Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole has only 6 ingredients! It is a family favorite! Creamy deliciousness with a crunchy Ritz cracker topping! So good!
CREAMY CHICKEN CASSEROLE
This casserole is a go-to classic favorite. It’s one of those recipes that can be whipped up quickly and you don’t have to buy a long list of ingredients to make it. It can even be made ahead of time and frozen to eat for later.
WHAT DO I SERVE WITH THIS CASSEROLE?
I love to serve this with some fresh veggies like steamed broccoli, corn or Green Beans. You can also add those veggies directly into the casserole if you want. Also, a yummy green salad with lots of veggies would be perfect!
Fixed this tonight and it was delicious. My husband said keep fixing it just like this. Thank you!
– Tammy
CAN I FREEZE RITZ CHICKEN CASSEROLE?
I can never have enough chicken recipes. But sometimes you don’t need a big ole casserole. So, you can split this recipe and put it into two smaller pans. Make one now and freeze on for later. Like with all freezer meals, it’s super important that you wrap it up well so you’re not dealing with freezer burn later on.
WHAT OTHER SEASONINGS CAN I USE?
You can certainly have fun with this casserole and add different seasonings and flavors. You could add onion powder and garlic powder to the cream mixture. Those are the most common seasonings most people have on hand. You could certainly use pretty much any seasoning that you would use on chicken.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- cream of chicken with herbs soup – you can use the regular cream of chicken without herbs or you can use cream of mushroom as well (or you can make your own from scratch and you can adjust the level of sodium and/or herbs that are used).
- sour cream – you can substitute with plain Greek yogurt – a lot of people have asked about substituting mayonnaise and I have not tried that so I can’t say how that would turn out.
- green onion – this is optional if you don’t like green onion, you could also substitute with regular onion or a shallot but it will be a stronger onion flavor than green onion.
- store-bought rotisserie chicken – I find this easiest but you could use leftover cooked chicken or you could use canned chicken or you could boil or roast some chicken.
- Ritz crackers – you can use regular saltine crackers or club crackers, if you want to reduce sodium you could use unsalted crackers.
- salted butter – if you want to reduce sodium content, you could use unsalted butter.
HOW TO MAKE RITZ CRACKER CHICKEN CASSEROLE:
Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Spray a 2.5 quart baking dish (or a 9×9 square baking dish) with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together the soup, sour cream and green onion.
Then stir in chicken.
Spread mixture into the prepared dish. In that same bowl, combine crushed crackers with melted butter.
Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the cracker topping is golden brown and the casserole is bubbly.
Serve with your favorite vegetable or salad!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Ritz Cracker Chicken Breasts
- Ritz Cracker Pork Chops
- Broccoli Chicken Casserole
- Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
- Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole
- Chicken and Biscuits Casserole
- Chicken Cobbler
- Poppy Seed Chicken
- No Peek Chicken Casserole
- Malibu Chicken Casserole
- Cheesy Ground Beef & Rice Casserole
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Swiss Chicken Casserole
- 30 Comforting Casseroles
Originally published: February 2017
Updated & Republished: April 2019
Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 10.5 ounce can condensed cream of chicken with herbs soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup sliced green onion
- 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I used a family size rotisserie chicken)
- 2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 2.5 quart baking dish (or a 9×9 square baking dish) with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together 10.5 ounce can condensed cream of chicken with herbs soup, 1 cup sour cream and ½ cup sliced green onion.
- Then stir in 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken. Spread mixture into the prepared dish.
- In that same bowl, combine 2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed with 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted.
- Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the cracker topping is golden brown and the casserole is bubbly.
Video
Notes
- Try adding in one cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the chicken mixture for a twist of flavor!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Silly question, but I’m a very new cook. Is it ok to prep/combine all ingredients then store it in fridge to be cooked later same day?
Hi Lou! No silly questions here! You could certainly do that!
My family LOVES this chicken casserole (even my daughter-in-law who hates chicken casserole). The only thing different, is add a little more than 1/2 cup of green onions. Highly recommend this chicken recipe to everyone.
Just made this recipe for the first time and it is a keeper!! I really wanted some good comfort food and this fit the bill perfectly. Unfortunately won’t be able to eat this too often as is so considering trying to modify using nonfat plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and nonfat cream of chicken + half the butter and crackers. Will report back! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Sincere thanks for this easy, tasty, hearty recipe, Brandie! I’ve already made it THREE times over the summer, but next time I plan to add some chopped fresh broccoli. Do I need to partially steam the broccoli before adding it to the chicken mixture?
