This Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Casserole makes for the perfect weeknight meal. Prepare ahead of time and reheat for those busy weeknights too.
I have to be honest, I don't make a lot of casserole-type dishes. Perhaps it's because when I think of casseroles you generally utilize leftovers; and I'm not a huge leftover fan. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I'm a little quirky that way.
However, when I had some leftover roasted chicken and didn't want to make another chicken pot pie, I decided to use some of the ingredients to make this Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Casserole.
What is a casserole?
Casseroles usually consist of:
- pieces of meat such as chicken or fish, various vegetables
- a starchy binder such as flour, rice, potato or pasta
- and are generally cooked in the oven
Reminiscent of growing up in the 70's, many casseroles used canned soup as the binder to hold the casserole together and make it creamy.
Being that I don't like to use a lot of canned products in my recipes, I decided to use other ingredients to make my casserole creamy.
How do you make Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Casserole?
I started out by cooking some egg noodles until they were al dente. While the noodles were cooking, I sautéed some fresh mushrooms, scallions and garlic in a little butter; then added some fresh spinach and chopped, pre-cooked chicken.
If you don't have leftover chicken, you can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, cooked chicken in the meat section or saute chopped, un-cooked chicken in a little olive oil until it is no longer pink.
When the chicken is heated through and vegetables have softened, remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the sauce.
How do you make the Sauce?
To prepare the sauce, heat some chicken broth and heavy cream in a small saucepan and stir in some of your favorite cheese until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy.
I used soft Asiago Cheese PDO for a sharper taste; but any soft or semi-soft cheese would work well. Once the sauce is done, combine the noodles, vegetable and chicken mixture and sauce, place in a casserole dish; then bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
My family really liked this Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Casserole. Now because we're a family of three on a regular eating basis now, we did have quite a bit leftover.
Thankfully, our oldest who is in college was very appreciative of the huge container I saved for her in the freezer so she could take some home with her; which by the way, she said it still tasted great even after reheating.
I suggest adding a little water, chicken broth or milk once it's been refrigerated or frozen to reheat so the casserole doesn't get dried out.
The entire meal took only 20 minutes to prepare; then another 30 minutes to bake. ~Enjoy!
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Creamy Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Casserole
Ingredients
For the Casserole
- 12 ounces egg noodles
- 2 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 10 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- prepared sauce
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 scallions (diced)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded asiago cheese (or other soft/semi-soft cheese)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
For the Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare egg noodles according to package directions allowing them to be al dente. Drain.
- In a lage saute pan, melt butter and add mushrooms and garlic. Saute until the mushrooms start to soften, approximately 2 minutes; then add the spinach and chicken and stir until the spinach has wilted.
- Combine the vegetable and chicken mixture, egg noodles and the prepared sauce, place in a casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
For the Sauce
- In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat until warm, not boiling.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and add the scallions. Stir for 1 minute then whisk in the flour forming a roux.
- Add the chicken broth, cheese, salt and pepper. Keep stirring until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth; then add the warmed heavy cream.
Nutrition
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Mary Czerczyk says
This recipe sounds delicious. I pinned it. I am going to try it soon.
June S. says
(Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Casserole) This casserole dish sounds really good to me. I know that my family would like having this some night for dinner, I am going to try it out real soon-
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Great, I hope you like it!
Jaime Arborio says
Trying this tonight! Can I replace the spinach with broccoli?
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Sure Jaime, I don't see why not; though the flavor will be a little different. Let me know how it comes out!
ciirce801 says
found this while looking for a reccipe using fresh spinach and leftover chicken breast (from a roaster i made). used up my mushrooms the other day--thinking of making this with cream of mushroom soup instead of the roux-thickened and heavy cream sauce. it's probably the only processed food i have in my house, that one can of cream of mushroom...
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm sure it will work just as well. Let me know how it turns out!
Carol Scally says
I made a chicken rice spinach mushroom casserole and it was delicious the first night. Leftovers reheated were very dry. I will try yours as it looks great. Any ideas how to save mine?
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Most casseroles made with either pasta or rice do tend to dry out after sitting for a while because the liquid gets soaked into it (cooking the pasta/rice more). You could freeze it, but then before reheating, I'd add a bit more chicken broth and/or milk to make it creamier again.