Poppy Seed Chicken
Poppy Seed Chicken is a creamy and easy dinner that your whole family will love. This creamy chicken casserole is great for taking into a friend who had a baby and freezes well for those busy nights. This is comfort food at its finest with flavors that feel like home.
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POPPY SEED CHICKEN
The type of food most searched for on this blog is “Casseroles”.
Which tells me that you are just like me in the fact that sometimes you just need an easy casserole to feed the troops and call it good.
Now I know that casseroles aren’t fancy but sometimes you just have to get ‘er done.
I’ll be honest…some days I’m lucky if I get a shower and others I’m more together and want to put a little more effort into dinner.
So I’ve included the basic poppy seed chicken recipe which by itself is awesome with a buttery Ritz cracker topping…and then additional ingredients I like to add to make it a little bit more fantastic when I have the time.
Oh yeah, and kids love this which makes for a tantrum free dinner table.
HOW TO MAKE POPPY SEED CHICKEN
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish. *Note: Some people layer some cooked rice on the very bottom underneath the chicken so that it’s a meal in one.
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Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. If you wish to add the additional flavorings stir in the Worcestershire, celery salt, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper to the soup and sour cream mixture. Pour over the chicken.
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In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle the poppy seeds on top.
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Bake for 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice. We like to eat it with steamed broccoli or other green vegetable and we mix it all together.
FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:
If freezing, prepare up to step 3 then wrap in plastic wrap. Include crackers crushed with butter in a separate baggie on top of baking dish. Freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to use: Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed. You may need to add 10 minutes to the bake time.
VARIATIONS
- You can use cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of mushroom.
- Serve over egg noodles instead of rice.
- Add some parsley on top for color.
OTHER SIMILAR RECIPES:
Poppy Seed Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (or shredded)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 (10.75 ounce cans) condensed cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups crushed Ritz crackers, (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds, (optional)
- optional 2 cups cooked rice
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish. *Note: Some people layer some cooked rice on the very bottom underneath the chicken so that it's a meal in one.
- Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. If you wish to add the additional flavorings see notes. Pour over the chicken.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle the poppy seeds on top.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice. We like to eat it with steamed broccoli and we mix it all together.
Notes
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:
If freezing, prepare up to step 3. Include crackers crushed with butter in a separate baggie. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use: Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed. You may need to add 10 minutes to the bake time.
This is so delicious! We always go for seconds.
Thank you!
This dish has become one of our family’s favorite
So quick and tasty. I substituted Greek yogurt because I was out of sour cream. Tasted fantastic!
Thank you!
My husband had seconds then finished off the dish when I had to work late. I was so excited! I had to substitute due to not being prepared. This is how I pulled it off. I used 1 can cream of chicken, 1 can cream of chicken and herbs. (My friend told me I could use cream of celery when I was digging for a sub) I do not put in the poppy seeds as they will cause you to fail a drug test and we just feel like we don’t get anything from them. I used previously cooked and frozen Rotisserie chicken (had it on hand –so good). I added in a tsp of garlic powder. I put the cracker mix on top the last 10 minutes. It is on the monthly list now! Thank you for this simple recipe. The minute my husband got up and went for seconds I grabbed my phone and noted my substitutes. Ha.
I forgot to say I used a 9×13.
All other recipes for this dish were for 9×9 pan and cook time was 20-30. This recipe call for a 9×13 pan to cook for the same Amt. Of time. Mine took an hour to cook. Disappointing because I needed something quick to cook.
Everything is already cooked. What took an hour to cook?
If including rice, is it still okay to freeze?
Yes
You can also add cooked noodles to extend the dish /make it a meal. Peas also work well in it with the noodles. Although it is wonderful as original recipe is written.
Thank you!
How do you think it would do with plain yogurt instead of sour cream? Hubby won’t eat sour cream 🙄
It’s definitely a little more tart but it works
I just had this at a church function for the first time. It was delicious. Everyone asked who made it.m, but we didn’t find the answer. I’m so glad I found the recipe.
Glad you liked it!
Can you freeze the poppy seed chicken casserole after it is cooked?
I would freeze without the topping. You can freeze before or after baking.
Can you double this recipe and bake in one large pan all together? I’m making a meal for a very large family and was going to double the recipe and bake it in a 19x11x3 disposable baking dish, but I’m worried it won’t bake all the way through.
Just a single batch of this bakes in a 9×13 but you could add more. Nothing really needs to cook that much so it should be fine.
Excellent! I add a little white wine in the soup and sour cream mixture along with a few extra seasonings and poppyseeds.