My family loves this dish!!! ❤️
Did my own rotisserie chicken instead of using a store bought one. Thank you for the recipe. It’s a keeper!
Love hearing that Melodie – thank you!!
Sounds and looks delicious. I’m going try this out. Thank you.
One of my childhood favorites my aunt used cream cheese instead of cream of chicken and I add carrots and a little velveeta and sauteed onions. Definitely a cheat night.
That sounds awesome Darby!!
I LOVE this recipe. It is delicious!! My favorite casserole by far. SO glad I found this. I make it exactly like recipe except I add slivered almonds.
Can I omit the green onions? I have picky eaters in the house that will put a fork down if they see one! Ha!
Hi Dee! Absolutely!
I love love love Chicken Casserole. Always a request at Family gatherings. I do mine a tad different, using both Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom along with 2 cups of light sour cream, chopped water chestnuts, topping with the ritz crackers and the Parkay Squeeze Butter. It’s absolutely delicious and a huge hit with the family. I’ve never thought of adding cheese. I’ll have to make a small one and try that. Sounds really good.
I love it without the cheese …as it is it’s good so why add the extra fat & calories …different flavors entirely. Add more spice perhaps?
Planning on making this tonight. Deciding on whether or not to add the cheddar. Do you and your family think it’s better with the cheddar?
When in doubt – add the cheddar. 😉
Yummy! I didnt add the cheese because I also made the Ritz Pineapple Casserole, and it had cheese in it. However, I shall add cheddar the next time I make it! Thanks so much for sharing these “Down-Home” Country Comfort recipes!
This was delicious- I made a few adjustments to the recipe though. I had a package of boneless chicken breasts that I needed to use so I cut them up and browned them in a little oil and butter, I added some chicken broth that I had open in the fridge and cooked some noodles that I added. My family loved it and it reheated very well!
I’m going to make this adding roasted red peppers and water chestnuts. It’s a wonderful recipe that can take many additions.
Love that! Sounds perfect to me!!
I love ALL your posts and I appreciate all the effort it takes to keep up the blog and email list!!!
–Vanessa
You are the sweetest. Thank you for being here Vanessa!
I make (basically) the same recipe, but stir 2 Tbsp of poppyseeds into the soup/sour cream mixture
My mom used to make this casserole quite often and it was always one of her go to dishes for pot luck dinners. I was wondering if anyone had tried adding peas and carrots and a cup or so of cooked rice?? I may try that this week. That just sounds so hearty and yummy!! Thanks so much for all the great recipes!!makes me love cooking again
I love this recipe and have made it a lot! I prefer to use cream of mushroom soup myself.
Sometimes I need to make it a little more filling & make it stretch further when I’m feeding lots of people. So I add lightly steamed broccoli, shredded cheese & cooked white rice and it’s delicious!! So I guess you could say I combine a Ritz chicken casserole with a chicken, broccoli & rice casserole 🙂
This recipe was easy to follow and very good. I added the 1 cup of shredded cheddar to the top of the casserole as suggested. The dish was perfectly seasoned and the first dinner that my husband didn’t pepper to death, he said it didn’t need it.
Thank you so very much Karen! I really appreciate you coming back and taking the time to review!
I keep frozen cooked breasts on hand so I can make it anytime; I, too, used cream of celery since I don’t know what “chicken bits” are in the soup. I am not crazy about canned soup but I don’t use that often. I’ve tried the yogurt instead of sour cream and it wasn’t as good so I use the lower fat sour cream and add sage, peas & carrots. The amount of crackers & butter varies…if making for myself, use less, but my grandkids love the cracker topping…not the best for them either but I only serve it once in awhile.????♀️
This is a family favorite.
Thanks so much Erica! I really appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment!
I used the sour cream but as one reader suggested yogurt, I will use that next time as the soup adds enough creaminess (which will be this week!) I don’t like using canned chicken soup (never know quite what part of chicken is used) I used cream of celery and added peas and carrots and some seasonings (definitely needed some spices); 2 sleeves of crackers was a little too much; I will use 1-1 1/2 next time (also then can cut down on butter); sorry but don’t use Ritz but a different buttery cracker. I’m also going to use cream of mushroom and add fresh mushrooms. Very versatile recipe.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. Didn’t change a thing!
I used cream of bacon soup. We loved it.
i don’t have any green onion what can i use in place of would chives work or reguler onions
I’m reading the ingredients and felt the casserole seemed a bit bland, so I added roasted, chopped New Mexican green chilies…YUM!!! Served with roasted root veggies. PERFECT!!! THANX for sharing!!! Cheers!!!
