicken thighs. And he goes along with all of my crazy whims so I try to throw him a bone every now and then. Feel free to use whatever chicken is your favorite.
I usually make my chicken the day I make the dish. Some chicken breasts are ginormous so I pound them out to a uniform thickness. Then pop them into a skillet for 4 minutes per side and then slide them into the oven until they are done. Let them cool for about 5 minutes or so and chop them into bite sized pieces.
Whether you choose to cook whole chicken breasts and cut them up or cut the chicken into bite sized pieces before cooking is up to you.
Of course, you can use left over chicken or rotisserie chicken to speed the time needed for prep.
Slivered Almonds
Please, please, please do not leave out the slivered almonds. They absolutely make this dish. Adding just the right amount of crunch and a lot of toasted goodness. I absolutely hate extra steps with a recipe but the toasting is a must.
Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat. It only takes about 5 minutes but watch them carefully so they do not burn. Stir occasionally until you see and smell that they are nice and toasty!
Mayonnaise
As far as mayonnaise goes, I always choose to make my own. I have made an effort recently to cut out any soy oil from our diet. There are a couple of brands of mayonnaise that do not use soybean oil like Sir Kinsington, Chosen Foods and Primal Kitchen.
I know that I should like mayonnaise made with avocado oil but I don’t. It just doesn’t taste right.
When I make my own, I make a small batch of a cup at a time. This serves as portion control as well as quality control. Organic canola oil mixed with avocado oil is what I use. Even though I have read all the articles about cutting out processed oils, canola is the only oil that makes my homemade version taste like the real thing. Taste is superior to all else especially knowing that this is not an every day food for us. You will have to make your own choice for what is best for you!
Hot Chicken Salad Casserole
Equipment
- 2 quart casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken, cooked and chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 2 oz pimientos, from jar
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 3 tbsp onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In casserole dish, mix the chicken, celery, pimientos, almonds, lemon juice, onion and mayonnaise adding salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese and then cheddar cheese over the top.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Remove cover and bake additional 5 -7 minutes.
