• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Yummy Bowl
  • Home
  • RECIPES
    • Seasonal Recipes
    • Popular Recipes
    • 30-Minute Meals
    • Appetizers
    • Dinner
      • Vegan Dinner
      • Chicken
      • Beef
      • Fish
    • Soups
    • Breakfast
    • One-Pot & Casseroles
    • Sides
      • Salads
      • Potato
    • Pasta
    • Desserts
    • Other Categories
      • Sandwiches & Wraps
      • Dairy Free
      • Vegetarian
      • Drinks
      • Sauces, Condiments, Dips
  • About
    • About TYB
    • Work With Me
    • Contact
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
  • START A BLOG
  • SHOP
    • PRINTABLES
    • LIGHTROOM PRESETS
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    The Yummy Bowl » Recipes » Chicken

    Million Dollar Chicken Casserole

    Sep 26, 2022 · Modified: May 30, 2023 by Julia | The Yummy Bowl · This post contains affiliate links · 10 Comments

    2532 shares
    • Facebook
    • Yummly
    Skip To Recipe
    Million Dollar Casserole after baking garnished with green onions

    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. This chicken bake is the perfect party dish and an easy base to add more ingredients to customize it further.

    This dish can be thrown together within minutes and with the most common basic kitchen staple ingredients.

    Million Dollar Casserole after baking garnished with green onions

    It’s the ultimate comfort food and is cheap too!

    If you liked these readers' favorite Chicken Zucchini Casserole and Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole, you'll sure become in love with this million-dollar chicken casserole too.

    There is a skip-to-recipe button in the top left corner along with a clickable table of contents list (just below) that will quickly take you to the part you are more interested in. Enjoy!

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Variations
    • Tips
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Freezing And Storing Instructions
    • FAQ
    • More Rotisserie Chicken Recipes
    • Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
    Million Dollar Casserole after baking garnished with green onions

    Ingredients

    My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!

    The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.

    Ingredients for Million Dollar Chicken Casserole

    You only need a 9-inch baking dish and a handful of simple ingredients for this chicken recipe. Most of them you already have in your kitchen.

    • Chicken – This recipe calls for chicken breasts, 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) or for a quick fix use rotisserie chicken or any leftover chicken from dinner. When cooking the chicken only add a little seasoning if any at all. Chicken doesn't have to be shredded but you can also cut it into bite-sized pieces.
    • Cream Cheese –  for a better blend of flavors, make sure to bring all cheeses to room temperature. You can definitely 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. You will not feel the flavor so much as it is blended with other cheeses. What it does, it makes the texture a million-dollar recipe for sure. 
    • 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 such as Cheddar cheese, Colby Jack, Gruyere, Gouda, or Mexican blend cheeses can be used.
    • A sleeve of Ritz crackers - if it’s hard to find these gluten free, other options can be substituted as well. Schar makes great gluten free products. Panko, pretzels, or nacho chips. 
    • Seasonings - I used just these seasonings listed in the recipe. I didn’t add any salt or pepper as this dish is very well seasoned already. Especially be careful if you are using store-bought canned cream of chicken soup as it is often high in sodium.

    Instructions

    Perfectly quick and easy to whip up, and it tastes incredible.

    Just throw everything together in a bowl, pour into a casserole dish, and top with buttery crackers and bake!

    Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 8 x 11 (or 9x9 inches) inches baking dish with cooking oil or butter.

    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.

    chicken mixture in a bowl for million dollar casserole

    Add in the cooked chicken and mix again. Transfer the chicken mixture into a 9-inch prepared baking dish.

    chicken mixture in a bowl for million dollar casserole

    In a separate medium bowl add Ritz crackers and melted butter. Toss to coat.

    ritz crackers mixed with butter in bowl

    Top the casserole with the Ritz crackers.

    Million Dollar Casserole before baking

    Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Garnish with green onions or fresh herbs (thyme or parsley works well here).

    Million Dollar Casserole after baking

    Variations

    This million-dollar chicken casserole recipe is perfect as it is, but an even more, wonderful thing about it is that you can customize it further.

