Freezer-Friendly Chicken Casserole

We love making our freezer-friendly Chicken Casserole in big batches and then freezing portions to be enjoyed at a later date – it’s tasty and hearty in equal measure!

Freezer Chicken Casserole Recipe

4.3 from 7 votes

Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Do dinners get more comforting than chicken casserole?

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Ingredients

Metric US

• 2 tbsp 2 tbsp – Olive Oil

• 450 g 1 lb – Chicken Thigh Meat, Cubed

• 1 1 – Large Onion

• 3-4 3-4 – Carrots

• 1 1 – Celery Stalk

• 200 g 1 1/2 cup – Mixed Root Vegetables

• 500 ml 2 cup – Chicken Stock

• – Salt

• – Black Pepper

• 1 tsp 1 tsp – Dried Rosemary

• 1 tsp 1 tsp – Dried Basil

• 1 tsp 1 tsp – Dried Tarragon

• 1 tsp 1 tsp – Dried Dill

Directions

• Start by adding a healthy amount of olive oil to a large, heavy-based saucepan. Heat it until shimmering, and add the cubes of chicken. They need to be cooked most of the way, with still a little pink in the middle. While the chicken is cooking, finely mince the onion, carrots, and celery into small cubes of equal size.
• When the chicken has the barest pink spot in the center, add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pan, along with a little olive oil if the chicken is starting to catch. Fry these together until they’re intensely aromatic, and the onion is becoming translucent. While these veggies are cooking, chop the root vegetables into large chunks.
• Add the dried herbs to the pan, and mix well to ensure everything is coated. Allow the herbs to toast for around thirty seconds, or until very fragrant.
• Add the chunky root vegetables, along with the stock. Mix everything well, ensuring that you pull any pieces of herb or vegetable off the base of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, lower to very low heat, cover and simmer.
• Simmer the pot for around forty minutes, or until the chicken and the root vegetables are totally cooked through.
• Taste for seasoning, and then serve with bread.

How to Freeze It

This dish has been created to be perfect for the freezer. It is our freezer-friendly chicken casserole after all:

1. Portion: Portion the chicken casserole into several airtight containers. Ensure you leave some headspace above the surface of the casserole, as the broth will likely expand in the freezer.
2. Cool: Allow all the casserole to cool totally. If you seal the container while it’s still warm, it will become humid, leading to a food-safety risk since bacteria are likely to grow.
3. Seal: Seal each container tightly, being sure to remove any spilt casserole from around the rims of each container. Ensure to do this, as it will prevent a proper seal from forming if it’s still there when you place the lids on.
4. Freeze: Freeze the containers of casserole in the centre of the freezer, ensuring that any liquid in the containers isn’t pressed against the seams or seals of your containers. As the liquid expands when frozen, that will likely lead to a spillage in your freezer.

How to Use It

To thaw and eat chicken casserole, simply remove the lid from one of the portions you made earlier, and then microwave it on high for increments of thirty seconds.

The casserole will be safe to eat when it’s steaming hot throughout. Ensure you reach this temperature, as the chicken must be steaming hot for it to be safe to eat.

How to Tweak It

There are a few ways to tweak chicken dishes to make them a little better; here are some of our suggestions.