“Little Hen” is a creamy chicken casserole loaded with creamy, saucy chicken over mashed potatoes baked to perfection.
This creamy chicken casserole is hearty, comforting, and so easy to make. It’s known by many names, such as chicken little casserole and chicken and mashed potato casserole, but we’ve always called it little hen casserole. It’s one of my family’s favorite dinners.
This “Little Hen” Casserole is very nostalgic for me. Our best friends, Kat, Ingie, and Beth, all went to the same school with us. We spent most of our elementary childhood together. Kat and Ingie would even attend our family camp trips and vacations.
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Their mom, Betsy, has the biggest heart of anyone I know, and she literally spoils her girls. They are and were her everything. Even when I asked her for this easy chicken casserole recipe, she told me that she prefers to use a rotisserie chicken vs. boiled chicken breast, but as her girls hate dark meat, she always chose to boil chicken breast even though it took more time.
Being a mom myself, I am completely amazed by my parents (obviously) and Betsy, she worked hard all day and still made the most delicious meals.
My sister Nicole remembers the “Little Hen” Casserole as her favorite.
Betsy told me that this recipe is called Chicken Little Casserole, aka creamy chicken casserole, but that her girls called it “Little Hen” because she baked it in a white hen-shaped casserole dish. Of course, I had to keep the name we remember it by.
Ingredients
- Red Potatoes
- Cooked shredded chicken
- Milk
- Cream of chicken soup
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic powder
Because my family loves gravy and likes things a little saucier, I added a can of chicken cream and some seasonings.
Betsy always made this for us and her girls when we were sick – because it is mild and comforting. Since my kids were sick this weekend, I made this, and I’m so happy I did. It pleased all, and of course, because we love cheese, we topped it with lots, which made a great addition.
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Creamy Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red potatoes
- 3-4 chicken breasts boiled and shredded or large rotisserie chicken
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 21 ounces cream of chicken
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Topping
- cheddar cheese shredded, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Peel and diced red potatoes, while bringing a large pot of water to a rapid boil.
- Add potatoes to water and boil for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- In a large mixing bowl add potatoes, 1/2 cup of milk and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Beat the potatoes, milk and seasonings until they become creamy and smooth. Add more or less milk, depending on the way you like.
- There should be about 6 cups of mashed potatoes, place on the bottom of a 9×13 pan or casserole dish.
- If you are using a rotisserie chicken, shred or coarsely chop all the meat from the chicken, removing skin and bones.
- If you are boiling the chicken breasts, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add chicken breast and boil until chicken is fully cooked; around 15-25 minutes. Time varies depending on the size of the chicken breast.
- Once cooked, remove from water and shred or coarsely chop.
- Top the mashed potatoes in the pan with the chicken.
- In a large glass measuring cup (4 cups) or small mixing bowl, add both cans of cream of chicken. Add milk to one of the empty cream of chicken cans (full). Add the milk to the bowl along with 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well.
- Pour “gravy” evenly over the chicken/potatoes. Cover pan with foil and place in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until mixture is hot and gravy is bubbling.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately. Top with cheese if so desired, this is a family favorite in our home.
Thanks for writing down this recipe. It means the world to me and I can’t wait to have it again.
I’ll be making this recipe soon,Im going grocery shopping Tomorrow then I make it. im going to make half with cheese because although Id love It with the cheese you never know with the teet.They drive me bonkers but they do love their vegetables and prefer fruit over any snack.
I hope you enjoy it, thank you!
Am I able to use oat milk instead of regular milk? Like to make this recipe plant based or vegan.. I would love to know
Hi – I have not tried this with oat milk. But with that said, I read this “Like other non-dairy milks, oat milk is made from blending the product (that is, rolled oats) with water, then straining out the oat solids to get a milk-like beverage. Its overall texture and creaminess can be manipulated with the amount of water, and sometimes, the addition of vegetable-based oils (like sunflower or rapeseed), as well as sugar and flavoring (like vanilla or chocolate).” https://food52.com/blog/25384-how-to-substitute-oat-milk-in-recipes
Nice post, thanks so much for this sharing!
This looks like some perfect comfort food, I will be making this weekend!
Thank you, enjoy!
This really hit the spot on a rainy day! I’ll be making this again!
So glad to hear that!
This chicken casserole is seriously making me hungry!
Enjoy!
Yummy! This looks so delicious and tasty! My family is definitely going to love this recipe! Can’t wait to make it!
Thank you! I hope they enjoy!
This is such a delicious meal for my family! Really comforting and easy to make!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoy it!
My nephews loved this casserole. There wasn’t any left! It really was a cinch to make and so delicious and comforting!
So glad to hear they loved it! Thank you!
This is my kind of comfort food! Adding this to my dinner line up for the week; looks too good to pass up!
I hope you enjoy it!
What kind of cheese do you typically put on top?
In the photos, we used white cheddar but you can use any cheese that you prefer! Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing this information. I really like your blog post very much. You have really shared an informative and interesting blog post with people.
My family would really enjoy this! The perfect comfort food!!
This was absolutely delicious! Everyone loved it so much! I can’t wait to make it again and again!
This makes me so happy. xo
This is so creamy and hearty. Perfect for these cold winter days!
Love how creamy this casserole is! I am sure it will be a new favorite family reciope!
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to give this a try!
I loved how easy this recipe was to make! Love how few ingredients it took to make too!
This chicken casserole is looks incredibly delicious!
Easy, quick, and delicious – the perfect busy weeknight meal!
This was absolutely delicious and so easy! Thank you!
This is really comforting! My kids loved it!
This looks so yummy and tasty! I can’t wait to give this a try! So excited! My family is going to love this!
Now I know what I will make for dinner tonight! This casserole sounds delicious!
Can I use instant potatoes
Yes, you can. 🙂
Great recipe! Easy to throw together and is pure comfort food. Thank you!
I wonder how I could incorporate mixed frozen veggies?
I added corn and mushrooms.
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. However, I have scaled it down to two servings since there is just me and baked it in 2 – 4 oz ramekins. OMG – did it every hit the spot for comfort food. I did a couple of changes and two additions. The change was to use a Cream of Chicken soup from Healthy Request as I am highly allergic to MSG. I also added 1/2 grated onion – and a tablespoon of Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning for a bit more flavor. Thank you again for posting.
Looks beyond delicious! My family would definitely love this!
Love that this chicken casserole is so creamy! My family will go crazy over it!
Can this be frozen?
I have never tried this.
I’m going to make this tonight.
It’s a spin on what I make my 2 fussy eaters.
I use sausages cut into small pieces, with gravy, frozen veggies and bacon and the mash potato on top.
Love this! I will have to try!
This is great for when we’re craving comfort food. It comes together in no time at all. A must have in your monthly rotation.
Just made this, and it’s amazing! It’s everything you want in a comfort food, hearty, flavorful and easy to make! This is a family favorite now, so it’s going to be a regular on the menu rotation!
This was beyond creamy and delicious! The whole family loved it!