My favorite comfort meal ever.
I absolutely love this recipe and so does my boyfriend
Can I substitute plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream?
Wondering the same thing here today!!! About to try…
Can you substitute boneless pork chops for the chicken?
Loved the optional ingredients! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
One of my best friends made this for us after my father in law passed away. It was the perfect comfort food! Now, I’m making it for us for dinner this week and no doubt it will be delicious. Thank you for a perfect recipe! And for those very detailed, don’t get lost in the measurements – they never have to be exact with something like this. We pair it with French cut green beans which I cook in 1/2 chicken stock 1/2 water with some garlic and onion powder mixed into the water. So delicious!
Thank you for your feedback and I’m so sorry about your father-in-law. We lost my husband’s dad tragically 2 years ago and it feels like yesterday.
Hi like this I do eat this I must
Would it work to put frozen cauliflower rice on the bottom, or would that make it too runny?
It would definitely have some liquid run off from the cauliflower rice.
Hi! When freezing this recipe, it says to “prepare up to step 2.” Should it be up to step 3, which includes the sour cream/condensed soup part? So the only part that isn’t frozen is the ritz cracker topping? Thanks!
Also curious about this.
I am assuming it should be up to step 3. That would make the most sense.
I am thinking to not mix crackers and butter if freezing because the butter will make the crackers super soft, right? Just do that right before cooking, but idk
Can I make this with uncooked chicken and just increase the cook time?
YEs! The chicken might omit some liquid though.
This is a favorite with my family!! I’m planning in advance what to do with left over turkey. Have you prepped a freezer meal of this with turkey instead of chicken? I’ve also only made fresher and never freezer prepped but I’ve read those instructions.
Yes, turkey is interchangeable with chicken so it should work great.
Any nutritional information for this recipe?
No. I have nutritional info for my healthy recipes but have over 1200 recipes so I haven’t done it for all of them. I use MyFitnessPal.
I like to add a pkg if froze broccoli and cheese into it. My Kids love this too
Glad you liked it.
Hello we make this, put put peas in it and serve over egg noodles instead of rice .
Awesome!
This meal is delicious!!! I boiled and shredded three small- medium size chicken breasts. I use Pacific brand cream of chicken. We did rice and broccoli on the side also. It’s so good!! Thanks for a delicious and easy meal!!!
You’re welcome!
It’s really good. I make it once a week now!
Wow!
Hi! Would you know how many pounds of uncooked chicken breast would yield 5 cups of cooked? Just wondering how much to buy for this recipe.
Usually around 2 pounds of chicken yields 5 cups. Doesn’t have to be exact.
This has been a favorite in our house for years. We stopped using poppyseeds and now refer to it as Cracker Casserole. Instead of rice, we serve it over egg noodles. Although gonna try mashed potatoes tonight.
I know. My kids hate the poppy seeds too!
So my husband and I tried making this recipe today. It was very frustrating because they listed the instructions twice but in the second set of instructions they left out the fact that you had to boil the chicken prior to baking. Are use the instructions that were under the heading “instructions“. In my opinion this was a poor way of describing how to make this meal. I have no doubt this is a delicious recipe but just for those out there looking at this there are two sets of instructions and read them both carefully unlike what I did ha ha.
Kristina,
I’m so sorry that the instructions weren’t clear enough. Hopefully I fixed it to be clearere!
Agh! Disaster! What happened to the fancy ingredient measurements?!?! I need them now!!!
What a disaster is right? It looks the recipe card had a bug in it and erased that part. I fixed it! I’m so sorry.
Hello,
I was looking for list of additional ingredients and the amounts. Thanks!
Sorry it’s been fixed!
This recipe used to list out the measurements of the additional ingredients, but no longer shows them. Does anyone have these measurements?
I found this on a different website. It looks the same ingredients, but I thought it was more celery salt, at least, if not more Worcestershire.
1 tsp Worcestershire
1/4 tsp celery salt
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
I’m pretty sure it was 3 cups cooked rice.
I think it was 1 tsp celery salt. I saw an old link to this site that said 1 tsp, but that was the only thing I could see and when I clicked the link it just brought me to this page with the missing ingredients. I’m pretty sure once I accidentally put in 1 Tbsp instead of 1 tsp, so I’m pretty sure it was 1 tsp celery salt, not 1/4 like the other website I found.
Sorry the recipe card erased them!
I might have to make this for dinner tonight, I’ve already got shredded chicken in the fridge! I like the idea of the poppy seeds too, thanks for another great recipe <3
Great version of a classic dish! Turned out perfectly!