    • 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. It’s very easy! 
    Million Dollar Casserole after baking garnished with green onions
    • This recipe is perfect with a base of cream of chicken soup as well as my Condensed Cream Of Mushroom Soup.
    • I also like to add some fresh jalapenos, chilies, or pickled for added heat.
    • Add in a bunch of other goodies too. Simple veggies like 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. Make sure they're fresh and not frozen.
    • For some added bulk, you can add grains such as quinoa which is naturally gluten-free, or rice. These should go in cooked.
    • Seasonings - on top of instead of 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 creamy chicken.

    Tips

    • I recommend buying a ball of mozzarella cheese and grating it yourself. It gives melts better but store-bought should be fine too.
    • Drain the liquid from cottage cheese - Depending on brands, 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 into perfect creamy goodness for about 40 minutes.

    If you see that the crackers are getting too brown towards the end of baking you can cover the casserole with a sheet of aluminum foil. However, after baking, the Ritz crackers should be golden brown in color.

    Serving Suggestions

    We like to serve most of our casseroles with a simple salad as the casserole is a meal itself. You don't really need any side dishes here.

    You gonna love these salad suggestions:

    • close up shot of a marinated broccoli and cauliflower salad
      Marinated Vegetable Salad
    • top shot of a bowl of cucumber salad
      Creamy Cucumber Salad With Radishes
    • pesto potato salad in a wooden bowl
      20-minute Roasted Potato Salad With Pesto
    • Tomato Mozzarella Salad in a white bowl
      Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad

    Freezing And Storing Instructions

    To store. Although I always like to make things as fresh as they come, you can definitely store the baked casserole in an airtight container for up to 48 hours.

    Reheat in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. For a very quick fix, this can be definitely reheated in the microwave but flavor and texture are not as good as reheating in the oven. 

    To freeze. The best is to freeze this casserole unbaked for up to 2-3 months. But freezing baked or leftovers is not the best idea in my opinion.

    This is because you have a lot of creamy components here and crispy crackers. After freezing you will have to add some broth or milk to thin it out as this chicken bake will become thick.

    I also recommend adding more crackers on top when reheating.  If you need to freeze it, thaw it first in the fridge overnight.

    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. 

    FAQ

    Should I cover the chicken bake while cooking?

     
    We don’t cover the chicken casserole in this recipe. However, it will greatly depend on the altitude and type of oven you are using. If the top layers start to get too brown during baking, cover it will aluminum foil (but towards the end of cooking is better). In this case, you may need to bake it for additional minutes.

    There is too much liquid once chicken is baked. What did I do wrong?

    If you end up with too much liquid in the casserole there can be a couple of things.
    Naturally chicken will release some liquid. However, as we are using cooked chicken in this million dollar chicken casserole it should not have too much liquid. Don’t cover the dish with foil as it will help the liquid to evaporate. Also if you are using low-fat sour cream or cream cheese the texture can end up with more moisture. 

    Can I Use Chicken Thighs Instead Of Chicken Breast?

    Absolutely, you can use either or both chicken thighs or chicken breast. Additionally chicken tenders for equally well. 

    What can you use instead of cottage cream cheese?

    I wouldn’t substitute cottage cream cheese as it is the main ingredient along with the crema cheese that adds an utterly creamy texture. The only substitution I could recommend in this million-dollar chicken bake is to use ricotta cheese instead.
     

    More Rotisserie Chicken Recipes

    ALL DINNER and ALL ONE POT AND CASSEROLE recipes.

    If you love chicken casserole recipes, you should definitely try one or all of these next time.

    • buffalo chicken dip on a tortilla chip in hand
      Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
    • chicken enchilada in a white bowl with avocado jalapeno and tortilla chips
      Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada
    • Creamy Chicken Tacos close up shot in hand
      Creamy Chicken Tacos
    • an over head shot of chicken enchilada in white sauce in a baking dish garnished with cilantro leaves and diced red onion in the middle
      Chicken Enchiladas With White Sauce

    I hope you'll enjoy this million dollar chicken casserole recipe, please leave a rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo of your food and tag me on Instagram @theyummy_bowl. I love seeing your creations!

