2013 – Gluten Free Living

You will love this delectable, creamy, extra cheesy Chicken Parmesan Casserole! It’s actually a layered casserole with broccoli florets on the bottom covered with cooked, cubed chicken. Then an extremely thick, heavy cream cheese and Parmesan cheese sauce is spooned over top of the chicken.  Finally, the casserole is topped off with more Parmesan cheese on top. All the cheese and cream make this spectacular casserole very rich and satisfying. This is really more of a comfort food than many casseroles tend to be.

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The first time I tasted the recipe was when we were invited over to dinner by Greg and Sarah Mann. He was the youth minister at Hillcrest Baptist Church, in Cedar Hill, Texas, when our boys were teenagers.  Sarah planned this wonderful meal for us. I think she had put her three young children to bed (or one of the teenagers was babysitting them). They had us over to eat a late candlelight dinner just to express her thanks to us for our support of their youth ministry.

It was a time of much laughter, fun, and enjoyment over all the different dishes she had prepared for us to eat. She lavished us with so many wonderful and tasty foods that night. I’m still not sure how she managed to get all the cooking done with three children age four and below underfoot that day. But she did, and I collected several recipes from that young twenty-something bride! I don’t think Sarah was more than 25 at the time but she could cook better than most women who’d been cooking much longer. I know I didn’t have that ability when I was her age.

Greg took a personal interest in our boys (all the boys in the youth group, really), and personally discipled them. Many times he would come over after school and pick up one or the other of the boys. He’d take them out to Whataburger for a coke or an order of fries and find out where they were at spiritually. He planted a lot of seeds of truths into their hearts at a very crucial time.

We still keep in touch with Greg and Sarah even though both of our lives have moved on in different directions. And every time I make this recipe I remember with fondness that night at her house. We laughed hysterically and just had the time of our lives, even though there was a generation of age separating us. Actually, when Sarah made this for us she had forgotten the broccoli and made the recipe without it. But, our family enjoys broccoli, so I’ve always made it with broccoli ever since.

I served up this tasty casserole to company a few weeks ago to rave reviews. Just like we felt the first time we ate this at Sarah’s house. It’s just a really, really great tasting main dish. I served it with Roasted Pumpkin Nachos, two different Caramelized Onion Tarts which were a big hit with everyone, Parmesan Pine Nut Bread and a luscious Pumpkin Spice Cake. Whether you serve this dish with a side salad, fruit, or bread, it’s certainly a wonderful entree for your family and it’s also elegant enough for company. You are sure to get rave reviews from your family as well.

I initially posted this recipe in October 2013. I recently remade the recipe for our church’s college group in February 2020. I added Skinny Stuffed Parmesan Potatoes and you wouldn’t believe the oohs and aaahs I got. We made up some of the leftovers for one of the students to take for her lunch the following day. She is still talking about how heartwarming that meal was. This delicious gluten free entree is really too easy NOT to make sometime. I highly recommend for special occasions like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. It really makes for a delightful company dinner.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole is a sumptuous entree both your family and company will enjoy.

This is a terrific entree for company. It’s so creamy and delicious.

This fabulous entree uses only six ingredients!

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients.

Cook chicken. You can do this is a crockpot. Or you can boil on the stove or bake it. You can also use rotisserie chicken .

Spray a 9×13″ glass baking dish with cooking spray. Add frozen broccoli florets. I did NOT pre-cook the broccoli.

Spread cooked chicken over broccoli in baking dish.

Make Parmesan sauce: Cube two blocks of cream cheese and place in saucepan over medium heat to melt. Add 2 cups of half-and-half or whipping cream. You can also use milk but I like the thicker, richer taste of half-and-half.

Add garlic salt.

Add an 8-ounce bag of Parmesan cheese.

Whisk ingredients to combine.

Continue whisking and cooking until both cheeses melt and sauce is somewhat smooth.

Spread cream cheese-Parmesan sauce over top of the chicken.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with an additional half-cup or cup of Parmesan cheese, as desired.

Return to oven an additional 5-10 minutes. 

This cheesy casserole has incredibly amazing taste.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole is delicious served with Skinny Stuffed Parmesan Potatoes.

Here’s a close up so you can see the texture of this fantastic entree. You will find Chicken Parmesan Casserole very filling and satisfying.

Here’s the recipe.

CHICKEN PARMESAN CASSEROLE

(Adapted from Sarah Mann’s recipe, when we attended Hillcrest Baptist Church, Cedar Hill, TX)

Chicken Parmesan Casserole is really pretty easy to make up.

Your company will love this dish, just as ours did a few weeks ago! Chicken Parmesan Casserole is really creamy on the inside. While this casserole is fairly clean as far as that goes, it does have a lot of calories due to all the cheeses and cream. 

Chicken Parmesan Casserole is marvelous when paired with Skinny Stuffed Parmesan Potatoes.

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole with Veggies

Scalloped Chicken

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Bake