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Chicken and Cornbread Casserole Recipe

April Freeman
Whether you make them with chicken, beef, or tuna, casseroles are a staple of many family meals. They generally consist of meat that is smothered in sauce or gravy and combined with a vegetable. Usually, they are topped with starch of some kind. This can be a biscuit topping, bread of some sort, or even mashed potatoes.
Prep Time 35 minutes
Baking Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cuisine American
Servings 6 Servings

Equipment

  • 9-Inch Baking Pan
  • Saucepan
  • Cooking Tongs
  • Wire whisk
  • Medium-Sized Bowl

Ingredients
  

  • 3 pcs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken tenders
  • cups Cornbread Mix
  • 1 pc Egg
  • cup Buttermilk
  • ¼ cup Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • 15 ounces Canned Veggies of Your Choice
  • cups Chicken Broth
  • ¼ teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 tbsp Dried Parsley
  • cup Butter
  • cup Flour
  • cup Milk
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a nine-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
  • Put the chicken in a saucepan and cover it with water. Set the pan on the stove and bring the pot to a full boil. When the water is boiling, put the lid on the pot and remove it from the heat. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
  • When the time is up, use cooking tongs to remove the chicken from the water to a plate to cool.
  • Allow the chicken to cool enough so that you can handle it. When you can touch it without burning yourself, shred the chicken and put the pieces in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Open the can of vegetables, drain the liquid in the veggies and stir this into the chicken. Set this aside.
    The chicken pieces and corn kernels are placed in a casserole dish together.
  • Drain the cooking water from the saucepan and wipe it out with a paper towel.
  • Now you can make the sauce. In the pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, whisk in the flour and cook this for about 2 minutes, whisking the whole time.
    This is a butter and flour mixture that is whisked.
  • Slowly, whisk the chicken broth into the flour, adding the broth a little at a time. Take your time with this step to avoid making lumps in the sauce. Add the milk, and then let the mixture cook for a minute or two more to thicken, stirring constantly.
    The chicken broth is then added slowly into the flour and butter mixture.
  • Add the parsley and onion powder, stirring to combine. Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.
  • Pour the sauce over the chicken and veggies in the baking pan and stir it to combine. 
    The casserole filling is completed and assembled.
  • Now, move on to making the cornbread topping.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the cornmeal mixture and the sugar. Add the egg and the buttermilk, along with the cooking oil.
  • Use a spatula to scrape this mixture out on the top of the chicken-veggie and sauce mixture into the pan. Do not stir it. Just spread it over the top of the mixture in the pan.
    The cornbread mixture is then placed on top of the casserole filling.
  • Place the baking pan in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until it is lightly browned on top.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and spoon the casserole into dishes to serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator tightly covered with a lid or with aluminum foil for up to three days. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.

Notes

Some thoughtful cooks freeze several pounds of cooked and shredded chicken breasts once a month, so they can easily thaw chicken on days that they don’t have much time to cook. 
Next, you will make a delicious sauce from scratch. If you have typically relied on cream of whatever soup for your casseroles, this is a great way to step away from premade, canned sauces. However, if you don’t want to try making a sauce from scratch, that’s fine too. Simply substitute two cans of cream of chicken soup for the sauce in the recipe. You may have to thin the soup a bit with chicken broth.
We used drained canned corn in our recipe. However, the great thing about this casserole is that you can use whatever kind of veggies that you have on hand. If you have frozen veggies that you need to use up, feel free to cook them according to the package instructions, draining them well before you add them to the chicken. You can use any variety of veggies that you like. Green beans, sweet peas, or even frozen broccoli would be delicious additions to this recipe.
We provide a “from scratch” recipe for the cornbread topping. However, if you really don’t want to mess with making cornbread from scratch, you can use a boxed cornbread mix. Just follow the instructions on the package for stirring it up with whatever ingredients that it calls for. Then, spread it over the top of the chicken, sauce, and veggies in the pan.
Keyword Chicken and Cornbread Casserole, Dinner, Recipe

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