    Thank you for reading,

    Love,

    Julia

    Million Dollar Casserole after baking garnished with green onions

    Million Dollar Chicken Casserole

    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. This chicken bake is the perfect party dish and an easy base to add more ingredients t customize it further.
    5 from 12 votes
    Print Pin
    Author: Julia | The Yummy Bowl
    Course: Main Course
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 38 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 48 minutes minutes
    Servings: 5 servings
    Calories: 585kcal

    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.
    • Add in the cooked chicken and mix again. Transfer the chicken mixture into a 8x11 (or 9x9 is perfectly fine too) casserole dish.
    • In a separate medium bowl add Ritz crackers and melted butter. Toss to coat.
    • Top the casserole with the Ritz crackers.
    • Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Garnish with green onions or fresh herbs (thyme or parsley works well here).
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Video

    PRIVATE NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes.
    Nutrition Facts
    Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 585 Calories from Fat 288
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 32g49%
    Saturated Fat 14g88%
    Trans Fat 1g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 5g
    Monounsaturated Fat 9g
    Cholesterol 157mg52%
    Sodium 1378mg60%
    Potassium 508mg15%
    Carbohydrates 24g8%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 5g6%
    Protein 49g98%
    Vitamin A 751IU15%
    Vitamin C 0.4mg0%
    Calcium 240mg24%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    (Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

    This recipe has been inspired by this recipe.

    « Gluten Free Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole (Farmer's Casserole)
    Roasted Butternut Squash Casserole With Cranberries And Apples »
    2532 shares
    • Facebook
    • Yummly

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Julia | The Yummy Bowl

      September 26, 2022 at 6:30 am

      5 stars
      A delicious chicken casserole with irresistible creamy flavor.

      Reply
    2. Hope

      October 03, 2022 at 5:40 am

      When do you add the mozzarella cheese? In the mix or under the Ritz crackers before you sprinkle them on? I really look through this recipe and no where in the instructions talks about when to add the Mozzarella.

      Reply
      • Julia | The Yummy Bowl

        October 03, 2022 at 6:05 pm

        hi Hope! Thank you for pointing this out! I actually mixed everything together first, including the cheese and then topped it with Ritz crackers. But for a nice cheese pull, you could actually add the cheese under the crackers layer. Also very good!

        Reply
      • Leslie

        October 04, 2022 at 12:12 am

        Mix it with the creamy mixture.

        Reply
    3. Rayla

      February 01, 2023 at 9:13 pm

      What would you serve with this

      Reply
      • Julia | The Yummy Bowl

        February 03, 2023 at 7:07 am

        Rayla, we like to serve it with Mediterranean Cucumber Salad, tomato salad (any fresh salad really), and a portion of rice or mashed potatoes.

        Reply
    4. Gina

      May 23, 2023 at 2:52 pm

      5 stars
      I have made this casserole many times and I can say, it is absolutely delicious! It’s easy and fills your belly.

      Reply
      • Julia | The Yummy Bowl

        May 23, 2023 at 7:25 pm

        thank you so much Gina!

        Reply
    5. Jill

      May 29, 2023 at 4:14 pm

      5 stars
      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!!

      Reply
      • Julia | The Yummy Bowl

        May 30, 2023 at 6:32 pm

        delicious idea! Thanks for the feedback Jill!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    the yummy bowl julia author

    I'm Julia and welcome to The Yummy Bowl. I share easy and healthy recipes for the whole family. Everything you see here is Gluten-free and mostly made with whole food ingredients. Hope you enjoy! Love, Julia

    More about me →

    Seasonal Favorites

    • sauteed asparagus and peas with parmesan cheese
      Sauteed Asparagus With Peas
    • heart shaped potatoes in a plate
      Easy Air Fryer Potatoes (Heart Shaped Slices)
    • flat lay shot of 4 cajun corn on the cob with feta cheese and parsley
      Cajun Corn On The Cob (Boiled, Baked, or On The Grill)
    • stack of Zucchini Corn Fritters
      Easy Zucchini And Corn Fritters

    Readers Favorites

    • a stack of breakfast cookies
      No Sugar Added Healthy Breakfast Cookies With Dried Fruit and Nuts
    • a stack of banana oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips
      Banana Oatmeal Cookies With Chocolate Chips
    • shredded slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs
      Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
    • baked cabbage roll casserole with fresh dill
      Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole With Ground Beef
    • Marinated Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad
      Marinated Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad
    • flat lay shot of plated asparagus with parmesan and tomatoes on a white plate with pink linen
      Cheesy Asparagus with Tomatoes

    Connect With Me

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Julia | The Yummy Bowl. Created with the Feast Plugin.