Awesome!
What’s the point of the poppy seeds? Flavor? Crunch? There’s already crackers so I don’t see the texture being enhanced. Do the seeds get stuck between your teeth?
Yeah I don’t think it adds much.
Easy meal to make and very delicious. I give it a five-star! my family loves this meal!
Anyone know how many servings in the poppy seed recipe? If its there ive just missed it! Thanks!
Yes, it says 8 servings at the top!
made this tonight and it turned out delicious!! I served it over a bed of Rice.
Awesome to hear!
Not to sound like a moron, but what are the freezing/reheating instructions? Like, do you just make the whole thing, stick it in the the freezer, and let it thaw in the fridge and microwave when you’re ready to eat it? How do you keep the crackers from getting soggy? Or do you assemble it all, freeze, and then bake from frozen?
Great question. I will clarify in the instructions.
Where are the freezing/thawing instructions? I don’t see them in the recipe notes. Does freezing make the cracker topping soggy? Thanks!
Do you add water to the soup mixture? Just asking.
Nope. Don’t add water!!
Nope. Don’t add water.
About 6 years ago I came across this recipe. I followed it to the T with the extra optional ingredients and fell in LOVE. I’ve used your exact recipe ever since and refuse to try it any other way. My now husband is always happy with the way it turns out and claims it to be my best meal LOL. Next one to try is homemade chicken noodle soup and I can’t wait to see how my homemade noodles turn out, my husband will be so impressed as I very rarely make things from scratch haha. So thanks so much for upping my wife game!
I found your Poppyseed Chicken Casserole recipe on Pinterest and I’m so glad I did! My family LOVED it!…picky eaters and all! I took a chance and added the additional ingredients to make it “fancy” and they devoured it! Thank you for sharing! I’ll definitely cook this again!
I’m so glad you made it fancy! And liked it!
Cooked this one time and it became my husbands favorite dish! If you’re in a bit of a rush and need the chicken cooked ASAP, you can also go to Walmart and get an already cooked poultry chicken. Just debone it and you’re ready to mix your ingredients! It’s super quick and easy and still tastes great! By far best poppyseed chicken I’ve ever made!!!
My family’s all time FAVORITE!😍
So glad you love it!
I think this is healthy.
I’m trying it tonight. Family is coming over. I can’t wait to see them enjoy it. I’m serving it with brown rice and asparagus.
Ooh yum! I hope you love it!
Question do you have too put sour cream in it? Like my daughter is can’t eat sour cream.
Need help lol. !!!!
You don’t but it’s great.
I seen on all the cooking shows where u can substitute sour cream with plain greek yogurt
Yes, I’ve tried it and am not a fan.
My girlfriend made us this when I broke my arm a few years ago and I begged her for the recipe. I’ve been making it ever since. I’m always playing with recipes so from her more basic recipes… to this one here, I am now making it with roasted garlic and caramelized onions. Nom to the nom!
Ooh yum!
This was delicious! So easy! Honestly, the longest part was shredding the chicken after I boiled it, but you can also just cube it. I just like using shredded chicken for dishes like these. I didn’t put in the celery salt and I just used garlic powder instead of minced garlic, and it was still really excellent! I thought the leftovers might be a little soggy (because of the crackers on top), but they were really great. My husband loved this and I think he will be asking me to make this all the time! I served with rice on the side (instead of in the dish) and green beans.
I am happy to find the recipe of Poppy Seed Chicken, you have posted a delicious recipe which i will cook soon. Keep posting more recipes i will visit this website to read more recipes.
handyman in london from hertscleaningandmaintenance.co.uk
I love this! We put it over mashed potatoes!
Ooh that’s an interesting combo.
Great recipe. I too have been making this for years and generally grab whatever cream of something I have in the pantry. I typically reach for the FF sour cream if possible. For leftovers, I make hand pies. I usually add peas and shredded cheese before baking the hand pies. Once out of the oven, I sprinkle with celery salt. Delish…Lil chicken pot pies. My boyfriend takes the to work the next day. Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome!
I also have been making this for years pretty much the same but I don’t add the poppy seeds. I add one can of water chestnuts drained chopped up very small for a great crunch. Two sleeves of Ritz crackers crushed and a stick of melted butter on top !! Wonderful!!!
Ooh! I bet the chestnuts do add a great crunch.
This is one dish, maybe the only dish I make that my kids will completely devour, but my version uses soy sauce and garlic powder instead of Worcestershire and the other seasonings. For over the top goodness and flavor I make homemade cream of chicken soup instead of using the cans. (Our Best Bites has a great recipe for this.) Delicious!!
