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My husband Jack wanted to be the one to share the story behind today’s recipe – a delicious Baked Chicken Salad. It’s another treasure from my mother’s old recipe box and we think you’re going to love it as much as we did! Here is Jack in his own words:
I feel honored that I have a window into Martha’s family history by looking through the hundreds of handwritten recipes from her mother and grandmother, and even the recipes that Martha used to collect from many years ago.
Many of the recipes, like this Baked Chicken Salad, have an almost vintage feel to them with methods and language that was common back then but seem a little outdated today.
But if you look past all that – and just look at how the combination of ingredients come together, there are some really great recipes in Martha’s mother’s old recipe box. I love looking at each recipe with a modern-day eye and try to imagine how that would taste if we tweaked this or that method, or added some new ingredient that wasn’t available back when Helen (Martha’s mother) originally wrote down the recipe.
But sometimes – like in the case of this Baked Chicken Salad – the recipe is better left exactly as was written. With its delicious Ritz cracker crust, chunks of tender chicken and mushrooms, and tangy, creamy sauce – it really does taste like a chicken salad – but in casserole form.
We made this recipe without making any changes to the original recipe, except where it called for cooked chicken – we simply put a whole supermarket rotisserie chicken in its place. We also updated the language a bit. Typically, we share many of our recipes with my own parents who live nearby – but in this case, we ate the entire casserole ourselves! (Sorry mom and dad…we’ll make this recipe for you another time!)
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Baked Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- 8 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup medium diced celery
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 8 ounces heavy cream
- One average-sized rotisserie chicken, picked and roughly chopped (discard skin, bones and scraps)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add mushrooms. Sauté for two minutes.
- Add celery, onions, salt and pepper and sauté just for one more minute. (Celery will still be crunchy)
- Lower heat to medium and add flour. Cook for one minute over medium stirring often.
- While stirring with a wooden spoon, add cream a little at a time, stirring constantly. Cook for one minute and remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, place chicken and mayonnaise and stir. Add in mixture from pan, stir and pour into a two quart casserole dish.
- In a small bowl, melt remaining two tablespoons of butter and add crushed Ritz. Sprinkle this over the casserole and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
- Remove and serve immediately.
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Kim Beaulieu says
This is going to sound so odd but every time I visit your blog it feels like coming home. It has such a welcoming feel to it. Plus the food, omg the food. This dish is fabulous. I could eat a boatload of this one.
Martha says
Thank you so much Kim! That is one of the nicest comments we’ve gotten on our recipes! xoxo
Nutmeg Nanny says
I love old recipes! My aunt gave me a really old cookbook and we laughed about all the (not so delicious sounds) recipes. However, this recipe sounds totally hearty and delicious. I bet it was amazing with all those buttery Ritz crackers on top.
Susan says
I love that you shared this old family recipe. Sometimes it’s nice to just go back to something that you love and are comfortable with and oh that topping, you’d have a hard time pulling me away from it.
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
You just don’t mess with perfection! Especially when it has so many memories attached! This looks wonderful!
Lauren @ Healthy Delicious says
I’ve never seen anything like this before -it looks so comforting!
Heather | girlichef says
I love “retro” dishes like this, so nostalgic! Plus, it sounds absolutely delicious, the perfect way to chase off the chill outside today.
Isabelle @ Crumb says
I have a soft spot for retro recipes, especially those old-fashioned creamy casseroles that were oh-so-popular back in the day. Adding this one to my to-do list… it sounds like it’s the perfect thing to combat this crappy cold winter weather.
Angela {Mind Over Batter} says
I love that your mom wrote her recipes down and you share them! I have to stand next to my mom and attempt to convert her recipes into actual measurements because a good Dominican mom just “eyeballs” it. That Ritz cracker crust is perfection. I can’t blame you and your husband for not sharing!
Martha says
Thanks Angela!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I love the cracker crust! You have the best recipes.
Martha says
Thanks Ashley! 🙂
stephanie @ Back for Seconds says
This is a gem! I never thought to make a baked version! YUM!