Loaded Baked Potato Casserole with Chicken for a Crowd
For those of you on a healthy eating kick, you should close this Loaded Baked Potato Casserole with Chicken immediately (and click on over to my Quinoa Salad recipe).
But for those of you who are craving a gooey, cheesy, chicken-y, bacon-y, Loaded Baked Potato Casserole and don’t care that there may be a million stick-to-your-ribs (and maybe your hips) calories in this ultimate comfort food dish, you might want to keep right on reading.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This Loaded Baked Potato Casserole is the dish for you if you want an all-time-favorite-people-will-be-clamoring-for-seconds meal that can feed a crowd and be ready in 45 minutes.
Sometimes the simplest meals turn into the best meals. When we head up to the cabin for a weekend getaway, I’ve got cool, crisp mountain air, beautiful lake views, and the refreshing smell of pine trees carried on a light breeze on my mind.
I really don’t want to think too much about how I’m going to feed anywhere from 8-18 people (depending on who can get away that weekend). And this loaded baked potato casserole with chicken is an easy go-to solution.
So I reserve my easiest meals for those Fridays that we head up there. I certainly try to make something warm and comforting, but I’m not willing to slave over a stove when I get there. I want to pop open a nice bottle of wine, put my feet up on the deck railing, take a long deep breath, soak in the sunset, and just be.
Loaded Baked Potato Casserole is Easy and Comforting!
Baked Potato Casserole with Chicken to the rescue! Chock full of tender baby potatoes, tangy sour cream, gooey cheese, savory chicken, peppery chives, a bit of tender broccoli, and full of crisp, smoky bacon (let’s not forget the bacon), this dish has something to please everyone (except those on a diet, in which case you might want one of these green salads).
It comes together with very little effort, fills the cabin with mouthwatering aromas, and leaves everyone with bellies almost uncomfortably full (almost).
This is also a great make-ahead meal! Perfect for freezing (see how to freeze below), then take it with you when you go camping or head up north to the cabin. Just make it in these disposable pans and clean-up is a breeze! See more make ahead meals here!
Ingredients Used in Loaded Baked Potato Casserole with Chicken
- Baby Potatoes – These tender potatoes are the base of the casserole. (See full recipe below.)
- Chicken – It’s easiest to use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. Just shred that bad boy and your chicken is ready.
- Bacon – Of course!
- Broccoli – Using frozen makes it easy. Just be sure to thaw and press out all the water.
- Green Onions – These add a great bite to the overall taste.
- Chicken Broth – The foundation of the creamy sauce.
- Sour Cream – It’s not really loaded without sour cream, is it?
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – Best to grate it yourself off the block, but pre-shredded will work too.
- Paprika – This is a great all around spice for almost any dish.
- Pepper – To taste.
- Salt – To taste.
Watch me make the recipe here on my YouTube Channel! It’s a pretty cool two-step process.
How to Make Loaded Potato Casserole
- Cook baby potatoes to fork-tender and smash each potato in the bottom of a baking dish.
- In a large bowl, mix together shredded chicken, cooked bacon, heated broccoli, and green onions.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix well. Put this mixture on top of potatoes and spread evenly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, sour cream 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, paprika, pepper, and salt until well blended. Spread this mixture on top of the chicken mixture.
- Cover and bake. (Full recipe directions below.)
Do You Cook Chicken Before Putting It in a Casserole?
This recipe calls for using cooked chicken when assembling the casserole. There are some recipes specifically designed to use raw chicken (like this chicken and rice recipe).
However, I prefer to use cooked chicken in this recipe because the potatoes are also already cooked so the time and temperature will ensure everything comes out perfectly warmed and cooked through at the same time.
How Do You Freeze Potato Casserole?
This loaded potato casserole is perfect to make ahead and freeze. Then you’ll always have something ready to go on those nights you just don’t want to cook.
- Cook the casserole according to the directions. Let cool to room temperature.
- Wrap tightly with two layers of aluminum foil. Freeze.
- Remove from freezer and place on countertop to thaw the morning you plan to serve the casserole. (You can also remove it from the freezer and place in the refrigerator the night before.)
- Heat the casserole in a 300 degree oven for 45 minutes to warm through.
Life’s too short to not take the time to enjoy those “getaway moments.” Take it all in!
