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.
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What The Yummy Bowl fans are saying:
I have made this casserole many times and I can say, it is absolutely delicious! It’s easy and fills your belly. ***** Gina, Blog Comments
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, Blog Comments
Ingredients
- 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 such as Cheddar cheese, Colby Jack, Gruyere, Gouda, or Mexican blend cheeses can be used.
- A sleeve of Ritz crackers - use regular or go for GF crackers. Schar makes great gluten free products. Panko, pretzels, or nacho chips can be used. Please note that Original ritz crackers are not gluten free.
- Seasonings - I didn’t add any salt or pepper as this dish is very well seasoned already.
- Homemade Cream of chicken - Be careful if you use store-bought canned chicken soup cream as it is often high in sodium.
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.
How To Make Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 8 x 11 (or 9x9 inches) inches baking dish with cooking oil or butter.
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.
Add in the cooked chicken and mix again.
Transfer the chicken mixture into a 9-inch prepared baking dish.
Crackers. In a separate medium bowl add Ritz crackers and melted butter. Toss to coat.
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.
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.
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. It’s very easy!
- This recipe is perfect with a base of cream of chicken soup as well as my mushroom soup.
- Spicy kick. I also like to add some 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 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 million dollar chicken.
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 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 for bout 40 minutes.
- Related: Old Fashioned Cabbage Casserole
If the crackers start browning too much towards the end of baking, you can cover the casserole with aluminum foil; however, the Ritz crackers should be golden brown after baking.
Serving Suggestions
We like to serve most of our casseroles with a simple salad as the casserole is a meal itself:
Freezing And Storing Instructions
- 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.
- 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. 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.
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Recipe
Million Dollar Chicken Casserole Recipe
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).
VIDEO
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
FAQs
This recipe doesn't specify covering the million dollar chicken casserole, but depending on altitude and oven type, if the top layers get too brown, covering with aluminum foil towards the end may be necessary, requiring additional baking time.
If the casserole has excess liquid, it could be due to the chicken releasing moisture.
While using cooked chicken should reduce this, avoid covering with foil to allow evaporation.
Additionally, if using low-fat sour cream or cream cheese, the dish may have a more moist texture.
Absolutely, you can use either or both chicken thighs or chicken breast. Additionally, chicken tenders work well too.
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.
This recipe has been inspired by this recipe.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
A delicious chicken casserole with irresistible creamy flavor.
Hope
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.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
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!
Leslie
Mix it with the creamy mixture.
Rayla
What would you serve with this
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Rayla, we like to serve it with Mediterranean Cucumber Salad, tomato salad (any fresh salad really), and a portion of rice or mashed potatoes.
Gina
I have made this casserole many times and I can say, it is absolutely delicious! It’s easy and fills your belly.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you so much Gina!
Jill
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!!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
delicious idea! Thanks for the feedback Jill!
Lisa Randall
Could I use canned cream of
Chicken soup and if so,
How much?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
I assume you could, but look for low sodium options. I highly recommend making your own, https://theyummybowl.com/homemade-condensed-cream-of-chicken-soup/, it only takes 5-10 minutes!
Elizabeth G Nee
could I use a can of cream of chicken soup instead of your recipe of gluten-free chicken?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
yes, sure!
Joyce R Wallace
I have made this a couple of times and it is wonderful. So, thank you for a delicious recipe. I would like to serve this for guests in individual casserole dishes. Any suggestions?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Joyce thank you so much, glad you liked it. u haven’t tried individual portions but I think the baking time should be reduced.
Jessi
How much is a serving? 1 cup? It doesn't say anywhere in the recipe or in your video.
Thank you!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Jessi, it comes about 1-1/4 cups per serving.
J.C.
While making this I did not realize that I didn't have enough Ritz crackers, so I used half Ritz and half Cheez-Its. That added a whole new flavor and was so good...
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you!
Dennis Gehly
We have made it several times and had company as well, everyone loved it.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you!
Lynette Dodson
Hi my name is Lynn I love to cook always looking for recipes that are good and filling to comfort foods are the best economical to in these times I subscribe to this group looking forward to cooking this and many more I find thanks for this
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Lynette, nice to connect!
Shane King
My family has been eating this chicken casserole recipe for about 60 years now. It's definitely a family favorite! Been a favorite of mine for 40 years too.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Shane!
Diana Corona
I was wondering if I could substitute the fried onions you put on top of the green bean casserole instead of ritz crackers?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
yes but I haven't tried this way, I think they would need to be added in the middle of baking otherwise will dry out. Let me know please if you try this option.
Justine
This was delicious! So creamy, and we loved that crispy cracker topping!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you!
Stephanie
We enjoyed this chicken casserole for dinner a few times (the dish is worthy of it's name!). A creamy dish, perfectly baked chicken and the addition of the Ritz crackers makes it extra special.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you, it's a keeper!
Shelby
Such a delicious take on a classic chicken casserole. Love the variation suggestions, too!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
classic is the best! thank you!
dana
Oh man. It's the Ritz crackers for me. That's what makes this! The buttery crunchy goodness. Thanks for the recipe!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
so good right! thank you!
TAYLER ROSS
I made this chicken casserole for dinner last night and it was so delicious! Easy to make and totally comforting!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you!