Among the Amish, chicken is seen as a very versatile, protein-packed, accessible meat. Visit almost an Amish homemade, and you'll see chickens meandering around the property, pecking at insects and seeds.
Chickens are a ready source of meat. Yes, chicken plucking time can be messy. But the result is a meat that is prized and full of flavor. The farm-raised chickens are not the bland-tasting meat that you get from factory-farmed chickens. The Amish birds are plump, farm-fed, and juicy.
🐔 Chicken Meets The Casserole
The "chicken casserole" has become such a staple on Amish farms because there's so many different variations. You can have chicken and veggies, chicken and noodles, chicken and rice, chicken and soup, and on and on. And on Amish365, we have posted a gazillion chicken casserole recipes over the years and will post a gazillion more because the variations are endless.
And as we have discussed on the site before, casseroles are king, because they can feed large amounts of people, they travel easily, or they can be assembled in a mobile kitchen somewhere. The proportions can easily be doubled, triple, and even quadrupled. Or the size can be reduced. All you really need are some big dishes, disposable roasters, some spoons, paper plates, and you can feed an Amish army.
📋 Tips For Making Incredible Amish Chicken Casseroles
There are not a whole lot of ways to screw up and Amish chicken casserole, which is another reason they are so popular. But I'll give you some tips to increase your odds for success. Oh, and by the way, you can always add more veggies. So many of these casseroles are sparse of veggies, so there's not an Amish casserole recipe that wouldn't benefit from throwing some extra carrots, mushrooms, peas, corn, etc. Enjoy! Here are some other tips for success:
- Fresh Chicken: Obviously, get your hands on the most fresh chicken you can find. Local butcher shpps and farms are the best sources. Of course, not everybody has access to that, so these recipes will work fine with frozen supermarket chicken. I'm just saying if you want to mimic the full flavor of an Amish chicken casserole, think "fresh."
- Say Cheese: a lot of these chicken casseroles call for cheese. Yes, it may say cheddar cheese, but it doesn't mean you have to do that. You can choose the cheese of your taste, Colby, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, fiesta, blend and on and on. So she's it up and use your imagination.
- Add Crunch: a lot of these Amish casseroles do well with some crunch, whether that's crushed crackers on top, cornflakes mixed in, or simply chopped celery, there's something about a chicken casserole with a little crunch that is a crowd-pleaser!
- Season To Your Taste: A lot of these Amish casseroles are relatively bland. That's for a couple of reasons. Historically, Amish cooking was fairly "plain" in keeping with traditions of being the "plain people" Cooking was very conventional and functional. Also, many Amish dishes are designed to feed a lot of people and more people you have the more you have to watch out for spices, etc, because someone won't like it. But that doesn't mean you can't and shouldn't season it up for your family. So if an Amish casserole recipe here seems to need some seasoning up, do it! A little black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, or basil never hurt anything!
🍲 Five Incredible Amish Chicken Casseroles
Trying to choose a favorite Amish chicken casserole is like trying to choose my favorite candy: impossible! There are so many good chicken casseroles that trying to pick just one - or even five - is so tough, but here are five favorites of mine (and readers!)
Classic Amish Chicken and Noodle Casserole: Yeah, this is just perfect comfort food. Here is a little bit about this one: And when it comes to comfort food, few dishes can hold a candle to a classic chicken and noodle casserole. With tender chunks of chicken, plenty of veggies, and a creamy sauce, this chicken noodle casserole recipe dish is the perfect way to satisfy your cravings for something comforting and delicious. This is such an easy chicken noodle casserole. Click here for the recipe.
Dutch Oven Chicken Casserole With Easy Sauce: It's the sauce that really makes this recipe! Give it a try here.
Amish Cheddar Chicken Casserole: Ahhh, cheese. You can't go wrong combining chicken and cheese and that is what this casserole does. More about it: Fried chicken is a dish you to see a ton of variations, but casseroles like this Amish Cheddar Chicken Casserole, those are harder to go wrong with. These pile-in-one-pot casseroles where chicken is sort of the protein foundation, and the rest just packs in all the flavor are so popular. Check out Cheddar Chicken Casserole.
Amish Famous Chicken and Rice Casserole: To me, chicken and rice is the ultimate comfort food casserole!
Church Committee's Chicken Stuffing Casserole: Out of all of the chicken casserole recipes on the site, this one is right up there as my favorite. I mean, what is there not to like? I LOVE stuff and I LOVE chicken, so when you combine both of these you get this indescribably filling comfort bonanza! Check out Church Committee's Chicken Stuffing Casserole.
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