Ultimate Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole

Ultimate Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole–a creamy, cheesy bake loaded with tender bites of chicken, bacon, almonds and a buttery cracker topping.

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Ultimate Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole

This Neiman Marcus chicken casserole is basically a casserole version of the department store dish. It’s loaded with saucy chicken, crispy bacon, cheddar, almonds and a Ritz cracker topping. It’s quite simple to throw together and so good! If you want to add a few more veggies, mushrooms or peas work great. Just stir them in when you add the green onions before baking. And don’t worry about the hot sauce…it doesn’t make the dish too spicy, it just adds a little flavor. I also love that this version skips the canned cream of chicken soup and instead uses a simple homemade creamy sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Olive oil–or avocado, canola, vegetable oil
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts–or rotisserie chicken
• Kosher salt–or sea salt
• Black pepper–or white pepper
• Garlic powder–or 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• Onion powder–or 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
• Poultry seasoning
• Smoked paprika–or regular paprika
• All purpose flour
• Milk–or half and half
• Plain Greek yogurt–or sour cream
• Green onions–or chives
• Slivered almonds
• Bacon crumbles
• Hot sauce
• Shredded cheddar cheese–or Colby Jack cheese
• Ritz crackers–or butter crackers
• Butter

Steps

Heat oven to 350° F. Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Drizzle the oil into the pan. Add in the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Stir in salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning and smoked paprika. 

Push chicken to the side of the pan and tilt the pan so all juices and oil go to one side. Whisk in the flour, a little at a time. Then slowly whisk in the milk and let the flour thicken the milk. Stir in the greek yogurt until incorporated. 

Fold in the green onion, almonds, bacon, hot sauce and cheddar. Pour the mixture into a 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish.

Sprinkle the Ritz on top and then drizzle the butter evenly over the crackers.

Bake for 25 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Notes/Tips

• Serve with roasted vegetables or raw veggies and dip. To stretch the meal stir the chicken casserole over rice, egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
• You can use rotisserie chicken to save time. Skip the first cooking step and stir it into the sauce.
• When adding the flour, make sure to whisk it well so you don’t get lumps, and add the milk slowly while whisking to keep the sauce smooth. Also, keep the heat at medium (not too high) when adding the yogurt so it doesn’t curdle.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• This casserole can be frozen before baking. Assemble without the cracker topping, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 2 months. Add the topping fresh before baking.
• Other recipes you can make with slivered almonds are Instant Pot Country Captain Chicken and Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Chicken Salad.

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for. 

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.