Plantation Chicken Casserole is a classic vintage recipe. It’s fairly easy to pull together and is a whole meal in itself. The recipe calls for 4 Cups of cooked chicken. Any type of precooked chicken is fine, but if you don’t have any on hand, buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is about as quick and easy (and cheap!) as you can make it. Plus you then have chicken scraps you can use to make homemade chicken stock later.
As with many of the recipes of this era, many of the veggies that are called for are prepackaged or canned. The next time I make this, I’ll probably buy fresh mushroom and red peppers and sauté them a bit in a pan before layering them into the dish. Another thing I’d change is I probably won’t add water chestnuts again – I’m just not a fan of the flavor and texture and it was about my only complaint in the whole meal.
One thing I think I screwed up was the sauce. I’m not sure I let it thicken up properly in the saucepan before pouring it over. Be sure to really slowly add the chicken stock and stir and cook for a good bit to make sure its thick and saucy before pouring if over the casserole.
The star of the dish is the stuffing “crumble” on top! I’ve done seasoned breadcrumbs on casseroles before, but this is a whole new level. Grandma’s recipe specifically calls for Pepperidge Farms Herb Dressing, but I had Stove Top on hand and I think they can probably be swapped interchangeably. Either way, it was a delicious addition!
