Make this family-favorite completely from scratch and everyone will be asking for more homemade poppy seed chicken casserole!
School is back in session – both for my husband at med school and also kids and families all over the city. In honor of school starting, I wanted to share one of my favorite food memories – chicken poppy seed casserole.
In college, I spent two and a half years living in my sorority house, making some of the greatest memories and friends of my life. During this time, we saw many a cook and house mom. At times without a cook, one of our house moms would make Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole, usually cubed chicken in a creamy condensed soup and topped with buttery Ritz crackers. It kind of became a comfort food staple, for me, and now watching everyone back to school made me miss this old house dinner.
I placed my own spin on this typical casserole, and made it completely from scratch! Also, I threw in some mushrooms and used Panko instead of crackers to keep it unprocessed. I used more chicken than I remember, to make it a hearty one-pan dinner. It made about 5 or 6 servings for us in an 8×8 pan, so we took it for lunch all week. I hope you have the chance to make this family favorite and make some of your own memories!
Do you have a food that reminds you of college? (Besides ramen?)
xxHillary

Homemade Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 C. water
- 2 lb chicken breasts about 4-5 C. shredded chicken
- 1 1/2 C. chicken broth
- 1/2 C. milk
- 1/2 C. flour
- 1/8 t. black pepper optional
- 1/8 t. garlic powder optional
- 1/8 t. onion powder optional
- 1/2 t. fine Himalayan salt
- 1 C. chopped cremini mushrooms
- 1/2 C. plain Greek yogurt
- 3/4 C. Panko bread crumbs
- 1 T. poppy seeds
- 1/3 C. butter
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil and add in chicken breasts. Lower to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, heat 2 T. butter and sautee mushrooms.
- Add chicken broth on low heat. Stir in milk.
- Slowly whisk in flour. Once the sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat.
- Stir in Greek yogurt and season accordingly, if necessary, with the onion and garlic powder, pepper, and 1/4 t. Salt. Set aside.
- When chicken is cooked, shred chicken and place into a bowl.
- Combine chicken with set aside sauce and an additional 1/4 t. salt. Then fill an 8x8 glass pan.
- Melt remaining butter in a small dish. Stir in panko and poppy seeds well until they form small clumps.
- Spread the topping over the chicken.
- Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, or until topping has browned and sauce is bubbly.
- #enJOY!
What an interesting dish! Never seen poppy seed chicken before, but it sounds creamy and comforting – and I love the crisp on top! I could totally see this being perfect for back-to-school nights.
Oh, Liz, it is!! Especially easy if you already happen to have some shredded chicken on hand, perhaps from a rotisserie or made in the crock pot!
YUM stop I want all of that
What’s the flour quantity?
Oh Hannah, I apologize for leaving that out! Great catch. It’s a 1/2 C. flour. I’ve added it into the recipe!
Delicious.. I.didn’t change a thing. Served with broiled new potatoes (drizzled with olive oil) and sweet carrots. Yummy!
Glad you enjoyed it! Potatoes and carrots would be a perfect addition.