Are you looking for more Comfort Food Casseroles? Check out my Chicken Spaghetti Casserole. It’s a family favorite!
Need a quick and easy (and super flavorful) cocktail to go with it? Try this Dark and Stormy Drink. You’ll love it!
If you need more casserole ideas, here are a few more!
Need more comfort food? Here are my Instant Pot favorites!
Some Items Used To Make This:
- Clear Baking Dishes
- Disposable Pans (if you want to make ahead and take with you)
- My Wine For Relaxing!
Loaded Baked Potato Casserole with Chicken for a Crowd
If you're looking for an easy, very satisfying, very filling Loaded Baked Potato Casserole with Chicken, you found it! This is an all-time family favorite and perfect if you need to feed a crowd!
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Baby potatoes, Approximately 15-20 potatoes
- 1 Whole Pre-cooked Rotisserie Chicken, Meat removed and shredded
- 1 Pound bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 12 oz bag Frozen Broccoli, Warmed in microwave or stovetop
- 1 Bunch green onions, Sliced crosswise, white and green parts
- 1/2 Cup chicken broth
- 2 Cups sour cream
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
Instructions
- While the potatoes are cooking, cook bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Reserve bacon grease.
- Turn oven on to 375 degrees. Boil potatoes in a large pot in heavily salted water until fully cooked and tender throughout, approximately 20 minutes. Drain. Grease a large 9"x13" baking dish with either butter or vegetable spray. Place cooked potatoes in baking dish in a single layer. There should be a little space between each potato. Using the bottom of a drinking glass, lightly press down on each potato, smashing it about half way. The bottom of the baking dish should be fully covered when all of the potatoes are smashed. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease over the potatoes.
- While the potatoes are boiling, mix together shredded chicken, cooked bacon (except about 2 tablespoons for garnish on the top), heated broccoli, and green onions (except 2 tablespoons for garnish on top). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix well. Put this mixture on top of potatoes and spread evenly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, sour cream 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, paprika, pepper, and salt until well blended. Spread this mixture on top of the chicken mixture.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes until heated through. Remove foil and top with remaining bacon, cheese, and green onions, then bake another 5-10 minutes to fully melt and brown the cheese. Remove from oven and scoop into serving bowls.
The loaded baked potato casserole with chicken sounds so delicious. However I have a family member who dislikes broccoli. What other vegetable would you suggest, or could I make it without the broccoli (vegetable) all together?
This was easy and amazing
Glad you liked it!!
This is an awesome recipe. Thank you for sharing such yummy meal. I had over 35 people in my house and everyone was asking for the recipe. You will have some more followers!
Thank you so much Janette! I’m glad it was a hit!
Hello! Could you use fresh broccoli vs. frozen?
Yes, you certainly can, Dayle. But if I use fresh (which I’ve done), I always steam it a bit first. Works great!
I just finished making (with the fresh broccoli) and eating this! It is delicious and definitely a “keeper” the only thing was that, as we scooped out servings, their was a lot of liquid that accumulated on the bottom of the pan. It’s not a big deal because it still tasted amazing! I am just curious if that’s normal or something I did, which wouldn’t surprise me lol.
Hey Dayle! I’m glad this one’s a “keeper” for you! Regarding the liquid at the bottom after it is cooked, yes I’ve had this happen a couple of times and I realized it happens when I don’t drain the broccoli enough, so that probably happened to you. So just really squish the heck out of the broccoli after it’s thawed (or cooked from fresh like you did) and get rid of as much water as you can. That should prevent the extra liquid from forming on the bottom! 🙂
Chives and green onions are not the same thing.
Yep! You’re correct! But most people use them interchangeably, so I do too! Lol!
If I wanted to make this but add steak and shrimp would the recipe need to be tweaked a little or just simple add the steak and shrimp?
That sounds awesome! I don’t think the recipe would need to be tweaked (although it may not all fit in one dish!), but I would make sure to cut the steak into small pieces and probably use small shrimp (make sure both are fully cooked before you add them). I’d love to hear how that turns out!
How long should I bake it if I take it right from the freezer? Or shoukd it thaw first?
Hi Tracy. It will take awhile if you do it straight from the freezer. I’m guessing about 90 minutes (I haven’t done it straight from freezer so I’m not entirely sure). I think it’s best to thaw first.
Are you able to make this dish an Day
Before you eat it ?
