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Saturday, August 20, 2016

Chicken and Biscuits Casserole {No Canned Soups}

There's little more comforting than homemade Chicken and Dumplings. This recipe is a slight twist on the classic version. The recipe begins with a couple of chicken breasts simmered until tender in a rich, savory broth. Next, the broth is thickened with a cornstarch slurry and a splash of heavy cream. Then, instead of dropping biscuit dough into the thick, steamy broth to cook on the stove top, the chicken and "gravy" is loaded into a casserole dish, topped with half-moons of buttermilk biscuits and popped into the oven to bake to golden, bubbly bliss.


The result is the familiar flavors present in classic Chicken and Dumplings, of course, But, the biscuits are taken to new heights due to the browning on top of the casserole. The bottoms of the biscuits bake up - moist and soft - submerged in bubbling gravy while the tops of the biscuits puff up to golden, magical perfection.

Serves 4 - 6.


Ingredients:

6 cups hot water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
2 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt, as needed
14 - 16 frozen buttermilk biscuits, slightly thawed and cut in half

Directions:

Bring 5 cups of hot water to a boil in a large soup pot over high heat. Add in bouillon cubes, poultry seasoning, Herbes de Provence and chicken breasts. Reduce heat to medium. Poach chicken around twenty minutes or until meat is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate or cutting board. Carefully shred with two forks. Return chicken to cooking broth. Increase heat to high.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk 1/2 cup COLD water with cornstarch in a small bowl until no lumps remain. Stir cornstarch "slurry" into the simmering broth. Cook 5 - 10 minutes while broth slightly thickens and returns to a boil.

Stir in heavy cream. Allow liquid to simmer for another 5 - 10 minutes until it resembles the consistency of gravy.

Stir in pepper. Taste and add salt as needed.

Pour chicken and gravy into a greased 3 - 4 quart oval (or similar) casserole dish. Arrange biscuits - cut side down - in the gravy. About half of each biscuit should remain above the gravy level. (Biscuits can be arranged in any pattern or rows as desired.)


Place dish on a foil-lined sheet pan to catch any drips.

Bake for 35 - 45 minutes (or until casserole is bubbly and tops of biscuits are lightly browned).

Remove from oven and serve immediately.


NOTE: 1 cup of frozen-style mixed vegetables that have been thawed can be added into gravy if desired.



01.27.23 UPDATE: Having reviewed the measurements and listened to feedback from some readers, the amount of water used to cook the chicken and make the gravy has been adjusted. 

17 comments:

  1. This looks awesome Angela.

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  2. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I've tried twice and never got the broth to thicken. I'm left with soup not gravy....��

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    1. Oh, no. That's not good. I am not sure what may have happened ... never had that issue. Perhaps a little more cornstarch and/or letting it thicken on the stove a tad bit longer. It really is an excellent dish ... we make it regularly and have served it to guests with great success, too. I am sorry you have had trouble.

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    2. I should have mentioned even as soup my family devoured it. I tried again and started with less water and used much more corn starch. I let everything cook the full 10 min and it is amazing!!! I always wondered where the green tint came from in really good chicken and biscuit at restaurants, now I know! Thanks

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    3. So happy to hear that you gave it a go another time ... and had success! Yeah!

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    4. Molly Andrus
      Gor whatever reason i can never get cornstarch to thicken. Flour works well too, and in a pinch so will dried potato flakes. As in instant potatoes.��

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    5. I am pregnant and was looming at tbis ladt night at like 2am. If i had the ingredients I would have made and devoured it. I can not wait to try next weekend. So happy no canned soup, or canned biscuits.

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    6. Hi, Melissa. This is a dish that I just crave sometimes. And, I'm not even pregnant. :) I hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to try it.

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    7. Very good flavor but mine was soupy too, following the recipe exactly. I then added twice as much cornstarch slurry, still soupy, then made a flour slurry with 1/3 cup flour and cream. This helped but was still not a gravy consistency. Trying to thicken took me well over an hour as i had to keep adding thickeners and waiting to see if it would thicken. More chicken is necessary for this large of a dish, as well.

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    8. HI. What size baking dish did you use? Sounds great!

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    9. I usually use a 3 - 4 quart oval casserole dish. But, I have used a 9 x 13 rectangle baking dish and it worked great as they are about the same size-wise I believe. Hope that helps.

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  3. Literally had the same problem as everyone else. I started with twice the cornstarch after reading the comments. Had to add four times as much as called for and still nothing. I have no idea how you could ever have made this work as written.

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  4. Unfortunately this recipe did not work for my family. We found it soupy, salty, and just generally too unhealthy even though I did add in some frozen vegetables.

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  5. Not liking frozen dumplings. Another thing to buy probably with unhealthy enhancers, emulsifiers, or preservatives. Like everything else though.

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  6. I too can’t get it to thicken, there is on issue with the amounts, I think too much water.

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    1. I did adjust the water measurement within the ingredients list. The last time or two that I personally prepared this recipe, I did have better success with less water. I apologize for having not updated the recipe prior to you preparing the dish.

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