Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
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Posted: 09/08/24
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Looking for a delicious and easy dinner recipe? Try this Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole with a crispy, buttery topping and creamy shredded chicken. You’ll have this crowd-pleasing dish on the table in no time!
If you love classic comfort food then you’re going to drool over this ritz cracker chicken casserole! With the most buttery Ritz cracker top and gooey chicken filling, every bite of this delicious casserole is irresistible. We love to make this casserole on cold winter evenings and it’s perfect to bring to potlucks too. It’s just loaded with so much flavor and is so easy to make!
Casseroles are a staple around here. Taco casserole is a go-to dinner and Swedish meatball casserole is a fun twist on a classic meal. But when I want something especially cozy, I often turn to this chicken casserole with ritz. It’s just so buttery and rich — you’re gonna love it!
Why You’ll Love this Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
- This recipe is a wonderful way to use leftover chicken. Reduce food waste and repurpose your leftovers with a fun and creamy casserole like this one.
- You can serve creamy chicken Ritz casserole as a side dish or a main dish. It’s perfect for both!
- Casseroles are the best make-ahead meals. This dish refrigerates well, freezes well and reheats perfectly!
Ingredients for Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
- Crushed Ritz crackers – These buttery, flakey crackers create the best crust on the top of this creamy chicken casserole.
- Melted butter – Make the topping extra buttery and delicious with a bit of melted butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter, both will work.
- Shredded chicken – My recipes for Instant Pot shredded chicken and crockpot shredded chicken are both perfect to make the chicken needed for this recipe.
- Worcestershire sauce – Add extra depth of flavor with a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
- Sour cream – To make the creamy sauce that you’ll mix with the casserole ingredients, you’ll need some sour cream!
- Condensed cream of chicken soup – You can use a different cream of soup if you’d like. Cream of mushroom would be yummy!
- Black pepper – Give this dish a little warmth and kick with a bit of black pepper.
- Celery salt – Bring out all the flavors with some celery salt!
- Garlic powder – Garlic powder is one of my most favorite spices and helps to season everything perfectly.
Can I add vegetables to this ritz cracker chicken casserole recipe?
Absolutely! Fresh onions would add loads of flavor to this casserole, and you can also add other veggies. Green peas, broccoli florets and green beans would all be great additions to this buttery and creamy casserole.
Helpful Tools
How to Make Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Boil raw chicken breasts for 20 minutes or cook in the Instant Pot or slow cooker. Let the chicken cool slightly and shred it using a stand mixer or pull it apart with forks.
- In a large bowl combine the condensed soup, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, garlic powder, and pepper until combined. Add in the shredded chicken and mix until combined.
- Pour the chicken mixture into the previously prepared baking dish.
- Then stir together the crushed crackers and melted butter in a separate bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken mixture in the baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice and enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
Allow the casserole to cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container if you’d like to store the leftovers in portions. You can also store in the original casserole dish — just cover tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
FRIDGE: Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
FREEZER: Either store tightly wrapped, or in a freezer safe container. Then freeze for 2-3 months. Allow to thaw completely before reheating.
How do I crush Ritz crackers?
Empty the sleeves of Ritz crackers into a large gallon sized zip top bag and seal tightly. Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a rolling pin to smash the crackers until there are no large chunks left.
Alternatively, you can empty the crackers into a food processor and pulse until they are small chunks.
What to Serve with Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
Serve this creamy casserole with any and all of your favorite side dishes. Roasted broccoli, baked zucchini fries, and glazed carrots would all be tasty.
Some air fryer cheesy garlic bread and bacon wrapped green beans would pair well with this too.
Pro Tips for the Best Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
- To save some time, you can shred up some rotisserie chicken or shred up leftover chicken!
- Want to add some extra protein into this dish? Replace the sour cream with Greek yogurt.
- Grease the baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray before adding the casserole ingredients. It will help ensure your casserole doesn’t stick!
This deliciously creamy casserole is irresistible! Make it as a hearty main dish or a simple side dish too.
More Cozy Casserole Recipes You’ll Love!
- This Cheesy Ham Casserole is one of the best gooey comforting casseroles ever!
- Instead of chicken noodle soup, make Chicken Noodle Casserole for a hearty comfort food dinner.
- Skip the difficult prep work with this easy to make Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole.
- Shrimp Alfredo Bake is the pasta dish of your dreams and it’s loaded with flavor!
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!
Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
Creamy seasoned chicken with buttery, Ritz cracker topping make this easy chicken casserole with Ritz crackers the perfect casserole recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups chicken breasts cooked and shredded, or rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (10.5 ounces each)
- 2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Boil raw chicken breasts for 20 minutes. Let chicken cool slightly and shred it using a mixer or pull it apart with forks. You can also use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- In a large bowl stir together the condensed soup, sour cream, Worcestershire, celery salt, garlic, and pepper until combined. Add in the shredded chicken and mix until combined.2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
- Pour the chicken mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken mixture in the baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice.
Tips
Allow the casserole to cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container if you’d like to store the leftovers in portions. You can also store in the original casserole dish — just cover tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
FRIDGE: Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
FREEZER: Either store tightly wrapped, or in a freezer safe container. Then freeze for 2-3 months. Allow to thaw completely before reheating.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 547kcal (27%), Carbohydrates: 22g (7%), Protein: 32g (64%), Fat: 37g (57%), Saturated Fat: 17g (106%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 151mg (50%), Sodium: 1.279mg, Potassium: 604mg (17%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 4g (4%), Vitamin A: 935IU (19%), Vitamin C: 2mg (2%), Calcium: 96mg (10%), Iron: 3mg (17%)
Elaine says
Easy and yummy!
Heather Mcknight says
Awesome
Julie Evink says
Thank you, Heather!