Sounds divine!
Silly question…to freeze it do you prepare and cook as normal, let it cool and then freeze? Thanks!
I freeze it before I bake it. Hope that helps.
I added smoked Gouda under the cracker crumbs. OMG!
Gouda is my favorite!!
My sister-in-law introduced Poppyseed Chicken Casserole to me a few days and I came across your recipe on Pinterest. I prepped everything last night (boiled the chicken in chicken broth and seasonings) and then added the ritz/butter and poppyseed this morning before baking. Everyone at the potluck seemed to enjoy it (I know I did!). I really liked the additional ingredients! I’ve only made the simple version before now and I have to say I think they really give it an extra boost of flavor!
Glad you said that. I almost took the additional ingredients off because everyone sticks with the simple one.
My adult son is a fussy eater. He loved this recipe. Thanks! I made it with the cooked rice and steamed broccoli under the chicken, and used light sour cream.
Victory!!
I had it tonight and oohs my God it was the best
Glad you liked it!
I’ve been wanting to try Poppy Seed Chicken for a while now and this was a great and very simple recipe. The only comment I wanted to add on here is that I did add the additional flavor ingredients and I thought the Worcestershire (and maybe the garlic too – and I usually really love garlic) was a bit of an odd taste for the dish. I’ll definitely make it again but will probably just try the basic version next time. Great recipe!
I made this tonight for my family and they loved it! I made a half serving and served it over noodles with green beans. I will definitely be making this again.
Hello!
This looks so delicious. Could you tell me how many it serves?
Thank you
Hmmm. I would say about 6 servings!
Yum – thank you. Have a great day and week!
Do you use the milk that you would use with the soup?
Nope. Just the soup.
How many does this serve? I need to make it for 20 people. Thanks in advance for your answer 🙂
It serves about 6!
I made this recipe for my husband about a month ago, and he LOVED it! I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when I made it. There was nothing about the recipe that stood out when I read it, but since it was on your ‘top 15’ recipes I decided to give it a try. The final casserole blew me away–It was sooo good and creamy! I changed the recipe just a tad, and added a bag of frozen peas to the mix. The buttery cracker crust on top was delicious. This was super quick and easy to make, and tasted great!- I’ll know we’ll be using this as one of our go-to recipes for many years to come. Thanks for posting!
You’re welcome!
I have a similar recipe that also had swiss cheese slices (or other slice/shredded cheese) on top of chicken mixture, before the crackers and butter. I may try this version because it would be lighter on the fat and calories
Humor me, what exactly do the poppy seeds add to the flavor? I only ask because my husband can’t have poppy seeds. I only saw one person that didn’t use them and used Mushrooms. Thank you.
I don’t think they add any flavor. They’re more for looks. Feel free to leave it out.
I was wondering if I could use Cream Cheese instead of Sour Cream not sure what to use.
Cream cheese will definitely be thicker but it would work!
I want to make this for supper tonight but I do not have sour cream and I can’t have yogurt either so what can I use for the sour cream. I still want to make this tonight.
I’ve made this a ton and it always gets rave reviews! What’s better is that my husband absolutely loves it, too! I do have a quick questions though – If I were to make this ahead of time and freeze it, how long would I need to bake it if going straight from freezer to oven? Thank you!
I usually add about 15-20 minutes if going straight from the freezer to the oven.
I’ve no made this plenty of times before, but the addition of the Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic were a wonderful addition. I didn’t have the celery salt, tut look forward to trying it in future. Thanks for sharing,
This was great! I have very picky eaters and even they ate it, though they did ask their usual… “how many pieces of it did they have to eat?” ha,ha. Once they actually tried some they were quiet and finished it with no arguments-yeah! I added the fancy ingredients above, but swapped celery salt for onion salt and I added 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese as well and that tasted great. Thanks for another good one!
Do you think this dish would freeze well?
Yes! I have been successful in freezing this.
This recipe is amazing! I added almond slivers to give it a little texture and WOWZA!! A-MAZING!!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was absolutely delicious!!! Thank you do much for the recipe!
We have loved this recipe in our housefor years. It is a staple. We call ours mama surprise. I change it up a little by adding egg noodles or corn or whatever i have in the house. Kids love it!!!
I have made this many times. We have evenade this is mass quantities in disposable pans and frozen it for make ahead meals. works wonderful and tastes great.
I have made this many times. We have evenade this is mass quantities in disposable pans and frozen it for make ahead meals. works wonderful and tastes great.