I love the idea of adding green chiles – YUM!
i make this casserole i use a can of cream of mushroom and a can of cream of chicken and i top it off with crushed buttered potato chips.
I made this for dinner tonight. I added broccoli. I used uncooked chicken so I baked it covered for 35 minutes, then uncovered it and added the cracker/butter topping and baked for 35 minutes more. Even Mr Picky liked it! Thanks!
I added some pepper jack cheese to make a tittle spicy. Was delicious
This recipe is awesome! Love love love it
This is a great recipe! My mother used to make this recipe but using Cheese Its with melted butter for the topping. . I like to add mayo and sour cream together to make it a little creamier. Either way, this is a great recipe!!
Brandie , Thanks for the explanation of how blogging works. I have been wondering for a long time why people blog. It is good to know how we can help you make some money. Working from home takes a lot of dedication and love for what you are doing. This is my first time on your website and I really like your recipes. I will be visiting your other sites and liking and sharing your .recipes. .
My mom always makes this and my kids love it. Can’t wait to try to make it myself this week! Thanks for your easy-to-follow recipes!
Love your recipes!!
Thank-you Brandie for all your super Recipes. You work so hard and make me look like a real chef..
This is definately going in my rotation!!!! Sounds fabulous….can’t wait to make it….thanks so much for all the “notes” you include…after I print out your recipies, I make notes in the column….how good can it get!!!! Happy blogging…
Bought a Traeger smoker grill this last weekend. We slow cooked several whole chickens. They were amazing, however, now we are faced with the task of using up all the leftover chicken. Came across this recipe today and gave it a try. SO GLAD I DID!!!! I followed it exactly and I loved it, will definitely make this again. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the recipe note until after I covered the dish with the crackers,Bummer, I added it over the crackers anyways. The only thing I would recommend is to actually add the cheese step into the actual body of the recipe. To help those like me who don’t read the whole recipe before starting. 🙂
I’m so jealous of your Traeger! I’ve been wanting to try it out but it’s an investment for sure!! Do you love it??
I’ve had a treager for 4 years now and i LOVE it! My husband and I use it all the time. It’s so easy to use.
This may get me in trouble, but I’m gonna ask anyway. Lol. How bad is it to use canned chicken?
Brandy – this is a NO judgement zone here! I would say yes – if it makes life easier for you and you are good with it – then go for it!! 😉
I made this for my family tonight, and it was a winner! For the topping I used one sleeve of Ritz crackers and 1 cup of crushed Cheez Its (like a local restaurant makes their chicken casserole). My husband loved it.
Oooooh – I love the idea of Cheez-its! I am totally trying that next time – thank you!!
Love this . I only had Bacon & Black pepper Ritz……holy cow was it PRIMO !!!
So fast, so simple, so good!!! Famlly loves it! I love to make it. because it takes no time at all! Have also made it with Stove Top stuffing on top instead of the the Ritz topping. Both are so good! Thank you so much!
Awww Jan – thank you!! It means a lot that you took the time to come back and comment!
Can you replace the ritz crackers with baked potatoes.?
Delicious!! And easy!!! I added frozen peas and it was so yummy! Looking forward to leftovers! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I love the addition of frozen peas – yum!
This seems pretty close to the Ritz chicken casserole I had as a kid. I remember them using a lot of black pepper though. xD
I see some people mentioning cheese in either the chicken mixture or Ritz mixture. Is one tastier than the other and what kind of cheese would be good with this recipe?
I used 3/4 of a can of cheddar cheese. It’s with the cream of chicken and all that at the grocery store. But I also didn’t use sour cream. So maybe less of both if using the sour cream.
Could you add chopped spinich to the chicken mixtute
This was a HUGE hit with my family of 8. I mixed in veggies and shredded cheese into the chicken mixture and it was A-mazing! Thank you!
I forgot to add that I cooked the chicken covered in pesto sauce in my crockpot the day before. I also used regular cream of chicken. I wasn’t worried about adding “herb” seasoning since the chicken was cooked in the pesto.
I served Hawaiian rolls on the side.
Yogurt unflavored nonfat kind. Good substitute for sour cream
This was a great & easy recipe to make. Will make it again. I had regular cream of chicken soup. I used some shakes of Simply Organic all-purpose seasoning for the herbs. I say just experiment! Again, it’s a great recipe!
Wonderful recipe. I had left over chicken so this worked well for us