Definitely! I do this all the time!
Can I use instant potatoes? If so can I make it
Ahead and freeze it?
HI Dee. Since this recipe relies heavily on the whole baby potatoes that are smashed, I’m not sure it would work with instant potatoes. Sorry 🙁
Fee, I used reg potatoes. While I am sure the baby potatoes lend an extra flavor/texture most recipes can be tweeked. If you use instant potatoes, I wld make them a little less “wet” than usual since this recipe has additional liquid.
Great suggestions Catina!
Oh my goodness, this is divine! Made this for dinner today. I made it with carrots instead of broccoli and vegetable broth instead of chicken. But this was easily the best casserole ever. Even my very fussy teenage son cleared his plate and this doesn’t happen often. Thank you so much for sharing.
Wow! Thanks for the awesome comment Kathrin! I’m so happy your family enjoyed it!
Hey, this sounds delicious! I was wondering if the sour cream taste in the sauce is really strong or extremely noticeable? I have some family members that sometimes don’t care for sour cream-based dishes… Thanks!
Hey Megan. It is not very strong at all I’d say go ahead with it. They’ll love it! 🙂
This is sort of a dumb question. I’m assuming you peel the baby potatoes before boiling them ?
Not a dumb question at all! But no, don’t peel them. That’s one of the reasons this is such an easy meal to feed a crowd!
My husband is an associate pastor at an English speaking international church in Paris, France. We just served this to 20 young adults from about 10 different countries and almost every continent – it was a “universal” hit. Haha. I’m always looking for recipes that can feed a crowd but won’t be too “weird” for internationals (and include ingredients I can find here). This one will definitely go in the Sunday lunch rotation!
What an awesome experience! Thank you so much for posting this. I love that this dish has international appeal!! 🙂
Curious if u think ham would work instead of chicken or not so much?
I think ham would be a great option! I’ll have to give that one a try!
This may sound like a dumb question, but do you cook the chicken before putting it all together or does it bake when your putting it all together in the oven?
There’s no such thing as a dumb question! Yes, the chicken should be cooked before putting it all together. I typically use a shredded cooked rotisserie chicken, but any cooked chicken will work!
Hi Heather, I was just skimming through a bunch of baked potato casserole recipes and this one sounds like exactly what I’m looking for. Do you have a rough estimate on the amount of chicken you usually put in one of these, weight or volume? Thanks!
Hey Nick! A whole rotisserie chicken usually yields about 4 cups of chicken, so that’s what I used in this recipe. You’ll love it!!
Thanks Heather! I looked around and saw somewhere that 4C was ~1.3 lbs. I made it last night and it was delicious! Exactly what I was looking for, thank you!! I had some frozen chicken breasts that I thawed out and used, 2x were about 1.3 lbs. I sliced and diced them and cooked them in a skillet with salt, pepper, and some of Meathead’s Simon and Garfunkel rub. I also added about 1/8 tsp of Cayenne to the sour cream mix. I’m a hot head so I’ll probably up that to 1/4 tsp next time. Again, thank you!!
That’s great, Nick!! I love the addition of cayenne (I’m a bit of a hot head too!!)
Could I “lighten “ the recipe by using plain yogurt?
I definitely think that would work Barbara! Give it a shot and let me know how it turned out!
We are making this ahead of time to serve 120 people..a group from church. Do we bake it and then freeze it, or can we build it, freeze it, then thaw and bake it? I’m super excited to have a yummy dish for a large group that is not pasta based!
Wow! That’s great, Sonia. I would build it, freeze it, then thaw and bake. Have a great church event and let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Hi, my name is Carol & I liked your question. I also think I’d like to make this for our church group of about 120. Will I have to triple the recipe?
I don’t cook pork bacon cause of my fiancé he has high blood pressure. I was wondering how can I go about using turkey bacon instead would I need to add anything extra with it or no?
Good question Katrina! I’m sure turkey bacon would be just fine! I don’t think you need need to add anything extra. It won’t taste quite as “bacon-y” but it should still be really great! Let me know how it turns out. Have a good one!
What do you typically serve for sides with this dish?
Hey Abby! I actually usually consider this a one-bowl meal since it’s got a veggie, a starch, and a protein. But if I were serving a side dish, I’d do something kind of light like a simple avocado/tomato salad!