Million Dollar Chicken Casserole is a treasure of a recipe. It’s smothered in a rich creamy sauce, chicken, and a generous sprinkle of buttery Ritz crackers.
Readers Feedback
I have made this casserole many times and I can say, it is absolutely delicious! It’s easy and fills your belly.
- Gina, our reader
I made this tonight after cooking the chicken in the instant pot, and it was very creamy and flavorful. The topping gave it the perfect crunch! Next time I will try adding bacon and maybe pepper jack cheese and broccoli. There are so many ways to make it! Thanks for the recipe!
- Jill, our reader
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Million Dollar Chicken Video
Ingredients For Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
- Chicken – rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast but you can also use boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders instead. Cook them ahead of time (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or simply on the stovetop).
- Cream Cheese – for a better blend of flavors, make sure to bring all cheeses to room temperature. You can use low-fat cream cheese here too. But the texture may be slightly different.
- Cottage cheese - if you don’t have this you can use ricotta cheese. But the main thing is that you can’t skip this! This makes things ultra creamy and is the star dish in this recipe.
- Herbs - chives, green onions, parsley, and fresh thyme stalks are the best.
- Cheese - I used mozzarella cheese for its ultra-creamy cheesy texture. Other melty cheeses can also be used, such as Cheddar, Colby Jack, Gruyere, Gouda, or Mexican blend cheeses.
- A sleeve of Ritz crackers - use regular or go for GF crackers. Schar makes great gluten-free products. Panko, pretzels, or nacho chips are great too. Please note that Original ritz crackers are not gluten free.
- Seasonings - I didn’t add salt or pepper as this dish is already very well seasoned.
- Homemade cream of chicken - Be careful if you use store-bought canned chicken soup cream as it is often high in sodium.
📋 You can find the full ingredient list in the Recipe Card below the article.
Substitutions and Variations
- Meat. You can add about ¾ cup of crispy bacon or pancetta to the dish. My favorite way is to make it ahead by cooking bacon in the oven.
- This recipe is perfect with a base of cream of chicken soup as well as my mushroom soup.
- Spicy kick. I also like adding fresh jalapenos, chilies, or pickled for added heat.
- Simple veggies: cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, bell peppers, and grated carrots can be added to the chicken mixture. You can lightly steam those before adding them. Also, fresh spinach leaves will add extra nutrition.
- Grains. For some added bulk, you can add grains such as naturally gluten-free quinoa or rice. These should be added ''cooked''.
- Seasonings - Besides the listed seasonings, you can add ranch packet seasoning, poultry seasoning, or a mix of Italian seasoning and herbs. Both of these work amazingly with million-dollar chicken.
Expert Tips
- I recommend buying a ball of mozzarella cheese and grating it yourself. It melts better, but store-bought should be fine, too.
- Drain the liquid from cottage cheese - Depending on the brand, cottage cheese will generally have plenty of liquid in it. It is fine, but I recommend draining it over a fine mesh strainer with a cheesecloth or a linen towel napkin in between. Wrap the chees in it and squeeze as long as you don’t have much liquid coming out.
- Cooking time may depend on your oven but mine usually bakes for bout 40 minutes.
- Related: Old Fashioned Cabbage Bake
Julia's Tip
Once baked, the Ritz crackers should be golden brown. Every oven is different, if the crackers brown too much, cover the casserole with foil until the end.
What To Serve With Chicken Casserole
We like to serve most of our casseroles with a simple salad as the casserole is a meal itself:
There is too much liquid once the chicken is baked. What did I do wrong?
If your casserole turns out too watery, it could be because the chicken released moisture while cooking.
Next time, try using pre-cooked chicken and skip covering it with foil so it can evaporate. Also, if you're using low-fat sour cream or cream cheese, expect a bit more moisture in your dish.
Freezing And Storing Leftovers
- To Store. Store the casserole in an airtight container (or the dish), refrigerated for up to 2-3 days.
- To Reheat. Reheat in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
- To Freeze. The best is to freeze this casserole unbaked for up to 2-3 months. Without crackers.
- To Reheat from frozen, allow the bake to defrost overnight in the fridge. Then, cover it with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated oven to 350 degrees F.
- To Make Ahead. You can whip up all the ingredients (just don’t add the crackers layer just yet), pour them into the casserole, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days. Then on the day, top with butter and crackers and bake it as per recipe instructions.
More Rotisserie Chicken Recipes
ALL DINNER and ALL ONE POT AND CASSEROLE recipes.
This recipe has been inspired by this recipe.
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Recipe Card
Million Dollar Chicken Casserole Recipe (Crispy Topping!)
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INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast or thighs, shredded
- 4 ounce cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
- ⅓ cup grated mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups of my recipe for cream of chicken soup
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 32 Ritz crackers, or any gluten-free crackers, crushed
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 2 stalks of green onion, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella, cream cheese, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and seasonings. Stir to connect with a spatula.4 ounce cream cheese softened at room temperature, 1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta, ⅓ cup grated mozzarella cheese, ½ cup sour cream, 2 cups of my recipe for cream of chicken soup, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Add in the cooked chicken and mix again. Transfer the chicken mixture into a 8x11 (or 9x9 is perfectly fine too) casserole dish.4 cups cooked chicken breast or thighs
- In a separate medium bowl add Ritz crackers and melted butter. Toss to coat. Top the casserole with the Ritz crackers.32 Ritz crackers, 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Garnish with green onions or fresh herbs (thyme or parsley works well here).2 stalks of green onion
VIDEO
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
How To Make Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 8 x 11 (or 9x9 inches) inches baking dish with cooking oil or butter.
2. Combine creamy ingredients. In a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella, cream cheese, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and seasonings.
Stir to combine with a spatula.
3. Add in the cooked chicken and mix again.
Transfer the chicken mixture to a 9-inch prepared baking dish.
4. Crackers. In a separate medium bowl add Ritz crackers and melted butter. Toss to coat.
5. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.
6. Garnish with green onions or fresh herbs (thyme or parsley works well here).
Serve! We love to serve this ritz chicken bake with chopped cucumber salad, cornbread muffins, beet salad, and veggies like air fryer glazed carrots or sauteed asparagus.
Barbara Elias-Wesa
If using canned cream of chicken soup, how many 10 0z. cans do we need?
Julia
My recipe requires 2 cups of canned soup.
Diana
I found it very bland. Cream Cheese, Cottage Cheese, Sour Cream, Mozzarella cheese. Where is the flavor with these ingredients. The garlic powder and onion powder flavors are barely noticeable, if at all. I added some chicken bouillon powder, but not enough to give any noticeable flavor. Ritz cracker topping is the best part of this recipe.
Julia
Hi Diana, sorry to hear that. everyone else loved it:)
Deborah
you could add some wholegrain mustard for extra flavour.